Big Festool Systainer inserts challenge!

You might recall Atkinsons of Cheshire were among the builders who worked on our new unit build. We noticed their van was super organised and professional, which totally reflects the professionalism we experienced working with the guys! They had super neat racking holding all their Festool Systainers, but inside the Systainer boxes was another matter. Their kit was either in blow-molded trays or rattling around loose, as many a tradesman will know. We promised once we had our new Festool Systainer foam inserts were in stock, we’d make a project of decking their boxes out in Shadow Foam. Just a little thank you for their great work, and to protect their tools against damage. Little did we realise that there were 17 of them!

Brand new Festool Systainer Inserts ready to go

We didn’t even recognise some of the tools, it was our first time seeing the Festool Domino for example. One of their cases was already decked out in our Shadow Foam Original, keeping their chisels secure and sharp.

The Festool Systainers have the Tanos t-loc mechanism, and there are a couple of other brands that also use these. The Systainer is a single modular container with one latch on the front which has got a nice positive close. Then the idea is that you can stack them; place one on top of the other then just twist the lock on the bottom one to link them together. This then creates a modular system for ease of transporting your kit around.

Part of the reason for our Shadow Foam inserts is to stop everything bouncing and rattling when on the move. Festool do supply some sets with a moulded tray, but these often so they don’t last very long. Once you drop something on the plastic it’s likely to break. A common issue is that you’re then stuck with a layout which someone else has created for you, and which could be impractical. When in reality you may want different, or more, things factored in. Our foam Festool Systainer inserts allow you to be more efficient with space and tailor it to your needs.

How to use Festool Systainer inserts

These boxes belong to busy tradesmen so are are in constant use, hence the tight turnaround. For that reason, our first task was to give everything a clean and anti-bac to freshen it up. Then we move on to planning the layout. One thing we wanted to allow for was the guys being able to add more kit in future. To accommodate this we left a little space to allow for that. For some items we wanted to factor in finger pulls to allow them to get things out more easily too. These things should all be considered at the planning stage before you start cutting.

For the cutting, we recommend you pick up one of our cutting packs; in there you’ll get instructions along with the scalpel and blades. It’s a nice long cutting tool which helps us create neat silhouettes. Just place the tool where you want it then trace cut around it following the profile of the tool. There’s no need to cut deep, just enough to create an outline to start with. Then go back and cut to the required depth afterwards.

Once you’ve cut to the desired depth, dig your finger into one end of the cut, and peel the foam back. Just remove the first layers initially . Repeat that process if you need the tool to sit deeper into the foam. With some of Atkinson’s kit, there were corded items and we wanted the cable to look tidy. To do this, we created a cavity to the rear of the foam into which the cable can sit invisibly.

Tips when using the Festool Systainer inserts

One issue we hit was that one of the guys had a lot of chisels which would make them hard to fit into the box in an organised way. Space-saving tip: when this happens, you can always turn the tool onto it’s edge to make more room to fit them all in.

So, did we do it…?

The initial challenge to transform 17 Systainers in a day did run away from us! We managed to get 11 completed which took around 5 hours. Of the remaining boxes, the plastic moulded trays for the jigsaw and the domino were relatively efficient for damage prevention. The larger Festool powertools already took up a lot of room in the boxes and wouldn’t have left much room for foam inserts. But the toolboxes that really needed sorting were all done.

Atkinsons were impressed with the way the foam would protect their laser leveler which is a delicate piece of kit. Additionally it meant the Viking Arm was now tidy and stored neatly with all it’s other door hanging accessories. As well as protecting from damage, this was going to be really efficient and time saving for them too.

We were so happy with the way the Systainer boxes turned out, and that John and Rob loved them. You can see we kitted them out with Festool Systainer inserts in black/green which nicely complement the Festool branding. But in actual fact, we carry a whole range of colours of inserts and liners. You can choose green, red, blue, yellow, orange or black with the option of either 30mm or 50mm foam depth. Inserts are available for both the standard medium Systainer and the Sortainer. This is a three drawer triple pack of inserts (though sometimes people call these Systainer drawers). And we also do Festool mini systainer inserts inserts for the Systainer Mini. More inserts are coming soon for the XL box and the large box, as well as combi variations. But if there are any other sizes or variants we have missed please let us know.