As much as I would enjoy getting back to work on the trains, I am forcing myself to stay focused on the workshop until it is reasonably close to being finished. As with everything I do it is a slow process but I am making headway.
The lumber rack
First up was a way to store lumber. In the past it was simply a big pile on the floor along a wall. What a pain it was to find what I needed. Invariably the piece of lumber I needed was the one at the bottom of the pile. You can see the horrible mess of that to the left in the second picture. Solved that problem with a roll around rack. Sticks on one side, sheet goods on the other, with moldings laying flat in a tray on the top and oddsies on the bottom. The iron pipes just slide in holes in the uprights so I can reconfigure them if needed. The sheet of 1/8″ hardboard on the rear keeps sheets from snagging on the uprights when they are slid in from the end. I painted it wall gray so when the lumber rack is against the wall it looks like you can see through it. I forgot to take a picture but there is a second pipe rack above the sheets. I hadn’t stuck the pipes in yet when I took the picture of the sheet good side. I store long narrow strips of flats on the rear pipe rack.
The small panel rack
Next is a way to store panel cutoffs that otherwise would clog the backside of the lumber rack. Also on wheels! The dividers were made from leftover railroad lighting valance.
It has compartments on the sides and rear as well to store even smaller pieces.
This and the lumber rack were made from material I had on hand plus a couple lengths of 1/2″ black iron pipe. Not piano construction quality but certainly good enough for shop use. Cutting the slots for the dividers required a jig to get it right.
Made nice grooves. Far better than I would have done using just a straightedge to guide the router. They make an under sized bit, called a plywood bit, just for sheet sold as 1/8″ but isn’t really 1/8″. Rather it is the closest metric equivalent to 1/8″. The hardboard fit real snug in the grooves. A little wood glue made them a permanent part of the assembly.
Now the two racks replace what was once a horrific mess. Very happy.
Round things storage
I had accumulated a bunch of very sturdy cardboard tubes. Why I saved them I don’t know but sure glad I did. The tubes plus a sonotube and a steel trash can made a nice way to store long straight thin objects such as dowels, threaded rod, aluminum extrusions, etc. It also worked well to use the odd space I had in the corner that wasn’t suitable for much else.
And one for short pieces as well. In the past I always threw away little short pieces. No more. Whole lot of Elmers holding this together.
The shelves
Finally, the addition that helps the most. There are two shelves for storage totes to store anything I want to store, a specialized shelf for corded power tools, and a voluminous lumber cutoff bin.
The shelves will potentially have a lot of weight on them and because of the design I didn’t want big ole shelf brackets in the way. So the shelves are screwed to studs in the wall, supported by the 4×4 pillars on the near end, and steel strapping to floor joists elsewhere. Doubt there will ever be enough weight on the shelf to tear apart 1″ steel strap!
Below the tote shelves is a shelf made specifically for power tools with cords. I was so tired of tangled cords. That problem is also solved.
Lastly, a large bin to keep short lumber cutoffs.
Starting to load them up.
The cutoffs look like scrap but come in handy so often I keep them. At least now they are confined in a somewhat organized way – 1 by on the left, 2by on the right. Speaking of the cutoff bin I had a bit of an annoyance with it. The electrical plugs had to be raised about 8″. Not a big deal really, just a little drywall work that I didn’t anticipate beforehand. Got lucky with the paint match. Blended in very well.
So far I am just labeling the totes with masking tape as I sort through years worth of stuff scattered in the shop. A tote for electrical, a tote for plumbing, a tote for HVAC, and so on. I’ll label them more permanently and arrange them on the shelves once I figure out what all needs to be there.
Next up is a combination table saw / router table bench.
