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Tips/Techniques Workshop Organization- things that have made a difference for you
- Thread starter StevSmar
- Start date
Tips/Techniques
Dabbler
ersatz engineer
I have a Burke bar. Bloody useless
The guy that did it was Next Level Carpentry on Youtube. I watch too much youtube...
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I've been absent from this discussion, as my shop has been log-jammed for at least 5 years now... 3 rounds of once-in-a-lifetime deals. (sigh. temptation. I'm a sinner)
The best I can say is that I'm picking away at the problem until I can make enough room to reassemble the machines I want to sell.
Well, Don't feel to bad about an unorganized, messy shop anyone. I have spent 3 days this week helping a friend clean out and move what was left in his shop. 12 hour days, along with 4 other guys as well. The owner was in the building 15-20 years. There were a life time of collected antiques, car, parts, steel, truck parts, a small crawler, welding, grinders, equipment, and so on. Shop about 50 ft. wide, maybe 90-100ft. long. A nice auto lift, single cylinder, built in to the floor, didn't know it was there, never seen it! Nearly only a wandering path through the place when I first was in it 3 years ago. 3 large garage doors.
At least he had been selling a lot of stuff, but the sold move by date was today at noon. So 3 trailers, one, a 30ft. end dump for "garbage", 2 40ft. units for moving "stuff", many trips to the new property with the 2 trailers.
Thankfully, a small 2 ton fork lift, and large tracked skid steer with forks, but still a lot of work putting things on pallets, loading, tying down for a 15 mile move.
One way or another, done, done, done. A few tears I think, a lot of indecision, some, but I might need that's, and so on. ITS DONE.
Man, oh man, word has got around abit that I was helping with that move out. Have had 2 others kind of suggest I clean up their shops. They did not even blink when I said that I would maybe take what I liked, that I seen, while doing the cleanup. Steel, machines, '69 charger, chevy pickup with big block, (572??) or whatever them suckers are.
Could be a sideline. NOT, NO WAY.
Could be a sideline. NOT, NO WAY.
historicalarms
Ultra Member
Im in the middle of a major "yard clean-up" of 6o yrs of scrap metal farm & construction/trucking collection and am finding a a few "I might need that sometime" items that have found there way into the shop....so my "shop situation" has gotten worse
My shop is taking a sheit kicking right now. Wife wants the project/break room cleaned up for a wedding reception in October. Stuff is coming out of there faster than I can find new homes for it. I'm ok with stuff spread out on all the surfaces, and all across the floor but not 6 layers deep.
Dabbler
ersatz engineer
Welcome to my shop experience!!
ChazzC
Ultra Member
Ironman
Ultra Member
Next to having a place for everything, this is the most important thing I have done in my shop.
When you have a place for everything, and labelled, you can see if something is missing at a glance.
I use a Brother P-Touch H110 with 1" tape
I have a sign on the shop door. It says "The tool you want is in here." It is never wrong and hasn't failed me yet. Love it! Makes me feel like there is a little filer in me someplace. I bought the one sign kit. Came with a free big marker pen.
Big difference for me. Has helped get things organized, well as well as I am going to organize. I think I likely have at least 30 of them. Maybe more after the weekend as I might grabs some more on Saturday.
TorontoBuilder
Sapientia et Doctrina Stabilitas
You have just a few more than me.
I use them for projects... along with little baggies for parts as I disassemble a machine, they go n a tote or two or three
Nah not anymore, it's a digital world now, just confusion.
ChazzC
Ultra Member
Back on track:
Small Parts Storage Solution:
We all often work on more than one project at a time, stopping in the middle of one because something else comes or we need to order material/hardware. So what to do with the odd bits that we've assembled so far? Larger pieces & parts can be placed in a box or bin, but what about small parts that can easily get lost? This is what I do:
OK, so the cutters aren't parts, but this is also a handy way to store round/flat stuff in general.
Costco/Sams/Walmart/ALDI/LIDL/TESCO all sell large containers of goodies:
While the jars themselves can be used for storage (or dust covers: https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/threads/whats-happening-in-chazzs-shop.10225/post-154427 ) the lids are a handy size for small parts; however, when you bump into a lid full of parts, now there are a quantity of items lost in the Black Hole of the Shop floor, so you need a cover. The trick is to find something that comes in a container with a flat lid:
Although it's good to have a clear lid, you take what you can find (and want to eat) that is the right size.
Do I have too many?
And yes, of course you need to label them sometimes!
Small Parts Storage Solution:
We all often work on more than one project at a time, stopping in the middle of one because something else comes or we need to order material/hardware. So what to do with the odd bits that we've assembled so far? Larger pieces & parts can be placed in a box or bin, but what about small parts that can easily get lost? This is what I do:
OK, so the cutters aren't parts, but this is also a handy way to store round/flat stuff in general.
Costco/Sams/Walmart/ALDI/LIDL/TESCO all sell large containers of goodies:
While the jars themselves can be used for storage (or dust covers: https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/threads/whats-happening-in-chazzs-shop.10225/post-154427 ) the lids are a handy size for small parts; however, when you bump into a lid full of parts, now there are a quantity of items lost in the Black Hole of the Shop floor, so you need a cover. The trick is to find something that comes in a container with a flat lid:
Although it's good to have a clear lid, you take what you can find (and want to eat) that is the right size.
Do I have too many?
And yes, of course you need to label them sometimes!
Dabbler
ersatz engineer
me too. I have a similar number, and buying more. The narrow ones are good for projects with lots of small parts as well.
TorontoBuilder
Sapientia et Doctrina Stabilitas
Gridfinity seems great, and you can start off small, but it will take months of printing to build out a decent sized shop's worth of storage. I plan to use it on my adjustable height work station though because it is idea for organizing small tools in moderate sized spaces
If time was factored into the equation these would not be cost effective. For that reason I looked at injection moulded options from aliexpress, but the cost was not sufficiently low enough for me to sell out to china.
My solution is to make drawer inserts out of 1/4" cedar boards that evenly divide the space into more useable sized segments. Then later I can 3d print inserts with a lip and grasping notches that can just drop in and then be lifted out as needed.
Edit:
My main dissatisfaction with gridfinity is that when you dont have a full drawer worth of containers the grid base renders the open spaces less than optimal...
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How did you manage to find a deal in Winnipeg? I will admit though I’m not very actively looking.