Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

familyhandyman.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 60 posts

Re: DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

#31

Post by walterbell »

showerst wrote: post #26

If anyone is working in a tight space, I recently found that wall control makes pegboard that are only 8in wide. [1]. They're made to be horizontal so if you flip them some of the fancy accessories that rely on the horizontal slats won't work, but the pegs are still fine, and it's a good way use otherwise wasted space on really narrow walls and corners. https://www.wallcontrol.com/8in-x-32in-horizontal-galvanized...

14" Ikea pegboard fits on the side of Kallax shelves, https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/skadis-pegboard-white-50320805/

Seville has a 24W x 18D x 66H metal cabinet with pegboard sides, https://www.sevilleclassics.com/collections/cabinets-1/produ...

Re: DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

#32

Post by WillAdams »

walterbell wrote: post #4

HD has a dual-sided compartment case with transparent lids. One side can be used to store instruments/tools in PE foam (after removing the dividers with flush cutters), leaving the other side for small parts. 10 x 12 x 1.5 inches per side. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-34-Compartment-Plastic-Dou...

I have a similar, smaller case which I used for tools and parts for a while, but found flipping it constantly really annoying.

Currently it's overflow storage for things associated w/ my CNC machines which I'm not likely to need.

Re: DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

#33

Post by WillAdams »

roberthahn wrote: post #27

My next woodworking project will be building a Dutch tool chest. After some searching (too many pages only show the _outside_ of the chest, this page shows you some of the potential of storing and organizing literally dozens of tools in a box you could load into your car. https://www.lumberjocks.com/BrandonW/blog/35335 Another excellent way to store and organize your tools is in an English tool chest. https://blog.lo…

I scored a (picked over) English chest off Craigslist a while back --- unfortunately, it was left open for a long while and the front bowed out, and it had some strange design choices:

- too narrow to accommodate a full-sized framing square, the back of the lid was cut open allowing it to stick out (which makes it dangerous to move)

- only one open till which is fixed, w/ an odd saw till underneath

I put it on a small wheeled moving base from Harbor Freight, and tried storing all my traditional hand woodworking tools in it, but while they all fit, the organization is lacking and usage is problematic --- can't bring myself to get rid of it though.

Re: DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

#34

Post by walterbell »

mindslight wrote: post #22
walrus01 wrote: post #2

If you need to store a lot of small parts, go to a Cabela's (or bass pro shop) and look at the fishing section, plastic boxes with anywhere from 6 to 40 small compartments. Often a far better selection than what you'd find at a home Depot or similar.

I lucked [0] into being around for an office move of a company that had gone from building physical devices to pure software, and got ~24 parts drawer units [1] for free. For the utility I get out of them, I would have bought them new, but it's hard to know that beforehand - they're expensive for what they are, and to do it right you really need a lot of them to make a uniform wall. I built custom shelves to hold the…

> all the switches and lights I longed for in my childhood.

The wonders of the Radio Shack catalog to a child's imagination :)

Re: DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

#35

Post by WillAdams »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #10
walrus01 wrote: post #2

If you need to store a lot of small parts, go to a Cabela's (or bass pro shop) and look at the fishing section, plastic boxes with anywhere from 6 to 40 small compartments. Often a far better selection than what you'd find at a home Depot or similar.

If you buy the right size boxes it works out so that a given multiple of them fits in a paper sized space you can use free filing cabinets for storage.

An alternative is to put things into Ziplock bags and then store in a filing cabinet ---works quite well, esp. for computer cables.

Re: DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

#36

Post by ta988 »

walterbell wrote: post #31
showerst wrote: post #26

If anyone is working in a tight space, I recently found that wall control makes pegboard that are only 8in wide. [1]. They're made to be horizontal so if you flip them some of the fancy accessories that rely on the horizontal slats won't work, but the pegs are still fine, and it's a good way use otherwise wasted space on really narrow walls and corners. https://www.wallcontrol.com/8in-x-32in-horizontal-galvanized...

14" Ikea pegboard fits on the side of Kallax shelves, https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/skadis-pegboard-white-50320805/ Seville has a 24W x 18D x 66H metal cabinet with pegboard sides, https://www.sevilleclassics.com/collections/cabinets-1/produ...

The hooks are hard to find (or were when I bought mines), but it is super easy make with wire of a sufficient gauge. If you want to make a lot you can even make a jig with a piece of wood and some nails.

Re: DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

#37

Post by yardshop »

WillAdams wrote: post #33
roberthahn wrote: post #27

My next woodworking project will be building a Dutch tool chest. After some searching (too many pages only show the _outside_ of the chest, this page shows you some of the potential of storing and organizing literally dozens of tools in a box you could load into your car. https://www.lumberjocks.com/BrandonW/blog/35335 Another excellent way to store and organize your tools is in an English tool chest. https://blog.lo…

I scored a (picked over) English chest off Craigslist a while back --- unfortunately, it was left open for a long while and the front bowed out, and it had some strange design choices: - too narrow to accommodate a full-sized framing square, the back of the lid was cut open allowing it to stick out (which makes it dangerous to move) - only one open till which is fixed, w/ an odd saw till underneath I put it on a smal…

It is clearly an example from which you will build your own correctly formatted tool chest! Then convert it into a little library on a post, or mount a cooler in it for shop beers!

Re: DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

#38

Post by wcunning »

My favorite thing that I lucked on for part storage as some of the other commenters here have been discussing, was the local TrueValue signed a new contract with Hillman and had all of their screw and bolt cabinets replaced so they could fit in some actual quantity of metric stuff. I bought a hardware store wall worth of bins for like $250. It was and is glorious. I'm in the process of building a proper workshop after moving for more space and the rebuilding of that wall is very exciting for me.

Re: DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

#39

Post by ethbr0 »

walterbell wrote: post #4

HD has a dual-sided compartment case with transparent lids. One side can be used to store instruments/tools in PE foam (after removing the dividers with flush cutters), leaving the other side for small parts. 10 x 12 x 1.5 inches per side. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-34-Compartment-Plastic-Dou...

I can't say enough nice things about the Ridgid small bins organizer. Especially for the price.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Pro-System-Gear-10-Compar...

My favorite use? Dedicating one to a go-tote of assorted fastener (nails, screws, etc), divided into the different cups.

Re: DIY Tool Storage Ideas (2017)

#40

Post by sent-hil »

Some very good ideas in there that I haven't come across. Another great DIY idea I didn't see there was gluing top of mason jar to bottom of a wood plank so you can screw/unscrew the jar. I use this for storing screws and other small things.

If you're interested in this sort of thing and don't want to build your own, I'm working on https://toolwallhq.com that exactly solves this.

Post reply on HN