Your Best Shop Organization Fixtures


MisterDrow

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So I'm finally at the point to where I don't have any major projects going on and I am now spending the next month doing a complete overhaul of my shop space. 

I'll be installing lumber storage racks (vertical and horizontal), ceiling mounted storage (for some of the household things that take up space throughout the year), and modifying an 4'x8'x12" cabinet that is just holding old junk right now to be an organized tool storage space for hand tools and small power tools. Oh, and I'm going to put together a charging/storage station for my cordless drills/tools, as well. 

I'm curious what fixtures you have made for your shop that you have found to be handy? From simple to complex, please share what you've done in that regard and perhaps I can draw inspiration for my own shop as I work toward a new and much more usable shop space.

I'll share pics of my process as I go, as well, but that will probably be in its own thread.

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That miter station wall is awesome. I've got a setup like that in mind for a Spring project next year once I've got the wall up for the third bay.

I am taking notes from your hand tool storage there. I plan on building in some fixtures like that into the cabinet I mentioned and you've got a nice setup there.

As for shelves, I am currently torn between doing something like you've got there and doing smaller modular units on a french cleat wall.

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5 hours ago, MisterDrow said:

@Tom King so what types of tools are stored in those? How big are they?

The short boxes are about 2' long inside.   The longer ones are 3 or 4 inches longer.   Many different types of tools.  2 different sizes of hammer drills in two boxes, for instance.  Dremel.

Hand plane boxes are: Plane 1, Plane 2, Smooth, 5's, 6's, 7' &8 (the 8 fits in the long boxes), 55, H&R, Molding 1, Molding 2, Molding 3, and maybe some that I'm not remembering right now, but would when I need something out of it, I would remember it.   Stone 1, Stone 2, Stone 3.   Tile 1, Tile 2.  Sawz.  Jigsaw.  Punch Scrape.   Routers 1-6. Bits. Cut.  Measure.  Mark.  Plumb 1-3.  Electric 1-3. Chisel 1-3. Small Nails. Small Screws.  bunch of nailguns with pins and nails.  Bolts. Sharpen.  Buff. 4-1/2" Grinder 1-3.  Painting 1-3.  Mask.  Tape.  Setup. 

Something over 120 of them.  I could never remember them all off the top of my head, but can grab what I need quickly.  Much more than just woodworking tools, and never any worry about rust.  One of my helpers has a great Quartermaster type mind, and I can call what I need, and have it in my hand quickly.

 

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On 9/11/2017 at 5:37 PM, Tom King said:

The short boxes are about 2' long inside.   The longer ones are 3 or 4 inches longer.   Many different types of tools.  2 different sizes of hammer drills in two boxes, for instance.  Dremel.

Hand plane boxes are: Plane 1, Plane 2, Smooth, 5's, 6's, 7' &8 (the 8 fits in the long boxes), 55, H&R, Molding 1, Molding 2, Molding 3, and maybe some that I'm not remembering right now, but would when I need something out of it, I would remember it.   Stone 1, Stone 2, Stone 3.   Tile 1, Tile 2.  Sawz.  Jigsaw.  Punch Scrape.   Routers 1-6. Bits. Cut.  Measure.  Mark.  Plumb 1-3.  Electric 1-3. Chisel 1-3. Small Nails. Small Screws.  bunch of nailguns with pins and nails.  Bolts. Sharpen.  Buff. 4-1/2" Grinder 1-3.  Painting 1-3.  Mask.  Tape.  Setup. 

Something over 120 of them.  I could never remember them all off the top of my head, but can grab what I need quickly.  Much more than just woodworking tools, and never any worry about rust.  One of my helpers has a great Quartermaster type mind, and I can call what I need, and have it in my hand quickly.

 

Very cool... that gives me a better idea knowing the size of the boxes.

I was going to build a lumber rack but finally realized that with the current state of my shop, building something that could just as easily be bought wasn't the smartest idea in terms of just getting this whole mess moving in the right direction. Ordered a 6-level metal lumber rack off of Amazon for $50 and it arrived yesterday. My ceiling mounted storage brackets came, as well. Between those two things, I'll be able to get a LOT of things up off of the ground and clear off some shelving so I can do some serious rearranging of things. I have one small load of junk in my tall cabinet to haul off and then I'll be able to change the inside of that to be purely tool storage, as well. that will be the only part that I really build/make for now. 

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Thanks for posting more pics, guys! You all are giving me some awesome ideas.

After we got home from our day-trip Saturday I was excited to get started on more work out there early Sunday morning... and then my wife and I both woke up with the cold from hell and felt like garbage all day. 

Planning on getting after it little by little this week in the evenings and tackling a lot more this weekend when we are done with my son's b-day festivities Saturday.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is a really simple one, but I've found it very helpful. I bought 2 packs (of 5) of these hooks:

http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware/page.aspx?p=53694&cat=3,40914,50426,53694

00s5661-dsp.jpg

And I installed them on the stretcher under the overhang of my Roubo. It gives me a perfect place for my bench brush, mallet for holdfasts and chopping, and my strop. I found that 3" on center, starting at 4.5" in from the outside of the leg worked well. That way it misses everything important.

20170929_082418.thumb.jpg.c18326ab4b91c36c54bd25d48a1f3bcd.jpg

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1 hour ago, andrew-in-austin said:

I get these from Lee Valley.  There are many sizes and help keep the small stuff from being scattered everywhere 

 

IMG_1262.JPG

I got two drawers in a big Craftsman tool thing full of those LV plastic containers, and I bet I could do a third with the amount of screws I got in boxes. Those things are nice. I got all different sizes though.

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