Show us your tool rack/cart

[Odie]

Might change it if I start doing more and getting more equipment. Need to update my pic as I have already added more stuff and modified it some.

Get used to it, my friend!

That board will eventually look like Swiss cheese....things added.....things subtracted....mistakes made.....change your mind on how to do it.....retrofitted......etc, etc., etc.....just give it some time!

And.....Who cares what it looks like?

The whole point is to make your shop work for YOU.....not the other way around! .....(and definitely not to impress anyone else....I have seen some shops that look so pristine and pre-planned, that it makes you consider the evolution behind it.....or lack thereof.)

-----odie-----

 

[Greg Wold]

Being brand new to turning, I haven't much to find room for. Yet!

Actually, the basement shop's in very early process. That cabinet I just hung today, and I'm thinking on the best way to hand the pegboard beside/below it. So thanks to you all for this great thread--it'll play a big role in my coming, initial build-out!

 

[Rod Nabholz]

Here's mine. Simple build from off the shelf components. Holding 24 tools with room for another 20 or so.

Rides on castors so I can place them right at hand

 

[Bob Borzelleri]

Built the rolling cart to double as a tool holder and sharpening station. Then found a need for a wall mount rack. Along the way, I rigged up a tool holder under the lathe.

 

[Russ Braun]

View attachment 7538View attachment 7539

I use both peg board and a rack to store my lathe tools and attachments. For the rack I used magnetic cabinet door catches to keep my larger tools secure. It works out for me pretty well. The pegboard had to be reinforced to hold the heavier items. Everything is within easy reach.

Pete, I store my hat on my head!!

 

[Aaron Cheateaux]

I don’t know how my phone just copied this, but that’s wild.

I had a bunch of 80/20 left over from a failed van kitchen build. Decided to make a turning station. The drawers hold 200 pounds each. Left side is all gouges, right is sharpening, chucks/other accessories, finishing/sanding/buffing, then hollowing/coring. I’m surprised it all fits.

 

[John Hebdon]

I am a simple guy with simple things. I like that it sits on the wall and keeps things very or

 

[Duane Schmidt]

John, your design looks like a somewhat different way to keep tools from tipping out, but should still allow very easy access. Plus space for putting other small tools. I think I’m going to try something along those lines. This has been a great thread.

 

[Lou Jacobs]

I don’t know how my phone just copied this, but that’s wild.

There’s a cool new feature in iOS that lets you hold down on an image and it copies just what you’re touching. Very useful for excluding background extraneous non-essentials.

 

[John Hebdon]

John, your design looks like a somewhat different way to keep tools from tipping out, but should still allow very easy access. Plus space for putting other small tools. I think I’m going to try something along those lines. This has been a great thread.

I am not sure if you can tell but the bottom board is slanted forward to create the tension against the rest of the rack. Also this allows any shavings to simply fall to the floor. Can't wait to see your version.

 

[Eddie Howard]

Not as many tools as you guys but trying to get started. Built this tool chest to hold what I have now....Drooling over the pics on here.

 

[Eddie Howard]

Yes, they are hockey pucks. I don’t like the metal legs on concrete so the pucks work nicely. They can be trimmed flush to the metal legs but I like the larger footprint for more stability (arguable but that’s my rationale for not trimming). There is no wiggle... the pucks are quite hard. It’s much easier to pick up and move or lightly drag a machine and not worry about scraping metal on concrete.View attachment 45666

Man I like this idea, thanks.

 

[Phil Hamel]

Added some wheels to make it move easier. Put a piece of left over plywood underneath so now I have a place to hang the tailstock. More holes drilled and tools added. They fill up fast don't they?

 

[Larry Mercier]

It also might help find that tool you lost

Gerald, I'm glad I not alone in my search for that moved tool.

 

[Larry Mercier]

Get used to it, my friend!

That board will eventually look like Swiss cheese....things added.....things subtracted....mistakes made.....change your mind on how to do it.....retrofitted......etc, etc., etc.....just give it some time!

And.....Who cares what it looks like?

The whole point is to make your shop work for YOU.....not the other way around! .....(and definitely not to impress anyone else....I have seen some shops that look so pristine and pre-planned, that it makes you consider the evolution behind it.....or lack thereof.)

