How Do You Store Your Planes?

[Derek Arita]

I'm beginning to get quite a collection of planes now and I'm hunting around the garage for places to put them. I'd love to see some pics of how you all store your planes...flat, angled or hanging, I need creative, space-saving ideas to keep these things high and dry. Thanks.

[lowell holmes]

My planes are on a high shelf and are kept waxed to prevent corrosion. I use Johnson's Wax. They have been kept like that for years. I do have two bu planes that are kept on a back bench in the box they came in. They atr kept waxed as well. There is no corrosion oon them.

[Jim Davis]

I only have five planes. I'm not into extensive collection of anything, but my Stanley 102 and 4 are available at the back of my bench and the rest are on their sides in a Craftsman tool chest. Semi-heated/cooled garage, dry, no rust on anything.

[Prashun Patel]

Depending on how large your plane collection is, you might do better to have a couple cases that can be brought inside when not in use. Toting them in and out may be less work than keeping them all surfaces oiled or waxed.

I tend to work with my planes in groups: spokeshaves and blocks, smoothing/jacks/jointers, and joinery planes/chisels. If I weren't working in my dry basement, I'd make three cases that I'd bring in and out of the garage only as needed.

I only say this because I've had an expensive Veritas plane rust a little left in the trunk of my car for a week. I now take greater pains to keep them rust free and away from moisture.

At any rate, if you're wet-sharpening, I'd also take great pains to wipe and oil your blades and contacting surfaces before replacement. That's been the biggest rust culprit for me.

[Brian Holcombe]

Get a bottle of camellia oil that can spray a small mist....oil the blade and frog. Wax the sole.

This is for performance and helps to minimize rust as an added benefit.

[glenn bradley]

You don't mention your area but when you say "high and dry" I assume you have weather. I like Prashun's idea of a couple of totes to carry them into the house. You could size them to fit in an unobtrusive location in an office or guest bedroom.

I'm in a desert valley basin (about 1600 ft above sea level) so I just let them hang out there and with normal care (like Brian mentions above) have never had a rust problem.

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[Michael Ray Smith]

At any rate, if you're wet-sharpening, I'd also take great pains to wipe and oil your blades and contacting surfaces before replacement. That's been the biggest rust culprit for me.

A tangent: I sharpen with either diamond stones or wet/dry sandpaper on a flat surface. Instead of water, I use Krud Kutter degreaser. I started using it for different reasons -- mainly to see if the detergent would be helpful -- but I think it may also have a rust inhibitor in it. No substitute for not wiping and oiling the blades when you're done, but it may be more forgiving of lapses.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Back of main angled at 5-10%. Block plane section at an additional 5 - 10%.

Old photo - the dowel plate, Stanley #4 and Stanley #6 have been replaced by LN 140, LN 4-1/2, and Keen Kutter K7C, respectively. Slots were sized with those future additions in mind.

Top right-of-center, a pendant from Istanbul that wards off the evil eye - or, in my case, Harold's attempts to glom onto my stuff. :p



308817

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice! That is gorgeous work Kent!

[Richard Hutchings]

I've been thinking about this for a while myself. I think I like the way Kent has mounted his planes the best out of the 3 shown so far. To Kent, what is holding your saws?

[Shawn Pixley]

They are in drawers in the garage all in plane socks. They are wiped down with Camillia oil before being put back. I loath rust.

[Reinis Kanders]

One has to be careful in winter when bringing stuff from cold workshop into a warm house. If box is not well sealed you will get condensation and then rust.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Nice! That is gorgeous work Kent!

Brian - thnx. Some heirloom walnut salvaged after a flood from the creek on a family farm in Kansas [early 70's], backed by some QSWO with unimpressive grain that was laying around in the way. French cleat for mounting.

I had read here - somewhere, some time ago - that the smart play is to have planes held by wood colored white, to eliminate possibility of tannins, etc. from staining the metal. So - you see HM scattered around here and there, including a center section of the saw brackets [like a walnut/HM sandwich with the saw kerf down the center], and the backing plate [not visible] for the #80. I think I varnished it with Behlen's - too long ago to remember.

EDIT - just double-checked: Actually used QS sycamore for some of the white, HM for the rest.

RE-EDIT: Just for the record - in the first photo up above - you see plastic handles on rasps. 3 of those are in a drawer, the 2 Nicholson's have been moved, and those have all been replaced by Auriou. ;)

RE-RE-EDIT: - Re Reinis's note above - the heels of the planes rest in a "trough", if you will. THere is a back to that trough, so the heels stand off of the till's back by 1/4" or so - the big planes are not resting flat on the wood.


