Organization secrets & ideas

[tel]

One storage question: How do folks store their toolmalkers clamps. At the moment I keep them in a small box, but this is not very satisfactory and am looking for something which makes them easier to select.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

I have screwed a row of small cup hooks into an overhead rafter and just hang 'em there- right above the workbench.

 

[artrans]

hello man check out this guy he has his act together or has a lot of time on his hands flickr # p1010499 type that number in flickr.com his name is mtneer man we can all learn from this guy. must be seen :bow:

 

[kustomkb]

I can't remember whom to give credit to, but I read here somewhere here that everytime you enter the shop you should put at least five things away. I've been trying to follow this wise advice but I would have to go in and out for a month straight to get it to look like the flickr p1010499 shop.

 

[baldrocker]

artrans
How the hell does that guy ever find anything
BR

 

[shred]

Somewhere I ran across a rule along the lines of "when you pick something up, you have to put it back where it belongs, not somewhere else".

When I follow it, it works well.

 

[tsvservice]

Good point shred -- spend a couple minutes putting things away and you save MANY minutes finding them when you need them. Where I work, we sell commercial video equipment; I'm the repair tech, but I deal with one salesperson in particular who borrows tools and equipment and abandons them where he's done with them. I waste a lot of time trying to find them when I need them, but he's the son-in-law of the boss... But in MY shop at home, I can find most anything pretty quickly. Another good tip is to LABEL every storage container. Don't count on your memory if you're anything like me. Although I am getting better. I can't remember the last time I forgot something.

 

[itowbig]

Somewhere I ran across a rule along the lines of "when you pick something up, you have to put it back where it belongs, not somewhere else".

he he my dad used to kick my butt cause i dad not clean & put his tools back exactly where i got them & i mean KICK MY BUTT. sometimes it was with the dam wrench i had at the time. so i always put his tools back exactly where i got them and they where clean. you ever get hit with a dam 2inch wrench you know it hurts .

 

[putputman]

I found that in model engine building I have many occasions to switch from a vise to an angle plate or a rotary table on the mill. It was always a problem of finding space on the workbench to put the vise when it was not needed, plus it is a heavy beast when it has the base attached. I finally built this hanger for it.

This allowed me to pick up the vise by just useing the mill table crank.

The hanger also serve as a storage devise.

I am almost ashamed to show this next picture as it shows how rough this old mill is. It is an old DoAll mill. I don't think DoAll has built a vertical mill for 40-50 years. The screws and nuts are a little sloppy but with the digital readout, the old gal does a good job.

This is how I mounted the hanger.

If anyone wants to build one, I can post the prints for it.

 

[Maryak]

Hi Guys,

After reading this thread I have come to the conclusion that I am a leading exponent of the;

NOW WHERE DID I PUT THAT ??? ??? ??? brigade.

In my efforts to be neat and tidy I seem to always manage to misplace things like spanners, rulers, allen keys etc. : :

Here’s a typical example – Last week I repaired a triple enclosure system for an ISO tank and part of this repair required the use of a 13mm spanner and an allen key.

On completion of the job, I put everything away and went back to seeing what was next with Maryak 10.

The first thing I needed was, (you guessed it), a 13 mm spanner to release the lathe chuck. I went to its’ storage position and lo and behold, IT’S MISSING. After 15 mins of fruitless searching, I stopped and started to retrace my steps.

Thinks I, “No I couldn’t be that stupid, could I?” – WRONG – I was that stupid. The elusive spanner was neatly packed away with all the spares we carry for the ISO valves. :-[ :-[

If you multiply that by 50 years at 15 mins per working day, it comes to some 3000 hours. Just think how much more productive I would be if I’d left the spanner on the bench.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Metal Mickey]

As some may know here I hate wood! So recently I decided I would make a better stock storage system and make it from.......wood! Here are a couple of photo's and the finished article sits next to the shower in my workshop en-suite(!)

At least I can find my stock now. The only other stock I have is in a large plastic box in the workshop for 'scrape' items or as I like to call it my"items awaiting resizing into smaller items" box :big:

 

[bearcar1]

These are all great ideas for adding or organizing the precious space we have available to us in our shops. I have taken note of several ideas (thanks to you all ;D ) and I do like the swing away vise boom that PUTPUTMAN showed us. I'd be interested in some drawings, anyone else? I have found that a six drawer legal filing cabinet with ball bearing slides and a cheapo 5 drawer cabinet my neighbor was tossing out has provided me with some decent compact stortage of tools as well as bar stock alike. The work table that I purchased from a school that was closing also has six lockers built into the base and serve me well for the items that I do not use that often, I just have to look in them once in a while to remind myself what I put in them. :big:

BC1

 

[fdew]

Arv

I just noticed that your Vice holder has pins to go into the holes in the jaws where the Cap screws are.
Nice touch, and safer then just clamping. I am going to use it.

Frank

 

[arnoldb]

Here's what I did with a normal office drawer cabinet.

I removed the tray where pencils & stuff is supposed to be kept, enlarged the hole, and fitted a velvet cutlery tray I got as part of some other junk at an auction in the cut-out. I store all my loose cutting bits in this; the oil helps to prevent rust. The other drawers I lined with newspaper also treated with oil, and I store my measuring equipment and taps and dies in these.

This is most convenient, as I don't get chips and dust among the stuff - I always keep the drawers closed.

I got the drawer cabinet from an auction as well - needed to repair one wheel, but a bargain

 

[putputman]

BC1, I'll try to upload a PDF drawing of the hanger for you. I think once you build and mount this tool, you will be surprised at how often you use it.

Frank, the pins or studs are for safety. Mine are for a Kurt vise, but they can be made for any vise.

For any of you new members who aren't familiar with the vise hanger we are talking about, there are photos on this post:
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?action=profile;u=1989;sa=showPosts;start=30

 

[Foozer]

I am about as organized as . . . well there is always the kid to blame. The one thing that ended the greatest nag of mine was to hang an extension cord from the ceiling over the work table. Have outlets all up and down the walls but try and find an extension cord!!! The hanging cord gives a good 360 range, keeps the cord from under foot which drives me nuts and never disappears. Tis simple and effective for those multipurpose benches that one day are drilling metal, next day taking apart the brides vacuum that sucked up 2 miles of string the cat left laying around or fixing the transmission she decided would go into gear if she just slammed the gearshift hard enough.