# Any ideas for drill bit storage?



## windstorm (Dec 21, 2008)

Hey everyone! I recently built a walnut router bit cabinet & am thinking of building something similar for my messy array of drill bits (maybe out of cherry this time). The only drill bit cabinet plan I've found is from PlansNow.com & it's okay, but not very interesting...

http://plansnow.com/drillbitcab.html

I sure would like to hear (or see) any ideas anyone might have regarding drill bit storage. I just can't seem to stop organizin'. Thanks all.:smile:


----------



## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

I use a plastic bucket. 

I'd like to organize my bits too. I've got a lot of HSS bits that are oddball sizes and I just can't throw them out. None of my woodworking plans call for a size J hole. 

I'm sort of on a magnet kick lately. I bought a lathe last week and I've already got several magnets on the steel (cast iron?) base to hold the spindle poker thingy and the chuck wrenches.

I'd like to see a cabinet for drill bits with magnetic bars in the back so I can just slap the bit up there and snatch the next one. 

I'll probably never get around to it, tho.


----------



## windstorm (Dec 21, 2008)

Thanks, P, I've been using a lot of magnets lately myself, especially the rare earth magnets that will hold just about anything. I found another drill bit/press cabinet that's pretty nice, but it doesn't hold many bits...

http://www.woodstore.net/unwalcab.html


----------



## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I have a flat turntable mounted to my drill press with different holes of different sizes around the perimeter of the turntable to hold different sized drill bits. Makes selecting a bit at the press quick and easy. The center of the turntable hold other drill type accessories like sanding drums, etc. Other than that, I have always had a problem with drill bit storage. I have several wooden boxes that hold bits around the shop and a 4 drawer cabinet that hold other drill related items. I'm interested to see where this thread goes. Maybe I'll get some ideas myself.
Ken


----------



## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Windy,
I put my bits in my rollaround toolholder. I just drilled blind holes for each bit, spaced them, etc. For the 1/4" shank router bits I drilled holes and took the nylon inserts out of their original cheapy case they came in and use them. The bits fit nice and snug in them. These pics of the holder were before I finished it. It has pegboard on the outsides to hold misc. tools.
Mike Hawkins


----------



## Handyman (Jan 2, 2008)

I built my bit rack about 8 years ago out of 2x4s. Of course I did a lot of cutting on that 2x4 to get the 2x2 with all the bit holes drilled at and angle. Please excuse the mess, every thing in my shop has a fine layer of rust due to the almost constant 90% humidity and the fact the rafter are open over the walls. It isn't fancy but it has served me well.


----------



## windstorm (Dec 21, 2008)

I had a feeling that Kenbo, Mike & Handyman would all weigh in & I thank you all. I like your bit rack, Mike, it's large & open & reminds me that a small cabinet, especially if you have many assorted types of bits, probably won't work. Are those piano hinges I see on the side? And 2x4s are the most practical way to store bits, so I like your method too, Handyman. Kenbo, you gave me an idea. I'm thinking of boring out some cylinders (maybe from 8/4 stock), drilling holes in the top for the bits and installing each one on a rotating pin (on shelves like Mike's unit). And maybe build wheels for the forstner bits & plug cutters (like miniature "Wheel of Fortune" wheels... What bit do I want to use today? Just spin the wheel! Wheee! Maybe even paint colorful pies on the wheels. Okay, that might be over the top... Or is it?). You guys always get me thinking, so why not have some fun with it? Am I crazy to spend this much time on a bunch of bits?:blink:

Maybe something like this...:laughing:


----------



## windstorm (Dec 21, 2008)

Mike, I just took a closer look at your photos & realized exactly what you did -- you made a pancake box of sorts. That's really cool! Do you have any pics with the pegboard attached?


----------



## coffeetime (Dec 28, 2006)

I have more then one of each size in fraction below 1/2". I order them by the dozen. So this is how I store them. I use this same system at the shop except I have one for fraction size, one for letter size and one for number size. Don't think this is what you had in mind but it sure works for me.










