Shop organization

gdpolk

gdpolk

Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Messages
461
I am just getting into knifemaking and about to be setting up my own shop. I've been apprenticing at another guys shop for a while and doing a little of my work and some of his grunt work along the way. Well it's time to start setting up my own shop as stuff sells and I can start building my own tooling one knife at a time. That said, I do not like clutter and disorganized workspaces/tool storage solutions so I'd like to ask what you all are doing to organize the chaos and improve efficiency?
 
Get a bunch of the shoe box size clear storage bins. Put as much of the small stuff in the shop in them as possible. Wood, files, tools, small parts,etc. Use them to hold all the itmes for each knife project. This will keep the bench neat and you can find the handle block, guard, pins, etc. for a knife you are working on. The bins used for in/out boxes and the racks for holding files ( the office kind) are great for storing sandpaper. Magnetic strip tool holders can't be beat for holding blades in progress and small tools like allen wrenches.

Use wire type closet shelving for shelves. It won't collect dust like a solid shelf.

Make a steel bar storage rack from 3" PVC pipe. Cut six sectios each of 6" and 12" long. Use PVC cement to bond them together. Mount agaist a wall and store bar stock and pin stock in them.

This is a big thing - It is very easy to forget what type steel a bar of blade is. Label all steel bars on both sides and both ends. Use the white metal markers from Fastenal and other plces. When working on a blade, use the same markers to mark the steel type and any other notes. The white marker will survive HT.
 
This is the kind of thread I've been subconsciously waiting for...more please!
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Make a steel bar storage rack from 3" PVC pipe. Cut six sectios each of 6" and 12" long. Use PVC cement to bond them together. Mount agaist a wall and store bar stock and pin stock in them.
Click to expand...

Stacy, do you have a photo by chance? I'm having a hard time visualizing what you mean and I've been trying to come up with a decent storage solution.

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Great ideas thus far. Any others welcome. Sometimes it's the small things that make life simple and easy.
 
I'm unfamiliar with the metal markers but they sound very useful. Are these the Nissen ones? If so do you reccomend the bottles or super fine felt tip ones for simple, small markings?
 
I work in metal fabrication, all of our parts are labeled and relabeled as they travel through the shop with white paint pen, as it's easy to confuse one part with another similar part. We've done a lot of testing of paint pens, which last, which don't, and have found that the ITW Dykem are about the best available: http://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/02598670

We use white because we're writing on mill scale and it stands out. I don't use white on clean metal myself and prefer the yellow because it stands out on mill scale/dark surfaces as well as light ones.

As for surviving HT, I don't know. I electro pencil the steel type on the tangs of all my knives when they're cut out in a location that will be hidden. I know that survives HT.

That is literally the sum of my possible contribution to a thread on shop organization. Unless you consider different piles of things a form of organization.
 
Horrible Freight has some clear plastic parts boxes which are easy to use & see through for small stuff. There are several types, but the ones I like have removable partitions for pins, screws, small drills, etc. Makes it easy to see what you're looking for. They can stack. Might want to use a dab of silicone to hold the partitions in place once a layout is put in place as they can move fairly easily.
 
efficiency can come in very small small steps, when they add up, it counts as time saved on each knife. for instance it took me a year of working on efficiency to realize everytime i needed a pencil or scribe, i had to stand up off my stool to reach the pencil holder on the shelf. just moving the pencil holder within arms reach saved me standing up and sitting down 30 times on each knife. keep the stuff you use most close, and the stuff you only use once per knife farther away. i use the bin/box method too. i have a box for glue up, one for soldering, dremel, guard files. that way i only get one mess of objects on the bench for each procedure. i hate clutter and clean my bench off between every step.
 
john april said:
efficiency can come in very small small steps, when they add up, it counts as time saved on each knife. for instance it took me a year of working on efficiency to realize everytime i needed a pencil or scribe, i had to stand up off my stool to reach the pencil holder on the shelf. just moving the pencil holder within arms reach saved me standing up and sitting down 30 times on each knife. keep the stuff you use most close, and the stuff you only use once per knife farther away. i use the bin/box method too. i have a box for glue up, one for soldering, dremel, guard files. that way i only get one mess of objects on the bench for each procedure. i hate clutter and clean my bench off between every step.
Click to expand...

It's all the smallest things that help. That's why I want to set up my shop from the start to be as efficient as possible and very well organized. I get stressed when I wind up loosing track of things and just need to make a system that sets me up for success, efficiency, and ease of transition from knife to knife.

I've been viewing shop tour videos and threads to get a pile of ideas but sometimes there's things that are so small they rarely get shared that just make life easier like the white marker idea. I have 11 blades on my next batch which have 4 different hardware options and all different handles. If I can number my blades' tangs pre heat treat and cross reference them to a simple chart with all the features it'll save me a lot of frustration to sort them all out several times over the build. I've got to get one of those markers.
 
I'm trying this out.
743d1151efedf54f7eef69a0a0d2b0fe.jpg



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The mini fridge has kept my beer cold in the summer, thawed most of the winter and dust free. Been a big help with my productivity.
 
Got this for free from work. Pretty useful


53d175d8b037e7ec5c1b4a31028944a9.jpg


And I had this rolling rack made up but it's never really quite worked well for me in a two car garage

e2f57bfa1b1b112f75ca7695b53b4a39.jpg



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I have a curtain rail along the ceiling from wich my foredom tool hangs. That way I can move it and don;t have it in the way.
I like workbenches in different hights, I have three around me like a cockpit.
And this is how I keep my tools.
I also have a small steel bar under the plank that runs above the work surface. I stick templates, drawings etc on there with magnets

P1pw9Y2AB4lFBV_SiPKKkmIwxVXStPTZKbr1UJx77xkVKlRLgghNptC-FiwnDlXUOSsT3W9m8W3dq-Bq-Wuz1PKZXVgkClbqSn_BG0saH2Sx9oSGQSIUmB7I33tWjVS16iK7dQq7I_jbGyXoPQfAVBXaEO8psiXFRNev_STFXU-mygauKqkODr7isqWd6nblD613grV2A0XAlAxX4F-qjh7XLBW9XItaNvybNuosTFySexP0ZmPr2KN9ckUlX3P45LZn2bpVfYfmunIJsFenEjLCpUuYa6Y7h4UqV0NGf5zouux0QtuFBM23AnFO5bRB_6ji8QXuoJ-zZhG6U1gO9DsW0LMKWYuB-fBOFihLBsI1oRGhOCVAwJS7eKvtgojDTkGS7XliPZ7YfU5ZIE0rFU-F1oKH9PPgVO-ZsBUubxZ_QzhDahv4zpNJch8lr6mHvWHxAY7ZhPkPEz8ZlohLIwlVzWRnrjIBJadOdq1NOtqiKBAN0kKXmvogg2JJ3hbG_-S4Vz1clDw9RGjWYdXXTnBFlGsKh9UfoU_f-VPnG6tTLzjRJtJRD16tF1c4fkL5-9spzpgCP8u6HSeQV7Jw0FUrOJ5fYmDlIkzQCH5mEgwqEj_ISvc8=w894-h670-no
 
i like these little metal drawers, they keep small stuff within arms reach. i found them at the flea market and ebay.
 
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