Am I crazy?

[Matthew Brawley]

I had been planning on building a traditional wall cabinet for my hand tools, but have thought since space is at a premium in my shop, would it be bad to build a cabinet under my workbench. Thinking of building it with drawers and storing planes on their sides along with other tools (chisels, layout tools, etc.) in other drawers.

Am I crazy to do this or missing something I should consider?

[Paul F Franklin]

I think it's a great place for a cabinet where you can keep oft-used tools right at hand. Generally a good idea to build the cabinet shorter than the space under the bench so it doesn't interfere with clamping, reaching to push a dog up, etc....

You may find that sometimes a workpiece in a vice can interfere with opening a door or drawer, but you get used to thinking ahead a bit and removing any tools you are likely to need before you block access.

I think someone makes two-way drawer slides that would let you slide a drawer out from either side of the bench....that would be pretty sweet.

[Dave Parkis]

Couple of other considerations (at least for me) would be whether holdfasts are used much. If so, be sure to leave enough room between the bottom of the bench top and the top of your cabinets. Another would be how problematic bending down to get tools will be. Probably not an issue if you're young, but for old guys like me it's a lot easier to turn and take a tool out of a cabinet than it is to keep bending down.

[Matthew Brawley]

I have taken into account the length of my holdfasts and made sure I left plenty of room. Bench is against a wall so the drawers can only work one direction. Like I said it's a tight two car garage, so everything is fighting for space and needs to be organized. I figured I should keep my most used tools in the top drawer so less bending.

[John Schtrumpf]

... storing planes on their sides ...

Am I crazy to do this or missing something I should consider?
If storing planes on their sides, you might want to think about partitions or something to protect blades and fingers.

[William Fretwell]

You want to have room to put your feet under the bench when standing and your knees under the bench when sitting on a stool. At some point you will want to do both of those things.
The design consideration between workbench and tool cabinet is a difficult one. A wall mounted tool cabinet or open angled shelves saves bending and seems to be the way many pros go as they do it all day long. The rest of us may tolerate more bending and opening of drawers.

I design work environments for pharmacies and efficient repetitive movement is paramount for workflow.

My bench has no tool storage, just a tool tray to keep tools in use at hand without impeding the bench work surface.

i suggest you lay out the tools you use very often, it may surprise you how little space they really need. It may also surprise you how often you pick those tools up. Don’t forget if you use them a lot then they will be at the sharpening station a lot also so that needs due consideration. If you do enough work you will end up with a pro set up so why not start with one?

[brian zawatsky]

I put a drawer cabinet under my bench and I would do it again in a second.
398479 398480

[steven c newman]

398486
Built a 5 drawer chest of drawers for the shop
398487
Wasn't much storage the other way...
398488
Scrapped the dryer ( paid for Lunch!) and cleaned that corner out. Have since added a Craftsman Machinist Chest on top of the dresser...

[Stew Denton]

Matthew,

Tool storage and a workbench have been an issue with me for years, that and a good warm dry well lit place to work. I have never had a good option with all of those factors present. What has worked best for me was when I came up with a workable plan that I could do and went for it rather than to wait for "perfect." I never have had an "ideal" situation, and when younger had very little money for tools. A workable plan that you can do now is better than dithering around for a long long time contemplating a dream solution.

The best bench I every had was an old kitchen sink/drawer cabinet with two layers of 3/4" particle board nailed on it for top. It wasn't ideal by any standard, had no vise, was too tall for me, etc., but it was strong, fairly flat, had a couple of drawers and a storage area under what used to hold the sink, and I did a lot of work using it. Now I work on sawhorses with planks on them in the back yard.

What I am getting at is that given your storage and work area options, the cabinet under the bench may be a good workable option. Lots of shops/benches have that set up exactly that way.

It sounds like you have thought quite a bit about it, and have sorted out options for clamping, bench dogs, hold fasts, etc. Given that, I suspect you have also thought quite a bit about what tools you use most frequently, etc., so you know which of your tools to put in the under bench tool cabinet where they are handy to get to.

Given those things, I would go for your tool cabinet under the bench idea.

One thought if it were me, when it gets down to the tough decisions pitting handiness of getting to tools stored in the cabinet versus handiness and versatility of using the bench, I would give up a little bit on storage design set up under the bench to gain more handiness in using the bench.

My 2 bits, and I hope it works out well for you.

Stew

[Ron Bontz]

I have been using a cabinet bench for about 30 years. My planes are kept in a couple of drawers, my saws in other drawers, and of course my chisels, marking gauges etc. in yet another. The drawers ride on slick strips and pull out from both sides. My wall space is full. There is a book Called "The Workbench" by Lon Schleining, with lots of ideas inside. There is also a book by Jim Tolpin called "The Toolbox Book". Some day when I am 90 I hope to have time to build a new work bench with a real maple top and and and wall tool cabinets.:D

[Andrew Seemann]

Under bench storage is/was pretty common option for European made cabinetmaker's benches; Ulmia comes to mind first. The only drawback that I really see is having to bend over to get your tools. You could always make a little box to sit on your bench for the most commonly used chisels and other tools to complement your under bench storage.

I don't have any storage under my Frid bench except the deadman and a shooting jig. However, under my assembly bench is a whole cabinet's worth of drawers, same with my sharpening bench, router table, drill press, and SCMS/downdraft table. I do have space for a wall hung cabinet next to the Frid bench, so having storage under it isn't needed.

