What do you guys use for tool and parts storage in the shop?

[a. palmer jr.]

Naa...this is messy. I just have not had the time to organize the new barn.
View attachment 399489
before

View attachment 399490 View attachment 399497 View attachment 399498 View attachment 399499

. I know how messy it can get.

it just takes a while to get organized again


View attachment 399508 View attachment 399509

Wow, that new garage looks nice! I'd try something like that but I'm thinking of moving if I can find a place I like..

 

[a. palmer jr.]

No, I keep most of my saw parts in Rubbermaid totes sorted by brand and model. I didn't include pics of those. I do have a lot of chain and bars in the file cabinets though. My shop is divided into thirds. Most of the file cabinets, hardware, machinery, etc is in the first third, the second third has my vehicle hoist and most of my saws and parts, the third third has old cars, motorcycles, mowers, etc. I have too much junk. I've been working on thinning out...

Yep, I've learned that at my age there's an advantage to not having too much stuff to work on.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I thought when I retired I would organize my stuff also but it still sits there as it was, I'm working on saws and other stuff and still haven't moved much around..

 

[wood4heat]

Most of my hand tools are currently in this. Most as I have outgrown it and have crap stashed everywhere!


2503 by wood4heat on Arboristsite.com

I've got to do some reorganizing inthe shop but will soon be moving most of my hand tools into this:


2504 by wood4heat on Arboristsite.com

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

So I guess the question lies, is there a TV, fancy floor and couch in the garage or a car and toolbox in the living room?

View attachment 399373

As far as the shop, I'm not even going to take photos of the mess I have! I finally cleaned off one bench a few weeks ago and I found some tools that I thought I had lost 3 years ago.
Not because I'm a pig and like having a mess, just too much going on and cleaning the shop is pretty far on the need to do list.

 

[Moparmyway]

How I keep the shop warm:

View attachment 399463

Whats the top drum for, extra surface area for more heat ?

 

[wood4heat]

just so funny...electrical and air hoses needed to be completed.....and the 4 wheeler needs work.....

I have no shortage of projects to be sure!

The El Camino in the background is in the process of a ground up restoration too!

 

[fearofpavement]

Whats the top drum for, extra surface area for more heat ?

Yes, with a second barrel, it puts out more than twice the heat.

 

[Stihlofadeal64]

No, I keep most of my saw parts in Rubbermaid totes sorted by brand and model. I didn't include pics of those. I do have a lot of chain and bars in the file cabinets though. My shop is divided into thirds. Most of the file cabinets, hardware, machinery, etc is in the first third, the second third has my vehicle hoist and most of my saws and parts, the third third has old cars, motorcycles, mowers, etc. I have too much junk. I've been working on thinning out...

When would you like me to come down and help you "thin out". Sounds like you need to go on a "saw parts" diet and definitely need a reduction trainer!
Let me know, I'm all ready!

 

[c5rulz]

Good Lord, haven't some of you guys heard about this new tech thing called SHELVES. Getting things OFF the floor goes a long ways towards being organized.

 

[ShermanC]

I am still trying to figure something out. I put up a continuous shelf that runs about 7' off the floor, all around the wall perimeter, but its just not enough. Been looking for steel shelving, but what I really need is a bigger barn

My shop building is metal 20' x 30' divided as 12' wide and 8' wide. I built these two in 2009 and remodeled five or more times. The space is organized vertically with an assortment of 1) pegboard from waist height to ceiling, 2) three workbenches in the 8' x 30' shop and clutter is my enemy there, 3) sturdy chrome wire shelf sets placed either along the wall or perpendicular like a wharf dock, 4) stacking Roughneck (Rubbermaid) totes rolled on HFT car dollies for easy movement, 5) small part cabinets mounted on one wall section from knee high to six feet so all seven cabinets are in a cluster and 6) many Sterlite stacking storage drawers. There are empty drawers here and there and I make myself put things back where they belong. My challenge in the smaller shop is to keep objects off the floor because it/they waste all air space (cubic space) above them.

