Tpt life Posted January 26, 2017 Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 Just now, BillyJack said: Some comes from "the Toyota Way". The rest comes from people who get payed to show you how to make small spaces productive. I get it, I truly do. For the line production guy, the tools stay out. For the job site guy,they hang on a belt. For most of us, there ain't no way in Hades to put everything out or on open shelves. Some stuff just needs to be stowed in dust proof ways. You have to see where hobby shops are rarely ever like production shops though. Even production shops get squeezed sometimes. Universal statements are hard to substantiate in that environment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 I understand. I have a once hobby shop turned into a cabinet shop back to a hobby shop. As a cabinet shop I purchased to get the best deals. Bought multiples of tools in case of a break downs. Now that I'm much older I find I wear down faster and need a more efficient shop to get the most out of my time in the shop. i found over the years that many start out efficient but eventually end up collecting more tooling and wood than they will use. What once was fun turns into work just to work in the shop... Just expressing what I've learned. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Drawers vs shelves is somewhat personal preference. I cook in my kitchen daily, our drawers are organized and I have lived here 3 years. But for some reason I still open 3 drawers to find what I am looking for. I prefer open shelving for that reason. I can look up and see exactly what I need. And, if you have the wall space, shelves/hooks are absolutely faster to access and you don't have to bend over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ..Kev Posted January 27, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 11 minutes ago, Mike. said: Drawers vs shelves is somewhat personal preference. I cook in my kitchen daily, our drawers are organized and I have lived here 3 years. But for some reason I still open 3 drawers to find what I am looking for. I prefer open shelving for that reason. I can look up and see exactly what I need. And, if you have the wall space, shelves/hooks are absolutely faster to access and you don't have to bend over. Mike is right about it being a personal preference. I'm the opposite in that I like things in drawers. Drawers are always closer to where I'm working than the wall is and I don't have to contend with dust on things when I grab them. The drawers need to be organized and well thought out in terms of your work flow tho. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 This is a great thread. We are getting some really strong opinions about preferences here. Good dialog. I know someone (a relative) who has massive 24" deep cabinets in his shop, drawer units under bench and machines and a wall storage system by his lathe. The only part of his system that seems to consistently fail are the deep cabinets. As someone said "people create clutter" (sorry if I paraphrased that). He cannot resist setting "stuff" in front of other "stuff" when there is so much room left in the cabinet. The result is that he frequently has to move something to get to what he is after but, his system has no space for the "stuff" that's in the way to be moved to. Ultimately things are not in the same place as they started out and he is always wasting time any time he needs something from the cabinets. Seriously, I actually cringe when we are working together and I ask him for something and he heads for . . . (queue the Vincent Price voice over) "the cabinet". I hope the OP can cull through all this spirited conversation and pull a few gems that will help him in his task. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPritchard Posted January 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Great stuff guys! This is really helpful. Drawers: I think shallow drawers works well for the majority of tools. I don't want tools laying over the top of other tools. as it makes it harder to find things or get tools out On reflection, I wonder if a combination wall of tools and drawers for some tools like routers would work. Maybe once I've got it built, I'll post some picks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 25 minutes ago, AndrewPritchard said: On reflection, I wonder if a combination wall of tools and drawers for some tools like routers would work. I would think that would be real doable. A base cabinet with the drawers and a wall above. the first picture you posted setting on top of a cabinet. Depending on how wide you wanted it and how deep the drawers, you could put drawers on both sides & the wall in the middle so it would be useable on both sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 On 1/24/2017 at 8:15 PM, AndrewPritchard said: So I'm moving my shop into a buddy's garage. Hope this works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPritchard Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 So the next question is how deep should I make the drawers? The deeper drawers need to accommodate the routers etc, so that's easy to decide. The shallow drawers on the other hand is harder. I'm thinking deep to put a hand plane in on it's side and still shut the drawer. I don't want it much shallower than that or it won't be useful. Deeper than that and I'm thinking it'll get crap thrown on top of tools. I also need to decide what to do with my lumber. I don't have many long pieces, but the move has highlighted how much I do have. Most of it is 4" or less. Should I put the lumber rack on the back of the mobile tool wall or will that make it too heavy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Mobile wood storage sounds like an oxymoron. Don't discount drawers less than 2" deep. Lots of pencils, squares, dividers, and other marking / measuring tools will fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPritchard Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Adds new meaning to the phrase "Wood movement" I probably only need one 2" deep drawer for pencils etc. I'll see what I come up with when I do the design Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 1 hour ago, wtnhighlander said: Don't discount drawers less than 2" deep. Lots of pencils, squares, dividers, and other marking / measuring tools will fit. So will chisels, rasps and small hand saws if you don't have any place else for them. I have two drawers, one is an 1 1/2 deep with chisels and on that is just over 1 inch deep with rasps and carcass saws. