Shop Project: Chisel Rack for OmniWall

[Jim Becker]

Along the same lines as the small plane till I recently completed for the OmniWall setup, I made the decision to make a proper (for me) chisel rack for my chisels (duh...) and the small number of carving tools I also own. Keeping with the theme of the previous project, I chose red oak for this one, too, but didn't have any scrap available. That meant a trip to Bucks County Hardwoods to pick up a 4/4 red oak board as I didn't want to buy hardwood at the 'borg. They had one left. I'm not kidding about that. One 12" wide by 7' long board. With defects. Since I didn't want to spring for an extra two bucks a board foot for white oak (which there was plenty of), that board came home with me and Morgan gave me a very good deal on it because of the defects. They were of little consequence since I was cutting it up into smaller pieces anyway.

Before I even bought that wood, I did a little prototyping with a piece of scrap plywood to decide on spacing, dimensions for the "perforations", etc. I made notes right on the prototype so I would have them when creating the CAD/CAM files for the project as I intended to use the CNC to cut things out. It makes perfect sense to use the CNC to make tool storage for Neanderthal hand tools, right?

IMG_3863.jpg IMG_3864.jpg IMG_3871.jpg IMG_3894.jpg

That worked out just fine...and after thinking about it, a three level, stepped design seemed like it might work just fine.

IMG_3895.jpg

After preparing the oak with the J/P, cleaning it up nice and taking it to 15mm...small enough to look good proportionally, but thick enough to be strong and have space for fasteners...I cut out the parts. Note that I did adjust things to account for a knot that made it into the 300mm x 450mm material used to cut the three "shelves" from by flipping the largest one and moving it to the left before cutting all three. Not shown is the second file which produced the two sides for the project.

IMG_3896.jpg IMG_3897.jpg

And after a bit of sanding, here's a "dry fit" on the bench...

IMG_3898.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Like with the small plane till, I used inexpensive shelf brackets to create the connection between the chisel rack and the OmniWall panels. Because of the spacing I chose that accommodates nine tools per "shelf", it was necessary to mount the sides of the rack outboard of the "shelves" but with the metal brackets recessed into the sides. That meant laying things out carefully. Which I slightly failed on , but that will get mentioned later. The brackets were cut down to fit but not show on the front of the sides...that made the coming work just slightly harder, but would result in a better look. (I held the ends of the brackets on the small plane till back from the front, too, but they were surfaced mounted)

IMG_3899.jpg IMG_3900.jpg IMG_3901.jpg

Once the brackets were cut down, it was off to the drill press to, well...drill. And countersink.

IMG_3902.jpg

These reduced size brackets were then checked with the layout and minor adjustments were made.

IMG_3903.jpg

The recesses were hogged out carefully with a router and then cleaned up with a chisel, gouge, knife and sandpaper

IMG_3908.jpg IMG_3909.jpg IMG_3910.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Pilot holes for the screws that would hold the hardware in place were drilled and the screws temporarily installed

IMG_3911.jpg

And then there was a test fit on the OmniWall grid. This was the point that I said "D'oh!" (or was that some other word... ) Something moved, either physically or with my eyesight and either the top or bottom brackets were offset vertically by about a quarter inch. (the grid is in inches, so even though the project is designed in metric, the spacing for the brackets had to be measured thusly) If this was a "fine woodworking" project, new sides would have been made with corrected spacing. But I chose not to do that simply because making the recess larger for the bottom brackets to move them up a little bit would not be readily visible with the tools in the rack and there's no assurance that I will be satisfied with the design as-is...it could get rebuilt in the future once I know what works and what doesn't work. So I made the correction and did a new test fit of the sides. Perfect. The fit that is. Not the workpieces 'cause they now had an extra "feature".

IMG_3912.jpg

More sanding ensued and then I put that thang together at the bench with glue, pin nails and later, a few trim-head screws for physical strength.

