Redsign a tool storage spot

[steven c newman]

in my shop. There is a mess, and getting worse...
Brace drills in the til.JPG
Is most of the problem.....besides dust and drips landing on things....need some sort of Cabinet...to store all these drills, squares, spokeshaves....Maybe hide the sanders...

Not going to a be Heirloom cabinet...and needs to sit on the old tabletop that is the tool bench. Maybe a door or two? Thinking I could make it as deep as a 1 x 12 would reach....maybe add hangers to the inside of the doors....height would be about 48" max ( before I hit the ceiling joists..) May add a drawer or however many...for some of the smaller, hard to locate tools...have to re-arrange a drawer, for better use...
2 drawer chest, top drawer, shop chest of drawers.JPG
Because this sort of thing just won't do.....


Thinking the next time Menard's has a sale on 1 x 12 x 48" boards....I might grab a big stack...and see what happens.....Intend to sort through the pile of tools, pick out what will get used of each type, and stash the extras in a drawer...until something breaks...
After all..how many Yankees does one need?
Family Photos 6.JPG
Maybe keep the best of the Egg beater drill in the cabinet...maybe a large and a small one? Maybe a small handsaw, or three? Braces....I'm sure I cam "pare" 14 down to maybe one or two of each sweep size ( how to hang a 12" or 14" sweep brace..) and maybe keep a few pre-set with a bit? Chisels have their own rack on the back of the bench, screwdrivers have a red plastic rack on the wall....

have to watch, as the drill press will be right beside any cabinet I build....need one door to swing past the plane til (without knocking a plane over..)

Solid plywood for a back? or Pegboard. Solid wood? ( T&G Pine...might have just the plane, for that...) shelves? or Racks or pegs?

have things for layout work....maybe some pliers....

Figure a "Start Date" after the first week in April.....gives a wee bit of time to plan things out....

(Maybe a shelf for some of the larger, "extra" planes..)
Just started research today....haven't seen much that suits me....or the area I have to work in....
Will get a few measurements, and a few pictures, and go from there....
Stay tuned....

[steven c newman]

I can go to 48" tall...barely.....have to stay within 3' for a width....depth?
Shop Cabinet, back porch.JPG
I could go up to 4' deep....maybe not...width?
Shop Cabinet , handle clearance issues.JPG
I have a clearance issue at this end.....the other end?
Shop Cabinet, rightside limits.JPG
I have to allow access to the plane til....and still let the right hand door swing open...not quite a 180 degree swing....Cabinet needs to be screwed down to the bench top....too. So, this is about how much room needs to be cleared up..
Shop cabinet, start up look.JPG
I do have a small bit of wiggle room....
Shop Cabinet, extra room, maybe.JPG
To where I could slide the drill press a wee bit to the left...4" max.

other issues? stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

have a messy spot to clear out...and place the outlet bar elsewhere..
Shop Cabinet, messy end.JPG
And these need a better home, besides sitting with the laundry soap..
Shop Cabinet, needs better homes.JPG
As for them gray plastci shelves from Wal E World?
Shop Cabinet, needs better stowage.JPG
If'n you place too much stuff on a shelf..
Shop Cabinet, CHEAP shelves, no go.JPG
They WILL bow.....not good.

Will do some sketching around.....issue being when I would open the door on the left side....might get in the way of the drill press.....hmmmm..

Stay tuned....

[freiler thompson]

I like that you are giving yourself a good amount of time to put it all together and figure it out instead of just barging forward like I would do. Do you find yourself more of a heirloom quality tool storage guy like Derek or just build something sturdy that works?

[Bob Glenn]

I too am in the process of building a tool chest. Right now, all my tools are displayed on open wall cabinets and shelves of various styles. However, as I am getting older, I am concerned about what will happen to my edge tools when I pass. I don't want them loaded up in cardboard box to jangle around while sitting in a relative's damp garage.

I am also culling the herd a bit, as I no longer need all the old woodies that I used when re-enacting. I've already built a Dutch tool chest and am currently building the a traditional cabinet makers tool chest as described in Scharz's Anarchist's Tool Chest.

