10 Cool 3D Printed Upgrades For Your Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox

Harbor Freight's Mini Toolbox is a nifty storage solution for many of your small items, and there are many different clever ways to use it aside from keeping your tools organized. But even though this toolbox is meant to keep your things arranged it still has a few limitations, so you might find it a bit wanting for some of your use cases.

That does not mean that you should forget about using it, though. That's because there are a few things that you can do to upgrade it to fit your needs, especially if you have access to a 3D printer or a 3D-printing service. To that end, we looked for some cool 3D printed upgrades for the Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox, transforming it from a generic storage solution into something that will fit exactly what you need. All these 3D model files are easily available online and are free-to-use, so you don't have to worry about spending extra just to get a copy. If you have something truly unique, you can even modify the file a bit to ensure that it would work with your things.

While drawers help with your organization, you'd often need to have smaller boxes in them to avoid ending up with a tangle of messy items inside them. Unfortunately, it can get difficult to find a set of organization boxes that would fit just right inside a drawer, that's why 3D-printing enthusiasts created the Gridfinity system. So, if you want an organized but customizable solution, these 3x5 and 3x6 Gridfinity Files for Harbor Freight U.S. General Mini Toolbox by Uncle Jessy are exactly what you're looking for. Note that these are just Gridfinity bases designed to exactly fit the top shelf and the drawers of the mini toolbox, so you still need to find compatible storage bins to put on them.

The creator said these bases only used 10% infill, so you're not wasting too much filament to print them. If your 3D printer is too small, the larger 3x6 Gridfinity base can also be printed in two parts to make it easier to fit in your device. Note that these bases are also designed to fit newer models of the Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox; if you're considering using this for your older storage drawers, double check first if they will fit snugly.

If you need more space than what the standard Gridfinity bins deliver, you can get them with the Optimized Storage for Harbor Freight U.S. General Mini Toolbox by Hi_Im_Dave. This 3D design uses a custom grid matched with deeper bins, with the top shelf and drawer bins having a height of 20mm, while the bins for the bottom drawer are at 35mm. You should also note that the middle bin for the top drawer comes with cutout to accommodate the protruding magnet pin to make it fit perfectly.

The creator shared a cutaway view of their modified bin versus the regular Gridfinity bin, showing the latter to have around 40% more extra space. These custom bins aren't compatible with standard Gridfinity bases, though, so you'll have to print the base the comes with this design (although the base will work with standard Gridfinity bins). Alternatively, you can customize the bin designs so that they will fit the Gridfinity bases that you might already have.

The 54-piece Quinn ¼-inch Drive SAE and Metric Master Socket Set is a great investment when you're building out your toolset, and it even comes with its own organization box. However, the included box might not be the optimal solution if you want to store the entire set inside your Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox. The solution to this predicament is the Quinn Master Set socket tray by oneinch. This 3D models comes in either a one-piece design for those who want the ability to lift the entire thing off their toolbox in one go, or as four different pieces for easier printing and assembly. It perfectly fits the top shelf of the Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox, with the tray holding the short and long sockets and as well as the 72-tooth ratchet itself.

Unfortunately, the other accessories, including 3-inch and 6-inch extensions, universal joint, hex bit holder, and hex bit handle do not fit in the tray and must be stored in the drawers below. This won't be a problem, though, if you just use the Gridfinity bases and bins we've suggested above to keep them organized in the drawers. Aside from the 72-tooth ratchet, this design can also accommodate the 90-tooth ratchet model as along as the soft grip has been removed. Designer oneinch also said that Pittsburgh Pro ¼-inch sockets and ratchet will also fit on the 3D printed tray.

When you're into archery and have various arrowheads, you'd probably want to store them in such a way that you can quickly find the broadhead you want to use at a glance, instead of having to rummage through a jumbled mess. Aside from helping keep things organized, it can also reduce the chance that you prick or cut yourself while looking for something in a drawer or shelf of sharp items.

This is what makes the Broadhead Storage (Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox) by Dstarr6 a great 3D printable model: It gives you up to 40 slots that let you store your arrowheads either upright or in a slanted position. The former is a great option for storing shorter broadheads, while the latter would let you keep longer arrowheads while ensuring that they don't poke the lid of the toolbox and allow the drawer to shut cleanly. This is actually a pretty simple 3D printable model, as it's just a base with slots for accepting the arrowheads. Nevertheless, it's often the simple projects like these that greatly increase the usability of toolboxes and improve the quality of life for every user.

