Tooling organization

[Deadhead]

In all my years of being in and out of different shops/garages this is by far the best overall set of organization skills I have ever seen in my life.

What kind of wrench, sockets, screwdriver goodies have you built and implemented?


Fantastic work dude.

 

[lilscorpion]

I think my wrench and socket drawer caused me to try to think of different ways to organize. When I started trying to get my socket drawer together I wasted a lot of money going down the "tech path" (as I call it). A few friends of mine shop nearly exclusively on the trucks. Snap-on, Matco, etc...all very expensive ways to build a collection. My first socket strip was a Mechanic's Timesaver rebranded a Matco (I think). I got a 1/2", a 3/8", and a 1/4" for probably $90. I loved them and a year or so later I found the same dang thing at Sears for $20 each. Saving $10 on each one I promptly bought a pile. A few years after that I found them online for an average of $15...but by then, the damage was done and refer to my socket drawer as "my investment".

Same kind of story with the wrench drawer. I really like the magnetic wrench trays but they ain't cheap.

I hate, hate, hate my screwdriver drawer. I'll have to address it at some point. Truth is, I don't really use them all that much. Only when I have to. I use the dewalt impact drivers for just about everything. Easier on the hands, conveniently clip on the belt (the 12v version is so light), and I seem to strip way less screws. I've looked around and I've not found anything that's given me good ideas of how to store them. I've thought about attempting to make some kind of tray (like the file tray and similar to the trays that come with SnapOn screw drivers) but, for some reason, nothing has gotten me so excited I've felt like going after it. Here's the current mess -

 

[lilscorpion]

Another way I created storage was adding a drawer base for my table saw. I had already built a cart that allows the saw to be semi-portable around the shop and get it out of the way so a car can get in.

The top drawer was designed to allow easy access to the sled which I use often as well. The depth of the sled was the spec that determined how deep the drawer base would be.

The middle drawer has all of the table saw specifics. Wrenches, zero clearance inserts, fixtures, etc.

Storage for stuff I don't use as often.

And the bottom drawer is all safety stuff. Some of the stuff was used recently on the router table recently so it's on the other side of the shop waiting to be put away by the cleaning crew.

 

[lilscorpion]

The two side drawers are heavily un-utilized right now. During the warmer months I keep all of my glue bottles in the top drawer. Now they're in storage in the basement so they don't get ruined by the lower temps.

Much to my surprise, there was not a single thing in the bottom drawer and I can't for the life of me remember what I had planned putting in it. I don't actually think I've been in that drawer since I reassembled the drawer base after coating it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Awesome means of storage, I think you could easily sell those cabinets.

 

[lilscorpion]

From time to time I need to use a torch for (stuff) and because I only have two hands, I typically rest it on it's base in the on position. When I was 20, I did it all the time without any thought about safety. Now that I'm older and have kids, I don't feel as comfortable with it standing on it's own so I came up with this holder/storage rack.

I added a french cleat to the back so it could attach to the wall but be moved it I wanted it to.

I added french cleats to the side of the upper cabinet. Mounting it so high served two purposes. First, it was out of reach of my kids and second it is high enough that I couldn't brush up against it when I put a torch away hot.

And then I had an epiphany. If I had a cleat at waist height too, I could actually mount the torch holder there and use it attached to something (instead of the holder just resting on a work surface) so I added french cleats to the back of one of my shop carts.

I might make a single at some point but the rack is so light, I can pull down both of them at a time and attach it to the cart with one hand.

 

[lilscorpion]

The torch mount on the cart got me to thinking. Another thing that is a pain in the **** was the HVLP gun rack I purchased from Amazon. It's a cheapy that worked good enough but I was usually clamping it to some surface somewhere with a c-clamp and fussing with the clamp made it more difficult to move if I needed to. I made a quicky mount with a cleat for the cart or wall.

