Decided On This Tool Rack

[Steve Mathews]

I spent a little time this afternoon searching for ideas on a woodturning tool rack. The video below shows essentially what I plan to build tomorrow. The reasons for selecting this design are ...

• It's simple - meaning I can probably do it
• Makes efficient use of materials
• Sloped bottom shelf to allow wood chips to fall through and lock tools in position - I would've never thought of of it.
• Just so happens I have the materials on hand

I'll probably make it a little wider to accommodate more tools but will hold to the overall design idea. Kudos to Eric Burke, the gentleman behind the design and video, which is also excellent. If anyone has any ideas on how to improve on the design I'm all ears.

[Doug W Swanson]

I've got two very similar to that. Very easy to make and I made mine with a bunch of scrap pieces.

[Craig Cassinat]

Mine is like that except I have a shelf underneath for my chuck, extra jaws or whatever I need.

[Olaf Vogel]

Mine is like that except I have a shelf underneath for my chuck, extra jaws or whatever I need.

Also works well inside a drawer, under the lathe.

[John Keeton]

The racks can be more shallow than shown. Check out these threads - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ning-Tool-Roll

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ol-Racks/page2

[daryl moses]

Great looking tool rack. You've inspired me!

[Thom Sturgill]

I have three similar racks on the ends of a workbench behind me when turning. Two hold shorter spindle tools on one end with the least used ones on the bottom. the other end holds longer scrapers. I built these about 5 years ago and they do work well. They are based on pool cue racks, if I recall.

Since then I built a rolling (mistake) rack that holds hollowing tools on one side and bowl gouges on the other. It has sloping sides so that the tools simply rest against notches and are easier to grab (and fall out when the cart rolls). This was inspired by Lyle Jameison who has a similar rack on his wall. Having multiples of each gouge, he sharpens in batches and turns a gouge that has been used upside down so he can tell at a glance is he has a sharp tool for that final cut.

[Steve Mathews]

The racks can be more shallow than shown. Check out these threads - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ning-Tool-Roll

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ol-Racks/page2

John - I like it! Two can be built from about the same amount of materials and the rack doesn't stick out as far from the wall. A winner on both counts. Are the plans you talk about in the first link the same as what is provided in the second? If not, can I get yours sent to me?

[Dave Mueller]

Very similar to mine. The only difference is storage in the doors and the top part of the tool holder is a hole instead of a half hole. As Thom mentions above, it keeps tools from falling out, especially in the door part.

Tool Rack 1.JPGTool Rack 2.JPG

[Jon McElwain]

Like John said, I built mine with a more shallow rack. The purpose of the sloped board on the bottom is twofold: One is to hold the tool in place as the bottom of the tool slides down the slope, and the other is to keep shavings from piling up on the shelf. I built mine with a 45 degree slope to aid in both of these purposes. I also built mine in two sections, one for tall tools up to about 3' long, and one for the majority of tools which are shorter.

Like others said, I built in a lower shelf for chucks and my sandpaper bins.

[Dave Lehnert]

My lathe tool rack. IMG_0916_1.jpg

[John Keeton]

Here is the PDF that includes pics of the tool racks by Jeff Wright and Dan Forman, as well as a couple of pics of my tool racks.
TOOLRACK 1.jpg

TOOLRACK 2.jpg

TOOLHOLDER.pdf

[Steve Mathews]

John - Thanks for the follow-up. I got a little impatient and already constructed one rack before noticing your latest post. I instead used the dimensions from Rich Aldrich. I see now that it wasn't necessary to use the deeper frame. It works just fine at the 3" depth. I made mine 36" wide with a space for 18 tools. The only thing I would change is use solid pieces for the 2 cutout sections. The 3/4" plywood I used didn't like being cut up that much and it split at the ends where it was fastened to the side panels. Here's a pic of the one I completed today. I'll probably make another one the same size and install it directly below the first one.

Dave - I really like your idea of placing the rack in a cabinet. I would also like to do something similar to that for storing hand planes, etc in another part of the shop. But that will have to wait until my skills improve.

001.jpg

[Steve Mathews]

Pieces for another rack were cut later in the day. This time I made the sides a little longer for a shelf below as recommended by others. I didn't do it with the first rack thinking that it would defeat one of the purposes of having the slanted lower section. In other words, the shelf would be a chip collector. I'll give a try and see how it works out. I'll assemble and install it tomorrow with pics to follow.

[Steve Peterson]

I have a somewhat similar rack above my lathe. His was built for a set if Benjamin's Best tools that have mostly the same size handles. I started like that, but then acquired a few tools with larger sized handles. I had to enlarge a few of the cutouts using a handheld drum sander. I would recommend starting out with a few larger sized holes on one end and possibly a few smaller holes at the other end.

Steve