# Hyper-Organizing My Shop



## SebringDon (Jan 2, 2013)

Here's the way my workbench used to look:










Here's the way my bench looks now:










I owe it all to this article, some time with SketchUp, and a few days in the shop.

Here's a closer view of some of the components I've made so far:










The "paperbox" holds sandpaper, owner's manuals, and project plans and ideas in three separate compartments. Next to it is the edgebanding station, with iron, trimmer, and edgebanding all in one place. Next is my Mouse House, which holds the mouse sander and extra paper for it. The paper towel holder, bottle tote and shop tray are all self-explanatory. I haven't started drawer sets for screws and other hardware yet, but they're coming sooner or later. A bit of the mounting rail can be seen behind the hammer.










That's my drill holster/charging station and a drill bit holder for 1/16 - 1/4" bits. The big bits on the top are in a temporary holder. You can see some of the rail I've been mounting to hold these components. I've put about 10 feet of rail up so far, but that's just a start. Being able to move things around easily makes organizing for a particular project a snap!

Oh, yeah... total cost to date: $0.00. I was getting a decent-sized pile of scrap plywood, but it's much, much smaller now. 

I've attached the SketchUp model I created for all these components, and a few others I haven't made yet, in case anybody wants to play along.


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## shopman (Feb 14, 2013)

mine is out of control too. i will have to get on it soon


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## CPNMike (Jan 8, 2010)

Looks good Don. I think I know what happened to that sheet of plywood you bought.


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## SebringDon (Jan 2, 2013)

CPNMike said:


> Looks good Don. I think I know what happened to that sheet of plywood you bought.


LOL! Actually, this is all leftover from three sets of double pan drawers I made for the kitchen. Two are complete, the big set (32" wide) is still on the bench waiting assembly. I was two pieces of 3" x 31" 3/4 ply short, so I'll finish that set after I go buy more plywood tomorrow.

Since I've got a small shop, my rule is going to be: After I finish a project, turn the leftover material into useful objects or parts for upcoming projects before I go shopping for the next project. Besides the hyper-organize stuff, I've already got some parts cut for my next two projects. That should help keep the clutter down.


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## SebringDon (Jan 2, 2013)

shopman said:


> mine is out of control too. i will have to get on it soon


What I like about this approach is you can start with one piece of rail hung on the wall and one particularly-aggravating storage issue. My trigger was the "paperbox" to get all the paper in the shop under control and give me some organization. Once it was done, I had some incentive to make a couple other things to fill up that rail... then I needed more rail...

Good thing I ran out of plywood big enough to do anything with.


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## STAR (Jan 1, 2008)

I like what you have done. Infact it is exactly what my thinking is to help me reorganize my mess of a workshop.

I have a small garden shed inwhich I applied the same principle and it has been a major success in organization. I got the idea from the same place you did but I would suggest an earlier edition of the American Woodworker.

I do not buy many but I have the original infront of me now. It's edition No. 138 October / November 2008 and on the front cover is a Hold everything rack.

What you have done is to take it to the next level as the article has done. The beauty of this system is its versatility because iy is not permanently fixed so can be rearranged when new additions are added or items deleted.

Thanks for sharing because I believe the concept is fantastic because of its versatility. :thumbsup:

Pete


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