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There sure are alot of folks out there NOT sharing their workshops! And I'd like to change that.
Do you have a creatve area where you're storing your tools? I'd like to show it off in my Workshop Series - The DIY Blog. I'll give you credit if I use it.
If you have a direct url(better) or jpg (I'll accept) to send of your workshop area, I'd love to have a look see.
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Hi Donna, This post sorta got lost before I saw it. I have a small tool room that is completely finished in white pegboard. Everything is adaptable and I'm an admitted pegboard doohickey freak. I'll shoot some photos if you like.....
-------------------- www.signcreations.net Sonny Franks Lilburn, GA 770-923-9933 Posts: 4115 | From: Lilburn, GA USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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I'm refining Bill's system by dividing the piles in two, then doubling their height. If you can't find it, it might be in under the router, of the kids have taken it out to fix one of their motorbikes in the paddock.
(and Donna, we have two 'shadow boards' like pegboards I guess, but plain MDF, formerly easels at a letterhead meet, screwed to the walls, and lots of screws drilled in to hang tools from. Then there are many pigeon holes of boxes of screws & misc tools that you don't hang up. Then there's a 40 ft x 9 ft shipping container for the other stuff.
I'm tryng to put shelving near various workstations on which the most needed things for that area stay. I have a mobile work trolley, but it tends to stay in the one place & not get moved at all.
One shadowboard is above a workbench from where you can reach most woodworking tools in one movement from the left end, where the wood vice, and clamps are. The right hand end has a metal vice, and more steel type tools within reach. The other shadowboard, containing tools not needed so often, is behind the screen vacuum table. Squeegees & spare hammers & files & tinsnips & other odd inventions etc are hung there.
Then there are the 'good' chisels - they're hidden from where the kids might accidentally find them, but I can get them when needed, in one reach!)
It's a constantly evolving & Changing thing, depending on the priorities of the moment.
Most of our 'big' machinery is too heavy to move. I used to have a lot of smaller to medium things on home-made pallets, and use a pallet jack to move them into the clear as they were needed. I stopped that in the end, as good working space was taken up by seldom-used stuff.
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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i did the "milk crate" storage. only problem was i had to STEAL all the milk crates, as the dairy company wont sell me any. mine is 4 milk crates WIDE, 3 HIGH. all ya do is set 2 side by side, open end to one side, plastic slip tie, these 2 together, add the next one and next one. make these 3 rows 1st. now set one row on top of other and slip tie them to bottom row.
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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I wouldn't want to show pics of my shop; it's too untidy for public viewing. But I've had a few decent pieces of inspiration.
I've done similar to Joe, with the milk crates. But visualize a checkerboard. I screwed them to a wall,thru the bottom, with the open side out. Made a row of five or six of them across, with the width of a crate space between them. Then, another row on top of them, staggered, so the corners touched. Then another row staggered above that. Makes a bunch of 'compartments' for storage of all sorts of stuff. Please don't tell the dairy!
Also, I've found some 'pouch/bag/thingees' at Home Depot, that fit inside a 5 gallon plastic bucket. Inside, put your electric drill, jug saw and big stuff. Around the outside are pouches for screwdrivers, pliers, vicegrips, tapes, and all that. VERY handy for going out on a job. The bucket holds lots of stuff; the handle makes it easy to carry. We now just keep one, ready to go, in the truck at all times.
-------------------- Dale Feicke Grafix 714 East St. Mendenhall, MS 39114
"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Posts: 2963 | From: Mendenhall, MS | Registered: Apr 1999
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Yeah, Dale, those inside & out pocket/pouch things are good. We have a couple of 3 gallon buckets left over from drywall plaster, and it sort-of suits them better than the 5 gallon ones- less top-heavy, I find.
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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This particular topic is of interest to me because I work as a Model Maker for Waterloo Industries. Waterloo produces several brands of tool storage solutions (including all of Craftsman's tool boxes) and well as several types and brands of garage storage systems.
I work in the product development area as a model maker/prototype developer, so I can give input as to direction and ideation for new tool and garage storage solutions.
I'm always interested in the creative ways people come up with to organize their working spaces and improve efficiency.
Below is a couple of pieces of studio equipment that I built and or put back into service. The easel was being discarded at the University where I was working. I had to rebuild a few of the components for it and restore the whole thing and then refinish. The taboret sitting next to the easel was constructed out of a pile of wood I bought for $5 at an auction. It has a power strip in back for powered tools and can also be used to mix paint on top of. I also can clamp the airbrush holder onto the top surface when needed.
I had a little extra oak veneer left over from building the taboret, so I built an airbrush holder box. It contains everything needed to run the airbrush...hose, jars, pipe cleaners. tips. I sometimes travel to do work so it is just easier for me to grab the oak box with everything that I need and toss it in the vehicle. It's lined with foam so nothing moves around in transit. The airbrush box, the air compressor, and my sign kit and I am usually able to make something happen. Next up I need to build something similar for my larger spray guns.