IMG_3913.jpg IMG_3914.jpg

And more sanding came into play before the finish went on...same as the small plane till; just a little clear Varathane satin on the wood and black spray paint on the metal hardware

IMG_3916.jpg IMG_3915.jpg

By the end of the day, the finish was dry enough that I could hang the thing up and then populate it with the tools.

IMG_3922.jpg IMG_3923.jpg

What I'm happy with:

• The look and consistency with the small plane til. The oak looks nice on that black OmniWall background
• The spacing is reasonable for my needs...I don't do a lot of hand tool work so it's not a problem that stuff is pretty close and that the business ends of the carving tools are not readily visible

What I'm not as happy with:

• There are only two available spaces available if I were to suddenly acquire any more tools
• The chamfer on the top of the holes for the tools looks nice but it creates a slightly less stable platform for the tools...I need to experiment further with what might work better if I do a new version at some point
• The mental/physical mistake I made when insetting the brackets...not really visible but I know it's there

[Derek Cohen]

Jim, I like your plane rack. But the chisel rack is not in the same class. Sorry. I know you can do better. I do have an idea for you.

One of the issues is that the lower row of chisels has blades sticking out, and these can be a danger. A second issue is that the holders are not secure to keep the chisels upright, and they will sway.

What I would do is build a chisel rack similar to the plane rack - think of it as a sloping drawer with compartments. The chisels would lie in their own compartment, facing upward.

Extra work, but you only have to (re) do it once.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Thomas Wilson]

Nice rack! I used a Lee Valley reamer to taper the chisel holes. It helps the chisels to hang vertical.

[Zachary Hoyt]

It looks nice to me. My chisel racks have never advanced beyond a board with a slot in it that they stick down through. I've been thinking about making a deep narrow pocket instead, so that the chisel handles stick out and the rest is hidden.That would maybe keep them from flopping around as much as they do in my current system.

[Malcolm McLeod]

... reamer to taper the chisel holes. ...

A (electrician's) step drill makes a good poor-man's substitute for a tapered ream.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, I like your plane rack. But the chisel rack is not in the same class. Sorry. I know you can do better. I do have an idea for you.

One of the issues is that the lower row of chisels has blades sticking out, and these can be a danger. A second issue is that the holders are not secure to keep the chisels upright, and they will sway.

What I would do is build a chisel rack similar to the plane rack - think of it as a sloping drawer with compartments. The chisels would lie in their own compartment, facing upward.

Extra work, but you only have to (re) do it once.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I don't disagree that it's not the best design, but it will serve for the moment. I'm not worried about the blades exposed on the bottom row, however, as they all have protective covers on them except for those two cheap angled ones that are not staying around...I just put them there for the moment. Only the carving tools on the top row do not have protective covers. You did identify the one thing that I'm least happy with and that's the stability of the handles. I blame that on the chamfer. The 20mm "holes" should have just had a recessed but flat rim and the edges of the slot to the outside world just need slightly eased edges.

---
The step drill suggestion is a very good one relative to dealing with those chamfers to buy time until I decide to build version 2.0

[Aaron Inami]

Very nice rack! I do see the benefits of having a CNC machine, even though I have no desire to get one. It just seems like cheating, lol. But you need one for high production shops. I have limited shop space and, as a result, limited wall space, so all my chisels are consolidated into a tool chest drawer. I will be doing further consolidation this year to free up more area.

[Jim Becker]

Trust me, using a CNC machine is not "cheating" in any way, shape or form. It takes a whole bunch of work before you are ready to cut something for sure. But to your point, it does help do some things that are pretty tedious and involve many steps when done with multiple other tools. My use for the machine is to do the things I hate doing so I can focus more on the activities that I enjoy. It combines a bunch of things I've liked for either my lifetime or many decades including computing/IT, graphic design/art and woodworking (including sometimes non-wood materials). Any failures with a project like this come from my head for sure...