I've been thinking about this for a while myself. I think I like the way Kent has mounted his planes the best out of the 3 shown so far. To Kent, what is holding your saws?

Richard - little curvy-hooky-thingies for the saw handles to rest in. Also - I added a shot of the shoulder plane bracket.

One mistake I would change - - I got too clever for my own damned good. The brackets, toe hooks, etc are all screwed thru the back of the till. Snazzy - can't see any fasteners, right? Yeah, well - until you want to change something and realize you have to unload it and take it down from the wall to move a bracket/hook.........PITA. Not so clever after all, eh?

Best part is that the size was set with a specific set of planes in mind - once it is full, no more room, so to add something I have to dump something - stops any knee-jerk purchases...well....sorta.... Except my K220 that sits on the bench below. :D

308822


308823

[Tom M King]

308832Mine are in labeled, waterproof toolboxes, along with almost all of my other small tools.

[Prashun Patel]

Beautiful cabinet and tools, Kent!

[Jim Koepke]

I need creative, space-saving ideas to keep these things high and dry.

Keeping them "high and dry" is dependent on where you store them. Mine are in an unheated, used to be, two-and-a-half car garage.

As far as space-saving goes, my system is not that:

308833

This isn't all of them, just the ones that are most used. They have easy access and little excuse to not put them away when they are done with their task.

One day some spare time will come and my tool storage system will make a big change. The big problem will be finding a place to put everything while the new build is in progress.

jtk

[Christopher Charles]

Kent, that's the first double-handled dovetail saw i've ever seen :)

[Christopher Charles]

Mine are in a cubby shelf with jack and jointer on top. Have installed simple ~1/4"x1/4" dividers on bottom shelf since photo. Tool wall is WIP.

308838

[Kent A Bathurst]

Kent, that's the first double-handled dovetail saw i've ever seen :)

Commemorative ltd edition from LN...............:p. No one else bought one.

That angle was taken to show the hooky-thingies - does look strange though.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Mine are in a cubby shelf with jack and jointer on top. Have installed simple ~1/4"x1/4" dividers on bottom shelf since photo. Tool wall is WIP.

308838


Bronze #3, correct? What is to it's left?

[Brian Holcombe]

Brian - thnx. Some heirloom walnut salvaged after a flood from the creek on a family farm in Kansas [early 70's], backed by some QSWO with unimpressive grain that was laying around in the way. French cleat for mounting.

I had read here - somewhere, some time ago - that the smart play is to have planes held by wood colored white, to eliminate possibility of tannins, etc. from staining the metal. So - you see HM scattered around here and there, including a center section of the saw brackets [like a walnut/HM sandwich with the saw kerf down the center], and the backing plate [not visible] for the #80. I think I varnished it with Behlen's - too long ago to remember.

EDIT - just double-checked: Actually used QS sycamore for some of the white, HM for the rest.

RE-EDIT: Just for the record - in the first photo up above - you see plastic handles on rasps. 3 of those are in a drawer, the 2 Nicholson's have been moved, and those have all been replaced by Auriou. ;)

RE-RE-EDIT: - Re Reinis's note above - the heels of the planes rest in a "trough", if you will. THere is a back to that trough, so the heels stand off of the till's back by 1/4" or so - the big planes are not resting flat on the wood.



Richard - little curvy-hooky-thingies for the saw handles to rest in. Also - I added a shot of the shoulder plane bracket.

One mistake I would change - - I got too clever for my own damned good. The brackets, toe hooks, etc are all screwed thru the back of the till. Snazzy - can't see any fasteners, right? Yeah, well - until you want to change something and realize you have to unload it and take it down from the wall to move a bracket/hook.........PITA. Not so clever after all, eh?

Best part is that the size was set with a specific set of planes in mind - once it is full, no more room, so to add something I have to dump something - stops any knee-jerk purchases...well....sorta.... Except my K220 that sits on the bench below. :D

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308823

Nice! I love the auriou rasps, I feel so damned spoiled when I use them.

Very fine work!

[Bill Houghton]

Small ones go in a drawer in a mechanic's rollaway (the one dedicated to woodworking tools, rather than one of the other three, dedicated to mechanic's, electrical, plumbing, masonry, drywall, and miscellaneous tools). Bench and similar planes, and the gathering of wooden planes (mainly hollows and rounds) go in cubbyholes under the workbench, with a few specialty planes going in a drawer at the bottom of that bay of cubbyholes. Excess planes go in the cave at the bottom of the rollaway mentioned above, except for a bit of overflow that go behind the mechanic's top chest atop that rollaway.

