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Howdy Y'all! While I was cleaning up my shop & house a little, I came across my heavy big dumb ol' milk crates I have full of power & air tools. Things are so heavy that my wife can't even pick them up. How do you guys store your tools?
-------------------- Felix Marcano PuertoRicoSigns.Com Luquillo, PR
Work hard, party like a tourist! Posts: 2287 | From: Luquillo, Puerto Rico, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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We've found that nothing beats the big old rolling chests with all the drawers of varoius sizes. For the really large tools I have two large chests with the lid that flips up.
The best part of getting small after growing quite large (22 crew) is that I now have 3 upright tools chests (on castors of course) filled with the best tools. Only now - THEY ARE ALL MINE! I don't have to share any more.
I have all the drawers labelled on the outside. Some of the crew took great delight in making creative labels such as 'Pointy things' 'Noisy tools' and my favorite 'things that make you go HMMMM'
The down side is that these cabinets aren't cheap. But you can buy them as pieces and add more as you get more tools and more money. There are many style to choose from with different arrangements of drawers and such. Worth the investment in my opinion.
The cabinets are also the home for my bumpersticker collection of places we've been.
-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!!!
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We have one large wall in the carving room covered with pegboard. All power tools are hung there with a large removable dropcloth covering the whole board..
-------------------- Pierre St.Marie Stmariegraphics Kalispell,Mt www.stmariegraphics.com ------------------ Plan on knowing everything before I die and time's running out! Posts: 4223 | From: Kalispell,Mt 59903 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Sounds like you're DEFINITELY spending too much time in the shop!!
-------------------- Pierre St.Marie Stmariegraphics Kalispell,Mt www.stmariegraphics.com ------------------ Plan on knowing everything before I die and time's running out! Posts: 4223 | From: Kalispell,Mt 59903 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
I buy the old metal banged up filing cabinets at the flea markets. Keep sanders in one drawer, air tools in another, drills in.... etc etc etc. Then stack all my wood screw clamps on top of them. Werks fer me.... i bet it'll werk fer you too !!
-------------------- John Smith Kings Bay Signs (Retired) Kissimmee, Florida Posts: 822 | From: Central Florida - The Sunshine State | Registered: Jan 2000
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Had a belt sander one time that wanted to organize my tools. Picket lines, union goons, the whole deal. I fired it and kept all my "scab" tools. Luckily Florida is a "right to work" state.
-------------------- Dennis Goddard
Gibsonton Fl Posts: 1050 | From: Tampa Fl USA | Registered: Apr 2000
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Felix, organizing my power tools? What a novel idea. hmmm. Mine are laying on the floor wherever I used them last. I find that if I take the time to put things in their home, it takes me twice as long to find them the next time I need them. I am trying to come up with a cabinet or something for them. Hurts like he&& when you're barefoot and stub your toe on a circular saw.
John, if your wife sees that post, aren't you afraid she'll be spending the evening with her power tools and expecting you to spend the night with yours?
Dan, I gotta ask. I love your labeling system (The most important file I've ever had is labeled "important homeless things"). What exactly is in the drawer labeled "things that make you go hmmmmm"?
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa
Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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chris..you and have the same organizational skills...hahahahaha mine are in a pile....really hate untangling them cords...
-------------------- 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 use a variation on the "Pile Method" - shiny ones on the floor - rusty ones outside. And I have 2 or 3 of just about everything since I can't find them when the cats run off with them and I have to get another. THEN, sure enough the old one shows up...
Actually - they just seem to organize themselves, it can't all be MY fault.
[ January 06, 2002: Message edited by: Mike Languein ]
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Mike, I like that method for small hand tools. I may have to test that method in-house to see if it works here. But I just don't think it would work for power tools. Maybe I'm wierd that way, but I wouldn't want to plug anything in after it's sat out in the rain/snow.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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I Went to a used restaurant supply place and found an older stainless steel food warmer. It's about 8'long and 5'high. great for tools and it's on wheels. Best 100.00 bucks I've spent. Now, if I can get the tools off the floor and loaded into it things will be great..
-------------------- Robert Davis Sticky Sam's Signs (828)488-1715 stickysam@dnet.net The Great Smoky Mountains Bryson City, N.C. Posts: 133 | From: Bryson City, N.C. US | Registered: Jul 2000
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I long to get a real shop again and get back to the organization I used to have in my former shop in St Petersburg, FL. For a good ten years everything was left wherever it was last used. Not an ideal method when you have a half dozen individuals who might need to locate a particular tool on any given day.
Then came the day we had a two 'leftover' cabinets from a display job we had built. These were about 3'x 4' wall cabinets, 6"deep with closing doors on them. When we popped those suckers on the wood shop wall, we found they could hold just about every power tool we had. One was for electric tools, routers, saws, trimmers etc, and the other was for pneumatic tools, sanders, nailers etc. And because of the way the doors were framed out, they could be fitted with trays to hold all the attendant bits, blades and wrenches needed for the tools inside.
Let me tell you, that worked fantastic! Cabinets were dust-free when closed. Each tool was fitted to hang in a specific place in the cabinet so we could tell at a glance if some tool was missing. It made it dead simple to put things away. And when the doors were closed, the nice oak paneled doors gave a real classy look to the shop. I can't wait to build some more as soon as we get into a permanent facility.
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