398491398490

[Derek Cohen]

My preference is to not have drawers under the bench as it is inevitable that something will get in the way of the drawer opening when a tool therein is needed. So, instead, I keep tools on shelves above the bench and in a tool tray against the wall behind the bench.

The picture was taken after the top was freshly flattened. This required pulling it away from the wall ...

https://i.postimg.cc/NffdYGd3/D4a.jpg

There is no rule about this, and some work comfortably with drawers in the bench.

I have just installed a new lathe, and the first thing I did was build a cabinet underneath (it's on wheels, so it can be pulled out) ...

https://i.postimg.cc/yxkk30nm/1a.jpg

Whatever floats your boat :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Kory Cassel]

Another option is to have the tool cabinet under the right half of the bench leaving the face vise side open for clamping, your knees, etc.

Recessing a full height cabinet behind your doghole strip rather than under it was how it was done on the old Shaker benches.

They tended to be much deeper than the most popular current designs though.

And much longer.

And heavier.

Basically just too big for a garage unless there were never going to be any cars in it.:)

[glenn bradley]

I put a drawer cabinet under my bench and I would do it again in a second.

Ditto

398492

[Mike Manning]

Always love reading the discussions on tool and shop organization. What's the story with storing hand planes on their sides? Am I missing something?

[William Fretwell]

I have a book with those cabinets in somewhere. They are truly at the most extreme end of tool collecting and storage. Shaker thinking was every tool had a place. I wondered how many drawers they had to open to remember where a particular tool was because I know I would not!
One other consideration, the less movable a bench the more likely it is to acquire a cabinet. If you regard your bench as movable you resist adding a cabinet to retain that feature.

[steven c newman]

Drawers don't need to be so deep...to allow for handles sticking up..

[Mike Manning]

Drawers don't need to be so deep...to allow for handles sticking up..

I'm assuming this was in response to my question. Depending on how many hand planes you have it seems to me to be a question of preference. Six of one, half a dozen of another. I've never measured it out but I'd almost guess you maximize the space by putting them in the normal position. Then again, that likely depends on the size of the planes.

[Jim Koepke]

I had been planning on building a traditional wall cabinet for my hand tools, but have thought since space is at a premium in my shop, would it be bad to build a cabinet under my workbench. Thinking of building it with drawers and storing planes on their sides along with other tools (chisels, layout tools, etc.) in other drawers.

Am I crazy to do this or missing something I should consider?

Often times a variation in design elements is necessary due to limitations on one's available space. Many good comments have been made in the previous responses.


Always love reading the discussions on tool and shop organization. What's the story with storing hand planes on their sides? Am I missing something?

Hopefully "discussions on tool and shop organization" will one day inspire me to take on the concept and better organize my shop.

The idea of "storing planes on their side" is underlined and in bold in the quote above.

Keeping a plane on its side was often recommended by high school shop teachers in the 1950s and '60s. Whether it protected the blade or not is debatable. If you have ever set a plane down on a bench and then put a nick in the bench when retrieving it, you know a good reason to be careful in how a plane is set on a bench.

jtk

[Matthew Brawley]

I guess one thing that would also help is that even though the depth is standard for a modern bench, it is fairly long. I have 49" between the legs. It just seemed like a lot of room that was currently wasted and in a small space that I am using it seemed like a perfect space. I also thought putting in two sets of drawers, and putting less used tools on the left side next to my vise. I have been obsessed lately about storage and organization.

[Kevin Herman]

Semi-related question. I'm planning on adding a hanging cabinet to my outdoor work area. The cabinet will be about 24 x 48 x 10" and will hold most of my hand tools (about 6 planes, 5 saws, 8 chisels, squares, etc). I'm planning to hang it directly on the side of the house on two French cleats.

This is where it gets interesting. I live in Hawai'i, where many of the houses are single panel construction. In other words, a series of 1 x 12s joined side by side, with studs at irregular intervals where there are windows or doors, but not necessarily anywhere along a solid wall.

If my cleats are 1" nominal thickness and I'm going into a 1 x 12, then I guess I only have 1-1/2" of depth to work with. I don't want to go through into the bathroom that's on the other side of the exterior wall (I already did once, and had to repair the tile). Will 1" #10 wood screws in these cleats be enough to hold up this cabinet? I could probably use 1-1/2" screws if I don't countersink them. Thoughts? Thanks!

[Paul F Franklin]

You want to keep the screws holding the cleat loaded mostly in shear (straight down in this case) and minimize the withdrawal forces. Best way to do that is to minimize the depth of the cabinet and keep the heavier stuff toward the back.
But there is nothing to stop you from using lots of screws with a wider (taller) French cleat. And you could consider using adhesive, although that may be more permanent than you want.

Doesn't sound like the tools will add up to that much weight, so I think it's workable.

On one occasion, faced with a similar need to attach something or other to thin stock, I ground off the tapered tip of some screws so there were full-depth threads over the whole (short) length. I used an unmodified screw to form starter threads, and then installed the modified screws.

[Brian AdamsMS]

Another option may be to make removable tool chests with drawers that fit the space under the bench. If needed the tool chests can be temporarily removed. I also work in a small workshop (no matter how big, any workshop is small ;)), mine is 12 x 16 with a band saw, lathe, drill press, planer and table saw. Everything is on wheels so I can re-arrange as needed.