Tooling organization

[lilscorpion]

Regarding the Saw Stop - I know someone that has one of those at work. My friend came in to find the Saw Stop "tripped". Someone there had there finger hit the blade. It just nicked him and that tripped the blade to be driven down below and stopped. He was find with just a slight nick and a touch of blood. They were very glad they invested in that table saw. I was told that after it trips you need to send that part of the mechanism back to the company for replacement - but no one was complaining!

Yeah it's some cool technology for sure. I'm still careful as hell - no need to be a failure case - but it's good to know that if there was an accident I'd have a chance. The modules aren't cheap to replace and they destroy the blade. Totally worth it in my book. The MFG doesn't give you another one though, the module is considered a consumable and it's on the owner to replace it. I'm not sure your'e required to send it back but I'm sure they'd want it back if there was an accident that resulted in an injury (outcome other than favorable for the SawStop Mfg.). I keep an extra module in the bottom of my saw just in case mine fires but a year without incident indicates that it may be a while before I test it.

 

[lilscorpion]

Wow, amazing stuff. I see the correlation between software engineer and shop organization. I'm an IT Analyst/Java developer by trade, and I have a problem with over planning and needing everything to be as organized, scalable, robust and precise as possible. It often prohibits me from getting anything done.

Nice to see the skills, precision and creativity put to work! Great job.

Thanks Diggler, appreciate the props. I never really thought about the association between my day gig and my hobbies until you mentioned it. You get it for sure though, it's being able to control the environment I guess. In my applications I spent a lot of time attempting to fortify the application against the environment and figure out ways to self heal and move on in a way that reduces the management of the platform and the time saved can be directed towards doing more valuable things.

The transformation of the shop was exactly the same. The less time I spend trying to find something, cleaning off a surface to use it, or moving things around, the more time I can actually spend getting things done. I would guess I'm probably arond 95% productive in the shop now spending only minimal time cleaning up before I close up shop each evening. I'ts a pure guess but when I think about what I did the last time I was in the shop, I don't recall doing anything other than the task...not a single thing. Usually I recall walking in circles looking for a stupid tape measure or a hammer or something. It's been an enjoyable change.

 

[fergus]

Dude...this thread is pretty epic. Please do up a thread of your whole garage in the Garage Gallery section...I'm pretty sure it's worth seeing based on your storage ideas thus far. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Oldbear]

Your garage cabinets are nicer than the ones in my house...

 

[Jack Olsen]

I can't think of any other time in my life when I've felt inclined to say this to another guy, but...

'You make plywood your *****.'

You're good at this stuff.

 

[Adrien]

...Please do up a thread of your whole garage in the Garage Gallery section...I'm pretty sure it's worth seeing based on your storage ideas thus far.

This.

Adrien

 

[fergus]

I can't think of any other time in my life when I've felt inclined to say this to another guy, but...

'You make plywood your *****.'

You're good at this stuff.

This.

 

[lilscorpion]

I can't think of any other time in my life when I've felt inclined to say this to another guy, but...

'You make plywood your *****.'

You're good at this stuff.

Haha...my *****. Thanks Jack, I appreciate the compliment. Honestly I had entirely different plans for the face frames of the cabinets and only planned to use the plywood for the drawers so I wouldn't go as far as to call myself the plywood wisperer. I found that I was ending up with a large amount of plywood that I couldn't use for drawers (dimensionally). I kinda like the way the ply looks when it's clear coated and it's plenty strong...and a bit cheaper and more time efficient than trying to buy lumber and dimensionally true it. After building a face frame using pocket screws, glued joints, biskets, clamping it...and all that **** like real woodworkers do, I tried a face frame on a small cabinet with left-over plywood and found that I could cheat all the way around - glue it, slam some finish nails in it, skip the clamping stage, use an orbital sander to flush the joints, fill the holes with a good filler, and then spray it. It took me 1/10th of the time and I couldn't tell from a few feet away that I didn't do them right. When I figured that out, the rest was history. At some point I'll build another cabinet and document how I did it so everyone can see that it's actually quite easy. Maybe a few tricks, but for the most part it's just a couple of ops and then repetition.

 

[lilscorpion]

This.

Adrien

I will as soon as I get the truck off it's **** and out the door. i was hoping to drive it Christmas Eve. Not for any reason other than using it as a goal to get it done. Now I gotta figure out a way to stop organizing and start working toward that goal.

 

[lilscorpion]

Previously someone asked what I had planned for the screwdriver drawer. Today my one step forward was to take a swing at it and see what I could come up with. I think a couple pages back I posted its mess in all it's glory. Here's what I started with.

