Shop Organization - Part 2: Tool Storage

today will be our second video on shop  organization and we're going to turn our attention   to tool storage to start we're going to group them  into five categories and i'll go over how i store   them and why those categories are large power  tools clamps portable or handheld power tools   basic hand tools and then accessories for  those tools so why do we go in that order   the main reason is how they're stored in size when  looking at large power tools there's three things   i took into consideration space to work proximity  to power and proximity to dust collection   so let's start off by looking at the heart  of the shop the table saw i put mine right   in the middle of the garage depth-wise for a  very specific reason my garage is 22 feet deep   my table saw is right around 2 feet in depth by  putting it in the center it gives me 10 feet on   each side of the saw because i work a lot with  plywood which generally comes in 8 by 4 sheets   this allows me to stand behind the plywood to  feed it into this saw and there is plenty of   room on the other side without having to move  anything or open the garage door note that it   is important when planning out your mobile tools  you figure out not only where you plan to use them   but also where you plan to store them when they're  not in use in my case i need to be able to pull   both cars in during the winter so for the table  saw i have a functional space where i use the saw   in a place that i move it to in order to store it  when it's not in use because of this i'm limited   with what i can do with the space where the saw  is stored so for me i chose to put an in-wall   heater here to not completely waste the space  when i'm actually using the saw the next tool   isn't very large itself but it gets used a ton  and that's my miter saw for years i cut items on   the floor so the footprint of this tool was very  small but is also very inconvenient eventually   i made a fold-up wing cart this was great as it  was able to be stored away small when not in use   and took up minimal floor space but when i  wanted to use it it was time consuming to set up   it wasn't the most stable thing it couldn't  support long boards well and over time became   inaccurate as the wings sagged or the hinges bent  because of this i took the time to really figure   out how i could have a more permanent solution  i really didn't think it was possible because of   the small amount of space that i had originally  i built my flip top workbench to be stored back   in this cubby so it took a bit of a mind shift to  move that out of its original home and move it to   make room for the new miter station and this is  what i came up with i was really happy that it   why's i keep doing that i had planned on upgrading  my miter saw at some point and to make this work i   needed one with a lower profile i also had to cut  out the bottom to clear the foundation in the dust   collection pipe it is mobile mainly for cleaning  purposes or if i ever need to access the pipe   but because it leans up against the wall it's  still very sturdy having a solid bench that   doesn't bend or come out of square and allows  me to cut long boards and use a stop block   it makes using this tool faster and much more  enjoyable the other great thing about this bench   is although i did trade some floor space for it  for added functionality i gained a ton of drawer   space this was one of the biggest steps in getting  myself organized as the things that don't easily   hang on the wall now had a home the next tool i  really wanted but didn't have the room in this   shop for a full-size tool and those are the tools  that are encased in this workbench those tools are   my joiner my planer my bench top grinder my belt  sander bandsaw drill press and oscillating sander   again i would love full size tools of all of these  but because i used them less it made sense if i   wanted to have them at all to get smaller versions  of them for now until i get a bigger shop someday   if you'd like to know more about this bench  here's a link above if you want to find out more   of how i made it and how it works next is the air  compressor this one started off under my workbench   this was great because it allowed me to tuck it  away the space above it was actually functional   and by adding sound dampening foam it made it much  quieter while in the shop it then runs up the wall   across the ceiling and down to a ceiling mounted  reel that allows me to use it anywhere in the shop   and it's out of the way when i don't need it and  no more tripping over air hoses in the middle of   the project this year however i decided the sixth  gallon was not enough as it was constantly running   and i wouldn't be able to use it for  finishing so i upgraded a 27 gallon tank   this obviously wouldn't fit in the previous  location so instead i put it in the basement   i was able to run the line up the wall into the  garage clear into the attic and then over to the   ceiling reel now i have four times the capacity  i don't hear it all the time when i'm in the shop   and eventually i plan to fully insulate that  room to help with the noise in the house   someday last we're going to talk about my dust  collector this one i had to get extremely creative   to make work it is far from ideal but it