And the cleat side -

So far I've only sprayed clear with it (as you can see there's no visible paint on the cleats or the cart. In May/June of 2013 I'll start the body work on the truck. At that time I expect the cart will start to look more like my past carts have...colorful.

 

[lilscorpion]

Another thing I tend to use quite often on the shop cart is the glue bottles during glue-ups. They do stand up just fine on the surface of the shop cart however once they get 2/3rds empty, I find myself picking them up off the floor more than a dozen times during the day causing the tip to be cleaned. Having a glue rack, all I gotta do is get close and gravity takes it home.

On a roll with the french cleats, I found a perfect location on the side of the drawer base I mounted over the table saw for mounting a pair of battery charges up and out of the way yet reachable over the saw.

And the battery tray. Nothing fancy, just a short box with holes in the bottom for the wires.

Mounts flush, fits the width of the drawer base well, and covers the outlets.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Your setup is amazing. I can say it puts the tool crib at my work (full of Lista cabinets) to shame!!

 

[lilscorpion]

Here's the drawer base it's attached to. Inside this one i have space for all of the nozzles, pruning clippers, and other "yard stuff". It's close to the door so my wife doesn't have to go too far into the shop to get what she needs. The other drawers have my shop gloves, hearing and eye protection, and the simple air tools (like air chuck, air pressure gauges, needles for the kids balls, etc).

You can barely see it in the picture but above the drawer base is my clamp rack. It was originally designed for one of the styles of clamps I had but it turned out that if I staggered them, I could fit all of them on there. It could use a re-design but it keeps them out of the way and is easily accessible when the need arises.

To the left is a shop paper towel despenser/rack. It's too thin to work with the kitchen paper towels but it works great with the blue ones you can get at Costco or Sams Club. I figure if I ever have problems getting those towels, I'll have to redesign the rack (it was made out of drops so I'm not too attached to it). It fits an entire package of the towels out of dumb luck. I just kinda built it and it worked out that way.

 

[lilscorpion]

Your setup is amazing. I can say it puts the tool crib at my work (full of Lista cabinets) to shame!!

Thanks, I do appreciate the compliments. I very much enjoy working in my space. A lot of ideas came from using my own work space at work years ago. You know how it is, you use it day in and day out and that little voice inside your head says "this/that is a stupid design", "the guy who built this had no common sense", or "what they really should have done is _____". I started listening to that voice and sketched my ideas in a tablet. The act of sketching them turned out to be more valuable than that pad of paper because I lost it some years ago but the ideas stuck and I tap into them when I'm in the mood.

 

[bad_idea]

If you happen to know someone that does it professionally, ask them for advice. 9 times out of 10 they'll invite you in and share more than you can retain in a single 2 hour session.

Soo ahh... Whacha got going on this weekend? I can bring the beer and a project.

 

[lilscorpion]

Awesome means of storage, I think you could easily sell those cabinets.

Thanks for the compliment. I wouldn't even pretend I was going to sell them for profit. I'd lose my ****. The only return on investment I'll ever see is enjoying being in the shop and using it. If I was dumb enough to sit down and figure out what my shop "costs" based on some hourly rate, I'd find out I'm not good at it.

 

[Bunk]

lilscorpion-
You have some great great ideas that you've shared, thanks.
What about your overall layout? Could we see some more encompassing pics of your shop?

 

[383 240z]

Not for nothing, but sir, you need to learn to fish!!! Keith

 

[akdiesel]

I can't believe I missed this thread. Great designs and work.
A place for everything and everything in its place.

 

[lilscorpion]

lilscorpion-
You have some great great ideas that you've shared, thanks.
What about your overall layout? Could we see some more encompassing pics of your shop?

Thanks. There are some individuals that probably deserve some form of credit for my ideas. Little things along the way helped me pull the bigger idea off. Kinda like a creativity seed or something. I'd give credit if I could remember when and where the ideas originated. Brian Anderson is a professional woodworker that really got me thinking in different ways with storage. He has an amazing shop out east that most of us would die for - all of it in John Deer colors. Next time I swing out his way, I'll shoot some pics and share.

