Ideas for a tool rack

[Timothy Rowe]

Okay everyone, I am looking for photos of how you keep your tools, right now I have a flat table with holes drilled in it and keep them points down. So looking to see if there is a better way, for easier access.

The other reason is I have roughly 150 tools that belong to the club that I store in my shop that need organizing.

Thanks in advance.

 

[John Nesmith]

Here's my system. Doesn't sound like what you are looking for though.

 

[Timothy Rowe]

It's not exactly, but I can use some of that for the tools we rarely use, that the club owns.

Thanks Though

 

[robo hippy]

I remember seeing a picture of Mike Mahoney's shop. He had his in what looked like 6 inch diameter blue PVC sewer pipe. They stacked nicely on a shelf. You could turn plugs for the ends, or they might make caps for them. Looks pretty simple, but I need to find the pipe first.

robo hippy

 

[Tom Coghill]

This is what I have built from the samplings of others about the web. It is a free standing cart that I can roll to the location I want. The back has storage for jaw sets, calipers, etc. I store all the heavy items as low as possible. Tools are stored tip up - so don't fall on it or it could be like wrestling with a porcupine!

Ping me if you want more info.

Tom

PS - I should get a now photo... I have acquired a few more tools and have modified the cart to accept hollowing tools too.

 

[Dwight R Rutherford]

Here is my tool rack.

 

[Syd Sellers]

Okay everyone, I am looking for photos of how you keep your tools, right now I have a flat table with holes drilled in it and keep them points down. So looking to see if there is a better way, for easier access.

The other reason is I have roughly 150 tools that belong to the club that I store in my shop that need organizing.

Thanks in advance.

Tim, this is what I did, holds over 80 of mine.
http://www.rocky-roost-woodturnings.com/wood-turning-blog/tool-holder-lazy-susan.html
Hope this helps.

 

[Timothy Rowe]

Thanks guys some cool ideas. I can definitely incorporate some of these ideas.

 

[odie]

What works best is dependent on how the rest of the shop is organized and laid out. This is what works for me......

ooc

 

[Rob Wallace]

Tim:

You should have attended my "Gizmos and Gadgets" Special Interest night presentation at the Tampa Symposium where I spent about 25 minutes reviewing different kinds of tool storage, rack design, efficiency, and safety. I don't have that computer here with me now, but I'll try to send that part of the Powerpoint presentation.

Whatever you come up with, I implore you to NOT USE a 5 gallon bucket sitting on the floor with the sharp ends of your turning tools pointing up!! Some have even filled the bucket with PVC pipe sections to nicely space the tools out so there are more dangerous points better supported over a wider area. This is a FUNDAMENTALLY STUPID design that has 'emergency room' and 'serious injury' written all over it. Imagine falling on one of those "easy" tool racks, and the blood bath that would ensue, assuming you could get yourself off of the tools after being impaled upon them! I can't believe people actually use a bucket on the floor to store their tools.

With ANY DESIGN for tool storage, you should NEVER have to reach past the sharp end of one stored tool to reach another. The design of the tool rack should not require you to repeatedly risk injuring yourself when reaching for or replacing a turning tool from or to your rack.

You might want to have a read of this article I wrote for the Woodturning FUNdamentals newsletters, distributed in October, 2012:

http://library.constantcontact.com/doc207/1103600789564/doc/r1vQD1ofHhs3RxQd.pdf

I hope this helps!

Rob Wallace

 

[Timothy Rowe]

Rob,

You take all the fun out of turning, what am I supposed to do with the 45 Five gallon buckets I just ordered for my tools upright in the PVC.

Actually I learned of the 5 gallon bucket mistake from someone else who cut there leg on an upright tool. Skew sure cut clean though. LOL

I wanted to go to the Gizmo and Gadgets, but alas "when 800 years old you are you will understand" I forgot. Could have been the free booze from 5 til 7 at the hotel.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Here's a couple.

Keep in mind that my racks are "working storage" meaning what I'm likely to use for the job at hand. I don't need to have everything I own within reach. Same reason I don't use one of those Roy Rogers 2-gun tool belts.


First one is the swing-away rack I made for my old 12-36 JET. The pivots had stops welded in to prevent contact with a spinning workpiece. The rack was always in reach on the mobile lathe.

Second example is also mobile and the detail shows construction details. All tools are stored point/edge down. This is the second iteration of a rolling rack. The first one was a carousel-style that rotated on a lazi-suzi kind of deal that got pitched because I found that the tool I wanted was always on the opposite side of the thing!