-----odie-----

odie, I agree with you that our shops should fit our needs without considering how others react to setup. However, I know two turners who leave their shops so clean at the end of every session that my little granddaughter would not respond "what a mess ".

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

I need to make some more pics of the lathe layout since I have made some changes. I thing the shging op is dynamic because we are continually changing the things we turn as well as the techniques we use. For me convenience drive my lay out and storage methods. I do notice some problems finding things when I do a major realignment but that is the reason I started labeling drawers a few years ago. Then if I move those items I can also move the label.

 

[Pat Patterson]

Not as many tools as you guys but trying to get started. Built this tool chest to hold what I have now....Drooling over the pics on here.

The pull out for tools is super cool
Pat

 

[Breck Whitworth]

Howdy Breck......

My tool edges are all pointing up, but looks like you've devised a way to put them facing down, and still visible....good job.

-----odie-----

Odie I do like the unhandled gouges with the point down, but since most of my handled tools are point up I still need to be careful and not just reach up to grab a tool without making sure I don't slice a finger on a razor shape gouge edge. I won't even mention how I know to not do that.

 

[Albert Heemskerk]

Having just joined this forum, this has got to be one of the most handy threads that I've read so for!

 

[Mike Novak]

I am a simple guy with simple things. I like that it sits on the wall and keeps things very orView attachment 50208

Here is the one I built this weekend after seeing John’s post. I still need to add the magnet bar on the front, and drill holes for
other bits and pieces. Used a 2x4.

 

[John Hebdon]

Here is the one I built this weekend after seeing John’s post. I still need to add the magnet bar on the front, and drill holes for
other bits and pieces. Used a 2x4.

That looks great. How do you like it so far?

 

[Mike Novak]

So far I like it. Tools go in and out easy, and it’s in easy reach, so I’m not tempted to rest tools on the ways. I like that it does not require a good aim to get the tool in the right spot. Could almost drop it in blindfolded.

Added the magnet bar. Great for holding my chuck keys in easy reach.

If I was doing it again I would space the tools a little closer together.

 

[Phil Hamel]

Well that didn't take long! Completely revamped the whole cart. Had some tubing left over from when I installed the whole house vac.

 

[Phil Hamel]

Updated.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Had to make a cart for the new shop. I will have to get a picture of it finished. My grinder is mounted on the back top.

 

[Bob Sheppard]

I've been trying to get better organized around my lather, so I made this wall cabinet a few months ago. It holds most of my regularly used tools, and the various centers I use. Now I don't have to go burrowing in drawers to find what I want.

 

[Tom Jewett]

I dithered about making a custom tool rack for a long time, but it was a constantly-moving target. I'd get new tools, or change my patterns of work, and whatever design I had settled on was no longer appropriate. Also, wall space is very scarce in my shop (I have loads of shelves and lumber racks all the way around), so a freestanding rack made more sense. Rather than put a lot of effort into making something that would be perfect just until the next tool or work-pattern change came along, I quickly whomped together a couple of milk crates, a scrap of melamine and some old casters with zip ties and screws, and it has turned out to be a superb tool station. The tool tips slip down through the grating on the top which keeps the sharp stuff away from my fingers, and the smallest triangular holes in the grating hold tiny tools like scissors, tweezers and glue pipettes. I can group my tools by function, with the most-used tools at the front and left. Currently it's bowl gouges along the left side, small scrapers at the front, spindle tools along the right edge, hollowing tools and the walloping huge scrapers at the back, and miscellaneous in the middle. I've hung a few items on the outside as well (mallets and calipers and the like) since it's easy to attach wire loops to the crate grating. The grating also makes it easy for chips and dust to either fall through or get blown out.
I no longer keep chucks in the shelf below the tools, since that space is full of pointy tool ends and I need to get at my chucks all the time. That space is now occupied by leather and rubber pads for different kinds of chucking, plus odds and ends I don't need to get into very often, and the chucks are on the lumber rack shelf immediately behind me as I work at the lathe. The bottom shelf is for the drill I use for power sanding, some templates, my Beall Buffer kit box and a few other odds and ends.
This whole assembly can roll, so if I'm turning down at the far end of the bed I can just trundle the whole mess down there. Normally it lives tucked into a little space between my headstock and the wall.
I don't like storing my regular turning tools on magnetized surfaces since they get magnetized themselves and will stick unpleasantly to my tool rest.
My system was essentially free (My favorite! It helps that I had some old casters in the shop.), took about 20 minutes to put together, and has proved remarkably versatile and flexible.