First step was to go through all of the screwdrivers and size them up against each other. What I found out was that about 30% of the drives in the drawer were random, no name, found them on the street or somewhere screwdrivers. I've always viewed screwdrivers like I would a penny. Bad luck to see one laying on the ground and not pick it up. I'll leave that for another thread. So I'm keeping the Craftsman Drivers and the rest are going in my truck. There were 4 categories of drivers. I laid out the bigger ones in a way where they'd interlace and measured how wide the tray would need to be.

I gut the 3/4" Starboard to this dimension and started cutting out the handle positions giving about .100" between. I think this pic also shows the test cut for the blades.

Once I got it figured out (it took a second because a blade screwdriver doesn't have a round shaft so I had to oversize the slot to account for it), I hammered down. 1 3/8" ball mill for the handles and 1/2" ball mill for the shaft.

I didn't have enough material width to tackle the smaller screwdrivers as well so I trimmed off the remaining. Turned out kinda cool. I've been dreading these trays because I knew that if I screwed up one cut, it would be painfully obvious.

 

[lilscorpion]

Now for the micro screw drivers. The thumb screwdrivers could be mounted like a socket. I drilled some holes and machined a recess so they'd stay in place.

They weren't all exactly the same size so a few are a snug fit (was my goal) and two aren't as snug. I can deal with it.

Now for the the slightly bigger screwdrivers. All four worked well with the 1/2" ball and a 3/16" groove for the shaft.

And machined the slots for my special screwdrivers that I purchased for assembling kids toys (you know those screws that are so small you instantly lose them but, for whatever reason, they are in so deep any normal screwdriver doesn't get close).

And trimmed the tray so that it fit snugly into the drawer with the other tray. Slightly wedged should prevent them from moving around. I pulled a measurement and didn't have enough material to make the last tray for the medium drivers so I dumped the rest of them back into the void.

 

[lilscorpion]

I did have a few drops so I blew out some hex bit holders to organize some new hex bits. Either a 7.5mm or 19/64" end mill works for single plunge. I used a .250 end mill and programed the circular pocket. I decided to shoot the pic with them on a piece of plywood for Jack.

I broke the edges using an 1/8" quarter round on the router. If you move slow enough, you can't tell it wasn't done on the machine and it's far faster than setting up the machine to do it.

 

[csp]

I've been wondering if you're the same lilscorpion I've met via other forums/Jeeps and then I saw your tube buggy chassis picture and the sticker in the back window of the Grand Cherokee. I either bought some parts from you or sold you some when you lived in Aurora and had your mill in the room behind the garage. Still have the yellow CJ5?

 

[Hroger]

Nice, got to love that CNC machine. I'll be doing mine manually once I finish my current project. When you do your garage write up, don't skimp or leave the mill out. There are at least a couple metal working guys here that I have noticed.

 

[lilscorpion]

I've been wondering if you're the same lilscorpion I've met via other forums/Jeeps and then I saw your tube buggy chassis picture and the sticker in the back window of the Grand Cherokee. I either bought some parts from you or sold you some when you lived in Aurora and had your mill in the room behind the garage. Still have the yellow CJ5?

Yep, thats me only I've moved and am in Parker now (weren't you in Parker?). The Yellow CJ went away quite some time ago. After all that work I ended up having title problems. I basically parted it out and gave away the tub to another guy on CO4x4. Seems like 20 years ago - think that was actually about 7 years ago. Yikes.

 

[lilscorpion]

Nice, got to love that CNC machine. I'll be doing mine manually once I finish my current project. When you do your garage write up, don't skimp or leave the mill out. There are at least a couple metal working guys here that I have noticed.

CNC is really nice. For years I did everything manually on the same mill before I converted it to CNC. In some ways I miss those old days. I actually think that some of these projects would be a little easier running manual. Back in the day having the right tooling and befriending the DRO was what got things done. I'll post up all about my mill and the conversion when I post in the gallery. To justify the pic on this thread - behind the mill are my old shelves. They were strong as hell but totally sucked. They filled with dust, the shelves weren't far enough apart to be able to put most stuff on, and they had no backs so stuff constantly fell behind. These shelves were the main reason why I went to cabinets when I moved into this garage. These stayed with the old house when we sold it.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Wow, the screwdriver and bit racks came out great!
We have half a dozen Bridgeports where I work

 

[Adrien]

Where did you source the black material you used for the hex bit holders? I'd like to experiment making some of these with my drill press and a jig.

Adrien

 

[lilscorpion]

Where did you source the black material you used for the hex bit holders? I'd like to experiment making some of these with my drill press and a jig.