Some of the best multi-bit screwdrivers often come with their own storage boxes that organize everything included in the kit. But, just like the Quinn Master Socket Set, this often isn't the best solution if you want to keep all your tools organized in a Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox. While a generic Gridfinity bin would work as a way of organizing your screw bits, it's still not as optimal as you'd probably end up with a set of screw bits jumbled together inside a tiny box.

So, if you want to keep your bits separate and labeled without taking up too much space, you should consider the Bit Caddy for Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox by MasterRanger. This 3D model comes with a caddy designed to hold the LTT Bit Peg Board Storage Rack by keeganfcb, which you can customize if you have bits from other brands, and a thin 3x3 Gridfinity base to accommodate bins you can use for storing other tools and accessories. That way, you can conveniently see all the bits you have when you lift the cover of your toolbox, making it quick and easy to get what you need.

You might want to get two Harbor Freight Mini Toolboxes if one isn't enough to fit your needs. If you don't have the space to keep them side by side, you can stack the toolboxes to save on space. However, just putting one on top of the other isn't quite secure, which is why Makerworld user peach1993 created the U.S. General Mini box double stack adapter. This set of four adapters lets you stack two of the mini toolboxes, with the lid of the lower one open at 90 degrees. These adapters secure the top box to the shelf of the lower via magnets.

The biggest disadvantage with this 3D printed solution is that you lose the top shelf on the bottom toolbox. You also won't be able to hang items or accessories of the side of the shelf as the adapters are measured just right. One way to solve this is to customize the models and make them a bit taller to give you enough clearance to hang things between the two mini toolboxes. But whether you use the original adapter or customize it, you get four drawers instead of the usual two, increasing your storage space without adding to its footprint.

A spray bottle holder is an ideal add-on to the Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox if you're using it to store your home first aid kit, need a spray bottle for your hobby, or just want to have a bottle of alcohol handy all the time to keep your hands clean. While you can technically lay a bottle on its side and put it in the drawer or top shelf, this isn't an ideal solution as it wouldn't make the bottle easily accessible. Because it's also tipped on its side, there's a chance that the bottle's contents could leak and damage other items around it (or even the mini toolbox itself).

So, the rather simple but cool solution is the Spray Bottle Holder For U.S. General Mini Toolbox by Dik22dak. This little clip-on holder can accommodate bottles up to 33 mm in diameter and hangs on the brim of the top shelf of the toolbox. The clip is thin enough so that you can still close the top lid with no issues, but strong enough to handle one bottle of isopropyl alcohol.

It's a good idea to keep your tools and other items organized inside the mini toolbox for storage, but it's also quite a hassle to have to keep on pulling them out of their proper places while you're using them. So, user_1771407149 created a solution with the mini tool box side tray. These 3D-printed attachments mount on either side of the Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox, allowing you to use them as temporary storage while at work. That way, you can keep the top shelf free of clutter and use the side tray so that you avoid losing items that you're working on.

These trays are pretty stable, too. Aside from the mounts that let you hang them from the side of the mini toolbox, they also come with supports so you can put heavier stuff on them without fearing that the mounts would break. After you've finished with what you're doing, you can then remove these trays and store them somewhere to keep your toolbox nice and clean. Alternatively, you can customize them and make them thinner so that they would fit inside the drawers once you're done using them.

Mini picks and hooks are some of the most underrated tools that every electrician (or anyone, really) should own. So, if you have a set of these and find yourself always reaching for them, you'd probably want to keep them within easy reach instead of pulling open your drawers or looking through the top shelf every time you need them. If that is the case for you, then the U.S. General Mini Toolbox Pick Holder by Dik22dak would be quite useful, as you can just hang it on the side of your mini toolbox and then place your hooks and picks on them as needed.

This pick holder is more than just temporary storage, too. Instead of allocating space inside the drawers or on the top shelf of the mini toolbox, you can keep them permanently hanging on the side instead. This should free up space inside the mini toolbox, allowing you to store other items inside.

This 3D printing project is one of our favorites on our list, as it converts the Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox into a proper mini rolling cart. The Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox Tool Cart by Steves_Bay_3_Garage is quite a complicated project, as it comes with more than 10 unique parts. Nevertheless, this upgrade will add a spot for four metal casters, a shelf for keeping other stuff under the toolbox, and a handlebar to make it look like as if you have one of the best garage toolboxes sitting on your desk.

One thing you have to consider, though, is that this mount will make your toolbox top-heavy, so you should ideally place something weighty underneath the mini toolbox to keep it stable. Alternatively, you can just print the wheel mounts and customize the handlebar so that it could hand to the side instead of mounting on the posts and then combine it with the Double Stack adapter we recommended above, turning it into a "proper" mini workbench with four drawers.