 

[Bill Boehme]

I have posted this link before, but for those who like sharp edges sticking up in the air out in the open, my experience as Safety Officer may be food for thought.

 

[odie]

It's true there are dangers to upright, or exposed lathe tool cutting edges........ but, shouldn't/couldn't there be some reasonable limits to the thinking that under no circumstances it can be done while assuming a limited risk?

This "limited risk", it would seem to me, might not be the same to everyone equally.......or, should the thinking be applied to all, according to the lowest common denominator?

As I see it, there is a problem when making safety rules that will apply to everyone......even though some people assume greater risks than others by virtue of individual procedures and circumstances.

Your thoughts on making safety rules that apply to everyone........even though all the risks may not be the same for everyone........?

I'd have to agree with the 5-gallon bucket on the floor......but, the basic safety rules seem to apply to all methods, in order to "cover all the bases" for everyone, regardless of other circumstances that may exist......

ooc

 

[hockenbery]

Odie,

It's kind of like teaching yourself to always lay carving tools on the table with the handle facing you.
Sure it is easier to tell which is which with the cutting edge facing you.

Handles don't cut hands.

It seems to me pointy end away from you for tools not in use can be used all the time with no loss of efficiency.

In a head high rack point up are away from you.

just my thought.
Al

 

[odie]

Well......yes, Al..........

How can anyone disagree with basic truth?

As an example of what I'm getting at......Isn't this very similar an issue as with using a guard on a table saw? As long as the saw teeth are covered, there is some guarantee that there won't be an accident, right? Yet, we have those who have conditioned themselves to have a certain level of awareness, and have been using a table saw without any guard for decades without any problem. The reason for this isn't plain 'ol luck.......it's a developed sense of mental acuity.

The same sort of thing applies to the lathe tool point up or down.....within certain limitations, such as the 5gal bucket on the floor with pointy ends up.

There are those who do require a hard rule like points always away from self, no exceptions, for their own safety.......but, the point I'm trying to make is not all turners have the same level of ability, awareness, presence of thought, experience, developed safety habits and procedures, and etc.......

When we make rules that are intended to apply to everyone equally, in order to cover all the bases, what we are inadvertently doing is mandating limits to those who don't fall under the same category as those who NEED these rules for their own safety. This is NOT to say the rule shouldn't exist.......but, is to point out that there are exceptions, and those exceptions are a matter of when, how, and why one chooses to apply the rule, or not.

ooc

 

[Bart Leetch]

Odie

Were you ever on a debate team, maybe on unilateral disarmament?

 

[odie]

Odie

Were you ever on a debate team, maybe on unilateral disarmament?

Heh,heh,heh......that's funny, Bart!

Nope......I think what going on here, is I see things from a different perspective as "the herd". This is a result of my own experiences, and always applying my own beliefs above what is considered to be the standard, or accepted way of seeing, or dealing with any particular issue.

ooc

 

[Brian McInturff]

If we followed all safety rules then we would never turn. Using a lathe without a guard, wood with defects, quality of air you are breathing, the list goes on. At some point people just have to use common sense. If you store your tools with the points not covered then be aware and don't cut yourself. Pretty simple.

 

[odie]

If we followed all safety rules then we would never turn. Using a lathe without a guard, wood with defects, quality of air you are breathing, the list goes on. At some point people just have to use common sense. If you store your tools with the points not covered then be aware and don't cut yourself. Pretty simple.

Brian.....

Yep, I believe we're on the same page with this.

What we have here, is the age-old conflict between theory, and reality! It's hard to argue with theory, but application of theory in all circumstances in which theory will be applied, gives us an overall perspective of what reality truly is.

There are safety rules that are not negotiable, and some that will be applicable according to other things.......and, those "other things" may not be the same from individual to individual.

ooc

 

[Dave Mueller]

This design is a variation of one I built for my hand planes a long time ago. A handy feature is the use of small velcro patches attached to the edge of the right door to hold 2" sanding discs. That way they are always available and it is easy to see which is the next disc when working up through the grits.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Odie, if you read the article again and then tell me what rules I insisted on creating, I doubt that you will find any. I related my own personal experience and how it led to a serious accident. At the conclusion, I cited some things that were contributors -- not only to this accident, but to accidents in general. My summary statement,"Absent mindedly reaching across the tools, working tired, getting in a hurry, being distracted, stumbling, and perhaps worst of all is getting too comfortable with the tools being stored in that manner ... in conjunction with a, "I haven't had an accident yet so everything is fine mentality are all things that can get us in trouble" hardly qualifies as a set of "rules". If I have any "rules", it probably boils down to just two:

1. Don't do stupid things
2. If you got hurt from doing something stupid, refer to rule #1 -- in other words, learn from your mistakes

It is up to each individual to decide what "stupid" means for them. Forrest Gump had a pretty good definition.

