work shop storage

I made a box with several cubbies in it to store my power hand tools, each in its own slot, and it has worked out much better than putting them on shelves, under benches etc.

I have put all my wood and metal standing up against the wall by putting a sort of trough on the floor so the bottom ends don't slide out and knock the whole pile over.

I also mounted my bench tools, like my small drill press, bandsaw, contractor's saw, bench grinder, bench sander, etc on standard sized sheets of 3/4" ply so I can lift them and put them on some shelving I made when I am done with them. This way they aren't all out on the bench taking up space at the same time.

I use a HF welding cart, to which I have added a lot of bracing, to hold my mig and tig welders and their two gas bottles. I use an old red wagon to hold my plasma cutter, welding helmet, gloves, and leather jacket. The biggest pain right now is my new HF blast cabinet - I haven't figured out where it needs to go yet.

Always looking for more ideas myself, so thanx for asking the question!

I have found one thing that has helped ME more than anything. That one thing is "hanging" stuff. Either by just putting a nail in a rafter, or hanging a heavy screen or sheet of wood from four chains. Or mounting a cabinet to the roof. It puts stuff where you can get it, and frees up an incredible amount of floor space.

Take a piece of two feet of parachute cord. Join the ends with a "sheet bend", which is a modified square knot. You can then use this to hang lots of things by just making a "lark's head" around it and then hanging the other end around a nail or hook. Google for a knot site, and learn these very very simple knots.

I also stacked some cinder blocks up and used them to put shovels, rakes, and lengths of various "stuff". Go to Home Depot, or HF and get some screw in hangers useful for various things, and in various shapes. If what you want isn't available, make it out of round stock and weld a lag bolt on it.

Look up.

Steve

PS: My wife is short. Whenever I want to put something somewhere I know she won't spot it, I put it up. It is surprising how many people miss things that are just above them, space being one of them.

Just got my new 30' x 30' insulated and heated shop a year ago and have spent a lot of my time in there making it "MINE", a few things that I really like are.

1) Everything has it's place. Welders and compressors all get rolled under and stored under my work benches. All of my storage has doors to keep dust and such to a minimum. 2) I have a ton of plastic tool boxes so that each tool has it's own box and equipment. All of these are hidden in a closet with bi-fold doors and several shelves. -Grinder box holds grinder, disks, and any tools need to change these. -Same goes for large plumbing box, electrical, misc, belt sander, skill saw etc etc. 3) All of my benches have a lip on them so that I can grab my bar stool and sit at them like a table, at my Dads shop I always had to sit away from the bench or sit sideways. One of the benches tops is adjustable so that I can move the lip back to get at all the closed shelving below. 4) Air hoses and extension cords are all retractable and in the ceiling.

Only thing I can add is that I like iced tea. the instant stuff comes in

3oz jars that are about 3" > I am in the process of rearranging my shop layout....what shop storage

mounting a

Ditto. If I put something behind a door or in a box where I can't see it, I can never seem to find it. Almost all my 'stuff' is hanging from rafters or on open shelving. The few boxes are clearly labeled as to what is in them. Good luck. John

You sound like me. My "stuff" is like lemmings. Tons of it. I put it somewhere, thinking, "I'll put it here so I will remember where it is." That works about half the time. Having "stuff" where I can see it helps a lot.

But I swear, "stuff" is like cats. You put them out there in the dark in the garage, and you come back, and there 's more. And it keeps going until it fills available space.

Steve

I know this thread is about storage but for me it's all about how little I need to get out to do a job and how quick it is to clean it up afterwards. The air reels and electric reels are very quick to clean up and I don't have a stupid hose on my floor to clean up after my projects. I've added a few hooks to the ceiling so that I can string the hose along the ceiling when I move to different corners of the shop.

I have a taller ceiling in my garage 11 feet. I built a custom work bench on the back wall 24 feet wide and "U" shaped. I used 2 x 3's and plywood. The bottom part is set up for custom storage. I wanted "X" there so I built a hole for it. I also put in a row of drawers below the bench top which is 24" deep half a sheet of plywood. The drawers are actually clear plastic totes you pick the size you want and make it fit. I have a drawer for electrical stuff, plumbing stuff, etc. Being clear they are easy to ID. Being plastic they are easy to clean if I ever decide to. Pull out empty and hose off with a water hose. From the bench top up I attached peg board to a height of 7 foot. I hang tools up so they are easy to put away and easy to find. No digging through drawers for daily used tools. I built a platform above the "U" shaped work bench. The shelf is 4 feet deep and provides allot of storage. The platform is supported by a floor system just like a house floor and uses the 2 x 3's coming up from the floor to the ceiling. I know people say why use a 2 x 3. They take up less room and provide more then enough support. The work bench keeps the 2 x 3's from flexing. Then the peg board adds lateral support.

THose heavy duty drawer slides for kitchens let you make grunty, pull out drawers under the workbench for powertools, etc. You can never get to the back properly... I have a steel rack for half lengths (and ladders) stored from the rafters. PVC pipe with woooden bungs is good for keeping gas welding rod If you can find card files, they are handy for welding rods, and small stuff

While packing up my shop for a big move, I started using steel Ammo boxes for storage and protection of quality tools. Then I looked at my welding rods. Measured the length - and then the height of 4 sizes of boxes I had - rats - another one to find - and find I did. The box holds 100# (close to that) of rods under a rubber seal. One could think of adding a valve and drawing a vacuum and filling with Argon then purging again as the Argon helps dislodge larger atoms/molecules like water.

If anyone wants to have the shell size I can find it but a rule on the hip is useful when buying. Open the can to see if it was used by something else before storage - or is rusted. Mine had a HD foam sheet on the bottom.

Martin