I need to stop acquiring planes. Or I need to acquire more shop space. In the ideal world, I've have a huge cabinet with multiple drawers of the right depth for all the planes.

[Kent A Bathurst]

308833

This isn't all of them, just the ones that are most used.

Jim - center-left - that looks like a shelf full of plow planes? "Most used" - - whats the story there? I bet it is interesting..............

[Mike Henderson]

I keep mine in a couple of deep drawers. They're pretty jammed in - not easy to find the one I want sometimes, especially if it's not one the big planes.

Mike

[Jim Koepke]

Jim - center-left - that looks like a shelf full of plow planes? "Most used" - - whats the story there? I bet it is interesting..............

There are some interesting stories involved with those. The box below held two of them that were listed on ebay. The description didn't say much. Seems not many noticed the pictures of the blades from two planes didn't have the blades one would normally see with two Stanley #45s. Though one was actually a Ward's Masters equivalent. The blades were held in a holder custom made by the previous owner. It actually held the regular issue blades from one plane and the two boxes of special blades for the Stanley #45. Those include a reverse sash blade, a set of fluting blades, reeding blades with multiple beads and a few others.

My winning bid was less than what one would pay for two #45s with full sets of standard blades.

For the multiple editions of the same plane for some projects there may be a couple set up for striking molding, though now with a couple more hollows and rounds that may not be as common.

Another might be set up for making grooves. This is also less likely at least for 1/4" grooves since a #50 was acquired and is a touch nicer for most light groove work.

Also these days more of the rabbet work is done by a Record #778. The Record, a Stanley #55 and a few other planes are kept on a bench and shelves across the room.

jtk

[Kala Raymond]

I saw an ingenious plane till recently, maybe here at sawmillcreek. Planes were stored in vertical slots like many tills, but the piece that is used to secure the top part of the plane was moveable up and down, and it is notched top and bottom so while it secures the top of a plane (toe) it can also secure the bottom (heel) of the next plane above it. This made it possible to put 2 or 3 planes in the same row.

One day I'll get around to giving my planes a proper place to live and some variation of this will probably be what I use.

[John Schtrumpf]

Here's where I keep my planes and other tools:

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[Kala Raymond]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=308468&d=1425642705

found that till I was babbling about . . .

[steven c newman]

Ok, here is mine, well at least the ones NOT in either tool chest..
308896
Mainly the iron bodies....

[Malcolm Schweizer]

All are stored in plane socks (oiled with camelia oil) and kept in drawers. One drawer for big planes, one for smaller ones, one for spokeshaves, etc. The LN #4 and scraping plane stay in the bench storage.

I cannot not say enough good about plane socks. I would love to keep the plane out and visible in a till, but I deal with rust. I also keep an open window in my shop and if the rainbows the wrong way it can get in. That is so rare that it is kept open all the time to let the sun in and keep the humidity down.

[Jeffrey Martel]

I'm in the process of building a till at the moment to fit on my french cleat system.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8670/16369051628_061f68a682_z.jpg

[Dave Anderson NH]

This seems to have worked pretty well for over 10 years now.

[Kent A Bathurst]

This seems to have worked pretty well for over 10 years now.

I should think so, Dave. Very nice work.

[Christopher Charles]

Kent, Bronze 4 and pre war 3 to left set up as a scrub.

your saw holders are a great bit of flair in a beautiful cabinet.

Dave, that's'so an impressive line up!

Cheers,
C

[Kent A Bathurst]

Christopher -

I couldn't get the perspective square in my mind on a bronze 3 v 4, so I took a shot - upside down on the 50/50. Thanks.

You are too kind. It ain't bad, but I'm not a wizard. I will admit, I thought about finding some crazy way to hold the saws - that solution is as outside the envelope as I could come up with.

The 40+ yr old walnut was milled by some guy in Kansas, to my Dad's instructions [after Dad and his father-in-law bucked it and drug it out of the creek with a chain and Farmall Super C - the only recorded time those 2 characters ever cooperated on anything :D].

My Dad knew zero about WW, and way below zero about how to sticker and dry it. It moved around KS barns, to Northern VA, to Scottsdale AZ. Then he was done with it, and I shipped it to Mich, and then to Atlanta. The yield is well <50%. I try to use it where it can be used, but it is hard as heck to get pieces, grain, etc. to make furniture with. Its a family thing, nothing more..........

