organization

[Brad]

Organization is one of my problem areas.
I got a lathe last October. I got a rolling tool cabinet for Christmas from my wife but haven't been happy with drawers of random stuff. The top was also a breeding ground for "stuff" and I decided something had to be done.
I had looked around for drawer organizers and just wasn't satisfied with what I found. Prices got ridiculous in a hurry and it wasn't going to let me optimize things for the way I wanted them.
Went out yesterday and spent 60 bucks. Got some small trim I could rip to make dividers and a sheet of plywood for drawer bottoms.

This is what I ended up making. Dividers are roughly 1/4 by 3/8 inches. they are glued in place and held with a few 5/8 inch brads. Man I love the finish nailer for this stuff.


Here it is after putting some "stuff" in it. Works like I wanted.

The top even had a place for the wrench I use to tighten the toolpost.

Not bad a 6 hours work. I have a few more drawers to go but need to decide what will be stored in them and how before I proceed. This is a huge improvement over having a drawer with little bags of drill bits and stuff rolling around.

 

[JonB]

Brad, I think that looks real good.

I have organized all the tools and tooling for my Micro-Lathe ...that I have yet to plug in
Of course, everything is smaller, so I got away with using a plastic tool box/organizer.

 

[Ian]

I need both of you to spend a week at my house!

 

[Brad]

Maybe when my wife is done with me. That is how it looks now, in another week it won't.
Am I the only one who notices that when stuff is organized it suddenly looks like you own more stuff than you thought?

 

[JonB]

Dang, if I were to spend a week in the lone star ...it shoulda been 2 months ago ...or 9 months from now

 

[Brad]

Dang, if I were to spend a week in the lone star ...it shoulda been 2 months ago ...or 9 months from now

Ya know, that might work next winter.

 

[JohnK454]

Good choice! A benefit is the wood won't hurt your cutting tools nor allow them to bash into each other.

 

[Brad]

That is exactly why I went with wood. It is also easy to manipulate and work with.
I also like wood because it will absorb little bits of oil left on tools instead of letting it pool up.

 

[Ian]

Dang, if I were to spend a week in the lone star ...it shoulda been 2 months ago ...or 9 months from now

It made 88F here this afternoon, not a cloud in the sky. I went through a gallon of water just doing light cleaning and yard work. All traces of the rain we had a week ago are gone, looks like the drought isn't over yet, this will be the fifth year of it.

 

[smokeywolf]

You may eventually want to place a machinist's chest on top of that roll-away. You end up storing your precision tools such as calipers, mikes, telescoping gages, 1-2-3 blocks, etc. in the chest and your cutters, end mills, drill indexes, reamers, taps, lathe bits, files, hammers, drive pin punches, screw drivers, wrenches in the roll-away.

 

[JohnK454]

As I steadily outgrew everything, including two previous shops, I learned to appreciate good organization. Otherwise you spend half your time looking/digging, get frustrated, and don't enjoy your time in the shop. In that vein, I will put in a plug for Huot storage cabinets. They aren't cheap, but you can catch them on sale.

 

[smokeywolf]

I've got the fraction and wire size Huot drawer cabinets, but not the letter size. And, I too prefer the red Dykem over the blue. I see what appears to be a parallel set, R8 collet or arbor, a plethora of transfer punches, keyway cutters, flycutters, criterion type boring bars.
JohnK has a mill.

I'm very anxious to move my 700 sq. ft. of machine tools, roll-aways, machinist chests, grinder, buffer, full height double door flammables cabinet, multiple shelf units, which currently occupy about 350 sq. ft., into about a 1,000 sq. ft.

 

[JohnK454]

Good eye! Yep, the Bridgeport is just out of view to the left. My three shops were 400sqft, 600sqft, and now 3200sqft. Should've made it 4,000sqft.

 

[smokeywolf]

I ran the Sony Pictures Studio Machine Shop (formerly MGM) for several years. It was 6,000 sq. ft. and at times a bit crowded. I have the newest and best Bridgeport series I out of there and a 17/25 X 40 WEBB (Moriseiki copy) engine lathe.

 

[JohnK454]

My stuff is all just pickups from various places over the years. Spent 27yrs in two corporations as an engineer; machining has always been a hobby sideline. Just fixed my Grob 24" bandsaw and installed a VFD. Currently rebuilding a WWII South Bend 16x120 lathe with taper attachment. Perhaps I will build a BP cannon... LOL

 

[smokeywolf]

Would love to have a bigger band saw, but alas, not enough room. Would also like to have a taper attachment for the lathe. Not complaining though. I've got multiples of rotary tables, indexing heads, dividing heads, mill vises; recently acquired a right angle head + arbors, spacers and rear support for horizontal milling on the Bridgeport. Also was given a fairly complete DuMore toolpost grinder.

 

[freebullet]

Ooo dang, I'd prefer not to share pics of my current "organization". Better than some but.....

 

[JSH]

I have found filing cabinets to be of good use. Especially the old heavy ones. These will hold a lot of weight, won't tip and you can open with one finger. Even the modern ones will be of good service. A source for these on the cheap are school sales. Some of the larger schools that expand just go new. Ran across a gent that went to one and got good filing cabinets for $10. He had about 100.
I ran across a card filing cabinet at an estate sale two seperate sections on each drawer side by side, like the old library index cabinet. This thing is excellent to store bullets in. I lube and size, store in 50 round ammo box inserts that I got dumpster diving at the range. Keeps dust off of them and is easy to keep track of your inventory. I like the plastic over styrofoam as I can write info on them in grease pencil and wipe off when I empty it.
I had the chance to buy a couple of the big blue print type cabinets and didn't. Wish I had one now. The things were just to big and heavy to get into the basement.