As soon as I can get some good light in the garage, I will shoot some pics of my main tool box. I am finally getting a decent set of tools put together. I also purchased a combo toolbox set for all my drawing tools and equipment. I have yet to organize my drawing equipment as I am still getting settled into my new living space.
Look forward to what other are doing or ideas people have.
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Dale, very nice wood boxes and other thingies you've got there. Just wanted to say that I have had a couple of Waterloo tool boxes and they were excellent. At this time of my life I cannot show photos of the many tool boxes and kits I have because its very hard to get into my shop and find everything, ya know what I mean??
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
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Donna, I took some pics the night I saw this post... but got busy & they say on my desktop... but, being the organizational freak I am.. I finally cleaned my desktop & saw them:
My Gerber Edge foils are on shelves above the workstation where I run my edge jobs. The Edge2 I use has a cover that opens up into a tall obstruction that won't fit under these shelves, so it is on the opposite wall behind the camera, & the Gerber plotter is under the foils instead. I also have one of many vinyl racks located there, dedicated for the common rolls of media used in my Edge2
In this pic, my Dell Precision 690 is a large tower, so I position it sideways with the cabling end close to my monitor & device hook-ups, but the depth doesn't encroach in my work area as much & it creates a nice bulletin board for post-it notes etc. On the left is one file organizer shown, & 2 more site just out of the frame for jobs in progress.
This paint room is a low ceiling'd loft I built, looking down over my largest production area. The back bench has a shower curtain to keep the overspray from my new foray into HVLP spraying. You can also see two 8' long roll-up blinds bungied in the up position, but they can also contain overspray from my water-base spraying.
These 6' Gorilla shelving systems are sold in easily joined 3' sections, so I realized I could make them 9' shelves instead, which is great for a room with 16' ceilings & limited floor space. I prioritized my less used, lighter weight most bulky stuff on the top.
A lot of people I know throw away their power tool boxes, but I like the stacking ability that square cases offer. I also use milk crates & have numerous other labeled boxes. The blue painters tape makes for easy changes when things change, which they tend to do around here.
Below the 2 benches on the right I have tool boxes with drawers for all my drill bits, router bits, etc, and under the further bench is fasteners. Below the peg board is a 1x6 shelf with wide mouth mason jar lids screwed to the bottom... I thought everyone knew this same trick my dad taught me, but several people who've passed through had never seen that. At least one ran home and made his own after seeing the convenience of visible containers easily removed & replaced.
[ January 14, 2010, 02:03 PM: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
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that is just sick Doug. mine is the antithesis of this and I may just post some pics. even your levels are level
-------------------- Jon Peterman 200 Summit Loop Grants Pass, OR -------------------- a.k.a. dc-62 success is in Jesus Christ Posts: 434 | From: grants pass or. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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I'm in the process of building a studio above my shop and custom built wood cabinets along the two sides. Next I need to do some rearranging in the shop and will move some of the steel shelving. I have tin bread boxes, ammo cans, wood crates, milk crates, you name it. In the studio I am going to use cardboard boxes in the cabinets to keep organized. In the shop I might make all wood crates to finally get organized. I have a-lot of boxes, but I my use priority mail boxes, as I would have uniformly sized boxes, and they are free. No wonder the post office is in trouble,.
I wish I could hire Doug to set it up for me. Because, as organized as I get about executing a job, I just can't seem to get my shop storage to what it should be. You would think being an army vet I would be able to organize my stuff better. I can't wait to see your blog Donna maybe I'll get some good Ideas.
[ January 14, 2010, 02:51 PM: Message edited by: Dana Stanley ]
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I built some material racks out of unistrut material, because I was able to get several hundred dollars worth in trade. My first set was the ones in the foreground, for all my 4x8 material. I loved it so much I decided to tear out the other things I had on that wall & build a matching set at the far end for partial sheets & smaller sheet stock. It is also on an angle to allow 4' materials to only eat 3' into the available floor space.
the panel saw leans right into the V between the racks, and only one bay of material gets trapped, and my saw is on wheels, so that's not a problem.
The new rack needs some shelving on those horizontal supports & then I can gather up cut-offs from all 3 floors of my shop & never again buy more of substrates I already have too much of, or cut full sheets when I have the perfect size scrap already!
Storage of vinyl on PVC pipe (enlarged photo shows hole drilled in each side slid into slatwall hooks - upside down to show hole - whoa that's a big photo!!)
Our signage also acts as a half wall. Storage table on backside covered with Coroplast and strip of moulding with a piano hinge hides the mess - Coroplast slides left or right, or comes out when moulding is raised to access entire storage area. We covered the front of the wall with Dibond and our graphics, back of the wall with Coroplast where we often store excess mask (of course we've cleaned it up for the photo op!)