Regarding pics of the shop - I have a 2 car with a single tandem and my 1974 Chevy truck project is taking up most of it right now. I tried and getting a pic of the overall layout wasn't working. It's nearly impossible to show without moving the truck. In a couple weeks the truck will be fully back together and running and at that time I'll shoot some pictures. I'll add them as soon as I can. We're about ready for a hot water heater so the truck has to be done or I'll have cold water AND be sleeping in the shop.

 

[07travis]

This is one of the best threads I've ever seen! Great Ideas in it! I may be stealing some of them! haha... If I may ask, how thick is the plywood you use for your "french cleats"? is it 3/4? I love this idea and may use it!

 

[lilscorpion]

Soo ahh... Whacha got going on this weekend? I can bring the beer and a project.

I'm always open to ideas. Not too long ago I'd trade machine time for good ideas just so I could have one of whatever it is they're brewing. For example, I built a set of dimple dies (I should probably share them at some point) after someone asked for one in an odd-ball size. I think I have a dozen of them that have never even been used because I haven't built a press yet...which is on my list just after a sheet metal brake...which is after the truck...and I'm making tooling trays in my spare time. I got problems.

 

[lilscorpion]

This is one of the best threads I've ever seen! Great Ideas in it! I may be stealing some of them! haha... If I may ask, how thick is the plywood you use for your "french cleats"? is it 3/4? I love this idea and may use it!

3/4" ply works best I've found. If you make the 45 degree cut against the grain it's the strongest. The french cleat idea seems to be fairly popular with the wood working community though they can be had in sheet metal at the local big-box stores. I have plans to have them on most walls in the shop. The ability to move things around when plans change is probably the most valuable benefit they bring.

Here's a pic of my workbench. The entire back splash has been done using French Cleats.

I can move things around so I can access them more easily. I'll have to take some pictures of my small parts bins and how the lock onto the wall. I can have a mess of the bins out but none of them on the counter top. When I get home I'll get some of them out to give you an idea of how something so simple can increase usable space.

 

[lilscorpion]

Here are the part bins that I made for assembly and small parts. I got the idea from a friend of mine who used a similar version (without the cleat) for all of this screws and nails in his shop. I make mine out of left over 1/2" Melaline (pre-laminted particle board). The base is 1/4" Melamine that's glued, stapled and then screwed. All of them are made out of left over cabinet materials and the sizes have been tweaked to fit the overhead cabinet. I break the edges with a 3/8" quarter round on all edges to allow fast access without pain. I have two cabinets over the bench just like the one pictured. The other cabinet only has the smaller drawers/bins. I use left over drawer pulls - when people throw away their old cabinets, I remove the pulls and save them for a later time. A couple years ago I hit pay dirt when I scored maybe 20 in one pop.

Each of the bins has a short cleat on the back. You lose 3/4" of space fitting it in the cabinet but it's worth it.

The angle of the cleat combined with the weight of the bin keeps it securely stuck to the wall. I built the slat wall to fit exactly 4 wide in all three sections though I rarely use more than a couple at a time. Even though it doesn't look like it in the picture, I can move the bins all the way to the top cleat on the wall and still get my hand in the bins comfortably. This bench is where I assemble most of my drawers and cabinet doors as well as other (dis)assembly tasks. I keep a couple of the bins empty so I can use them for odd tasks that require keeping track of smaller parts.

 

[kyles974]

[/QUOTE]

I like this.

...one thing I have ALWAYS been scared of: torch falling over and hitting the "strike" button. I know it would take a huge fall and chances are one in milion of catching something on fire, but I always have to turn knob to off position so it would never happen.

 

[perfect]

A true inspiration to use GJ'ers who love to stay organized. I'm going to be following this thread a lot! Please update with pics and descriptions exactly as you have!!

 

[Adrien]

Your thread is fantastic. You have convinced me that I want to build my own cabinetry and drawers for my shop. Do you have any pictures of your drawers during construction? Are they built entirely of plywood?

