Making my shop look like a magazine shop?

[Tom Walz]

Making my shop look like a magazine shop?

I have 30 years worth of tools and parts. It is a spring cleanup and I am really trying to get them organized. I bought racks and bins and shelves. I have a great deal of it straightened out but I still have a lot of odds and ends from old projects. I just hate to get rid of a tool or throw away parts.

I would appreciate any tips anyone has. It has gotten so bad that I am finding tools I bought because I forgot I already had one.

Thanks,
Tom

[Scott Donley]

Tom, I would be happy to come over and haul away any tools that I think don't belong, if that would help ;)

[Rod Sheridan]

Tom, it took me a while to realize that all those odds and ends just made it harder to work in my shop.

I now am ruthless and toss stuff out that doesn't have a definite use within one year.

Clean up, free up space, and spend more time enjoying the shop as opposed to moving/routing through stuff.

Regards, Rod.

[Matt Meiser]

I have high ceilings so I bought some 8' racking uprights and 8' beams and put some of my bigger-stuff on there. I put the first beams far enough off the floor to still have room for my trash can, scrap metal bin, etc underneath. That eliminated the need for a lot of miscellaneous cabinet's and shelves. One section of shelving is intended for parts for projects-in-process. For example I had all my planer parts there instead of spread out on a bench. Now all the hardware I ordered for our now on hold kitchen is there, all together instead of stuck here and there.

Another tip, which I learned from a friend is that rolling tool boxes like Craftsman boxes are great for woodworking shops too. He keeps all his shaper tooling in one. I've got one that's got a lot of miscellaneous stuff in it. I've got my eye on another that has drawers big enough for my routers.

I also standardized most of my small hardware storage into Plano organizer boxes and built a cabinet to hold them, similar to the way they have them at the hardware store.

I agree with Rod to some extent--except that I find when I throw something away I usually find a use for it a couple weeks later.

These things really consolidated down a lot of storage for me and made a lot more space in my shop.

[Jeff Monson]

Organization and less clutter are key for me, I cant work efficiently in a messy shop. I use a rolling toolbox for alot of misc. tools and label the drawers. I bought some used systainers for my common fasteners, and use the "plano" style boxes for other misc. nuts, bolts, nails, etc. If it doesnt have a clear lid that I can see through, I label it.

I also try to utilize large deadspaces, like under the tablesaw wing, under an assebmly table, etc. to house larger tools or cutoffs.

[Mr. Jeff Smith]

I'm with Rod. Define a plan on how to handle odds and ends and stick with it. I personally follow the one year rule.

[Van Huskey]

If you really want to make it look like a magazine shop then build a new shop place all the tools in it carefully and then take pictures before you cut a single piece of wood. :D

My approach to a large "clean up" is get all the true trash out first, then move section by section organizing. Then next is the final clean and polish. For me it takes a lot to throw anything out but unless you have a lot of spare room it is a must.

[Eric DeSilva]

I just ordered five dozen "dandy drawers"--fairly cheap plastic drawers that can be subdivided into to sections long-wise, three sections across, or six sections. Mine are 9" x 5" x 2", more or less. They have tabs on the sides that are TS blade kerf sized, so it's easy to make a frame for them. I printed some 1.5" x 4" labels from my printer. A one-night project that allowed me to get rid of a bunch of mismatched organizers and a pile of boxes. I've now got a color coded series of drawers for wood screws, machine screws, hex head bolts, sheet metal screws, drywall screws and anchors, pocket screws, RTA screws, cabinet pins, brads, you name it.

I keep marveling now how I can actually find an M6 bolt if I want too. Although I probably should have taken Rod's advice and just thrown away the 3/8-24 bolts I found instead of making a drawer for them. (Who uses 3/8-24 anyway? Why do I have these?)

If I really wanted to make my shop look like the ones you see in a magazine, I probably should have made the construction a little prettier (I used scrap ply) and put doors on it so you don't see all the drawers. But I have no illusions about my shop being centerfold material.

[Art Mulder]

My contribution to this discussion is this: Cabinets, not shelves!

Open shelves are quick and easy to build and install, but they collect dust, are hard to keep clean, and look messy.

Cabinets have doors/drawers that close. This keeps out the dust, and keeps things looking neat.

...art

[Fred Perreault]

I am with Art, cabinets are the best idea. I usually put glass doors on which looks brighter, makes the shop look bigger, and of course lets us old timers remember what is in each cabinet. The next best thing to cabinets is to leave the tools where you last used them.... on the workbench, on the tablesaw, balancing precariously on the bandsaw or shaper table.... wherever is handy. That way you can see where the tools are, and not have to worry about memory loss. There are shortcomings though, such as the drill that gets knocked off and the expensive Fuller tapered drill bit breaks when landing on the floor, or in an effort to clear off the bench, a quick sweep of the hands forces a sharp chisel tip into your favorite index finger. And if you let the mess go on long enough, there will always be the big surprise when you finally find the "lost" tools that are down 3 layers.
Go for the cabinets and occasional/frequent cleanup. Then, put the "odds and ends" in a holding area for a short time. It never fails, but the stuff we dispose of today has a home in a project a project a week later

[Rich Noterman]

I would love to see some photos of your guys or gals shops. I maybe able to use some of your ideas in mine. I have so much junk laying around I hate to dump it as I may need it.

