Best Use of Cabinates

[knottythumbs]

I’m in process of renovating my garage into a shop and have some great cabinets installed that are just begging for renovation for greater efficiency. Any great ideas for tool storage/organization to best utilize this ~ 9’ square space?
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I like the following concept and am open to your suggestions:
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I’m also looking to build a work bench. I recovered a couple solid wood, commercial doors and am considering converting 1 into a work bench. Any good plans for a solid, mobile bench that won’t cost me too much? I like the idea of this:
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[beeg]

My first thought is put in various sizes of bins in 1 or 2 of the spaces.

[pinkiewerewolf]

I like the storage/peg board idea and the bench looks good too. I'd add some weight to the bottom and maybe some storage for the inside to give it some bottom weight/stability. Its a beauty though.

My tall storage looks like the storage in your picture. Me thinks it is time for a winter cleaning and organizing around the pinkster's garage next month.

[doug45601]

Looks like you already have a good start! For me to utilize and maximize my space, I go up high. Meaning I like shelves built high, close to the ceiling working my way down. Most people think I'm nuts as they build storage from the ground up. That's till they see my storage concepts.. Everything not used often but what I want kept handy goes to the top shelfs (light stuff of course)

Also, I like wheels and casters. Almost everything I have can be moved easily around the space and should a fire break out I won't be breaking my back! Even allows me to mobilize onto the drive way in the summer months.

I like your peg board ideas. Just gotta have a good memory as to where to find a tool you need.. Almost like a library system.

Gotta make room for the bandsaw, jointer, planer, scroll saw, strip sander etc.! Get plenty of lighting and good electrical outlets.

Made my workbench something like what you have pictured but not so fancy.. Mine is made from 2X4's with 3/4" plywood top.. 48X60 with a wood vice on one end. Lower shelf and 2 wide, 6" deep drewers on each side. It's the only thing that doesn't have casters.

Keep safety items near all tools as we often overlook them and put a good "fire bottle" in your shop along with firstaid items..

Have some fun but be safe. No more then 2 beers when working with power tools and sharp things..

[a1gutterman]

knottythumbs ,

You have a nice start and that peg board idea seems like a good one. Also, others have given you good advice. I wood just add that I like drawers. You might consider putting a few drawers inside those cabinets.

[Ed in Tampa]

Aw cabinets what an adventure!
I have many styles of cabinets in my shop and most serve me well but non are perfect.
Charlese has sent me some pictures and I think he may have posted them on the forum of the cabinets. They seem so versatile that I'm seriously considering scrapping what I have and building them.

As I see the problem you have three situation or considerations. One getting everything put away. Two being able to find and get to what you have put away. And three keep as much under cover so everything doesn't become a saw dust magnet.
Add to this the fact somethings that are stored have a fire potential, some things are rarely used and some things are nice to look at while others aren't


Deep shelfs are nice for big things but terrible when a tiny screw driver gets lost in the back. Shallow shelfs are excellent for ready access and easy to find scenarios but are useless for big things.

For tool storage the cabinets Charlese sent me pictures of are excellent, I think they came from Woodsmith or Shopnotes. For supply storage open shelving or large cabinets like you have are great. The slide out peg board speciality method is great but as you add or subtract tools it can become a real nightmare trying to figure where to store something and know where it is at.


On the work bench, every "craftsman" wants one and I think nearly everyone builds one, two, three and half dozen in their life. I know I have. However in today's world there are far better ideas. They are cheaper, more versatile and don't take so much room up in the shop. If you watch Norm on Old Yankee you will see he basically uses a work table and unless your going to do a lot of hand tooling of the wood a work table is all that is needed.

Before I built a "craftsman" work bench with tail and face vises with heavy bottoms and weighting a ton. I would build a sturdy but moveable work table with t-tracks either in the table surface or lining the edge. The t-tracks would allow thousands of clamping options but also thousand of jigging solutions also. I would make it moveable because one project you need to be in front in another you need to be behind, in still others you need floor space.

I have a workbench that often is more in my way than helping me. This summer I mounted it on casters and that helped but if I didn't love the solid maple top so much I would trash it and build myself a work table very similar to a Kreg table only bigger but more moveable.

[knottythumbs]

Thanks for the feedback Ed. I'd sure like to see some of those pics Charlese sent on tool storage. Tell me more about the work table with t-tracks. I plan to build on on wheels and agree with the idea of being mobile. I looked at the Kreg table and see the value of clamping. Any suggestions for making something like that?

[Ed in Tampa]

Thanks for the feedback Ed. I'd sure like to see some of those pics Charlese sent on tool storage. Tell me more about the work table with t-tracks. I plan to build on on wheels and agree with the idea of being mobile. I looked at the Kreg table and see the value of clamping. Any suggestions for making something like that?

There have been a few discussions on workbenches and t-tracks. I think it remains a personal choice on the actual execution of how it is done.

The formal workbench like you pictured is what everyone thinks of when we say woodworking, and I do believe that bench type has a place in wood working today. However most of us don't do intensive hand tool crafting today. Let's face it few do much hand planing, hand dovetail cutting, hand mortising. Instead we reach for the router or run the board through the plane. What we need is something to hold the wood secure enough to be steady for a router but no where near what was needed to hammer out a mortise. We need assembly tables and we need flat surfaces to spread out he project to for assembly.

Therefore today most of our work benches are used more as design tables, glue up tables, assembly tables, and general catch alls. My bench has a shoulder and a face vise and I haven't used either in a long time. But I have used my table to keep stuff off the floor, and as a general work table everyday. It is big, heavy and a pain when I don't need it and have to work around it. Even on wheels it is a horse.

I would rather have a thin (projection from the wall) wall bench/shelf to store stuff and a collapsable work table that has t-tracks in it so I can clamp, or fashion jigs when needed. Then the space my present work bench takes would be free to reconfigure as I need and work dictates.

[fjimp]

Doug Said: I like your peg board ideas. Just gotta have a good memory as to where to find a tool you need.. Almost like a library system.

With age my memory lets me down daily. All of my drawers and cabinets have labels denoting what is stored and even which part of which shelf. Saves me tons of search time. fjimp

[charlese]

Thanks for the feedback Ed. I'd sure like to see some of those pics Charlese sent on tool storage. .

Here are 5 of them. These tool hangers and the drawer and shelves are all hung on peg board with the use of "L" hooks. One of the best things about this system is I can move the shelves or tools to other locations as needed. I bought a box of 100 "L" hooks. they are almost used up now. They are not cheap when bought from big box or hardware stores.