I have the size in both the fraction / letter/ number and decimal on the front of each drawer. I'm a machinest so I work in decimal most the time. I can't help it, I'm sure there is a ten step program out there some where. Maybe when I retire....
P.S. Most drills over 7/16" dont fit in these drawers so I just have them in a work bench drawer.
Mike


----------



## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Windy,
I found a few finish pics. It is piano hinged and it also holds my lathe chisels, lathe accessories, ca glue bottles, and whateve else I can hang on it. I made it originally to be able to roll around the shop, keep it out of the way, and be able to roll it up next to me while I am turning. It is a pretty good stepsaver. Except for the wheels, hinges and the pegboard sheet, the rest was made from leftover fillers and the like from kitchen jobs. I am trying to get a little more organized all the time. I hate spending time trying to find something, so no I don't think we are crazy for wanting to put a little extra into things that others would consider us nuts for. I built cabinets for the shop out of ash that are nicer than what a lot of people have in their kitchens. I have crown molding on them and also all around the ceiling, suround sound, good heat, ceiling fans, etc, etc. My wife sometimes thinks I am nuts, but that shop is my refuge. When friends or relatives come over, the guys always grab a beer and head out to the shop to hang out. I also have a brother in law that started me out in remodeling about 30+ years ago. So he always looks everything over with a magnifying glass. Every time I do something, I have to throw in little things that only he would notice. It's become sort of a game now. For instance, when I was redoing my laundry room and bathroom, I built some cabinets for both. I turned some escutheons for the supply lines and waste lines inside the cabinets and the toilet supply line too. I used ash and cherry. He noticed and got a big kick out of it. All in good fun, keeps life interesting. 
Mike Hawkins


----------



## windstorm (Dec 21, 2008)

Hey, Mike. Your last response got me thinking about the creative side of woodworking & its many stages. We get an idea, scratch it out on a pad of paper (or on the back of an old paper bag), picture the project in our head & set out to find a way to make it happen. Maybe this isn't the thread to wax philosophic, but I'm always amazed by the creativity of woodworkers. Your rolling tool/bit rack, for example, took some ingenuity. The cutting & assembly requires learned skills, but the imagination that goes into woodworking is another thing.

I have a neighbor who collects wood vessels she buys at galleries, some of them beautifully turned & expensive (she has a few in the $1500-$2000 range). I look at Kenbo's clocks & think of the hours it took just to conceive them! Others build beautiful furniture (a craft I wish I had more time for), and some, like myself, are tinkerers. I read a great article in the Feb 2009 issue of "Popular Woodworking" about a California artist named Reuben Margolin who makes kinetic sculptures out of wood, some of them with hundreds of moving parts.

My wife paints portraits for a living & I approached her with my idea for a spinning wheel bit cabinet & the next thing I knew we were on the internet looking at images of ancient fortune wheels & tarot art that might work for my project. It's a journey I hadn't planned on taking for what began as a simple storage unit for drill bits, but that's the fun of it, isn't it? I picture a garage sale a hundred years from now, where someone looks at a series of hand-painted wheels spinning in a cabinet and asks, "What on earth is that?" Anyway, thanks for sharing your ideas.

Terry


----------



## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

windstorm said:


> Thanks, P, I've been using a lot of magnets lately myself, especially the rare earth magnets that will hold just about anything. I found another drill bit/press cabinet that's pretty nice, but it doesn't hold many bits...
> 
> http://www.woodstore.net/unwalcab.html


I like the look of this plan best. It should be pretty easy to sketch a larger one up. You could maybe even incorporate Mike's idea, and make it a roll around model. Most of my drill bits are in a locker, and I bring them out when I need them. I keep one index of jobber bits beside my drill press, and have my countersinks, plug cutters, and chuck keys on a round flat table, attached to the drill press column. Probably same thing as Kenbo was talking about.

Gerry


----------



## windstorm (Dec 21, 2008)

Coffeetime, I'm not sure there's a ten-step program for the woodworking affliction we all suffer, but like you I am organized to a fault (as you can see by the pics in my albums). Everything has a place & a label. Guys like you & I get teased a lot for being neat, but I bet you probably know exactly where to find that old piece of hardware that fell off the wagon (no pun intended) ten years ago.:smile:


----------



## windstorm (Dec 21, 2008)

Gerry, I like the design at WoodStore as well. Given where I started, the design aspect of this project has taken on a whole new dimension, with a variety of bits inserted into colored spinning wheels (who knows, maybe a couple of battery operated motors to make them spin!). It might be that that my imagination is running wild, but sometimes you have to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly. Thanks for the input.


----------



## johnv51 (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm so ashamed! I'm the only one left with a row of coffee cans on the shelf!


