organizing hand tools - ideas?

[David Zaret]

hi folks,

in my shop i have a big bank of cabinets (20' long) with a bunch of drawers. everything is labeled, everything is "organized" but within each drawer, things are just tossed in. hammers and mallets tossed in a drawer, chisels (capped) are with scrapers, tossed in a drawer... allen keys, don't get me started. it's been on my mind that my efficiency suffers due to this approach.

wall space is at a premium, or i would build cabinets with hanging storage.. but i think for my shop that's less than ideal.

what do others do? i have a laser and CNC, so can pretty much make anything that i can draw.... before i start guessing, i'm hoping to steal/learn from others who have solved this.

thanks.

--- dz

[Bill Yacey]

I have a chest of drawers, each draw about 24 inches wide x 30 inches, 3 inches deep. I made cradles for all my chisels and gouges, small finger planes, scrapers, etc. each drawer dedicated by tasks- measuring tools and instruments, saws and knives, chisels and gouges, etc. Each tool has it's place.

The problem that I often see with drawers is that when they are too deep, stuff gets buried in there, and then the problem is further exacerbated when one has to go digging to find something.

I'll see if I can snap some pics later.

[Paul F Franklin]

I have a chest of drawers, each draw about 24 inches wide x 30 inches, 3 inches deep. I made cradles for all my chisels and gouges, small finger planes, scrapers, etc. each drawer dedicated by tasks- measuring tools and instruments, saws and knives, chisels and gouges, etc. Each tool has it's place.

The problem that I often see with drawers is that when they are too deep, stuff gets buried in there, and then the problem is further exacerbated when one has to go digging to find something.

I'll see if I can snap some pics later.

+1 on shallow drawers. The bank of drawers under my bench has two 4" deep for stuff like drill/driver and planes and mallets. The rest are about 2" deep or maybe a little less. I have them lined with that bumpy tool drawer liner, but otherwise there are no dividers or the like, Yet it is easy to find anything with a glance. So: shallow drawers, and don't jam them full of stuff. Perhaps you can replace a bunch of your deep drawers with several shallower drawers.

[Andrew Hughes]

How about thinning the tool amount. For instance you mention hammers I have lots of hammers but only keep one finish hammer in my shop the rest are in a bucket stored in my side shed.
I reorganize my shop every once and while. The stuff I don’t use gets put in the shed sold or thrown out.

[Derek Cohen]

I have a chest of drawers, each draw about 24 inches wide x 30 inches, 3 inches deep. I made cradles for all my chisels and gouges, small finger planes, scrapers, etc. each drawer dedicated by tasks- measuring tools and instruments, saws and knives, chisels and gouges, etc. Each tool has it's place.

The problem that I often see with drawers is that when they are too deep, stuff gets buried in there, and then the problem is further exacerbated when one has to go digging to find something.

I'll see if I can snap some pics later.


Bill, my way is possibly the opposite of yours :) It is about facilitating the use of tools, rather than the storage of tools.

The tools that I use the most are on the wall behind my bench, or in a special tool tray, rather than in drawers or behind doors, where they cannot be seen. Not all your tools need to be exposed this way (I have many which are behind doors), but I really do not want to be rummaging when something is needed.

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

Chisels in use lie in the rack behind the bench. Ditto cutting gauges. Hand planes are higher up on the wall.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jon Grider]

I agree with Andrew on this one as far as thinning the herd. Many woodworkers also become tool collectors. Nothing wrong with collecting if that's your gig but I find that creating space for tools that are seldom or not used crowds me and makes me inefficient at my woodworking and woodworking is my gig. Someone recently posted a Youtube video of some guy that has a meticulously organized and clean shop, I think it was called a "dream shop". Everything had a place and to his credit it appeared he knew where that place was. I would go nuts in his shop however. Not because of the cleanliness and organization, those are key elements of a good shop imo, but because his shop seemed more like a monument to showcase his very extensive collection of tools. Like I said, if that's his gig, that's fine. If I had a whole wall with dozens of screwdrivers or twelve cordless drills my ADD would kick in and I would never be able to select one. FastCaps CEO, Paul Akers has numerous videos and books on lean manufacturing that have been helping me to create my shop, which is always an on going process. One of his products, Kaizen foam is very useful in organizing drawers and work areas to keep tools handy, safe, and organized. The OP may find Kaizen foam helpful in his endeavor. Many may find Akers insights helpful. No affiliation with Akers or FastCap.

[Jim Becker]

My planes are in a cabinet. My chisels and related are in drawers. My saws are mounted on wooden, wall-hung "thingies" I made years ago. All are generally close to my bench area where they would typically be used which is...next to the CNC.