View attachment 50112

Now that's great thinking! And it sounds like it fits YOU to a T - the most important criteria.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Here are some updated pictures.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

Here are some updated pictures.View attachment 55529View attachment 55530View attachment 55531
View attachment 55532

I wonder how many of the roloc pads the wood turner wonders guy has sold? Seems like a lot of people have them.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

My cart/cabinet that my vacuum pump sits on grew into something bigger the other day.

Now it also holds my chucks, jaws and miscellaneous glitterati, dyes and embellishments. Bottom drawer is to grow into space. Plus I don't like bending over.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

I wonder how many of the roloc pads the wood turner wonders guy has sold? Seems like a lot of people have them.

I think it’s the only way to go.

 

[John Hicks]

A progression over the last few years. I can get to everything quickly.

 

[Odie]

A progression over the last few years. I can get to everything quickly.

Well, John.....your tool rack looks about as incongruent as mine does! ....but, you and I know this is an evolutionary process, and keeping up with your needs is more important than what it looks like!

Yes, I can fully understand the need to have the tools you use the most within reaching distance.....very important to keeping the momentum going.....but, I know you know that, too!

-o-

 

[John Hicks]

Well, John.....your tool rack looks about as incongruent as mine does! ....but, you and I know this is an evolutionary process, and keeping up with your needs is more important than what it looks like!

Yes, I can fully understand the need to have the tools you use the most within reaching distance.....very important to keeping the momentum going.....but, I know you know that, too!

-o-

Before I forget what I was going to do next!

 

[Odie]

Before I forget what I was going to do next!

You got it, friend!

-o-

 

[hughie]

With this latest move down the coast I have decided to make several changes to the way I set out the shop, plus do a few of those long-standing shops mods we all often carry in the back of the mind.
The main one is to design and build a mobile tool rack that will carry all the turning tools, chucks and inertia sanders, along whatever else that seems important . It will hang off a vertical oil drum stand, similar to but not exactly like the image

 

[Dan Krupp]

Four sided, holds 32 gouges/handled tools. Has shelves for sanding and finishing stuff. Peg board is useful for gauges etc. Has wheels - I am pretty pleased with it.

 

[Walter Mooney]

I'm finding myself sticking tools hear and there and need to make a proper tool rack or cart so they are organized and accessible. I'm looking for ideas and would love to see how you have solved this. What do you like or don't like about what you have? Any plans to change or expand? Does it include chucks and other accessories?
Thanks!
Doug

Mine is bolted onto the top of right end of my lathe (I replaced the factory bolts with ones that are about an inch longer, to be able to get through the 3/4 “ plywood). A simple piece of plywood, with a small piece screwed vertically under it, up against the lathe leg (to keep the main piece horizontal), in which I’ve drilled holes (and a couple slots) of whatever diameter (or length, for the slots) tailored to the tool I want to be held there. All of them are my usual, go-to tools, that I use most often.

 

[Mike Novak]

I took a class at Snow Farm a couple weeks ago. This is what they have. It has casters to roll it around. I liked using it much better than my current setup on the wall behind the lathe. I’ll probably build one of these for myself. I’ll use the wall rack for less used tools.

 

[John Whitley]

Here's a few photos of a new gouge rack I built for tools using the bolster system found on SB Tools' and Ashley Hardwood's lines. It's a pretty simple design: 3/4" holes drilled with a 1/2" gap between each. I laid out slot lines tangent to the holes, chamfered them using a 1" shear cutting chamfer bit, then cut the slots with a handsaw. The rightmost hole is 7/8" to accommodate the 3/4" bottom bowl gouge. A test board showed that the 7/8" worked, but the chamfer centered and looked nicer on the 3/4" holes, so I only cut one that size.

I'm also building a second rack for handled tools, based on John Hebdon's design upthread. I'll post photos when that's done.