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPritchard Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 I don't have so many chisels and I use them frequently enough that I'll hang them up. My hand tool collection is fairly sparse. I do need to build a router bit storage system, but I think that would work better on a vertical surface so I can see the profile I'm looking for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 You might try searches on Pinterest for mobile shop options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPritchard Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 14 minutes ago, BillyJack said: You might try searches on Pinterest for mobile shop options. I did, and it came up with some interesting ideas. The problem with Pinterest is that it only displays a picture; it doesn't tell me how useful the resultant product actually was and I was hoping (and got) some real world advice from people who have actually done it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 This is the challenge we all deal with. Trial and error... If one thing worked for everyone, there would only be a need for one way. Too many variables. One person can take a designs from several to get the design they feel works for them. You will need to do the same.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPritchard Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Yep - and that's why I asked for advice. People on here have changed my mind about putting some drawers in my plan. We don't always need to re-invent the wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPritchard Posted January 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 So this is the basic design I've come up with so far. 2" drawers at the top row for small items. The larger 12" deep drawers are for routers, circular saws etc. I like the idea of the 2' deep worktop, as it gives me a place to set up tools - routers etc. The space at the back can be used to store wood etc. 2" wheels on the bottom completes the setup. I'm planning on putting french cleats on at least some of the top board. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 30, 2017 Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 Looks like a good design. As you load it up, remember to keep the center of gravity low enough that it doesn't tip! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPritchard Posted January 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 Good point. I'll start stacking the wood on the bottom first. The base I've got planned is 4ft deep. I'm planning on making the supports only 18" long so I can't stack passed the base frame. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted January 30, 2017 Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 I have seen 3 mobile racks require a re-work due to underestimating caster requirements. While there are small casters that can move large weights they are not really designed for speed or distance. The heavy duty bases in my jointer, planer and bandsaw make moving a few hundred pounds possible. I would not want to move these machines several feet with any regularity. I have 3" casters on my out feed table and wish I had gone with 4" for the ease of movement. My drum sander which is probably only 100 pounds less moves on 3" with ease. Calculate your weight and remember, four 150 pound rated casters does not mean you can move 600 pounds with ease. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted January 30, 2017 Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 Shop casters need larger wheels more often than heavier duty ratings. Most shops over time will accumulate some debris or experience a concrete crack that will put torque on the caster in ways it won't tolerate. Typically larger wheels go with heavier duty ratings. This is just to fill out the prior post discussion. If you can find two similar duty ratings with different sized wheels, choose the bigger wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonPacific Posted January 30, 2017 Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 In addition to weight requirements, unless your shop is dead flat, and free of debris, 2" casters can be hard to get moving. Larger wheels reduce the rolling resistance (I think that is right). Heavier carts will have more inertia, so over-sizing your casters will make your cart a lot easier to roll around. I made a 4' lumber cart a few months ago (Steve Ramsey design) using 2.5" casters. It's a great cart, but I had enough hardwood on the thing that I had to unload it to move it to a different location in the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 30, 2017 Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 I like the polyurethane casters way more then the hard rubber and phenolic. Also its nice to have the ones that lock both the wheel and the swivel. And gee-dub is correct, don't get the small ones, the 4" casters I have on my outfit/assembly will roll over an extension cord if I had to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPritchard Posted January 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 So I should really be getting the biggest casters I can find. I didn't look too closely at casters yet but the 1.5" ones I have on my drill press cart looked way too small. 4" would seem to be a good place to start. Would 6 casters be a good idea - one in each corner and additionally along the long sides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.