[Chet R Parks]

I agree about the socks. I get a 3 pack of silicone treated knit fabric rifle/shotgun socks for $20. All are 52 inches long, cut them to the appropriate length for the particular plane and sew up one end. Works great.
Chet

[Thomas Schneider]

Here's where I keep my planes and other tools:

308876

Hi John,

That's a very interesting tool chest / cart! Would you care to share a little bit about more about it? Maybe some more pictures? Inquiring minds want to know! :)

Thanks
Tom.

[Joe A Faulkner]

For starters, I repurposed a couple of book shelves that I picked up at a garage sale for $5 each. I am in the process of building a plane till\tool cabinet. It is only 30" tall x 30" wide x 15" deep. It is designed to accomodate 8,7,6,5 1/4, 5, 4 1/2, 4, 3 bench planes, a small collection of block planes, a yet to be acquired collection of molding planes, a rabbet plane (78), a router plane, paring, mortise & bench chisels, dovetail saw +2 backsaws. The main cabinet will be 12" deep, with 3" deep doors on piano style hinges. The open shelves I currently use allow too much dust to settle on things.

[Winton Applegate]

I need creative, space-saving ideas to keep these things high and dry.
Ha, ha, I don't know how creative my "method" is but it is certainly space saving.
Perhaps still not as space saving as putting them on narrow shelves parallel with a wall but is quick and deadly.
Also reuses laundry detergent bottles and rubbing alcohol bottles etc. (cut the top or bottom off of plastic bottle as works best).
See first photo.
or
you can just toss them together in a pile; see second photo.
Just kidding that was a carefully built monolith just for the photo for another thread but hey here's a chance to use the photo again.

[Winton Applegate]

OK Derek,
You want space saving ?
Do yah ?
I got your space saving right here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cGNT-RSkEU) buddy.

[Winton Applegate]

Tom,

labeled, waterproof toolboxes,
Hey thanks !
Now I know where I need to go from here . . .

[Winton Applegate]

Derek,
OK, I'll come clean . . .
when I need a plane I ask Jeeves my tool valet for it. I don't know where he keeps them. I don't care. He sharpens the blades for me as well. Such a bother . . . sharpening and that rot.

Jeeves !
Jeeves !
JEEVES !
. . . .

Now where the blazes has he got too ?
Just can't get good tool valets these days . . . in this country . . . wyyyyy I remember back in Calcutta . . . good old loyal Yidat Sing now HE was a proper tool valet.
Jeeves ! Confound the fellow . . .
Jeeves !
Huh . . . looks like no woodworking tonight . . .

[Robert Payne]

I was privileged to exhibit a collection of H.C. Marsh Planes that belonged to a close friend -- Randy Osborne -- who died from a brain tumor just short of his fifty-third birthday in June 2010. Our friendship developed over several years in Western NC and, together with a third woodworker, we organized a woodworking club that remains active in the area. Randy had amassed a complete collection of every metallic plane (patterned after the Bailey designs) that the H.C. Marsh Company produced in their Rockford Illinois firm and was working on a cabinet to display them once he completed the full complement of planes. He had designed and built most of the cabinet parts, but his terminal illness kept him from finishing the display case and, most importantly, showing it to his fellow collectors at Mid-West Tool Collectors Association meets. I promised him a week before he passed away (he was in hospice care at home) that I would finish the cabinet and would exhibit the collection at MWTCA meetings for him.

A fellow club member and I completed missing pieces and assembled the cabinet (except for the glass doors he had planned) and I took the collection to two Area Q MWTCA Meets in July 2010 and February 2011 and to the National MWTCA Meeting in Louisville October 7-9, 2010. The 40" high by 81" wide cabinet was constructed of quilted and burl Black Walnut (both solid wood and veneers) and featured individual bin slots separated by 21 Walnut and Maple partitions to hold the 14 block planes, 3 specialty planes, 20 bench planes and 4 Special Marsh-Rockford planes all held vertically in place by hidden rare earth magnets installed behind the quilted veneer back panels. The collection was selected as the best exhibit in the two regional Meets and won both the Peoples Choice and Best of Show Awards at the National MWTCA Meeting. Here are a few pictures of the cabinet from those meetings with the awards, plus a brief history of the H.C. Marsh Company I compiled at the time. In 2011, the collection was returned to Randy's widow and has subsequently been sold intact to another collector.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the cabinet or the collection for fellow members here.