gets  the job done and outside of when i'm planing or   joining boards it's not much of a drawback at all  my dust collector is actually under my workbench   i modified the factory separator into a two stage  this is based off an idea from april wilkerson   i will link her video below that shows how she  did this part in detail this allows me to separate   almost all the sawdust and chips prior to getting  to the motor because of this i'm able to exhaust   the air outside which eliminates the need for a  large filter saving me a ton of space because it's   under the bench i'm able to block out a ton of the  sound from it again using the sound dampening foam   in fact it's louder outside of the garage than  inside sorry neighbors the only downside is the   small size of the collection bin it's only able  to hold about 10 gallons which is fine for sanding   and cutting and most things i do around the shop  other than when i'm actually using the planer or   joiner worst thing that happens if i don't catch  it in time is it just shoots sawdust out the side   of the house into a bush or on top of the mulch  which i may or may not have found out the hard way so that's it for the large power tools in my shop  every single one of them are either mobile or   they're tucked out of the way and take up little  to no room in the actual shop itself next we're   going to turn our attention to clamps the reason  i recommend these over the other tools i haven't   mentioned yet on location isn't importance it's  convenience one big mistake i made when i located   my first clamp rack was i tucked it away so that  would be out of the way as this seemed logical   at the time the problem i had was that when it  came time to assemble i had to walk across the   room to grab the ones i needed which is fine  but the problem was that i didn't take them   back when i was done instead the clamps would  just lie around likely pushed around the bench   would end up on the floor up against the wall  but they never got back to where they belonged   so when i built my second clamp rack i put  it as close as possible to the assembly table   ever since then when i'm done using a clamp  it takes me no time to actually put them away   so i find myself keeping them organized and clean  most of time another thing i had a different with   my second clamp rack is i put it on french cleats  this allowed for added flexibility once again   planning for growth the thing i love the most  about this setup is the larger clamps i switched   how i normally see them stored my first one was  stored long ways it had a slot for each clamp   by changing this it provides multiple benefits  first you can fit more clamps in a smaller area   this is another huge callout to typically under  utilize space my scrap cart beneath sticks out 19   inches my old clamp rack was designed off a pretty  common style rack that only stuck out five inches   the one i currently have sticks out 10. the point  is i will never utilize this air space me keeping   this rack closer to the wall does me absolutely  no good as i can't stand any closer because of   the cart below so by extending the rack out i'm  able to store more clamps in the otherwise under   utilized space if i had more clamps of the same  type i would have brought them out even further   but eight clamps per size was enough for me the  old style clamp rack had a clamp every inch and   a half so for eight clamps that would take up 12  inches by using this orientation i can fit eight   clamps in only five inches of wall space and in  theory i can fit 16 in that same amount of space   so one key point with this is that if you have  something you're storing on the ground that isn't   a workbench or a work surface for you do whatever  you can to utilize the air space above it versus   just the wall space save all your shallow tools  or hardware to put over work benches so you don't   lose that surface space on the bench top the  second benefit of this clamp orientation is   that if i need a lot of clamps i can easily grab  a bunch in each hand and go to the table quickly   the same holds true with putting them away the old  method i had to take them off and put them back on   one at a time which added to the inconvenience  of actually putting them back when i was done   and the same is going to hold true to spring  clamps my old way i had to squeeze each one open   to get them on or off which isn't very efficient  when making my first clamp rack i made the mistake   of settling on what would be the most efficient to  build and not what would be the most efficient to   use after using them for a few years i knew there  had to be a better way so my second versions were   a little more time consuming to make but they  make using the clamps and putting them away much   quicker one thing to note on the clamps you'll  want to make a larger brace for them if you   plan on bringing it out any further or to store  heavier clamps like pipe clamps for instance you   want it to be tall enough to actually hit a second  french cleat for added stability power hand tools   are next i wanted to get as many of these out as  possible so to do this a lot of these are mounted   to the wall using french cleats i hate pegboard  i hate it i moved all my tools off of pegboards   over two french cleats in fact i tore out all the  pegboard