Adrien

 

[lilscorpion]

Your thread is fantastic. You have convinced me that I want to build my own cabinetry and drawers for my shop. Do you have any pictures of your drawers during construction? Are they built entirely of plywood?

Adrien

I'll have to go back and see if I snapped any along the way. The drawers are made out of cabinet grade baltic birch ply. 3/4" thick on 4 sides and 1/2" thick bases when the drawer has to be strong and handle a load. If its a light-duty drawer, thats on the smaller side, I can use 1/4" double sided Melamine. The drawer fronts also happen to be 3/4" but that's just because I liked the simplicity of the look and I had a couple sheets extra. I have planned to build a couple drawers maybe as soon as this weekend so I can document as I go and share how I did mine.

 

[Jim Johnstone]

I love that Mori Seiki, we have a much larger version of that lathe at work, and it is crazy rigid and a very nice machine.

 

[lilscorpion]

I love that Mori Seiki, we have a much larger version of that lathe at work, and it is crazy rigid and a very nice machine.

That's what I was so amazed about. It seems to behave just like my SL-2 did. Equally as rigid as far as I can tell. This one is very quiet too. Good stuff.

 

[gahrajmahal]

I absolutely love this thread! Most posters (myself included) have one decent idea, post it up and the rest are comments by the community... but you my friend keep adding more and more brilliant solutions to our common problems. Here is my simple tip Re. screwdrivers. No need to build something as I keep mine in a drawer just like you. What I do is position all phillips handles to the left and all slotted handles to the right. It works good enough. Since you can't control your building instinct you can build a cleat rack with holes for when you are working at the bench. like this...

 

[lilscorpion]

Here is my simple tip Re. screwdrivers. No need to build something as I keep mine in a drawer just like you. What I do is position all phillips handles to the left and all slotted handles to the right. It works good enough.

My problem is my smaller box is the old style Craftsman (non-grip latch) that has the less than subtle resistance to overcome before the drawer opens/closes. In the act of overcoming this, the jostle causes all of the contents to move around in the drawer. The drawer mat doesn't prevent movement really...so I give up shortly after I re-open the drawer to admire what I've done. After the second time, it's laughable. I do like the cleat rack idea and used to have one. My hangup is I don't like having a lot of tools in plain sight. After seeing how clean a friend shop was (that has an away place for everything) I prefer it that way if possible.

 

[lilscorpion]

Everybody has a bolts drawer. Mine, for years, has bee the bottom drawer of my Lisle cabinet since it
Could handle the weight. Thing is, I couldn't find squat. I think the reason I had it was to easily clean up (without actually pitching anything), not because I really needed it later. One day I started pitching anything that wasn't rusted, a lug nut from some unknow vehicle, or had partially buggered threads. I organized them into categories and made simple woid boxes to keep the main categories apart. When I was done, I actually had some stuff I I'd use.

Having the bolts in intermediate bins is nice because I can pull them up on the bench while I look. Better than sitting on the floor for a hour. What the hell am I going to do with 25 - 1" x 4" Grade Bolts?!

 

[lilscorpion]

I have a thousand feet of cable/hose. Maybe more. I was forever moving a coil of something out if my way only to have to move it again in the near distant future. I purchased some of that rubbermaid track and hung the coils in the wall. That worked for a while but they stuck out enough every once in a while they'd be in the way. I went vertical. It occurred to me that my habit was to always store things within reach regardless of why'd ow often I use them. Now they're a shirt ladder ride away and completely out of the way.

 

[lilscorpion]

This next cabinet isn't novel. It's in every garage across the country. Spray paint, quarts of paint, filters, thread lick, the WD40 can...that stuff. I made three cabinets only as deep as they needed
to be so I could still get out/in.

The bottom door was supposed to be able to be used as a work surface when it was open but the gas shock couldn't be mounted where it was possible. Could use a chain or cable or something.

