Keeping your shop organzied

Langadune

Langadune

Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
212
I don't know about you but I get alot of clutter on and around my bench when I'm making. Right now I have coffee cans and a pegboard wall above my bench but the clutter still accumulates as I'm working, especially if I'm in the zone and don't want to stop to clean up my tools.

I'm curious what you do to keep your work area organized. Pics would be awesome.
 
I don't care for pegboard I've had problems with the hooks falling out & running out of wall space.
Not everything has or shoul have a hole in it to hang up.
Id rather have windows than walls.

and
Our of sight, out of mind - best to keep the drawers closed and not let the wife see everything layed out on the walls.


Since square footage is always limited, you can only go up.

I like mechanics tool chests with shallow drawers so you can lay everything flat in one layer and see it all at once.

Full roller bearing slides are important, sliders will jam up with very little loads.
When you're comparing them, watch the sizes, some are much smaller in depth, some have very thin sheet steel,
Stainless are nice, but you often see they put fewer drawers in the cabinet to keep costs down.
I keep with paint, they are cheaper.

See if you can buy one set each in different colours, there is a joke here sending someone else to look for something look in the red cabinet...they are ALL red maybe 8 or 10 of them..

Waterloo makes good stuff, including most everything you buy private labelled in the stores.


This seems like a good value, but I'd love to be able to see them in person, we have no HF here
I''d have to pay 2.5x maybe 3 x that price here.

http://www.harborfreight.com/roller-cabinet-26-8-drawer-with-8-drawer-top-chest-67831.html

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Grizzly seems to have a nice one too - in green
http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-Drawer-Chest-With-Gas-Springs/H7731
http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-Drawer-Rolling-Cabinet/H7730


Home depot has some that seem OK, notice that the big bottom drawers have 2 slide rails per side.
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...Id=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UK6YZqAVKTl
 
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I am finalizing my work area right now:thumbup: This is only a temporary studio(rental) but I still needed to organize it or I'll go nuts. After I'm done(hopefully tomorrow) I'll take pics and make a thread.

This is my strategy...

I categorize my tools by frequency of use... Primary, Secondary, Tertiary. The primary tools are placed where I can easily reach and put them away. NO DRAWERS, LIDS or CUPBOARD DOORS to mess with. It sounds funny but even the slightest obstacle will eventually see me leaving tools out. The secondary line-up are stored in a convenient place(drawers or hung on the wall.) They are still easily reached but kept clear of the work area. The tertiary group are mainly specialty tools that get used, occasionally. They get the cupboard or Rubbermaid bin treatment. I make sure to keep them labeled so I don't have to rifle through boxes, blindly searching, when I really need them.

I like a small, well organized shop. If I have access to a larger studio, I tend to want to fill it... and the reality is that I don't need much to have fun at this craft.
 
Man, I fight this problem every day it seems! Even though I work out of half my Garage, it's still a clutter zone! I've bought those stackable Rubbermaid plastic drawer units for my sandpaper plus earlier this year I built an additional work bench that has a lower shelf where I put more of those Rubbermaid pull out drawer units. And I still get frustrated over the clutter! I clean about once a week or so and put everything away. Then it seems like a day later a tornado has went through the area!

Good luck on finding a long term, efficient solution!
 
Rick has a really good point, you can't solve it all with stuff, work practice has to be part of it.

I try to allow "tools away time" as part of the allocated shop time.
When I"m done for the day, 1/2 hour (or whatever) is spent putting away that day's stuff.

It's part of the shop experience and I plan it in so I'm not too tired or fed up to do it.


doesnt' always work as when I'm in the zone I just work until it's way past quitting time.


Don Fogg has some poetry about sweeping the floor and that's one way to look at it.
 
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I tend to clean up in the morning before I start making more mess
sometimes half way through a job the bench get too cluttered and I stop and clean up a bit.

Richard
 
A big clean up between knives helps as well. I try and keep the necessary tools and materials near to the work itself. So jigs, polishing stuff, mops etc. near the grinder. Drill bits, routing bits, rods, tubes, corbys etc. near the drill press. Hand tools, knife vice, files, rasps, grit papers, micromesh near the main vice. I use magnetic racks to store my blade blanks etc.

Edit: Most of my work benches and storage is recycled old kitchen units from when we redecorated.
 
