I need to buy some more tools
Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:39 am
I have noticed a minor flaw in my shop plan. 
In the shop I'm moving out of I laid it out with the workbench and most hand tools in the center of its length and toward the back of the width. Most hand tools were on the wall behind me when I stood at the bench. The equipment, Shopsmiths and others kind of naturally formed semi-circles around the bench. That part was working very well.
In this new shop which is 24' east/west x 40' north/south, I can't do that well since the chimney and wood furnace sit in the center. I had already decided that I want the bench near the north end about 6' from the outside door in the east end of the north wall and about 6' from the east wall. That is an open area and where I can look up from the bench and see outside. That is very important to me (claustrophobia
) Most of the more common hand tools will be at my back as I stand at the bench.
The glitch that is showing itself is that while in the old shop it was only a few steps from the central bench and tool area to either end of the shop in this new shop a walk back to the wall behind the bench from the opposite corner of the shop (swinging out around the chimney and furnace) is almost in the "hike" category rather than a few steps.
My solution at least for now is going to be to put up a tool panel near the south end of the shop with duplicates of many of the common hand tools like screwdrivers, pliers, adjustable wrenches and Allen wrenches etc. on that panel.
It doesn't sound that far or look that far but after about the 10th trip you start to notice...
I have a herd of duplicates of that kind of tools since I keep buying them at yard/garage sales so I can keep tools in several tractors and 3 trucks. I also keep a few basics in the other barns. Yeah, I could easily sort out a batch from my hodge-podge boxes but my woodshop is different... Here I kind of like matched sets. Silly maybe but this kind of shop has been a long time coming and dang it! I want stuff that is in sets!
Calls for a little shopping...
Shhhhhhhh...
.
In the shop I'm moving out of I laid it out with the workbench and most hand tools in the center of its length and toward the back of the width. Most hand tools were on the wall behind me when I stood at the bench. The equipment, Shopsmiths and others kind of naturally formed semi-circles around the bench. That part was working very well.
In this new shop which is 24' east/west x 40' north/south, I can't do that well since the chimney and wood furnace sit in the center. I had already decided that I want the bench near the north end about 6' from the outside door in the east end of the north wall and about 6' from the east wall. That is an open area and where I can look up from the bench and see outside. That is very important to me (claustrophobia
) Most of the more common hand tools will be at my back as I stand at the bench.The glitch that is showing itself is that while in the old shop it was only a few steps from the central bench and tool area to either end of the shop in this new shop a walk back to the wall behind the bench from the opposite corner of the shop (swinging out around the chimney and furnace) is almost in the "hike" category rather than a few steps.
My solution at least for now is going to be to put up a tool panel near the south end of the shop with duplicates of many of the common hand tools like screwdrivers, pliers, adjustable wrenches and Allen wrenches etc. on that panel.
It doesn't sound that far or look that far but after about the 10th trip you start to notice...
I have a herd of duplicates of that kind of tools since I keep buying them at yard/garage sales so I can keep tools in several tractors and 3 trucks. I also keep a few basics in the other barns. Yeah, I could easily sort out a batch from my hodge-podge boxes but my woodshop is different... Here I kind of like matched sets. Silly maybe but this kind of shop has been a long time coming and dang it! I want stuff that is in sets!
Calls for a little shopping...
Shhhhhhhh...
.