I debated leaving the chisels in drawers as they have been for years. There are advantages and disadvantages to both drawer and display. I decided that here in the new shop that I wanted to leverage the drawer space I have more for materials and consumables or tool things I very rarely use but still need to use from time to time. Some things are also becoming more mobile...an example being my current project for a mobile lathe tool storage solution which will be followed by a smaller, compact miter saw cabinet since I rarely use that tool, but still want it easily available should I want or need to employ it for something.

[Patty Hann]

Trust me, using a CNC machine is not "cheating" in any way, shape or form. It takes a whole bunch of work before you are ready to cut something for sure. But to your point, it does help do some things that are pretty tedious and involve many steps when done with multiple other tools. My use for the machine is to do the things I hate doing so I can focus more on the activities that I enjoy. It combines a bunch of things I've liked for either my lifetime or many decades including computing/IT, graphic design/art and woodworking (including sometimes non-wood materials). Any failures with a project like this come from my head for sure...

I debated leaving the chisels in drawers as they have been for years. There are advantages and disadvantages to both drawer and display. I decided that here in the new shop that I wanted to leverage the drawer space I have more for materials and consumables or tool things I very rarely use but still need to use from time to time. Some things are also becoming more mobile...an example being my current project for a mobile lathe tool storage solution which will be followed by a smaller, compact miter saw cabinet since I rarely use that tool, but still want it easily available should I want or need to employ it for something.

"...which will be followed by a smaller, compact miter saw cabinet since I rarely use that tool, but still want it easily available should I want or need to employ it for something."

oooooo... looking forward to see what you come up with for that.

[Alan Lightstone]

Jim:

That's a pretty big slope on your plane till. Mine is far less, and for belt-and-suspenders I have loops of boot laces that go around the totes of the planes to prevent them from falling.

That being said, with the large space inside your plane till, why not redesign it so that the chisels can live inside it, hanging in a similar fashion to what you have now, with the planes sitting on a swinging door. A piano hinge and handle / magnet would make that possible. It might have to be made a little wider, but would save substantial wall space.

[Jim Becker]

Jim:

That's a pretty big slope on your plane till. Mine is far less, and for belt-and-suspenders I have loops of boot laces that go around the totes of the planes to prevent them from falling.

That being said, with the large space inside your plane till, why not redesign it so that the chisels can live inside it, hanging in a similar fashion to what you have now, with the planes sitting on a swinging door. A piano hinge and handle / magnet would make that possible. It might have to be made a little wider, but would save substantial wall space.

The prototype til, as mentioned in the thread for that, had less of a slope and that was problematic for the tools staying in place because...um...gravity. So the final one got a bit more slope. Even so, I'm going to install a small elastic strap laterally to insure those expensive larger planes do not perform a dive to the floor should something bang into the wall hard enough to knock them loose. The plane till does not open...it's not a box. If I'm going to hide the chisels away, I can just put them back in a drawer, honestly. My goal here was for them to be easily accessible so putting them into a box rather than a drawer doesn't accomplish that. But I do appreciate the suggestion. Robert Tarr's new plane till has storage space inside (he posted a photo in this past weeks "Accomplishments" thread) where additional planes and accessories are stored. It's a valid idea for sure!

[Alan Lightstone]

No question my till is far less sloped. It's total depth is only 4-1/2" as making it deeper would have been problematic at its location. And yes, that pesky gravity made for a real issue. Those bootlaces really look just fine, and keep everything in its place. Instead of a lateral strap as you describe, I have a loop for each plane.

Here's what mine looks like:
Plane Till 2.jpg
I keep my chisels in a drawer under my assembly table with dessicant (real humid down here in Florida) so they would actually be in a worse location inside the plane till, but I still like the idea.

You, of course, need to do what works best for you.

[Jim Becker]

Believe it or not, one of the reasons I want to get the chisels out and on the wall is so I have an actual visual reminder to sharpen the darn things..."out of sight, out of mind" very much is an issue around this for me and it causes delays when I'm in the middle of a project and suddenly need to do the sharpening thing on "that one tool" I need in the moment. I know that may sound whacko to some, but it's real here.