in my shop and gave it to my neighbor   which was the least i could do after blowing  sawdust out the side of my house in his yard   to make french cleats i simply rip a three-quarter  inch plywood sheet into five inch sections i then   drop the blade to 45 degrees set the fence to two  and one sixteenth inch or two and one eighth inch   depending on the curve of the saw blade then mount  the cleats to the wall with the gap on top facing   the wall ensuring level along the way and hitting  each stud that you can this method allows so much   customization in your shop as your tools grow i  chose to space mine further apart to save on wood   but you can space them closer together for more  flexibility down the road so i'll start off with   the drills since i use them the most i made my  own holder for these you can literally find 5 000   videos on how to make these on youtube so i won't  waste your time with this other than two learnings   first make more spaces than you think you need so  you have room to grow nail guns also fit nicely in   these holders second don't just plan for how many  drills you have plan for how many chargers you   have or want to have so you can charge all the  batteries easily for them as well a lot of the   chargers are wider than the drills themselves  and that can be sometimes an afterthought   next is my battery-powered circular saw i spent  the time to make a specific holder for this saw   and i really like how it turned out but i  quickly realized how it was a lot of work   for just one holder if i ever upgraded or got  a different saw it would likely not fit in this   holder and it would be a waste so i decided to go  a different route for the rest of my power tools   i made this long holder with separators that can  be moved around to accommodate different tools   these are up out of the way and they're feature  proof i plan on making another one to the left   eventually as i need more space i really  love this setup for just how simple it is   next let's go over basic hand tools i mentioned  earlier that i pulled out the pegboard and added   french cleats well for these i took it a  step further and since 95 of my hand tools   are made of metal big shocker here i use a  ton of magnets this is what i came up with for organizing i tried to keep like tools  together i kept the ones that i use the most   at the bottom for easy access i also was a nice  husband and basic tools my wife may need to use   primarily screwdrivers or down at the bottom so  she could easily get to them because these are   grouped together and on french cleats if i'm not  sure what socket i need or what size wrench i need   i can quickly take the entire group of tools  over to the project to go figure that out   last tool accessories like i said earlier i do  my best to keep most accessories close to the   tool itself for efficiency but for random  one-offs i use magnets whenever possible   for instance these router bits came in a case  i peeled off the stickers from their container   and used more magnets because i hated trying to  get them out of the holder and hoping i didn't   run my finger across the blade as i pulled  them out plus it was one more thing to pull   out sit down on a surface and leave there to  be later in the way i also use magnet strips   to organize jigsaw and reciprocating saw blades  for circular saw blades i decided to make this   holder it allows me to have six and a half inch  seven and a quarter inch or ten inch blades   the yellow box is my dado set the wrench to change  on my table saw is kept in this little section   and the charger for my circular saw is on top over in this far corner i have my  pocket hole jigging drill press table   they are clear over here because i only use  them on this end of the bench i mounted them   over here because i found myself walking across  the shop to bring them back over here each time   and then take them back over after i was done  using them that's gonna do it for tool storage   i really hope you enjoyed this video small  shops have a lot of imperfections and a lot   of times we have to store stuff in a less  than ideal way than if we had a larger shop   so my goal with this series is to help you think  outside the box to make the most out of this space   so you can get more done and enjoy your space more  if you like what you saw or learned something new   feel free to like the video if you want to see  more content like this or the rest of this series   be sure to subscribe and hit the bell so you're  notified when new videos get posted the next   video we'll cover is wood storage and that will  go over how i look at it and why i organize it the   way that i do it'll likely be a shorter video but  because of the footprint it takes up in the shop   it made sense to make that next as always thank  you so much for watching we'll see you next time you

Channel: Rings Workshop

Views: 179,605

Rating: 4.9572306 out of 5

Keywords: Small Shop, Garage Shop, dust collection, shop hacks, maker, small shop, garage shop, bench top tools, rings workshop, rings shop, tool storage, tool organization, magnets, air compressor, table saw, miter saw, fliptop workbench, miter saw station, clamps, clamp rack, wood working, woodworking

Id: m2vT3P49vXc

Length: 14min 5sec (845 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 23 2020