[Derek Cohen]

Steven, you have an awful lot of duplicates. In fact I do not know anyone with as many duplicates as you

Freiler, I do not have "heirloom quality tool storage". I hope it is attractive, but it is made of MDF (trimmed in Jarrah scraps) ...



... or a bit of Pine ...



It is just organised. I have a small space, and only keep out the tools I use. The remainder (no duplicates at all) are behind closed doors).

Reduce the unnecessary or unused tools, and it is amazing how much work space opens up ... not to mention the extra storage.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[ken hatch]

Steven, you have an awful lot of duplicates. In fact I do not know anyone with as many duplicates as you

Freiler, I do not have "heirloom quality tool storage". I hope it is attractive, but it is made of MDF (trimmed in Jarrah scraps) ...



... or a bit of Pine ...



It is just organised. I have a small space, and only keep out the tools I use. The remainder (no duplicates at all) are behind closed doors).

Reduce the unnecessary or unused tools, and it is amazing how much work space opens up ... not to mention the extra storage.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek,

Great advice, and so hard to do . I've been trying to cull the herd for awhile and almost every time I pick up a duplicate to move to storage or sell I have a "yes but" moment and back on the working shelf it goes. That's the bad news, the good is the herd isn't growing unless the tool is needed and I do not have one to do the job. The other good news is my tool problem isn't as great as Steven's. With retirement screaming up on me, wither I want it or not, I expect the tool "problem" will be easier to manage once I'm trying to find something to do with my time.

ken

[steven c newman]

rather a bit hard to "cull the herd" when Yard Sale season is just around the corner..LOL..

Duplicates are more for a "collection sort of thing" but, I will stash away most of the "extras", and just keep the better ones of each type...or size....maybe leave a bit in a couple Yankees screwdrivers...different size to match the drivers. same with the braces, and egg beaters. Squares.....Maybe a way to set them up in the cabinet...as I tend to use several sizes in a build.

That "Tool Problem" has been growing since before Norm Abram started on TV..... used to rehab and sell a LOT of tools on that auction site....until the sellers fees got to be too much, and the PayPal account got hacked....haven't really gone back in over 2 years...other than a needed part. No money to be made....and, I'd just buy something else with the cash....

There are some out there, that collect every type, every variation of each tool....some have entire barns full....and never use a one....nor sell one.

Braces? I use two 6" sweeps, and an 8 and a 10" sweep....the two larger braces, the 12" and the 14" are for the BIG jobs, with BIG bits....like a hole in a porch railing, to house the pole for a porch umbrella....

Power tools? Maybe stock those plastic shelves with them? And add a curtain to keep off the dust....

Anyone is more than welcome to stop by and visit the Dungeon Woodwork Shop.....things are bit cramped....but just about right for one Olde Pharte to work in.

[Tony Zaffuto]

'Tis hard to by-pass those orphans! I don't go to yard sales, but we have one of the largest flea markets in PA, nearby. Old tools have been pretty plentiful, through the years, and it is very hard to let that 50 year old 60-1/2, priced at $3.00 just sit there, or the Langdon miter box, at $5.00.

Yankee drivers are not plentiful around here, though. On the other hand, there are many of the Stanley 41 push drills (and similar ones), at a couple of bucks.

[steven c newman]

Busy laying down a new floor for the kitchen....might be a day or two, before the sorting can be started.....
Yankee No. 135? One with a phillips, one with a straight bit
Yankee No. 130? same as above
Yankee No. 131..only have one, right now. Handyman 133s....stash away.
Yankee No. 41....leave 2 out, with a different size bit...large and small...MF will be in storage.

it's a start...

