How do you organize your stuff?

[Dok]

It's Fall so back to AS I go! I just started cutting firewood last week and it has become obvious I need to get my sawing stuff organized. It took too long to round it all up and it took too long to replace a chain in the field. I have my tools and chains in a nylon tool bag. The chains get all tangled up and it takes 15 min to sort out the various sizes. My helmet rides in the bed of the truck, chaps behind the rear seat, saws also in the bed of the truck. I would like to haul as much in the truck bed as possible while also not taking up too much room, that's where the wood goes!

I need your help- how are all of you organizing your sawing stuff? I need ideas, pictures, descriptions. It will be fun to see what everyone does!

 

[andrethegiant70]

I empathize! I'm not sure what you've got, but I told myself long ago that if I was going to have another pickup, it would have to be a king cab. Everything fits behind the seats for me. When I'm moving from tree to tree the saw, a gas can, the oil can and my tool kit are on the passenger side floor and seat. I can even fit a backup saw.

The only thing wrong with the arrangement is that my truck smells like a chainsaw shop pretty much permanantly. I'm the only one who can tolerate riding in it!

 

[Sethro]

Leave your saw chain in the fold out box and when you put the chain in the box do a S pattern while lowering the chain in the box.

 

[Sethro]

I would like to haul as much in the truck bed as possible while also not taking up too much room, that's where the wood goes!

I used to have a 79 Buick Electra 225 the trunck would hold more wood than my Franger. Backseat, case of paint,5 gallons of bar oil, 10 gallons of mix, 5 saws, cant hooks, board with a breaker and spinner mounted on it, roll of chain,tool box and cooler.

 

[Xtra]

Small tool box or tackle box for scrench, files (with drinking straws over them to keep them sharp), hammer, stump vise, brush to clean fuel & oil caps, etc.

Helmet, chaps, etc. go in a soft side large tool bag.

As for chains I tried this a few months back and it works great. A Stanley deep organizer tool box . . . it has 10 removable trays which can easily fit a 36" chain.

http://www.stanleytools.com/default...esc=Stanley®+Deep+Professional+Organizer (@ Home Depot for about $15)

 

[Brushwacker]

I have 3 old trucks,87 Toyota long bed that has 1 toolbox mounted on the passanger side. Most of it goes over the wheel wel and over the side,and it holds 3 saws,a compact 4in.x 12in tool kit I made up and can easily transfer to any vehicle (will fit behind seat also), I made a compartment about the same size over the saws that I put saw tools,files etc in and I hang this and that on the shelf ( the lip of the tbox that goes over the truck side),chaps and hard hat on top of saws. I usually haul 1/3 cord in the truck bed and get near 25 mpg. Real easy to load and unload this truck + manuever it in tight spots. I keep a log chain under the pasanger seat + a strap, some tarp straps,a tarp, a fire extiguisher , extra cloths , first aid kit , marlin 22 papoose,wd40,personal hygene,xtra cloths, and whatever else I think I might need behind the seat. The rest of the truck is cluttered up to most the time. My 1980 chevy4wd is set up about the same but I don't use it much yet. My 59 Dodge farm 12 foot dump bed sees a fair amount of use and I mounted an old chest type tool box in front of the bed to lock up saws in, but I usually carry them in the cab.
All my vehicles I try to keep a cable and paddlelock for times when its easier to carry the saw s on back. I try to keep a handyman jack tied to the
drivers side over the wheel wel in the P/U s also.
I finally got a nice trailer to pull behind p/u 's also so I can haul another 1/3 cord or more.
Usually I sharpen my chains on the saw in a vise before I go out and seldom need to change one in the woods. If a touch up won't do I usually have another saw, but I also like to have an extra chain or so which usually I keep in a factory carton with the correct lable.

 

[Dok]

I have a crew cab long bed F250. The cab is filled with a wife, two sons, a black lab and everything that goes along with them. Cutting wood is a family activity most of the time That's why I need to find a way to organize my stuff and keep it in the bed.

 

[ciscoguy01]

Tupperware

I get cheap dollar store containers to hold the chains. They go into a bigger toolbox with my files, extra plugs, tools etc... For the gas and oil, I save soda pop bottles, I KNOW THIS SOUNDS CRAZY, but I fill up like 3 or 4 of each with mixed gas and oil, each one is about a tank in a big saw. This saves me spilling gas all over from the damned leaky cans. And they fit in the toolbox also. I also carry extra chain links in the box in case I break a chain, pulling chains not chainsaw chains. And MOST IMPORTANTLY!!! Go to Wal-mart and get a first aid kit to throw in there also...

 

[Dok]

Leave your saw chain in the fold out box and when you put the chain in the box do a S pattern while lowering the chain in the box.

You mean the boxes the chains come in? I did that last year but by the end of the cutting season there wasn't anything left of the boxes. I'm currently boxless and desperate

 

[Dok]

Small tool box or tackle box for scrench, files (with drinking straws over them to keep them sharp), hammer, stump vise, brush to clean fuel & oil caps, etc.

Helmet, chaps, etc. go in a soft side large tool bag.

