Can't Find the Correct Drill or Wrench Size? Here's How...

Most sized tools are marked by stamped numbers on their sides, shanks or handles.   All too often, I find myself looking for a specific drill or socket, unable to make out the stamped size.  It becomes especially difficult in low or "flat light" where the reflecting edges of the numbers are less defined. 

I've begun using this simple modification to make the stamped sizes stand out.  Now I can quickly locate any size drill, socket or wrench no matter how they're tossed in my tool cabinet drawer.

1. A set of drills, sockets, wrenches or any other tool identified by recessed stamping or raised casting and difficult to read.

2. Spray paint.

3. Acetone, paper towel and/or Scotchbrite.

Tools such as large wrenches aren't too difficult to read.  The problem begins with small sized tools where the identification marks are hard to find and too small to read easily.   Because the small numbers are virtually the same color as the surrounding material, you rely on reflected light to read them.  That means, you have to pick each tool, tilt and rotate it until you see the reflected stamped marks, then study it, tilting and adjusting it again to read the size.

Wouldn't it be easier just to flip through the pile of tools, reading the sizes as you sift through?

The solution is easy.  We'll simply paint the tool's stamped size a color that contrasts with the tool's metal. 

I've chosen black for my silver tools, but any dark color would work as well.

To begin, wipe the tool with acetone to get all the grease off of it.  When it's dry, spray paint the area around the stamped or cast number and set it aside to dry.

If you aren't too fussy about a perfectly reflective finish on your prized socket set, a fine Scotchbrite pad will remove a good amount of paint from the flat surfaces of your tools.  It will leave the metal slightly burnished as well.  If this bothers you, don't use mechanical means to remove the unwanted paint.

Take a paper towel and moisten it with acetone.  It needs to be almost dry before you try to wipe the paint away.

What you'll be doing is cleaning the paint away from the raised area surrounding the stamped numbers.  Because the paint within the stamping is below the surface of the tool, the Scotchbrite pad and paper towel slide over it, taking the paint on the surface away, but leaving the paint within the stamping.

What you'll be left with is a tool who's size is easily recognizable from any angle.  Most wrenches are stamped on one side only, so the most you'll have to do is flip them over as you sift through them.

You'll never get me to believe I'm the only unorganized slob out there.  Or that anyone who actually uses his or her tools doesn't store them en-mass, out of order, tossed in a drawer, left on a bench or carelessly snapped onto a holder.  

I spend far less time looking for that 3/16 socket now that I'm not trying to judge the size and mistakenly picking up the 7/32 or the 1/4.

This really does work for me.

With all of the exceptional responses and ideas, I've made some changes.  I'm into a project that is presenting me with multiple sizes and measurement systems.  It's an extremely frustrating situation to be in closed quarters, on my back and not able to find the right wrench.

I was thinking of ways to further ID my wrenches when I ran across one I had labeled for my 3D printer.  Using my labeler, I had marked "MBOT" on both sides of the wrench.  This wrench size is the one that fits virtually all of the bolt heads in the machine and one I found myself searching for quite often.  

Like most guys, I don't have single sets of sockets and wrenches.  Somehow, like wire coat hangers, these things seem to propagate unashamedly in my tool box.  Marking one or two for special purposes doesn't affect my storage plan (I use the "rat's nest" method) and when I need that MakerBot wrench, it's as simple as reaching into the pile and grabbing it.

Now, all of my metric wrenches have labels on both sides.

My latest project will be a long-lasting one.  Based on Spikoli's comment about colors, I thought; "Paint is removable... Why not paint the tools to fit the job?"

So that's what I did.

I'm painting the engine components of my car various colors.  Partly because the factory relied heavily on "off-the-shelf" components, and partly because I'm convinced the designers had a warped sense of humor, the job of locating the correct size tool for every bolt is daunting.

My frustration would be helped immensely if I could quickly choose the tools I need when I begin working on a component.  I've been painting the various parts of my project car's engine compartment in one of three colors (red, yellow, blue), each color loosely relating to a function.  Cooling & running gear, blue: Electrical, red: Engine, yellow...

I really don't care what size wrench I need.  I only want it to fit, be it metric or fractional.  Instead of painting the tool to match the size, why not paint the tool to match the part?  If I did that, when I'm working on the cooling system, I can grab the blue pile, knowing I have just the sizes I'll need.  I have enough spares to assign different wrenches of one size multiple colors, or I can also paint multiple colors onto one wrench.

When the jobs over, I'll wipe everything down with acetone and all will be as it was, ready for the next big project.

Now, you don't have to paint your project in primary colors like I've done, but for permanent or semi-permanent tasks, color coding to the task instead of the size can improve efficiency tremendously.

I like this... I think I'll make another Instructable on it....

That was easy... >https://www.instructables.com/id/Wrench-Sizes-Problem-Solved/<