Adrien

It's called Starboard and I got it through a seller on eBay. The stuff I used is 3/4" however it measures about .720 I think. I paid about $65 for 12 x 54 shipped. It's a little more expensive than the cutting board material I was using however it's the only 3/4" stuff I can find at the moment. I'm sure there's a local place where I'll be able to get it however in the past I've found that the local plastics dealers don't want to mess with orders of less than multiple sheets.

 

[Adrien]

It's called Starboard and I got it through a seller on eBay. The stuff I used is 3/4" however it measures about .720 I think. I paid about $65 for 12 x 54 shipped. It's a little more expensive than the cutting board material I was using however it's the only 3/4" stuff I can find at the moment. I'm sure there's a local place where I'll be able to get it however in the past I've found that the local plastics dealers don't want to mess with orders of less than multiple sheets.

Great, thanks! I saw that pop up on eBay in a Google search before you replied. At this point I'd like to just make some trays to hold your run of the mill hex bits so I'm wondering if the 1/2 material from Woodcraft would suffice. Curious if I were to put some magnetic backing on the bottom of the trays if it would do double duty to hold the trays in place in the drawer and the bits in place in the tray.

One more question: What breed are those hex shank drill bits you have pictured?

Adrien

 

[Kevin54]

CNC is really nice. For years I did everything manually on the same mill before I converted it to CNC. In some ways I miss those old days. I actually think that some of these projects would be a little easier running manual. Back in the day having the right tooling and befriending the DRO was what got things done. I'll post up all about my mill and the conversion when I post in the gallery. To justify the pic on this thread - behind the mill are my old shelves. They were strong as hell but totally sucked. They filled with dust, the shelves weren't far enough apart to be able to put most stuff on, and they had no backs so stuff constantly fell behind. These shelves were the main reason why I went to cabinets when I moved into this garage. These stayed with the old house when we sold it.

Looking forward to the writeup on converting your mill to CNC. I have a Lagun that I would love to convert over to even a two axis, but three is what I realy want

 

[lilscorpion]

Great, thanks! I saw that pop up on eBay in a Google search before you replied. At this point I'd like to just make some trays to hold your run of the mill hex bits so I'm wondering if the 1/2 material from Woodcraft would suffice. Curious if I were to put some magnetic backing on the bottom of the trays if it would do double duty to hold the trays in place in the drawer and the bits in place in the tray.

One more question: What breed are those hex shank drill bits you have pictured?

Adrien

For the short bits I think 1/2" would work and maybe work better. The holders I made the other day swallow the little phillips ones I have. I have used some magnet tape I got from McMaster to make holders like this magnetic. It works really well if you get the stronger stuff. Here's a plastic 1/2" impact socket holder that has the magnetic tape on the bottom. Even with the weight of the sockets it takes effort to pull it off the front of the toolbox.

Edit: sorry, you asked about the drill bits. They're both Milescraft and say "Stubby Bit Set" on the package. I did get them from Amazon.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'm interested to know what you're going to do in the garage once you finish making all these cool storage pieces ?

 

[lilscorpion]

Usually whatever I (my wife) want. Some of the fun is building the space, the rest of it is knowing there are no boundaries. Ex - My son keeps reminding me I need to finish his 1:10 scale rock crawler. Wife wants a fire pit. We need kitchen cabinets and a built-in in the office. Got plenty of stuff on the list.

 

[akdiesel]

lilscor[ion

You certanly have a creative mind. Great ideas and write up.
I want to use your cutting board idea, just need a mill or somting to make straight slots. Since it is softer material I may be able to use the drill press and a guide to keep it straight and just go slow.

 

[AKSean]

Awesome work! I love the storage and organization ideas! Just have to buy a few more tools now, cause in Alaska to have anything made is insanely priced.

 

[lilscorpion]

A week or so ago I happened to be browsing around sears (browsing = looking specifically for something and hoping to luck into something else) when I notice that the mid-chests designed for my tool chest were maybe $30 off. I inquired because I've always wanted one and they said that even though they advertise all of the different colors you can get, they really can't get most of the colors anymore. Since I was in my early 20's I wanted to have a mid-chest for my setup (that's when I purchased this tool box may years ago) so it bothered me that maybe I'd never be able to if I didn't get serious. Anyway, it was enough for me to spend the time digging around the internet finding different discount codes to combine to save some extra bucks and the result was a couple of UPS deliveries.

the side box came a little bent out of shape but a little dolly work with a dead blow and it straightened all out - normally I'd call and complain but I figured that they could probably send me one in worse conditions at least half a dozen times before they'd get it right so I just dealt with it. Having the new boxes assembled, I was in need of more drawer liners. I've tried all kinds from a variety of places over the years. Some mar and/or stick to the tools, some absorb moisture and lead to rusting, some come in sizes that would create a mess of waste cutting them down (waste more than usable sheets yeilded), and some were just too expensive to try. One day about 10 years ago, while wandering around Lowes, I came across some black rubber carpet runner that looked like it would work well. The roll length is approximately 36-1/4" wide and cut to length sold for about $2.50 per foot. I usually get between 10 and 12 feet each time I need some.