----------



## windstorm (Dec 21, 2008)

LOL, John! If you painted those coffee cans & made them spin, no one would even know they're coffee cans. They'd be like little buckets with bits rattling around in them. I'm still waiting for someone to send me a picture of a drill bit taped to a wall with a note that says, "This is where I store my bit!" So getting all artsy is what happens when I have too much time on my hands. It's also what's probably scaring people away from this thread. Oh, well...:blink:


----------



## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

windstorm said:


> Gerry, I like the design at WoodStore as well. Given where I started, the design aspect of this project has taken on a whole new dimension, with a variety of bits inserted into colored spinning wheels (who knows, maybe a couple of battery operated motors to make them spin!). It might be that that my imagination is running wild, but sometimes you have to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly. Thanks for the input.


 One of the biggest things I like about this forum is that you come up with an idea, and throw it out in front of the other members, and get back some incredible ideas and variations. It is also just a lot of fun to share your enthusiasm with others.

Gerry


----------



## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

Did I mention that my plastic bucket was a margarita tub? :shifty:


----------



## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

My "workshop" is a 2 door, 2 car garage. The Drill Press is against the center post between the doors. I have that platter thing that Kenbo is talking about that I got from Rockler to hold my most commonly used bits, the chuck, stop blocks and hold downs for the table etc... 

The rest of my bits by and large were bought and remain in full sets in cases. Those cases have gotten the little aluminum picture hanger eyes gorilla glued to the back of them, and matching width drywall anchors and stuck in the wall to hang them with... I have a decent enough selection of bits, but compared to some of you guys I apparently haven't even started. 

My bit storage right now covers Ti coated B&D bit set, Ti coated Dewalt brad point bit set, Irwin Speed Bor Max set, HF hole saw set, PC Forstner bit set, Snap On Counter rotation bit set (with screw extractors).

The stuff that isn't in a set is a mess of loose spade bits, mostly 3/4", old HSS junk I never use anymore, and a myriad of smaller size Vermont American junk bits.... I should just pitch all those old junkers or at least find new homes for them.


----------



## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Geez, this thread has turned into happy hour at the funny farm. I love it. :laughing:


----------



## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

johnv51 said:


> I'm so ashamed! I'm the only one left with a row of coffee cans on the shelf!


I guess. I'm too cheap to buy my coffee in those fancy pants cans... My coffee comes in a vacum packed bag and has the consistency of a brick...


----------



## windstorm (Dec 21, 2008)

Stop by the shop for a cup of Columbian! Would you like a drill bit with that coffee? I pack 'em right down into the grinds, keeps 'em fresh!:blink:


----------



## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

windstorm said:


> Stop by the shop for a cup of Columbian! Would you like a drill bit with that coffee? I pack 'em right down into the grinds, keeps 'em fresh!:blink:


 
The coffee grounds also keep the drill bit sniffing dogs away at the airport by disguising the scent of drill bits.:laughing: Can never be too careful.
Ken


----------



## Rich Aldrich (Apr 26, 2008)

I thought this was one of the most unique storage ideas.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=76466&highlight=drill+storage

This is one of those shop organization projects on my list.


----------



## windstorm (Dec 21, 2008)

Rich, Walt Nicholson's drill-press cabinet design was featured in Wood Magazine's "America's Best Home Workshops" 2009 issue (page 64) along with his rolling clamp rack & both are pretty spiffy. I had been looking for a photo of it -- thanks for the link.


----------



## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

da Yooper said:


> I thought this was one of the most unique storage ideas.
> 
> http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=76466&highlight=drill+storage
> 
> ...


----------



## Rich Aldrich (Apr 26, 2008)

windstorm said:


> Rich, Walt Nicholson's drill-press cabinet design was featured in Wood Magazine's "America's Best Home Workshops" 2009 issue (page 64) along with his rolling clamp rack & both are pretty spiffy. I had been looking for a photo of it -- thanks for the link.


I havent bought this copy yet - I better buy one before they pull it from the shelves.


----------



## Bit-Click (Sep 7, 2017)

Great and simple idea’s here. Also consider, the Bit-Click bit organizer and drill <a href=” http://info.bit-click.com/drill-bit-storage-solution ”>bit storage</a> demonstration video shows a secure and carry solution for drill bits and screwdriver tips.


----------