As for chains I tried this a few months back and it works great. A Stanley deep organizer tool box . . . it has 10 removable trays which can easily fit a 36" chain.

http://www.stanleytools.com/default...esc=Stanley®+Deep+Professional+Organizer (@ Home Depot for about $15)

That's the kind of thing I've been looking for, thanks!

 

[Dok]

I have 3 old trucks,87 Toyota long bed that has 1 toolbox mounted on the passanger side. Most of it goes over the wheel wel and over the side,<snip>

Is it like this? or bigger?
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=209687-76354-63014009&lpage=none

Good info BTW, thanks! A trailer is on my list, along with a splitter, snow thrower, another saw....

 

[Brushwacker]

Is it like this? or bigger?
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=209687-76354-63014009&lpage=none

Its much like that but I think mine looks a couple or more inches wider.
My ms660 has about 2 inches to spare width wise in the box.My second saw I usually run the bar through the handle of th frst one and the 3 rd saw is usually an 026 or smaller. I carry a 2+ gallon of mix in there also. And an axe & monster maul.

 

[paul hill]

Ammo cans make great boxes for files, tools, and misc parts. They can be worked into the last part of the load of wood and won't get crushed. One of these days I would like to build a headache rack with a removable shelf for saws and other gear.A couple of ratchet straps would hold everything on the shelf just below the roof line on the truck. This would allow you to stack the truck very full, keep wood out of the back window, and have a place for all your stuff once the truck is loaded.

 

[nikocker]

To keep things simple I use Zip lock bags for the chains.

Label the outside with a sharpie pen for which saw they are for - and when they are dull merely turn the bag inside out and put the chain back in. I can tell at a glance what chains need sharpening that way.

I own the land I cut on so I use my 4 wheeler to get to and from the woods. Also I use a chainsaw cases for my 3 Huskies and Stihl 361 so whatever saw I'm using gets bungie corded to my 4 wheeler, along with gas can and oil. The zip lock bags with 2 sharp extra chains fit inside the case with no problem and I even use a gallon size zip lock to hold the scwrench, carb screwdriver, extra spark plug, and a couple of shop rags.

Chaps and helmet and ear muffs bungie on as well.

It did confuse the wife for a while as to where all her zip locks were going though!!!

Al

 

[pbuehning]

To keep things simple I use Zip lock bags for the chains.

Label the outside with a sharpie pen for which saw they are for - and when they are dull merely turn the bag inside out and put the chain back in. I can tell at a glance what chains need sharpening that way.

It did confuse the wife for a while as to where all her zip locks were going though!!!

Al

+1 on the ziplocks, got a box of them on the workbench - cheap and easy.

 

[hanniedog]

I use actual tupperware containers to store my chains. Picked them up at local flea market. Have several sizes for larger chains just snap lid shut you are good to go. Also marked lid with size of chain in the box.

 

[Pablo26]

I keep the chains in their original boxes, have a 5 gal bucket which holds the mix, bar oil, some wedges, etc. I use a couple of stihl bar covers which hold a scrench and file. If I'm just cutting a subaru load after work, I just bring a loaded saw, one tank is more than I can carry at a time. Chaps and muffs and big-5 $20 steel toes stay in the back of the car, and I can keep a saw safely out of sight back there all day.

 

[crashagn]

Got a 84 chevy 1/2 ton... I only do maybe 1-2 tree jobs per year depending on the location. After taking the brush to the burn pit and stuff then go back to the job.. wood,gas/oil and tools go in the back. Saws ride up front with me. I have all the extra chains, files and tools all in 1 toolbox. After unloading the wood and to whooped to unload the tools, just park the pickup outback or in the storage shed

 

[aandabooks]

All of the tools and chains go in one of those soft gatemouth tool bags with a ton of pockets. Chains go in clear plastic parts bags. One for sharp, one for dull. I only currently run 18" and 20" chains. 1 gal of premix and one quart of oil. Oil fits in the tool bag.

The saws both have their own hardcases. If I take the 4-wheeler, one saw strapped to the front, one on the back. Tool bag and gas on the rack. If I take the truck, then everything in the back and I figure out where to put it after the wood is on. Worst case is in the extended cab.

Matt

 

[B_Turner]

ANother person here for ziplocks for chains, usually packing at least 8 extras, sometimes more depending on how many bar sizes I am running that day. I use the heavy ziplocks, as the sandwich ones get chewed pretty quick by my very sharp chains. Since I am usually packing at least 3 sizes of saws bars, I have old business cards in the baggies with the chains with the number of dls on them. Sometimes if I am packing say 5 sizes of chain, I group chains by length in bigger ziplocks or old stuff sacks. (I never sharpen in the field.)

I pack a hard toolbox including small parts, a softbag of wedges and such, a softbag of marking and measuring stuff (including some different sizes of speedsquares) and all that smaller stuff in my 2'x2'x5' box on my trailer (including usually three saws in the box). If I am taking more saws I put them in the back of the pickup (canopy).

Some stuff stays in the truck all the time, like some big chains and a 4 ton come along for when I need extra persuasion. When I take my winch and large skidding tongs they ride in the truck back also so they are not in the way when I load the trailer. I almost never load wood into the truck itself, just the trailer (too much trouble to load and unload at 36 inches high vs 13 inches.)

I just can't image how anyone gets along without a good trailer.