 

[lilscorpion]

I wanted a drawer that I could keep my little toolbox in that allowed extremely quick access and, more importantly, a way to put my tools away quickly after a project in a way that got them out of sight until I had time to put each tool back in its home.

As luck would have it, my welding helmet an stuff fit in the back half. Now it doesn't have to hang on the back of the welder, get scratched by mistake, and/or get knocked of and hit the floor.

 

[lilscorpion]

And here it is, the grand daddy of them all (drum roll please)...I get snow in the winter so I need a snow blower. The grass grows green so I need a lawn mower and edger. What always caused me to lose my lid was having to trip over the snow blower in the summer and move around the lawn mower and edger in the winter. This lift is supposed to be able to lift like 250lbs. It goes up once in the fall and once in the spring (I do fear that repetition will result in failure though I have no proof). Other stuff I throw up there is my dollies and other things I don't want wrecked or I need out of the way. The bottom is about 7' off the ground so I can easily walk under it.

Really, I laugh every time I look at it but it works. Heres a better look at the lift itself. It's designed for a 8' ceiling. After I installed it (11+ foot at that point) it was at least 3 feet off the ground lowered all the way. I had missed that tidbit in the specs. A trip to the local big box solved that but also made it cost a bit more.

Initially I wasn't so sure of how securely it can stay suspended. Here's the mechanism.

There's a long rod that comes with it that has a hook in the end that you use to disengage the lock. To disengage, you pull down.

This pulls the pin out of the winch eye (I'm a 4x4 guy, it's a winch). You switch to the eye and crank (or drill) away.

I wasn't shocked that there's lots of resistance when you're lifting it and nearly none on the way down. I was shocked that the very thin grate they give you is supposed to support heavy things. I added a sheet if left over MDF to help distribute the load over a larger area.

Think it was $250 on Amazon. Kinda pricy but getting that floor space back was worth much more to me. Okay, the freak show's over, move along, nothing else to see here.

 

[lilscorpion]

More vertical storage. In both sides of the tandem I have shelving over the cabinets. The cabinets did such a good job organizing that the overhead has a lot of room if I need it. This pic also gives an idea of how much stuff I've shoe-horned into the equivalent of a one car garage.

I still have enough room back there to pull the motor out of the truck with the garage door closed. The cherry picker fits (with plenty of room to spare) between the lathe and the drawer base and can roll far enough back to get the motor on a stand.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I saw this picture and then was dissappointed. I was expecting to see a glove box holder for nitrile gloves (250 pr/box) with a french cleat on the back.


Something else I didn't see, a paper towel holder with a french cleat to allow positioning where the work was.

 

[lilscorpion]

I saw this picture and then was dissappointed. I was expecting to see a glove box holder for nitrile gloves (250 pr/box) with a french cleat on the back.


Something else I didn't see, a paper towel holder with a french cleat to allow positioning where the work was.

Paper towel holder is in the works. It hasn't been a priority but is something I really need. The glove holder was something I wanted to make but I already had a drawer for them right next to that. I just received more on Monday actually.

 

[Flathead Johnny]

i love the tool trays you have built, where did you source the cutting board material, i just purchased a lathe and milling machine and I think this will be my first project

 

[doug.j]

The tooling holders are great. I tried a similar idea a while back for a 1/4 drive set and 3/8 extensions and really like them. I can see what's missing at a glance.

 

[lilscorpion]

i love the tool trays you have built, where did you source the cutting board material, i just purchased a lathe and milling machine and I think this will be my first project

I have a local Woodcraft that has 24 x 24 sheets of it for $30 (they do have them online too). I haven't been able to find any place that has them for less oddly enough. Most plastic suppliers don't want to mess with the smaller quantities. There is a guy on ebay that will sell stuff called Starboard which is HDPE but I don't believe it's food grade (not that it matters for what we're using it for). The seller's name is acesany. His prices are a little steeper than Woodcraft but he has a variety of thicknesses and colors.