Put wheels on our weeding/masking table with a folding table underneath, and store 2 stools under that. The table was so heavy, the wheels were the best idea as the table now moves effortlessly when we need the easel. My idea for the easel came to fruition when my husband built it with 6 positions so we can move it up and down for ease of reachability. The alternate premask is stored on peghooks in the back, at a good level so it is easy to switch out. We keep a boot tray on the folding table under the weeding table for all the knives, tape, squeegees, etc. so we don't have to clear the table piece by piece when needing the entire table length.
My next few ideas are in the next post -
[ January 16, 2010, 02:00 AM: Message edited by: Lori Wilcox ]
-------------------- Lori Wilcox Tabby Ink Hinton, Alberta Canada Ph 780-865-4305 Posts: 306 | From: Hinton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: Aug 2007
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Scrap vinyl is stored in Coroplast - approx 4' x 3' like a booklet - we place 2 colors reversed to each other and lift it onto the table one way or the other depending on color, to fetch remnants. We have 4 scrap 'booklets' to house all the colors. We really are in need of a map cabinet, as that would be idea to just open a drawer, but they're very expensive and I just can't justify the cost for scrap (of course it's not scrap, it's extra money, but we'll call it scrap!).
And my last idea - I had purchased a plant holder to dress up the front of the outside of the shop in the summer - couldn't find any colorful flower pots because we had such a cold spring - and ended up using the plant stand to hold the heat gun, as I ended up scorching the floor constantly putting it down when it was hot.
I LOVE the tips and ideas - keep 'em coming!!
-------------------- Lori Wilcox Tabby Ink Hinton, Alberta Canada Ph 780-865-4305 Posts: 306 | From: Hinton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: Aug 2007
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Even though I'm in between making signs full time for a couple years now, I still have come up with something that was very cheap to use for storing vinyl.
A department store went out of business and they sold everything to the public. I bought a stand for hosiery or gloves and set it up to hold my rolls of vinyl. I really would rather have the heavy duty ones they sell but this was a mere $5 and it stores up to 30 rolls. It will do!
Of course the prongs can come off and they aren't as long as I would like but they hold up the rolls. The good part about being able to take them off is that I can rearrange for the larger rolls. The larger rolls are a bit heavy but I put them on the bottom if they need to be stored.
[ January 16, 2010, 04:25 PM: Message edited by: Deb Fowler ]
-------------------- Deb Fowler
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney (1901-1966) Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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Hey the pic Donna shows above of her garage was AFTER she pre-cleaned it up for the photo shoot. I've been there when she couldn't get to the garage door to open it from the inside.
I'll be watching from half a block away...
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Donna, it's the old simple philosophy of "A place for everything and everything in it's place". Start with small manageable sections and deal with them one at a time, don't be overwhelmed by everything all at once. If it isn't perfect the first time you can always change it too, so just try to get it all in "a place". Once it's there, then it's just an easy matter of developing the habit of putting it all back in it's place as you work. It's really a lot easier to maintain it when it's straightened out but when it's a jumbled mess, it's impossible.
-------------------- Gary Boros SIGNWORKS STUDIOS LLC Monroe, Connecticut, USA Posts: 264 | From: Monroe, Connecticut, USA | Registered: Dec 2007
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Now that I see what you're trying to straighten up, here's a system I think is very good, versatile and cost effective. There are many shelving solutions out there but one of my favorites are the products manufactured by the John Sterling Company www.johnsterling.com. If you look on pages 22 & 23 of their price list, those are what I'm referring to. It is a simple but strong shelving bracket system that you can mount on the wall, hang from the foundation sill, suspend from a ceiling joist or many other unique methods. They are available with a wide variety of unique hanging solutions and for linear foot of storage they are one of the most cost effective systems. They can easily be rearranged and taken with you if you move too! I know you can't exactly see the whole system in that price catalog but perhaps a little more research into their distributors will explain it all.
-------------------- Gary Boros SIGNWORKS STUDIOS LLC Monroe, Connecticut, USA Posts: 264 | From: Monroe, Connecticut, USA | Registered: Dec 2007
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I have several blueprint flat file cabinets in my shop for storing various kinds of artwork, scrap vinyl, etc. Yes, new ones are very expensive, however over the years I have found quite a few used ones fairly cheap and even free. Stores that sell used office furniture sometimes have them.
Lori, I like your scrap vinyl storage as it doesn't take up much room. The flat files use up a lot of floor space, but you can use the top surface or put them under a table.
I also have a Craftsman rollaway tool box next to my drawing table that I use for storing art supplies and drawing tools.
-------------------- Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain ! Jim Moser Design 13342 C Grass Valley Ave. Grass Valley, Ca. 95945 530-273-7615 jwmoser@att.net Posts: 488 | From: Grass Valley, Ca. | Registered: May 2006
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