[Winton Applegate]

Marsh collection
OH
WELL DONE ! Good going !
Q : What does the "C" stand for in the sizes ? e.g., "M3 C"

[Robert Payne]

Like the Stanley's, Marsh planes have smooth and corrugated soles in each size bench planes. So they are in pairs from M2/M2C to M8 and M8C.

[David Ragan]

Commemorative ltd edition from LN...............:p. No one else bought one.

That angle was taken to show the hooky-thingies - does look strange though.

Hey Kent, Raining down there this morning?

What is the deal with the double-handled saw?

[David Ragan]

Hey Kent, Raining down there this morning?

What is the deal with the double-handled saw?

OK. ha ha. I see it now, after looking at it forever.

[ken hatch]

Living in the the desert Southwest where everything either bites, stings, or sticks has its advantages. Rust is seldom a problem, an occasional wipe of a oily rag to get the dust off is about all that is required. If it were more work I'd have fewer tools. My storage solution is basically no solution.

My most used, goto planes are keep on a till that is behind my main work bench:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/VTXAZ/planeStorageTill20150313_zpsruo2n4tl.jpg

Some of the smaller planes and specialty planes are kept in an open cabinet next to the till:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/VTXAZ/planeStorageCabinet20150313_zpsld668zv3.jpg

A few more of the users are under the bench:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/VTXAZ/planeStorageUnderBench20150313_zpssetxqxhs.jpg

And last, the hollows and rounds, some beading planes, a wood stock scrub, and others are on a shelf over the secondary work bench:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/VTXAZ/planeStorageShelf20150313_zpsnrb1nya8.jpg

A hodge podge but it works. I threaten all the time to build a nice wall cabinet/till for the tools but there is always something of higher need, Maybe when I quit this semi-retirement that is long on the "semi" and short on the retirement and actually retire I will get around to building it.

[Frederick Skelly]

@Rob Payne: Beautiful cabinet and really nice collection. Finishing it and displaying it was a tremendous way to commemorate your good friend. I'm glad it was able to pass intact to someone else who will appreciate it!
Fred

[Chris Hachet]

I only have five planes. I'm not into extensive collection of anything, but my Stanley 102 and 4 are available at the back of my bench and the rest are on their sides in a Craftsman tool chest. Semi-heated/cooled garage, dry, no rust on anything.


I use the same half dozen or so planes all of the time...you don't need sixty on hand to do good work. I like your storage!

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Rob, thats amazing work and a touching story.

I'll toss a pic in the fray. Old pic of my old shop, will probably do something similar in the new one but the inventory and storage changes quite often, so might alter the cabinet and add another. I like being able to see the tools so I like the simple shallow shelves better than something that hides stuff. Love the saw till too.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pJYoO39KSqk/UvhKCr2C2LI/AAAAAAAADt0/j-0-i0BTXXg/w1538-h865-no/20140209_203736.jpg

[John Schtrumpf]

Hi John,

That's a very interesting tool chest / cart! Would you care to share a little bit about more about it? Maybe some more pictures? Inquiring minds want to know! :)

Thanks
Tom.

I live in an apartment. So I wanted a tool chest not just to store my tools, I also wanted to be able to work out of it like a tool cart. A large dutch tool chest was close to what I wanted. I changed the top to a flip up, to gain a shelf to put things on while I am working. The middle skirt / girdle's purpose is as a standoff for the saws on the side, and a French cleat across the back to hold the front panel (the handle is a cleat), and the handles are really saw hangers. The box of the chest is around 36" high by 30" wide by 13.5" deep, split around 20" for the bottom section and 16" for the top section, the flip up portion is around 13.5" tall.

Edit: I forgot to say that the chest was built with the tools inside it, plus a cordless drill.

[Daniel Rode]

My setup is pretty basic but it works well enough.
309100

[John Sanford]

Rob, thats amazing work and a touching story.

I'll toss a pic in the fray. Old pic of my old shop, will probably do something similar in the new one but the inventory and storage changes quite often, so might alter the cabinet and add another. I like being able to see the tools so I like the simple shallow shelves better than something that hides stuff. Love the saw till too.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pJYoO39KSqk/UvhKCr2C2LI/AAAAAAAADt0/j-0-i0BTXXg/w1538-h865-no/20140209_203736.jpg

Hey Steve, you know, if you applied a bit more of the tri-dimensional storage mode used by Studley, you might be able to find some wall space to actually hang that Studley poster. :p ;) :D

[John Sanford]

My setup is pretty basic but it works well enough.
309100

Dan, I really like the lines on yours. It's an elegant design. Is the slotted block in the lower left for scrapers?