I practice the "rule of ten". Every time I go into the shop I pick up ten items and put them where they belong. Easy habit to get into and it does help with the clutter.

Dick
 
I start out all organized, but things devolve pretty quickly when I get to work. :o

I'll clean up between jobs, though.

I have SO much stuff that needs to be close at hand, I found these Vidmar boxes very handy. :thumbup::thumbup:

Unfortunately, they're pretty pricey (I got mine at auction, and it was still crazy). The drawers are 28 x 28 and they pull out 30 inches and (supposedly) can handle 300 pounds each. You can fit a crazy amount of stuff in these things compared with regular tool boxes.
I highly recommend these (or similar Lista) boxes if you can swing it. You can free up a lot of floor/shelf space with them because of how much stuff they'll hold.:thumbup:
 

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JCaswell said:
I highly recommend these (or similar Lista) boxes if you can swing it. You can free up a lot of floor/shelf space with them because of how much stuff they'll hold.:thumbup:
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Those look great, Joe!

I'm not as productive in a cluttered shop, so I try to keep things neat and tidy. I use a combination of peg board, drawers, tool boxes, plastic divider bins, and larger Rubbermaid=type bins to keep things organized.

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Great photos Shawn. Looks like you've got your act together there. That's what I'm hoping to get to eventually, where everything has it's place and it right there when I need it. Of course, it would help if I put my tools away after I use them. Usually, I only get a couple of hours here and there and don't give my self much time for clean up; or when I do, it takes up a chunk of my time.

I like rasret's "rule of ten" idea. I think I'll start doing something like that.
 
I tried posting last night but the internet ate my post so I'll try again...

My own garage is overstuffed so my workbench is usually hopelessly stacked high. But I have a lot of experience working in my father's garage so I'll relate my experiences there. I think during your work you shoudl expect to have most of your tools out and available, possibly laying on the bench beside your work. It seems that knife work falls into categories, maybe one day you are cutting out blanks, another day you are drilling scales, etc. For each operation you only need certain tools so you can have those out and put away everything else. If you have enough bench space that you can have the work in front of you and the tools laying on the bench next to that then I think this is most efficient. If you don't have enough bench space then maybe a rolling cart would help. You can put the cart next to you and put your tools on it. You can reach for a tool, use it, then put it back down. The cart can also be moved around the shop depending on where you are working, and when not in use you can put it somewhere else. I like the idea of a rolling tool box but in some ways it is not as convenient. I would prefer to just set a tool down in between uses vs. pulling out a drawer, putting the tool in it and pushing it back in. If I'm busy working on something I will set the tool down on top of the box or beside the box rather than deal with the drawers. But when finished with my task then I take the time to put away the tools. I've found that a little time spent keeping track of the tools will pay off in efficiency later on.

I have pegboard above my home workbench and I use it. I find it very nearly as easy to put a tool back on its peg as to lay it on the bench, even though I find it a lot more disruptive to deal with tools in drawers.

The frequency of use of a tool should also figure into this. Pegboard would be the fastest access and for tools that get used frequently, drawers would be for the tools that get accessed somewhat frequently, and shelves a little farther away would be for tools that get used the least frequently.
 
My idea is close to Rick Marchant's. Tho I never thought of primary and secondary tools.
I like tools laying elevated, handle sticking out. That way they are easy to grab.
I took a lot of time setting up shop, wanted to do it right. White walls and even a painting to give a feeling of a further horizon.
It is not just a place to make stuff it is a place to feel good.

I also like to keep tools where I use them. Files next to my large vice, a jewelers saw next to a small swivel vice.
Three workbenches a different hights.
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The last pic is not my knife making shop but more of a general place. I'm blessed with a lot of space, but this place is cold and windy.
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I like that, Hengelo. If I had deeper countertops, I might adopt that handle out concept. Maybe in the permanent shop.
 
Hengelo_77 said:
It is not just a place to make stuff it is a place to feel good.
Click to expand...

Your shop looks very inviting and your above quote mirrors how I feel about my shop. Before I made knives I never had a true "shop" and it has quickly become my favorite place to be!!
 
I also have my dremel with flexible shaft hanging from a curtain rail that runs along the ceiling.
It runs behind me when I sit at the workbench.
I borrowed the idea from jewelers hanging rotary motors.
One less thing laying around.
One pull and you have it where you need it or have it out of the way
 
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