[steven c newman]

Been a delay in the woodworking side of things...been laying new floor tiles in the kitchen...needed to nail down a brass strip, between the new floor and the carpet area ( hope this works)
Kitchen floor project, brass strip.JPG
Which meant I needed to be down there, on these old knees, to install 7 nails....fun part came when I went to stand up....tried at least...fall right back down, and did a face plant...
Kitchen floor project, Landing Zone Nose.JPG
Landing Zone Nose....nose pads on my glasses bent out of the way..of the glasses cutting into my nose...
Kitchen floor project, imapct zone.JPG
Impact Area. Along with the already sore knees, and the sore elbows....I found out I don't bounce anymore..Had to have help getting upright, again...
The floor?
Kitchen floor project. start here..JPG
Well, we did get this corner done...and a start down the hallway..
Kitchen floor project, hallway started...JPG
And the main floor of the kitchen is done. When we recover...we'll get the hall finished up.

face plants onto a floor...hurts...try not to do such things. Walking down the stairs to the shop is..out, for a day or two....
Report back when the sorting is underway...

[steven c newman]

I am more of the "why change bits, just change the tool holder and all" sort of thing. I have one brace with a countersink bit, then another with the pilot hole bit. I just leave those set up.

Squares? I MIGHT use 2 or 3 on a project, depending on the size part being checked. A 3" square doesn't do much good on a wide panel, as a 12" square doesn't quite fit a crosscut for a narrow apron.
Some can layout a 45 degree line...others can't.

some of the "extras" are more of a "just in case" back-up plan.....in case one tool should go "bad", it's place can be taken over by the next in line. 2 small combo squares? Have each set so I don't have to change the settings of jut one...back and forth creates errors. Just have to remember which is for what setting.

Some of those Yankee screwdrivers are mainly for parts....like a selector, or the main spring...parts that tend to break.

Extra planes? some times, you can set each up just a hair different...rather than change irons, depth of cut, camber/no camber.....and then just grab the one best suited to each job.

It has taken me almost 50 years of searching around, looking through tool sales...looking for the tools that suit ME best...I think I have about the best set for what I do....and the wood I work with.

Right now, I am a bit sore and beat up....after doing a face plant onto the new kitchen floor....and found out, I just don't bounce, anymore. Also found out, I can no longer get down on these old knees, and then try to just stand up..it don't work.

[Stew Denton]

This is a very good post. It is making me think about my tool storage. It is time for me to make hard decisions and get rid of excess "stuff."

I have more saws than I need, a few duplicate tools although fortunately not too many, but way less than Steven has. However, the point is the same, I need to thin a little of the herd, but mostly get rid of tools that are never going to be used. I have a son-in-law and friends that can use most of my extra saws, so think I can give away what I don't need to those who are close to me. I don't have "way too many" saws. but I do have more than I will ever use. (On the other hand, that may be by definition "way to many.")

I also need to get rid of tools that are worn out, are in extremely poor shape, or seemed like a great idea at the time but I now know that they will never be used....tools that are solutions looking for a problem. (Fortunately I have very few of those.)

I don't have a lot of storage space, and what I do have is very poorly used. Time to get rid of some stuff to create room to work, and make some storage things like Steven has so as to make much better use of what I do have.

Like Ken, retirement is charging like a freight train and about a year away. A few months after that we will move so the junk has to go.

The first step for me is to finish restoring the tools I will use routinely, and that is underway, so at least I am moving in the right direction.

I am slowly getting smarter about buying tools, and not buying many. A friend in high school told me "a bargain is not a bargain if you don't need it." Extremely good advise, and I am getting better a applying that extremely good advise.

Again a good and timely post.

Regards,

Stew

[Stew Denton]

Hey Steven, one more set of bad knees here, well one real bad knee anyway. Have never done the "nose plant," but have come close. Hope you are on the mend soon.

Stew

[steven c newman]

As soon as I get healed up...I intend to sort through the "extras".....ones that do not work anymore...toss. Ones that do work, and be of use to another woodworker..I pass along, as a "Paying it forward" option. I intend to pare the tool kit down quite a bit...will save time digging around for the tool I need for a task....Will keep some as "parts" to fix any tools that happen to break.

Planes: I happen to have almost every size in either a smooth sole, or a grooved sole....and can keep testing to see which works best on what wood. Will see how the #3c, the #4c, the #6c and the #7c hold up, against the #3, #4, #6, and the #7....

However...what is a person to do, when at the next yard sale, they find a Stanley #3, type 11....for $5.....tain't fair....