[Neil Brooks]

Making my shop look like a magazine shop?

Me ??

I'd start with a decent tequila or a single-malt scotch.

At some point ... you'll see anything you want to see ... and then some.

Just ... don't turn on any tools ;)

[scott allen]

1. Buy a bunch of magazines
2. Put them in racks/bins/etc. in a room
3. Have a cigar room (optional)

[William Powell]

Everything has a place and everything is in it's place. In addition, there is different storage media, such as bins, drawers, shelves, cabinets, etc. Depending on the size of the shop, just using common sense may be best. If there are a few items you simple do not wish to part with, it may be best to number your storage media. Therefore, you can put something there, record it as row/stack/level and find it years later. Though, like a business, one has to be consistent. If it's movable storage, you should number it.

I just wish I would follow my own advice.

[Myk Rian]

Since we replaced all the interior doors, I took 2 of them and hung them up as top shelves. Lots of room on them for the odds and ends.

[Leigh Betsch]

I could put my tools away but I like looking at them.;)

[Frank Drew]

Tom, it took me a while to realize that all those odds and ends just made it harder to work in my shop.

Totally true; in my case, I hate to throw away a good piece of wood ("that'd make a perfect drawer front") but after a while all that clutter just makes it oh so difficult to work in your shop.

Now, if I'd had a separate place to store scraps... :rolleyes:

[Mark Woodmark]

I purge stuff in my shop periodically just to make room since my shop is small. My shop is organized, but will not be in Better Homes and Gardens anytime soon. I try to suck up the big chunks every day I work in it. Its not a pretty shop, but then again I work in it. Do you want a pretty shop or one that serves its purpose?

[Troy Turner]

Pegboards....it's amazing how much stuff those things can hold. You can either line an entire wall with them, or cut them down and put them around your bigger tools and hang stuff there. I like the cabinet idea too...just never built one. I came across a couple of old school lockers, painted them up, threw in some shelves and it keeps A LOT of things hidden and clean. For your odds and ends leftovers...it got to the point I had to just stop what I was doing and build a scrap bin. Thought a 2' x 4' x 4' tall was going to be big enough...there I go thinkin again :)

Good luck with whatever scheme you come up with.

[Joe A Faulkner]

My contribution to this discussion is this: Cabinets, not shelves!

Open shelves are quick and easy to build and install, but they collect dust, are hard to keep clean, and look messy.

Cabinets have doors/drawers that close. This keeps out the dust, and keeps things looking neat.

...art

I agree with Art on the cabinets. I've had open shelves for years and hate the dust they collect. Any base cabinets I make for the shop will have pullout shelves as well doors. Crouching down to pull stuff out of the back of an 18" or 24" inch deep base cabinet gets to be pain.

[Bob Lang]

Here's how magazines really do it.

1. Get three people to move all the junk to one side of the shop
2. Clean the smallest possible area only within the field of view of the camera
3. Bring in the photographer, add fake tree outside window if necessary
4. As soon as the photo shoot is over, return to working around all the junk

Bob Lang

[Bill LaPointe]

1. Pegboard is wonderful. Completely covers 1 40' long wall starting at 5' from floor to ceiling. Makes smaller items that hide in tool boxes very easy to locate.

2. I was able to buy 7 3' X 7' metal cabinets from a military school locally. Top half for items regularly used and bottom is for all that good stuff that you will probably never use.

3. 25' of 24 X 18 7' high shelving about 25% with bins for assorted hardware. Best single storage solution I ever did! After sorting all of the extra hardware laying around I was amazed at how much "stuff" had been accumulated. Saves lots of trips to the hardware section of the store.

4. Rotating fastener bins Bought at yard sale for $35. Huge time saver.

5. I still have to look for stuff, but on those infrequent occasions when the shop is clean it sure is pretty.

[J.R. Rutter]

Burn baby, burn! Annual bonfire does wonders for scrap management. Either turn scraps into something right away, or make them go away.

[Joe Jensen]

I've been in the same garage for nearly 20 years. I'm in the midst of a complete shop re-layout to accomodate a large Felder saw/shaper and in cleaning out drawers and cabinets I finally decided to toss tons of stuff that I couldn't part with before. Here are a couple of great examples.

1) When I bought my Bosch 3 by 21 belt sander it didn't come with any dust collection capability, but Bosch sold an accessory. You removed a cover, and installed a new cover with port. When I installed this 20 years ago, I saved the old cover. Sat in a drawer for 20 years. No way I'd every go without that port, but I saved it. now gone

2) I bought a cheap'sh mid volume drill pump like 20 years ago, probably to pump out a water bed. It came with a spare set of roller impellers and a spare seal. I put all the spares in a bag, labled it, and saved it. I still had the pump which hasn't been used in 20 years, and the spares. Spares now in the trash but I still have the pump which I may never use.

Multiply this by 100 and you have 4 drawers of crap.

[tyler mckenzie]

make sure to buy new machines that your magazine wants to promote.