Shaper Cutter Storage Ideas

[Peter Quinn]

I've reached a point where I have enough shaper cutters that storage has become an issue. My present system involves a Decentralized Inventory Control Strategy. Thats short for "Junk stuffed all over the place". I have a few cutters in a drawer here, a few on a rack there, a few on a shelf some where else, a pile of boxes, a box of bushings, a bag of shims, spindles and wrenches, just little bits all over the shop. Efficient its not. I started thinking a dedicated rolling cabinet/cart of sorts with all the cutters, shims, bushing and tools for the shapers in one place might be nice. Maybe a place to store a few fences and jigs too. Have any shaper users worked out any interesting storage ideas for organizing their cutter collection? I have two shapers that live some distance form each other with no convenient middle ground so my instincts say mobile cart, but I suppose I could also make room for a fixed solution, or move the shapers into a work cluster? Any ideas or food for thought greatly appreciated.

[Don Wacker]

In my old shop I just stuck a bunch of 3/4" dowels in a 2x6 and screwed it to the wall. I haven't come up with a clean method for the new shop yet. Maybe I should just stop being a hoarder and use a drawer or two.

Don

[Paul Symchych]

I don't have all that many cutters but as much for something to kill time as anything else I knocked together a 1/2" plywood box about 3" high with 3/4" dowels for the cutters. I glued and then screwed the dowels from the underside of the box.
With enough cutters I suppose you could do that as pull-out drawer(s) in a cabinet.

[Ray Newman]

“I started thinking a dedicated rolling cabinet/cart of sorts with all the cutters, shims, bushing and tools for the shapers in one place might be nice. Maybe a place to store a few fences and jigs too.”
--Peter Quinn

I think you just answered your question, but do not realize it. If you decide on a rolling cabinet or cart, just might be advisable to make it the same height as your bench, or table saw, etc.,?? That way, you could use it as a support for sheet good or long boards if required. Make it too high/too big, it could be unstable when moving around.

[Larry Edgerton]

One day I was looking at all of my cutters, and just for kicks started adding up what they cost me. Yikes! At about $10K I decided that I needed something a bit more secure that a wood cabinet.

I bought a surplus industrail cabinet that hangs on the wall with four doors that lock. Good and strong. Inside on the back wall is 3/4" plywood with pegs at a slight upward angel for the misc. cutters, and one section is full of fitted cases for the cutters/sets that came with them. The cabinet is lagged through the 3/4" ply to the studs, so it is not coming off the wall easy. The cabinet is at a convenient level so I can see what I am looking for without bending down, something I am not as good at as I used to be.

It is nice to be organized, I'm just not very often........

Larry

[Ron Bontz]

Well, I'll be watching this one with baited breath. I have basically the same issue. I have one 36" x 30" tall wall cabinet with glass doors I use. I keep all my cutters either in their original box or I make one such as with my Amana's. Easier to stack. One drawer to hold all the bearings, spindles, wrenches, etc. It's full. Now I am starting to flow into another cabinet. A 36" wide floor cabinet on casters would be great but I have no more floor space.

[Carroll Courtney]

I made me a cabinet that is 2'X4'X6" depth.I took dowel rods which are the same size as the spindle and space them about 6" apart and have several rolls.The dowels are mounted in the back panel which is 1/2 thick and at a right angle w/the back.I just slide the cutters onto the dowel when I need to store them.At the bottom of the cabinet I have several holes drilled for storing the spindles,router spindle,and spacers and rub collars up right.----Carroll

[Neal Draper]

All great ideas here...but not one picture?

:(

Neal

[Chris Rosenberger]

I built a cabinet under a work bench with all drawers. I made 2 of the drawers for storing shaper cutters. I am currently only using one drawer for shaper cutters. The drawers have 3/4" bottoms. I put 2 100 lb drawer slides on each drawer to support the weight of the cutters.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/20110409_1.jpg

[Joe Calhoon]

Here are a few photos of tooling storage in our shop. One is a picture of our old shop made cart holding small diameter tools. Main tool storage is in a Lista Cabinet rated at 400lbs per drawer. This is placed between our two shapers, tools are used daily and this works pretty well. the other is a rolling cart used for tenoner tools. Some of these tools are pretty heavy and hard to lift out of a drawer. Wall mount storage for these would be better but the tenoner is not next to a wall.

Joe213651213652213653213654

[Ken Whitney]

Ken Vaughn uses old wooden silverware chests to store shaper cutters.

See here (http://home.comcast.net/~kvaughn65/shaper_bits.jpg).

Lots of other good storage ideas there as well.



(http://home.comcast.net/~kvaughn65/shaper_bits.jpg)

[J.R. Rutter]

When I had multiple shapers, I mounted pegboard to each one using bolts through the edge of the tables to fasten the uprights. Even though each individual pegboard was small - maybe 1' wide x 2' high - it easily held the cutters used on that particular machine. I still use pegboard to hold spare cutters so that they are visible and easy to find. Bushings and bearings stack onto longer pegs, cutters go on short pegs to avoid banging edges.

[Steve Jenkins]

I use a roll around tool chest from Home Depot.

[Peter Quinn]

Thanks for all the interesting responses guys. Lots of good ideas here. I always like seeing how others solve a single problem with different solutions.

I like the pull out drawers and the mobile units. Security is not presently an issue unless you consider my 4yr old son. Different problem though. I'm envisioning a rolling cart with drawers for sets and bigger cutters down low, maybe a peg board at one end to hold loose cutters on dowels, a shelf with holes for spindles, jigs and such. i could really use a new "parts cart" to go from machine to machine for processing door and drawer parts, so perhaps this can play that roll too. i really don;t have space for multiple carts, the one I use now is so poor its embarrassing and should go. I like the idea of having a cart with locking casters that could quickly act as out feed support. Perhaps an adjustable height table mechanism can be worked out for the top so the cart could work with a shaper, BS or TS. All of mine are at slight different heights presently. I think I'm going to start looking for a good set of locking casters and start sketching something up to build just after the holidays. It takes an act of congress it seems at this point in the year to find time for shop improvements.

Thanks again for everyones input. Not sure what form this solution will take, but I am sure there is a problem.

[Brad Shipton]

I built something similar to the others, but I have been thinking of using Systainers from Tanos to avoid the need to build more. Anyone tried those for Shaper cutters?