 

[lilscorpion]

The width is nearly perfect for the craftsman boxes I have. The drawers are 16-1/4" deep which allows me to get two wide on the roll without much waste. The cabinet drawers I made for the shop are more like 23-1/2" by 24" so I end up with a bit more waste (though I do save it up in a roll for other things for later when the size works out). I've tried cutting this stuff man different ways but how I'm going to show you is by far the easiest and fastest. I use the following tools: a large steel square, a rotary cutter, and large mapped self healing cutting mat.

Cutting a straight edge on a 36" piece of rubbery plastic isn't easy so I cut it to width first. I first measure and make a nick in the plastic where I want my cut.

Then I pull the material back as I cut along one of the ridges. This results in a very quick and straight cut - faster and easier than attempting to hold the steel rule straight with one hand and cut with the other.

 

[lilscorpion]

I usually cut them as long as I can rolling them off into sub-roles until I have enough length to cut the number I need to length. Now it's time to cut them to size.

I pull the material down to the zero indicator on the cutting mat. The grid on the cutting mat is what really makes this task fast. If the material isn't square it won't layout on two edges perfectly. I always have to square cut the leading edge.

Now that I'm square cut, I move the steel rule down and line it up with the length I need. In this case it's 16-1/2".

One drawer is done. Next advance the material and line it up with the zero again and repeat.

 

[lilscorpion]

I repeat this until I have enough to line the drawers I'm working on. It really goes fairly quickly.

Even though it can be painfully cold in the shop this time of year, it's the perfect time of year to cut drawer liners. Having been stored in rolls fore most of it's life, it really doesn't want to lay flat. A few minutes hanging out in front of the fireplace seems to resolve this without any effort on my part. Each time I do it I do have to promise my wife it won't melt. I don't think it will.

After a few minutes I take the pile and drop them into their home. Here I have two choices. I can put the ribbed side up or down depending. I like ribbed down. The smooth surface is easier to clean if oil or other foreign stuff finds it way on them. The ribbed looks nicer I think though...but not by much.

Throw the **** back in the drawer and done. I've never had to replace one and once they make it through a full summer, you never do see them lay anything other than flat.

So the financial recap. The side chest had 6 drawers in it. I was able to get 3 wide out of a 36-1/4" roll. They were 16-1/4" wide so I got two wide in less than 3 feet. So for about $7.50 I lined all of the drawers in the side-chest.

 

[lilscorpion]

I had a request to post up more information about by storage bins shown in this picture.

I have built three different sizes using a few different construction techniques over time. None, I might add have had issues but some are faster to build than others.

The overall dimensions were really specifically selected so I could fit them into my overhead cabinet - 3 wide in stacks of 2, 3 wide full height, or 2 wide full height all with an inch of clearance on either side.

The smallest of the boxes were really designed to be moved around the shop to wherever it was I was doing the work. My expectation was that overtime they'd get roughed up and would need to be replaced. They're constructed out of 3/4" white melamine sides and 1/4" double sided melamine base. Since I wanted to be able to build these quickly, I didn't use a very complex design.

It's really quite a poor design to glue a particle board edge to the face of a melamine board unless you use a quality melamine glue which is specifically designed to handle the task. I've use two kinds - Titlebond and Rue Glue. Rue Glue, if you can get it, is likely the best melamine glue I've used. The wood will come apart before the bond does. They're both high-performance though so either will do in this case.

 

[lilscorpion]

When assembling the boxes, I use this fixture I made to help build them more quickly. All it does is allow me to quickly **** one piece of material into another with glue on it, staple it, and then throw a screw in it without having to balance all of that mess on the top of the counter.

I lay the first board into it flushing the edge.

Then I lean the next board (this one would have glue on the melamine face) into this board using my thumb to flush them.

Then, without putting a crown staple into your thumb, staple the lower and then upper of the assembly. These staples will hold the boards tight to the glue until you get the screw into it. The staples do add a little strength to the bin but it's really the glue and the screw that does most of the work. Forgive the pic, My left hand is taking the pic - otherwise I'd have it in there holding the boards flush to the fixture and into each other.