I still put tools in a bucket when I have a bunch to sharpen, but I make sure that I don't carelessly put the bucket where I or someone else is liable to trip over them or they are in the way of doing other tasks. And, I put them back where they belong when I am finished sharpening them. It is not really the bucket that is the problem -- the problem is what is ... or isn't going on in my mind when working around machinery and sharp tools.

For anyone who feels that maintaining an awareness of safety is an impediment to turning, I'd like to suggest from personal misfortune in following that mindset that having an injury is a much greater impediment to turning.

 

[David Wilkins]

For a chisel storage I have an upright mechanics tool chest, well organized with skews separate from gouges, another drawer for parting/scrapers. It also holds sharpening accessories, bowl savers, chucks, jaws and lathe accessories. Longer bowl gouges have a shelf on the wall. Most of my chisels are unhandled, so this setup works very well and is lockable, an important feature now that I have a 2 year old who really likes the idea of being in a shop. In order for the shop to work well, everything needs a place and needs to be returned to that place when not in use. Safety glasses are #1 rule, to the point where above mentioned 2 year old insists I wear them in the kitchen, living room and just about everywhere else.

 

[odie]

1. Don't do stupid things
2. If you got hurt from doing something stupid, refer to rule #1 -- in other words, learn from your mistakes
   

It is up to each individual to decide what "stupid" means for them. Forrest Gump had a pretty good definition.

Mornin' Bill........

I'd say those two rules are pretty darn good ones .......and, the "Stupid is as stupid does" quote from Forrest Gump is equally applicable.

One thing I'd like to also stress, is we are all free to decide for ourselves just what "stupid" is. It's for sure that anyone's definition of how that term applies to what they do in their shop, is not necessarily, nor should be the same as the lowest common denominator concept.

later.......

ooc

 

[Mark Mandell]

Lest we forget: It's each person's absolute right to be or do stupid. After all, there has to be some working way to improve the human gene pool.

However, this may be why there's not a single government on the planet that works on Libertarian principals.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Lest we forget: It's each person's absolute right to be or do stupid. After all, there has to be some working way to improve the human gene pool....

Not to mention that it helps in keeping lawyers and doctors gainfully employed.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Not to mention that it helps in keeping lawyers and doctors gainfully employed.

and You Tube offerings up to date . .

 

[Bill Boehme]

and You Tube offerings up to date . .

The You Tube video about using a chainsaw as a turning tool that somebody linked to a while back still gives me the willies.

 

[Scott Bradley]

Here's what I wound up doing. I've been using this setup almost daily now for several months and I haven't felt a need to change anything. Initially, I was thinking that I'd wind up changing the pullout shelves to drawers but I like the neat shelves as opposed to a junk filled drawer. When they get dirty, a quick blast with the air hose and good to go. The top one is used as a tool/glue/whatever shelf during projects. Turning tools can be stored pointy end up or down. Tray for the dremel and tool post extension. Pegboard storage in back for tool rests and other stuff. On wheels so that it can be positioned anywhere.

 

[Scott Bradley]

Pic of pegboard storage in back

 

[odie]

Looks very good to me, Scott........:cool2:

I've noticed that many turners put a lot of effort into designing their tool racks......nothing wrong with that at all. I'm one that usually slaps things together with a minimum of purchases. The only thing that really matters to me is function and convenience. (This doesn't mean you can't have function and convenience, and look good doing it, too! )

You're the only one that matters, so don't feel like you have to abide by anyone else's opinions. The threads on this forum are in a continual state of disagreement! All of the individuals here sometimes agree, and sometimes disagree with one other. Once in awhile someone takes it personal, but those that do eventually go away.......or, learn their own perspective is subject to alternative ways of arriving at the same result.....and, as I'm continually saying, "The end result is the ONLY thing that matters!

ooc

 

[Bill Boehme]

.... The threads on this forum are in a continual state of disagreement! All of the individuals here sometimes agree, and sometimes disagree with one other.....

I prefer to call it a continual state of sharing ideas and experience. Debate and bandying about ideas and perspectives are good and it is seldom adversarial and almost never mean spirited. If you look hard enough and long enough you might encounter someone who got up on the wrong side of the lathe after a night of sleeping in the shavings.

