Tool Storage


Tony Wilkins

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Had a bummer moment yesterday when my Wenzloff Kenyon pannel saw slid off the front of my lawn tractor (where it ends up a lot) and broke the horn off the mahogany handle.  Got it glued back on but there's a chip missing :frowning:

I have the start of a Dutch tool chest and one of the first ww'ing booms I read was CS The Anarchist Toolchest.  And of course, there is the end of semester one hanging tool cabinet from Shannon's Hand Tool School.  However, I'm really thinking of some more open shelving and wall hanging.

So what do you like/dislike about your tool storage solutions?

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My shop still needs a lot of work, but here's my current thoughts on the matter.

Saws

I have everything hanging up, from my panel saws to my little dovetail saw. I like being able to see everything, and I don't ever take them out of the shop. I do only have eight or nine saws, so depending on your collection they might take up inordinate space.

Hand Planes

I had these on a shelf next to the bench for awhile, but I found they never made it back there, and ended up living on the bench itself. I just added a deep drawer to the bench a couple inches below the top so I still have clamping room. I blocked out specific slots for them. Somehow having the storage in the bench had gotten me to put them back.

I like the visual appeal of the hanging tool chest, but I don't think I'd be very good about getting tools back there.

Chisels

I use these frequently enough that I have a dedicated vertical till for them on the wall adjacent to the bench.

Misc layout and hand tools

My squares, marking gauge, card scrapers, and strop all live in the same big drawer below the benchtop.

Screwdrivers, wrenches, etc

Not applicable for all shops, but I keep all of these miscellaneous hand tools on a series of cheap HF magnetic strips. My nail-sets, pliers, wrenches, hex keys, chuck keys, drill bits, and so on. I want these clearly visible as I am often running into the shop to grab one tool for something I'm doing elsewhere, so first order retrievability is nice.

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30 minutes ago, Tony Wilkins said:

So what do you like/dislike about your tool storage solutions?

i like to have all similar tools grouped together, chisels on the wall, planes in a drawer as are pocket hole, drills and drivers, saws, routers and bits in the same place (drawer), drawer for sandpaper and sanders. what i don't like is that i am not making good use of the limited wall space i have and hope to correct that this spring.

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My various planes tend to live on the bench or the shelf under it. My portable power tools are in a milk crate 'storage unit' (stacked on their side in a 3 x 2 formation). My saws are on a shelf on the wall, and pretty much all the rest of my woodworking tools are in my Japanese-style tool chest. My other tools (wrenches, vice grips, putty knife, random stuff) is in three-drawer mechanics-style tool chest my Dad got me when I was still in high school.

I recently made a clamp rack so that I didn't keep piling them all in the corner, and found that that was a good way to save some space. If you have a large shop (or a lack of wall space) you might want to go with a mobile one though, I went with wall-mounted because someone threw out an old solid wood headboard that I repurposed (knocked off the wood back, added a French cleat. Done).

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Because I'm a renter I've never gone in for hanging up my tools or any kind of shelving/cabinetry. What I've been using is a mobile cart. Mine is a typical hotel "maid's cart" but any wheeled cart would do. While I have gone that route out of necessity, I think when I move into my own space I will continue with the cart. I will hang the seldom used tools and clamps in or on some kind of storage, but the oft-used hand tools will stay on the cart.

http://IMG_0773_zps7625e6da.jpg

The upside is I can move it around as needed, and also I'm not spending any time making shop cabinets.:)

The downside is that things get cluttered at times. I have to do a "spring clean-up" on the cart every once in a while or items start to pile up and I end up having to dig around to pull out a marking gauge or a rasp or something.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/16/2017 at 8:06 AM, davewyo said:

Because I'm a renter I've never gone in for hanging up my tools or any kind of shelving/cabinetry. What I've been using is a mobile cart. Mine is a typical hotel "maid's cart" but any wheeled cart would do. While I have gone that route out of necessity, I think when I move into my own space I will continue with the cart. I will hang the seldom used tools and clamps in or on some kind of storage, but the oft-used hand tools will stay on the cart.

http://IMG_0773_zps7625e6da.jpg

The upside is I can move it around as needed, and also I'm not spending any time making shop cabinets.:)

The downside is that things get cluttered at times. I have to do a "spring clean-up" on the cart every once in a while or items start to pile up and I end up having to dig around to pull out a marking gauge or a rasp or something.

Good wheels.  Not dinky 3 inch casters which find any wood chip, dropped screw, or expansion joint. 

You can roll over all shop floor annoyances unimpeded. 

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