"Other" tool storage

Re: "Other" tool storage

Mike G.

>Depends on if you want to display them or just put them in a fancier box. 8^) I have an old plastic milkcrate that tools like that reside in in my truck. The plumb bobs go into a tray in one of my tool boxes. Some like my 3 foot prybar and 5 foot "railroad" bar just ride in the bed of the truck. I use my carpentry tools on a consistent basis, like everyday, so they have to be readily accessible. I will admit that I need to build a better tool box for the rest of my tools, though.

Mike G.

Craftsman top chest

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>I picked up a Craftsman top chest (the one that goes on top of the rollaway) fairly cheap a few years back. It's filled with a mix of carpentry tools and shop tools, with hammers, pry bars, and stuff like that in the top. It suffers two problems: there aren't quite enough drawers deeper than 2", and the top space isn't enough for my arsenal of hammers and pry bars. It's a great improvement over my prior methods, though, which involved deeper, jumble-filled, drawers.

If I had the space and the money, I'd get a rollaway for the purpose - you can get more flexibility in drawer depths - but I've already got three of them in my 11 foot square shop for the mechanical tools (auto, plumbing, electrical, metalworking), and just don't know where I'd put a fourth.

Bill, who sometimes thinks he has too many tools, but lies down until the feeling passes.

Suggestions

Jack Guzman from Maine

>I am also a carpenter.I use those tools you mentioned on a daily basis. I keep them in a "fish box"(rectangular plastic tote about 3'x2'x12" deep) or in a mud bucket in the back of my truck. However ,for your purposes,I suggest making an open wooden tote with a top handle.You could get fancy with it or just build a basic plywood box,your choice.---Jack

Re: Suggestions

Bruce, a MN Galoot

>I like the open wooden tote thought. I grew up lugging one of those to the job site, so there is a good sense of "continuity" there.

Bruce, who's feeling a bit nostalgic at this time of year.

Re: "Other" tool storage

Roger Bell, Oregon

>For several years, I was confined to a 10x12 basement shop, with the tablesaw and jointer outside in a tent served by a single extension cord. Every cubic inch of space was critical. During that phase, which is now, thankfully, over, I developed a couple of storage ideas that are not typical, I think.

For one thing, I hate buiding shop furniture or shop storage units like you see in the mags. My time in the shop is just too limited and therefore too precious.

In my bench room, I use pegboard or racks for the most often used hand tools and clamps. Planes and tools that cannot fit easily on racks are on cheap PB shelves (6' high and running the length of the shop. Both the racks and the shelves flank the bench and assembly table on either side. For the space below the racks, I have two seven foot long plywood office credenzas, each with long, wide file drawers and and with adjustable shelved and doored cabinet space. These rise about thigh-high, creating about 14' of narrow (about 24" wide) "counter space" below the racks. I stack "top chests" on this space for dense storage of small stuff (wrenches, drill bits, etc.) that needs to be handy to the bench. You can see very, very little wall in my bench room.

My wife (she does picture framing) inherited the basement space and I bought her a couple of maps/plans cases to store her unframed prints, matboard, etc. These have very large (36x48) drawers that are shallow (about 2" deep). A ten drawer unit comes up to about bench height. MDO is placed atop each unit and this serves as a layout/assembly and workbench area for her. In my shop, I have a fifteen drawer (drawers about 24x36x2) plans unit that stacks about chin high. Perfect for most hand tools. Nothing can get buried or the drawers wont shut. You can organize within the drawers if you wish. Like having your tools arranged on the bench. Loads of very dense storage in a reasonably small footprint.

I also have two ancient dental cabinets, each with about twenty small (8x12 or so) mostly shallow (but several 6-8" deep) drawers for all the small stuff. Even has a secret compartment where the dentists would stash their opiate drugs.

For finishing material, I use an couple of office type horizontal file cabinet with flipper doors....all metal. About 72x12x36.

I got all this stuff for nearly nothing over a period of several years at auction. I bought the flipper door cabinets, for example, for $1.00 apiece (no one wanted them) just a couple of months ago. Schools, govt agencies and businesses are always surplussing this kind of metal furniture. Just get on the bidders list and they send you the inventory of stuff to be sold. Sure, there will be some dents, weird stickers and crappy GI colors, etc. No one wants this stuff for their home and most offices these days want something far more elegant. Most larger towns have used office supply houses where you can pick this stuff up for a fraction of new if time is more important than money.

Re: "Other" tool storage

Derek

>I'm not a "carpenter" but I do a lot of that knd of work "off site". I keep 2 tool bags - one small one for delicate tools such as chisels and planes and such and a larger one for less delicate stuff like pry bars, hammers hack saw, etc. The small one is from Sears (a gift from my daughter) and the larger one is a big "Gate Mouth" bag.

They are very convenient because tools are portable and relatively easy to find. I can load and unload them into my pickup easily. The tool bags are easy to throw over a shoulder to carry into a building or up stairs.

I have some heavier plastic totes for p*w*r tools and misc. supplies such as screws, glue, etc.

I have a carpenter/contractor friend who uses all sorts of things such as old gym bags and duffel bags.