Like you I installed shelving 18" below the ceiling on every wall for storing and that made a big improvement. Labeling every box with a broad-tip marker also helps as stuff gets relocated. The 12' x 30' shop is versatile so if I sweep the floor often like every week, things get organized and stay that way. The end doorway is 12' wide, a very good idea using vinyl

 

[ShermanC]

If you don't mind doing some work there are some great deals if you can get them financed. I bought an Amish farm. It needed a few upgrades. Electricity, heating system, plumbing and insulation. 6 acres, a 60 x 60 metal barn with a cement floor, a 54 x 36 newer barn with a cement floor, a 1100 square foot house that needed everything. It was built in the 20's and had no insulation. I now call it home. It has been fun. It is insulated and has a 96% furnace along with a 200 amp service.
more tool storage stuff. You don't want to walk from the barn to the house to get tools...can't have to many.
View attachment 399531 View attachment 399532 View attachment 399533 View attachment 399534 View attachment 399535
now that I am retired maybe I can organize all this stuff

I am 74 and self-employed part time, volunteering part-time and trying hard to get better organized before it's tool late. Iif I were faced with your shops, I would rent secure storage garage(s) and move the boats or sell all but one. Any other wheeled vehicles ought to come out and go there too. Now you would have space to stage and group things and space for some waste barrels. If there is a metal salvage yard near you, separate and organize your scrap metal so you can get best value for "short steel", copper, brass, aluminum. The rest will salvage as "tin" the lowest value group. The market for scrap is low so it will benefit you most to sort it before you haul it. Now I am not sure I stayed on your subject.

 

[ShermanC]

So I guess the question lies, is there a TV, fancy floor and couch in the garage or a car and toolbox in the living room?



As far as the shop, I'm not even going to take photos of the mess I have! I finally cleaned off one bench a few weeks ago and I found some tools that I thought I had lost 3 years ago.
Not because I'm a pig and like having a mess, just too much going on and cleaning the shop is pretty far on the need to do list.

Guys...I am in your "club" all the way...same dilemma, similar challenges and trying to stay warm without increasing our heating cost. So I've been repairing vacuum cleaners since November and the den/dining room has become the work room doing my best to keep it organized so my wife doesn't get upset. I blessed with a wife who doesn't gripe about this. My stacks of papers, books, catalogs and magazines bugs the tar out of me. And my office closet has magazine holder racks labeled to keep that stuff where I can find it. Best motto I have found is have a place for every item every group and put things back when I'm done with them. But getting sidetracked (LOL) or multitasking blows that concept out of the pond. Oh well, life is good and we gotta' keep smiling.

 

[Wayne68]

You know how you know when your wife loves you?? When you can park your classic Camaro in the house. LOVE IT!!

Ya I do have a really great wife to put up with my vehicle and chainsaw addictions that seem to find their way into the house. My actual work shop is a mess though lol.

 

[fearofpavement]

Well, my shop is a mess and "stuff" is like a gas in that it will fill the available space. I also have a three stall garage with a full second floor. We actually park two cars in there though (and usually my Bobcat)
I have shelves, lots of them. Didn't even photo that part of the shop. It's mostly pallet rack with more stacks of totes on it.
And just for added fun, I'm also responsible for all the stuff in two aircraft hangars totaling 7500 sq feet. Sometimes I just want to set my hair on fire and run through the streets. (don't have hair or streets though...)

 

[fearofpavement]

When would you like me to come down and help you "thin out". Sounds like you need to go on a "saw parts" diet and definitely need a reduction trainer!
Let me know, I'm all ready!

Actually, saw parts are a very minor percentage of "stuff". I have between 40 and 50 chainsaws but that includes ones that are disassembled or only partial saws. About 20 of those are runners and about 10 are part of my permanent line up. (the rest are just passing through). I have been passing along a few projects lately just to simplify a bit. But you're always welcome to come down and help organize...

 

[ShermanC]

Two good books that help get your thinking going well for organizing are: The Messies Manual by Sandra Felton (2005), Revell Publishing $14.99 ISBN 0-8007-5979-6 and Cut the Clutter and stow the stuff edited by Lori Baird (2002) Yankee Publishing $1.00 at our library book sale ISBN 1-57954-493-2 hardcover or 1-57954-512-2 soft back. I have constructed eight workshops since 1967 and luckily they have been in tight space. I've never had a big shop or barn so I don't know what it's like to have fancy toys and projects galore. There are tools in my Rubbermaid tool box that I bought in the 1950's and they still work.

 

[fearofpavement]

Lets not talk about trucks, vans, and cars. Then I'll really get depressed.

 

[Wayne68]

Those three shelved rubbermaid carts are handy to keep by the door, or wherever and just put all your common stuff on. They are cheap and roll quite easily.

 

[Moparmyway]

Yes, with a second barrel, it puts out more than twice the heat.

Did you put a removeable mesh shelf in the lower one so ashes fall and the wood doesnt sit in the ash pile while burning ?
I may copy your idea, I really like it !!!!