Shop organization

My shop is chaos because someone if i organize i forget what is where BUT that being said i have an idea....get small shelf bins

these are "examples" of what I mean as i don't know the actual names if the things i mean
http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/s...yLmepBbTjSer_DFQjvPqiaqTLueH80-52YaAuCg8P8HAQ

also get a small clear small drawer storage system like this
http://www.fsindustries.com/more_in...e_cabinets/small_parts_storage_cabinets.shtml

pegboard on the wall behind the work bench
chef knives wall mounted magnet thing
grab a piece of wood like a 1x2 and mount to the wall grab some baby food jars (the glass kind) crazy glue the lids to the underside and bingo bango nice rivet, pin, screw, bolt, holder thing....you can mount a bigger piece of wood and do mason jar, mayonnaise jars etc this is a trick i learned from my dad

JUST MY two cents
 
jrrector said:
Grab a piece of wood like a 1x2 and mount to the wall grab some baby food jars (the glass kind) crazy glue the lids to the underside and bingo bango nice rivet, pin, screw, bolt, holder thing....you can mount a bigger piece of wood and do mason jar, mayonnaise jars etc this is a trick i learned from my dad
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I like to use left over Jif peanut butter jars similarly because they have a screw top, are durable, and are plastic so they don't shatter when I bust them. You can easily store them in a makeshift wine rack type of shelving unit or stack them vertically on a shelf. The lids are easy to label if storing horizontally or you can just put the bottom side out and see through them and when stored vertically you can see right through the walls of them.

I keep all kinds of hardware in them and even have a small box with 2-8 empty ones on hand for when excess hardware pops up later on during some project. We NEVER waste these. The glass jars we reuse inside the home for small stuff as needed but I really like the plastic ones the best in the garage.
 
Here's a few shots I took showing different ways I keep organized. I like to make holders and organizers out of pvc pipe.

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For folder ports, screws, washers, spacers
I found good quality ones of these with fixed dividers at an INDUSTRIAL supplier.
They were expensive.

Good ones - no sorting parts out of adjacent slots because the divider slipped, no picking up 5,000 tiny little bastard parts off the floor because the catches failed.

They fit inside tool cabinet drawers.

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People like to deride HF tools, because some of it is crap. designers and sellers should be choked with the junk they sell
But
This is a fantastic value
I would have to pay 3x that price retail here

http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-s...er-glossy-red-roller-cabinet-combo-61609.html

Make sure all the drawers are full ball bearing slides.
It's great being able to stand in front of a stack and open any drawer then see the whole drawer without having to move stacks of little boxes.

Also used furnature, thrift stores etc for file cabinets for larger stuff like spare motors and buliky things.



I think these are pretty expensive, but what a great thing for little parts
http://www.schallercorporation.com/plastic-boxes/
hJayu0Wl.jpg




I don't' like pegboard, I don't like open bins that collect dust.
 
Last edited:
12345678910 said:
People like to deride HF tools, because some of it is crap. designers and sellers should be choked with the junk they sell
But
This is a fantastic value
I would have to pay 3x that price retail here

http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-s...er-glossy-red-roller-cabinet-combo-61609.html
Click to expand...

I've thought about doing one of those for small parts, handle hardware, etc. Those actually are really well made, especially for the price. Similar funds buy half the metal gauge thickness, without reinforced folds, and without ball bearing slides at all our local hardware stores. That's one of the diamonds of the Harbor Freights.
 
I run wood/metal shops at a university and do most of my work at school. I built some simple cabinets for my office to house most of my tools and supplies. I have about two dozen of the plastic storage trays in various configurations, great for anything from drywall screws to die grinder bits.



I have a small corner in the woodshop with my bench, grinder and a few cabinets.



Old AV cabinet with a drawer and lower dividers. Mainly tooling for the mill and supplies I use often.



Flat file with dividers for belts.



Disclaimer: my space is usually never this clean, just some start of the semester organization.
 
Oh I like that horizontal file cabinet idea. I hate having my belts out on the rack to collect dust.
 
Since you will be buying a hundred plastic bins already, get a couple extra for your respirator and filters. They don't do much good if they have a layer of dust on the inside when you put them on. I keep my half mask and saftey glasses in one in the shop and my PAPR in a duffel bag in the house to prevent contamination.
 
E.Carlson said:
Since you will be buying a hundred plastic bins already, get a couple extra for your respirator and filters. They don't do much good if they have a layer of dust on the inside when you put them on. I keep my half mask and saftey glasses in one in the shop and my PAPR in a duffel bag in the house to prevent contamination.
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Right now I have them in a thick cotton tool bag. I figured that would keep the dust out for the most part and still allow water vapor from my breath and slobber evaporate out.
 
I don't have a lot to add, but one thing that I like to do is have a separate bin for each project I am working on. Now I pretty much make smaller stuff and maybe there are 3-5 projects going at once, so the guys who are making big bowies and have a lot of projects going this may not work. For me though I like having one small bin where all the project parts go: blade, scales, pins, etc. This also helps me since I am just a spare time hobby maker, so it might be days or weeks between sessions and this helps me make sure all the parts for a project are kept together.
 
The Gopher said:
I don't have a lot to add, but one thing that I like to do is have a separate bin for each project I am working on. Now I pretty much make smaller stuff and maybe there are 3-5 projects going at once, so the guys who are making big bowies and have a lot of projects going this may not work. For me though I like having one small bin where all the project parts go: blade, scales, pins, etc. This also helps me since I am just a spare time hobby maker, so it might be days or weeks between sessions and this helps me make sure all the parts for a project are kept together.
Click to expand...

That's a really good idea. That would work for me. Thanks for sharing.:)
 
this thread couldn't have came along at a better time. I've stopped any production for a while to organize my shop and you guys have already helped... cheers
 
My biggest problem is keeping the shop clean as I work. Mine starts out looking like Rick Marchand's and then a day later it looks like a tornado ripped through it! Then after a week or so I clean and organize and start the cycle over again lol

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BartlettBlades said:
My biggest problem is keeping the shop clean as I work. Mine starts out looking like Rick Marchand's and then a day later it looks like a tornado ripped through it! Then after a week or so I clean and organize and start the cycle over again lol

Sent from my SM-N915V using Tapatalk
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Now there's a man after my own heart. I let it pile up until I can't stand it then spend two days cleaning up. I don't care if it's more or less efficient. My shop time comes in blocks and generally at the expense of sleep or spousal demand so working for 2-3 hours then spending 30 minutes cleaning up is not going to happen.
 
You'd be surprised how much even just 5-10 minutes time cleaning at the end of the day will keep the shop in a better shape.
 
I've just spent a good portion of the last week building a clean room from some lumber a neighbor gave me from an addition he's having to tair off his house and rebuild due to hurricane Matthew. I've got a lot more dedicated space now with the addition of some shelves and a couple of new benched. Plus the clean room is easier to heat so it's been more tolerable with the little cold snap we had for the past couple days.
 
pleasanthill said:
I've just spent a good portion of the last week building a clean room from some lumber a neighbor gave me from an addition he's having to tair off his house and rebuild due to hurricane Matthew. I've got a lot more dedicated space now with the addition of some shelves and a couple of new benched. Plus the clean room is easier to heat so it's been more tolerable with the little cold snap we had for the past couple days.
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lol, did it dip into the 40s? :p
 
Actually got down on the 20's. Cold enough for South Carolina and considering I don't have central heat in the house.
 
What is this organized shop thing you speak of? :confused:;)
 
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