Shop efficiencies

Wow..I was google-ing for some ideas on making my shop more efficient and came upon this site, Super Wood Works. It is one of those shops that looks like he has done a whole lot more making it look cool that actually producing furniture, but hey, some people have lots of time and money....

What I really appreciated was the extensive use of the cleat system for holding stuff on the walls. I had used the cleats in past for setting cabinets, but never made the leap to this idea.

He runs three cleats the length of his wall at approximately 36, 60, and 84 inches from the floor. He hangs cabinets, tools, router table, pegboard....whatever. So when you get to needing that cabinet a little closer, just slide it down the cleat -- everything is modular!

Right away I built 4 cabinets and 2 peg racks and it is the best thing I've done in the shop in years. Made the cleats out of some pine material I had laying around and screwed it to the studs.

I also put all my Jorgensen Wood Screws on a single cleated board, and now I can store them out of the way and move the whole mess near assembly table when I need them.

BTW, the angle on cleat doesn't need to be terribly acute. Probably 70 degrees or so would be fine.


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Idea #2 Rolling carts

For several years, I have used a rolling cabinet to store a lot of my small tools and other stuff I like to have within reach. I got the idea from a book a few years ago. The author uses three carts named Larry, Moe and Curly. Curly and Moe are lumber transport and staging, I picked Larry - the tool stooge. It is approx 24" square and 36" high. The four drawers store small tools and sanding disks. Outside I have racks for chisels and saws, my oak mallet, and a few clamps. the top serves as a small work surface.

I advise you to use fairly big wheels to easily negotiate a messy floor.

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Wire carts. I bought a few of those 6 ft high rolling shelf units with 18 in. x 48 in. shelves. They are great for storing power tools and other stuff that I can move around at will to change my work area. In a small shop, it is almost essential to be able to move things around. Only my radial-arm saw is stationary.

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Multi-use table. I built a work bench the same height everything else in the shop is...36 in. A consistant height makes everything work as a bench-extender I set the bench about 12 inches away from the saw. Now I have a run-off table as well as an assemble table/work bench. The bandsaw is tucked between the arms of table saw fence guides.

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Knock-down stages. In the same book I read about rolling carts, I saw the idea for these stages. One is 12 inches high, the other is 35 inches. For the smaller ones, cut 4 , 12 x 36 pieces from 1/2 or 3/4 plywood. Cut a notch half way through the center and relieve the weight by cutting out holes in the 'web'. Now you have lightweight, knock-down legs for staging.





Here you see the little stage holding up a Ming table I'm staining.