[Richard Coers]

Partitions and lift out trays is how I would handle it.

[Thomas McCurnin]

I separate the tools by function and put them in shallow drawers.

Pliers, vise grips
Screwdrivers
Measuring Tools (2)
Cutting Tools
General Carpentry
Drilling (3)
Sharpening (4)
Allen-Torx Wrenches
Planes
Safety Equipment
Jigs Hold Downs


A large locker stores power tools and stuff in tool boxes.

Cabinets store glue, paint, Stain, sandpaper, blades.

Once a year I have free tool give away to friends or on Craigslist

[Matthew Hills]

Derek,
when do you select the veritas surface clamp vs. veritas hold-down (or the gramercy holdfasts)?

Matt

[David Zaret]

this all makes sense (and i appreciate the shared wisdom). paring back is logical - i'll do that. and, clearly, my drawers are too deep. i'll split them up into more, shallower drawers, and grab some of the kaizen foam i've been carrying around for 10 years and ...uh ... use it.

if anyone has a drawer with stuff that's particularly well organized, could you snap a picture? the drawers that come to mind are square, measuring/rules/tapes, hammers/mallets, etc.

thanks again.

-- dz

[Derek Cohen]

Derek,
when do you select the veritas surface clamp vs. veritas hold-down (or the gramercy holdfasts)?

Matt

Matt, this is easy ... I very rarely now use the surface clamp. I find it fiddly and inconsistent to hold securely. The Veritas and Gramercy hold downs are my go to, and get used all the time ...

https://i.postimg.cc/pdHnghY8/16a.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Matthews]

I'm with Andrew Hughes - get a White board and tally the tools used in a given week.

If a tool didn't make the list, three weeks running - put it up for "adoption".

[Bill Yacey]

439468
439469
439470
439471
439472

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Bill, my way is possibly the opposite of yours :) It is about facilitating the use of tools, rather than the storage of tools.

The tools that I use the most are on the wall behind my bench, or in a special tool tray, rather than in drawers or behind doors, where they cannot be seen. Not all your tools need to be exposed this way (I have many which are behind doors), but I really do not want to be rummaging when something is needed.

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

Chisels in use lie in the rack behind the bench. Ditto cutting gauges. Hand planes are higher up on the wall.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I have exactly the approach from Derek downscaled. It works well for me in my small shop.

[Bill Yacey]

Matt, this is easy ... I very rarely now use the surface clamp. I find it fiddly and inconsistent to hold securely. The Veritas and Gramercy hold downs are my go to, and get used all the time ...

https://i.postimg.cc/pdHnghY8/16a.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek


I used to have my tools set up in a similar manner, but after having a near mishap with tools falling on a valuable instrument on the bench, I revised my tool storage method.

My chest of shallow drawers is immediate to my workbench, so they are all easily at hand.

[Andy D Jones]

How about thinning the tool amount. (SNIP...)

Whaaat?! Blasphemy!

Just get more/bigger drawers!

I cheated and bought a couple of Husky mobile workbenches, on sale, with wood tops and lots of shallow (and a few deep) drawers. They are both used out in the open, where I have access to all four sides. I put an extended, thicker top on one, and mounted a WW vise on the "back" corner, so boards clamped in it do not interfere with the drawers in the "front".

Inside the drawers, use racks, separators, trays, etc. for tools in the drawers, to keep things organized, safe from damage, and easy to access. Removable trays are especially handy.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Keith Miron]

I just gave kaizen foam a try, and I'm really enjoying how easy it is to work with. Bought it at home depot for a reasonable price too.
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[Tom Bender]

Some of your drawers should be shallow, less than 2" inside depth to keep your tools one deep. you could convert some by adding lift out trays.

Here are my main chisels and some rasps and files and a box of wrenches

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and here are the chisels on the bench

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[Andy D Jones]

I just gave kaizen foam a try, and I'm really enjoying how easy it is to work with. Bought it at home depot for a reasonable price too.
439533

I flinched when I saw this pic...

We got "pops" if the HS woodshop teacher saw our plane sitting upright on the bench, whether the blade was exposed or not!

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[mike stenson]

I flinched when I saw this pic...

We got "pops" if the HS woodshop teacher saw our plane sitting upright on the bench, whether the blade was exposed or not!

-- Andy - Arlington TX

If your irons softer than the wood.. there are problems. Leaving it down protects it more.

[Keith Miron]

The foam's pretty thick, so it's actually resting on that (not the panel underneath)

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Derek is holding out on you :D

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?280858-How-do-you-store-your-router-plane

Then on page two, you find this post

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?280858-How-do-you-store-your-router-plane&p=2997608#post2997608


Just some more photos of how Derek stores his stuff. Nice stuff.