 

[lilscorpion]

So that's how I I glue the boards and is exactly the same no mater what the design. Here's the difference in the three designs. First one is the one I just showed and I finish it off by gluing and stapling the 1/4" melamine to the bottom...which is actually how I get the bin to become square as long as you glue the base on before the other glued joints dry. I have made some without using glue on the base at all if I don't have the melamine glue. Instead I staple it to get it all square, and then throw 6 screws in it. This is my last revision and the one I use to build now.

The second design is the same except I use 1/2" plywood for two of the sides. My initial thought was that the box would be much stronger not having all four sides being melamine. After some thought, I realized that the weak point is melamine so even having just one side of melamine only really makes it a little more durable. I still just staple the base on with glue...note though, this design doesn't require melamine glue at the main joints, only on the bottom.

The third design (and the first set of bins I made - so rev 1) was the most complex and required the most operations. It's exactly the same as rev 2 except the melamine base isn't stabled on, it rides in a dado. This makes the drawer much stronger overall but requires the dado be cut into the sides and a little more math to figure out how wide the base needs to be. In this design you don't need any melamine glue (which is why I started with it). The cut edge of the 3/4" melamine gets glued to the plywood and the drawer/bin base just rides in the dado (you could glue it but it's not necessary). Because of the assembly order, you can see the dado from the front and I don't really like how it looks - but it is much stronger.

 

[lilscorpion]

Next, no matter what the design, I break all of the edges. For those of you who haven't used melamine, it's basically a sprayed on version of laminate. A saw cut edge will cut you open like a razor. To break the edges I use an 1/8 - 1/4" quarter round on a router and run over every one of them. Not only does it prevent you from getting cut by the melamine but it makes the bin finish a little nicer.

The handles are recycled drawer pulls I've accumulated over time. I use very simple measurements when attaching them so I don't have to think too hard. I draw a line 1" down from the top (2" on the larger bins). Then find center. Then, from center, mark a like on either side of center half the width of the drawer pull. Then, before I drill, I hold the pull up to the bin to see if I'm nuts or not. I usually nail the first handful and lose my mind at some point after that for one or two of them. If you screw up drilling, turn it around and give it another shot.

The larger size bins are done at this point. The smaller ones still get the french cleat on the back. The cleat I make is very small compared to the ones I usually use. I cut them to have a 1" face.

And then lay the bin on it's lid and screw it into the bin with two screws. I always do this as a last step because the cleat covers up screwed up drawer/bin pull holes nicely. I don't glue cleats on because I like to remove the cleat and screw it into the bin's replacement if I ever have to...or, if when I drop it the cleat is the thing that gets screwed up, I can just replace the cleat.

This design is plenty strong to last with some pretty serious weight. You can make them out of just about anything. My preference is to use scrap or drops from a bigger project. About 10 years ago I built some out of an old dresser. They're as good as new. They're good for organizing all kinds of stuff. I used this scrap to hold misc drill bits.

A if you're comfortable with cutting dado's, you can step up the same construction design on a larger scale to create dividers in a drawer where dividers are needed. You do lose a little space but the organization you get back is worth it.

 

[Darkboones]

So Many great ideas here! I'm marking this one so i can come back when i get to my workbench and cabinets. Oh and I checked out the Camel camel camel site that is awesome. I wont ever buy anything off of amazon without looking there first. Thanks!!

 

[mdkingsley]

You are a master of design, those are some great tool holders. It make me want to go buy a mill so I can make mine. Thanks for all the good stuff.

 

[lilscorpion]

You are a master of design, those are some great tool holders. It make me want to go buy a mill so I can make mine. Thanks for all the good stuff.

Thank you! If it helps, I think everyone should have a mill. I cannot imagine a world without one.

 

[lilscorpion]

So Many great ideas here! I'm marking this one so i can come back when i get to my workbench and cabinets. Oh and I checked out the Camel camel camel site that is awesome. I wont ever buy anything off of amazon without looking there first. Thanks!!

Camelcamelcamel is awesome. Only problem is that when the alerts come around you have to decide if you're pulling the trigger or not. I've had half a dozen alerts this week alone.

 

[impala4speed]

Previously someone asked what I had planned for the screwdriver drawer. Today my one step forward was to take a swing at it and see what I could come up with. I think a couple pages back I posted its mess in all it's glory. Here's what I started with.

Sheesh, the one thing our shops had in common was the screwdriver drawer and now you have to fix that too.
Seriously, you have a fantastic shop and I'm really enjoying seeing all that you've done with it and look forward to more.

 

[Patrick Boyle]

Wow, amazing work, sir. Your shop should be an inspiration to all of us, you are a true craftsman. Judging by your level of efficiency, I bet you write some really tight code too!