Fitting out a workshop...advice please.

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David

I've spent the last few years fitting out a workshop of similar size for model helicopters, model engineering and more recently kit cars. I have used a fair number of the open top bins you have found but would not recommend you do the same. Over the years they collect dust, oil etc from the atmosphere and offer only minimal protection against rust. Particularly important if you do any sanding, grinding, soldering, welding etc. I have changed to the clear fronted small drawer units you can find at any of the DIY stores. I use the clip together type and have found you can get several different sizes to make up a "bank" of various sizes drawers. Parts are easily found and are kept clean etc. Anything prone to rusting can either be sprayed with WD40 or a piece of the anti-rust paper included in the drawer.

I do use a similar "peg board" to the one you show but only for the tools that are in constant use. I built my system from standard peg board from one of the DIY stores and it works fairly well. I have moved most tools and all measuring equipment to several of the "roll cabinets" that you can get from Machine Mart etc. I have not bought the most expensive type but have found the cheaper range of multi-drawer units work well for my needs. If you have any heavy equipment to store then of course the heavier type will be better. Again the tools/parts are well covered and easily found, the other major advantage is that I can move the tooling to the machine that I'm working on, lathe, mill, bench etc. It's surprisingly easy to cover a few miles in a day walking from end to end to get tools out of the cupboard which always seems to be as far away as possible. For most of the "peg boards" with static equipment, lathe accessories, milling machine tooling etc I have enclosed the boards in fairly shallow doors to make them into cupboards. Shelves can be incorporated in the doors to increase the available space and if made from wood can be drilled to hold cutters, drills, reamers and collets. Make sure you varnish well or cover in felt as some woods will cause rusting.

Although this works for me, I must say that I have changed a few times over the years as my interests and work "systems" have evolved. I don't think there is a "one size fits all" solution only a best for you. I would start fairly simple and leave room for expansion as you develop your own working pattern.

Best regards

Keith

For the past couple of months I've been involved with emptying the workshop of a close friend who died late last year. He was a very talented model engineer who had a tiny cellar workshop that was almost filled with a Centec 2B mill and a 4.1/2" Southbend lathe. The amount of equipment he managed to store in the remaining space was quite amazing.

On the walls above the benches he used glass (perspex, actually) fronted kitchen cabinets for the small tools, stackable small-drawer units for screws/washers etc, and, for the larger tools like bending rolls, guillotines, soldering hearth etc. he used small home made cabinets on castors. The cabinets were made of conti-board and fitted neatly under the two benches that were made of kitchen worktops. Each cabinet was about 20"-24" wide with built-in shelves. Some of them had tops and some not. The beauty of the idea is that pretty heavy items can be stored in the cabinets which can be wheeled out from underneath the bench for easy access. Those with flat tops could also be used as movable worktops. Each cabinet was numbered and he maintained an index that said where each piece of equipment could be located. You wouldn't believe how much stuff was hidden away like this. I've decided to adopt the same system for my own workshop. Amazingly space efficient!

Greg

They are a pain when you move house! I'm having to cling film each one to keep the contents in as they are packed in bigger carboard boxes ready for D Day.

AWEM

Hello David.

I find having the tool holder stuff on the wall behind my bench very useful. I hang most of my commonly used tools on it. I have louvered rack for small bins to hold my fasteners, and a few big bins for my power tools: 1 bin for my angle grinder with it's disks and spanners, another for the jig saw and blades... Then I have one wall that's all shelved, this is subject to " the law of clutter " which states that the number of objects you need to store is always just more than the storage space available, regardless of how much storage you have. ( in my case 0.5 m deep, 2.5 m high, 11.5 m long and overflowing... :-( )

As the shop is for wood and metal it is very dusty, so I want stuff covered but handy. What I want to do when I have time is make cupboards. The idea is to have lots of shallow drawers on ball bearing runners, and vertical tambour shutters.

Obviously things for a machine need to be handy to it, and sometimes that means duplication of tools etc. As a simple example, the band-saw needs one Allen-key, to adjust the blade guides, so I made a little clip, fixed to the front, for the key to drop into. Every machine has an old paintbrush to hand, for sweeping off during a job and cleaning down after each job (theoretically).

Rapid Electronics have storage bins for a decent price (£11+VAT for a

Don't throw your tiny sliding drawers away just yet though. They're a superior solution for anything really tiny, or which you don't want dusty.

Tim

MAPLINS sell a 42 drawer cabinet for £15, ive got 1 and am going to get