 

[odie]

I prefer to call it a continual state of sharing ideas and experience. Debate and bandying about ideas and perspectives are good and it is seldom adversarial and almost never mean spirited. If you look hard enough and long enough you might encounter someone who got up on the wrong side of the lathe after a night of sleeping in the shavings.

Yep, Bill.......

I guess that's another alternative way of looking at it, and if you think about it, it's just what I was referring to....! Heh,heh,heh.....

ooc

 

[Jim Silva]

Hi Tim,
This is my solution.

I don't like reaching over the lathe and I don't have the room to have any kind of rolling rack so I hung mine on the wall using a french cleat. It lets me move 'em around depending on whether I'm using my standard tools or doing deep hollowing as I don't have the room to hang both racks at the end of my lathe.
My lathe is 90* to the wall in the first photo (headstock near that small rack of mini tools)


Behind me (2nbd photo) I also use some magnetic hangers for small tools and other sundries.

The bottom of the rack is slanted to let shavings/ chips/ dust fall through and serves to keep the pointy ends against the wall and not leaning toward me to cut down on the frequency of skewering myself lol.

Jim

 

[odie]

Jim......

What's that tool with the long handle and short little tip?....(Third from the right in the first pic.)

ooc

 

[Bill Boehme]

Jim......

What's that tool with the long handle and short little tip?....(Third from the right in the first pic.)

ooc

Hey, that's plenty long. . . . . . until the ferrule starts getting nicked by the grinding wheel

 

[Jim Silva]

Jim......

What's that tool with the long handle and short little tip?....(Third from the right in the first pic.)

ooc

Odie,
That's a tool I made up to cut thin tapered slots in the wooden bases I make for my basketry business. It's 1/8"x 1/4" HHS that started off life as a miniature skew chisel from one of those cheapie mini-tool sets.

I grind it on the sides of the wheel to make a long skinny Vee. ===> with a slight taper that goes from about 1/64" at the tip to about 3/32 a half inch from the tip. It allows us to jam cane ribs into the basket bases to anchor them.

I end up using it very often as a micro parting tool to undercut finials and pendants for ornaments also.

The absurdly long handle keeps it from dumping as friction increases when cutting the slots. Far more stability and control when doing what I need it to do.

More info than you wanted I bet lol..

Jim

 

[Dale Jablonski]

I love it Bill

Love the quote "Don't do stupid things" I'll add one of my own. "Listen to your little voice" I believe we all have "little voices" I know I do. It tells me when I am starting to do something "stupid". Every time I've listened to it I've been okay...from avoiding woodworking accidents to getting in to bad fire situations. When I haven't, I've paid the price.

 

[Jim Keenan]

Finally!!!

Finally… I have power and the new shop is at least functional. I posted pictures on my home made web page http://thejimguy.com using web pages for dummies. It’s clear, after wading through several pages of alphabet soup, that my level of intellect does not meet the standards set forth in the book title. I am hoping for a sequel called web pages for the total idiot. We shall see.
The web pages function fine, even though amateurish, with the exception of the home page. After numerous attempts to publish and a half dozen or so of disabling security functions of the browser (yes, I have restored them) tech support from the host is still trying to work out the problems. You can see the entire site if you push the button labeled next on the home page and go to shop for photos. Or, just keep hitting the next button on each page.
Besides posting on WOW, I’m going to forward this to a couple of turner friends and also on the AAW forum in the section asking for ideas on tool racks, so you may see duplicates of this post.

There are four pages of shop. Keep pushing next to see the tools racks.

 

[odie]

Finally… I have power and the new shop is at least functional. I posted pictures on my home made web page http://thejimguy.com using web pages for dummies. It’s clear, after wading through several pages of alphabet soup, that my level of intellect does not meet the standards set forth in the book title. I am hoping for a sequel called web pages for the total idiot. We shall see.
The web pages function fine, even though amateurish, with the exception of the home page. After numerous attempts to publish and a half dozen or so of disabling security functions of the browser (yes, I have restored them) tech support from the host is still trying to work out the problems. You can see the entire site if you push the button labeled next on the home page and go to shop for photos. Or, just keep hitting the next button on each page.
Besides posting on WOW, I’m going to forward this to a couple of turner friends and also on the AAW forum in the section asking for ideas on tool racks, so you may see duplicates of this post.

There are four pages of shop. Keep pushing next to see the tools racks.

CaptJim........Nice looking shop, and some very creative work........

Oh yeah.......tool racks look like they otta work!

Thanks for posting your web page......was an interesting tour! :cool2:

ooc