[Daniel Rode]

Thanks John! I drew it up in sketchup first and that allowed me to play with the design a bit before cutting.

The block is just a scrap of pine with some slots cut in it. Dead simple, but It keeps the scrapers handy :)

Dan, I really like the lines on yours. It's an elegant design. Is the slotted block in the lower left for scrapers?

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Hey Steve, you know, if you applied a bit more of the tri-dimensional storage mode used by Studley, you might be able to find some wall space to actually hang that Studley poster. :p ;) :D


LOL! I have the pic strategically placed to inspire on the bench, trying to catch a muse. It didn't work. What you can't see is the second attempt at organizing that left door in the cabinet laying on the bench behind the combo plane boxes. First is in the trash can, third is in the cabinet, fourth in my mind, (now in the cabinet), and fifth brewing. Ooof, it's hard being indecisive! I have decided that Studley wasn't human. Also that my attempts at tri-dimensional design are laughable at best, and usually dangerous. :)

Adding, I'll post a pic of number four attempt if anyone wants to see it.

[John Sanford]

For starters, I repurposed a couple of book shelves that I picked up at a garage sale for $5 each. I am in the process of building a plane till\tool cabinet. It is only 30" tall x 30" wide x 15" deep. It is designed to accomodate 8,7,6,5 1/4, 5, 4 1/2, 4, 3 bench planes, a small collection of block planes, a yet to be acquired collection of molding planes, a rabbet plane (78), a router plane, paring, mortise & bench chisels, dovetail saw +2 backsaws. The main cabinet will be 12" deep, with 3" deep doors on piano style hinges. The open shelves I currently use allow too much dust to settle on things.

What? No shoulder planes? You are a wild man.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

LOL! I have the pic strategically placed to inspire on the bench, trying to catch a muse. It didn't work. What you can't see is the second attempt at organizing that left door in the cabinet laying on the bench behind the combo plane boxes. First is in the trash can, third is in the cabinet, fourth in my mind, (now in the cabinet), and fifth brewing. Ooof, it's hard being indecisive! I have decided that Studley wasn't human. Also that my attempts at tri-dimensional design are laughable at best, and usually dangerous. :)

Adding, I'll post a pic of number four attempt if anyone wants to see it.

Attempt number four... A bit off topic, but related sort of, how do you store braces??? This is awkward in use but better than the last attempt.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E_SHQyJgmzQ/VQY5oYWYCyI/AAAAAAAAJmQ/O9ntVIWXQGM/w487-h865-no/20150315_200150.jpg

[Thomas Schneider]

Thanks John! I really appreciate you taking the time to post these pic's. I hope you don't mind if I borrow a couple of ideas from you :)


I live in an apartment. So I wanted a tool chest not just to store my tools, I also wanted to be able to work out of it like a tool cart. A large dutch tool chest was close to what I wanted. I changed the top to a flip up, to gain a shelf to put things on while I am working. The middle skirt / girdle's purpose is as a standoff for the saws on the side, and a French cleat across the back to hold the front panel (the handle is a cleat), and the handles are really saw hangers. The box of the chest is around 36" high by 30" wide by 13.5" deep, split around 20" for the bottom section and 16" for the top section, the flip up portion is around 13.5" tall.

Edit: I forgot to say that the chest was built with the tools inside it, plus a cordless drill.

[Kent A Bathurst]

As far as I am concerned, Steve R wins. Unless some can compete with that collection.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

As far as I am concerned, Steve R wins. Unless some can compete with that collection.

Thanks Kent, I'm sort of embarrassed to say that you can only see about half of it in the pics... I love to see everyones pics, so many ideas! Your saw rests, Daves color scheme, John's clever use of space, etc, etc. Fun!

[Derek Arita]

Thanks very much for the great replies and ideas. Some really functional and beautiful ideas.

[Jeffrey Martel]

Bit off topic in here, but does anyone know what the overall height is of the Lee Valley large router plane is? It's not on their website and I'm just curious if it would fit into my plane till that I'm making as is. I plan on ordering one soon, but not sure if it will be before I set the height of the lower shelf or not. It can always go on the side or the top sloped portion, but ideally it would stay on the shelf.

[John Schtrumpf]

My Veritas (Lee Valley) large router plane, with the blade retracted is: 3 and 7/8 inches

[Jeffrey Martel]

Thanks. I think I have about 5" as it sits, so it should be fine.