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How do you organize your tooling?

MetalArtistCandy

Aluminum
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
I just got a desk built out of a blueprint cabinet. I plan to use this for my measuring devices, and a “home base” But I will still have space left in the other drawers. Trying to figure out what to keep in it, and what to keep out of it.

5 drawer set up. I can get measurments later, I forgot what they are.

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What! Adding a picture worked this time! Heyhey..
 
Thanks for the foam input. We have some scrap foam at my work that I was hoping I could use if they let me.


231 views, one person replied. Seems most of you are just as unorganized as me.
 
If your referring to that flat thin piece across top of the drawer it could be spot welded/ tacked in place which would necessitate cutting out with your preferred tool. However, it may be providing stability to said drawer and best left in place.
 
Im asking because im terrible at organizing. Really need some pointers.

Wise up. It happens to be a genetic trait, hard-wired right down to the cellular level.

How to fight that every day of a long life?

Just don't.

Most folk that are afflicted with it haven't the least problem walking over to an abandoned stack of junk and extracting an item 12.062 inches down that was placed there 20 years earlier, if not 40 - just from visual memory. So we JF work that way. Messy, but not harmfully so.

You are only in trouble if you lack that second part.

Solution used to be hand grenades carefully applied, then one HAD to clean-up.

Probably less hassle these days to simply epoxy the doors shut, and go start fresh in virgin shop space.

DAMHIKT ..and Oh, BTW?

Wife...and her 88 yrs young Mum.. run kitchen utensils, food storage, bedding and clothing on the same "mentally indexed chaos" model.

Good news? Nary a bit of nagging nor stress over it, 27 years and counting.

I'm good with that. REAL good!

:)
 
Im asking because im terrible at organizing. Really need some pointers.

I'm not that good at it either.. Its tough in a shop.. There are SO many things that need a place, and
you are constantly acquiring shit...

My endmills.

Old bolt bins from the hardware store.. Endmills 1/4" and up goes in there... Heres how my drawers
are labeled.

1/4"
5/16 and 3/8"
1/2"
5/8" and up.
Roughers.
Aluminum specific endmills (I don't need a lot so no need to break down by size)
Long endmills
Ball mills
Special radius stuff.. hand grounds and then the non-standards, .060's, .090s, .120s.
Key cutters and slotting saws.
Chamfer cuttes and mill drills.
Beaters (the endmills that shouldn't be in rotation, but aren't ready for the scrap bucket yet.)

In that same bank of drawers are reamers.
0-.150
151-275
276-400
401-600
601-800
801 and up...

Also in that bank of drawers is
Big Taps (any over 3/4)
2 drawers of Big Drill, pretty anything over 5/8, I don't use BIG drills a lot.
Also a drawer of boring bars.

And then those cheap plastic cabinets that you can get anywhere..
endmills under 1/4" in those, broken by 16th's
and one drawer for under 1/4" ball mills.

Twisty drills are in those same type of cabinets, 3 of 'em.. each size
has a drawer from itty bitty to 5/8", all labeled.

Taps up to a 3/4 are in those shitty little plastic cabinets also, broken by
size.. EX.. 1/4-20 gets a drawer, 1/4-28 gets one, 1/4-28 STI gets one... And
on the odd chance I have a course STI tap, it goes in the fine STI drawer...
Acme taps have a drawer where the nuts and bolts are (that's just how it happened)

As for inserts, my system broke down and I just have boxes all over a counter top.

Its a lot of shit to keep organized, and I'm for the most part a one man shop..
At last count it was 470ish endmills in rotation, 600ish inserts and there are
between 2 and 3000 twisty drills.. 400 or so reamers.. Then all the oddball shit
and customs, port tools, double angle cutters, back counterbores, dove tails... Etc...

I'm quite pleased with myself that I've kept it as organized as I have..
 
How do I organize my tooling?

Mainly using the geographic method as in it is somewhere over there. As somewhere over there often does not result in finding the tool I have learned that for some tools I need multiples.

In all seriousness, I do try to keep the tools organized but the above sometimes applies. If the work you do requires tools from several trades, if your tools sometimes have to be carried to the job site, there are multiple users and if you don't have an adequately sized shop you need to be super organized. If you can keep commonly used tools easily visible and a clearly marked place for each tool it is way easier to notice missing tools and track them down before people (especially me) forget where they used them last.

Good on you for acquiring a drafting cabinet. I have been looking on and off for years trying to find one within my budget.


Dave
 
Does anyone know how to pull these pieces out easily?? I dont want to break my drawers.

View attachment 219961

I really don't think your gonna be happy with that set of drawers.

I've worked around them for 30 years, and there is that metal part
to get in your way, the drawers themselves are very shallow,
and don't like concentrated loads.
They will bend down and foul the one below.
 
Im in this desk for just under $50. I have some small tools to use this on. Im sure it could be deeper, as I know I need a deeper set of drawers for other tooling. But this is a good computer desk and home base for my shop.

I hate being disorganized because I can never find my tools. I have a couple other parts cabinets I have picked up last year. The shelves are not working out for me because I am having to constanly move stuff onto other stuff just to find the stuff I am looking for.

Hopefully this helps.

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Does anyone know how to pull these pieces out easily?? I dont want to break my drawers.

View attachment 219961

If that's an architect/drafting cabinet - some of mine removed themselves in transit. Stacked temporarily whilst I clear some other stuff, so can't get at them, but... ISTR you just flex them upward at the centre and the ends pop out.

You may want to sacrifice depth by reinforcing the bottom panel of each drawer. I like leftover "engineered" flooring laminate for that. Spruce plywood might be far better.

Otherwise, anything in them needs to spread-out its weight evenly - as drawings or blueprints did - else, as mentioned, they bend very easily.

Another trick is to shed a drawer, do a bit of surgery, make the one below double-height, reinforce it with somewhat thicker plywood, add taller cover/panel screwed to the metal at the front optional.

CAVEAT: Folk who lust after these - myself included - often change their mind once they finally get them. A Lista or Vidmar they surely are NOT! My two will be getting far lighter goods than first planned as well as the reinforcing and doubling-up mods.
 
Fine pitch corrugated roofing iron is good for storing round tools,and can be used to strengthen drawers as well.Years ago,I had some genuine exUS army tool filing cabinets,specially made for heavy drill bits etc,when I sold out,i asked the new owners if I could have them back,they said NO......and about six months later scrapped them.
 
If that's an architect/drafting cabinet - some of mine removed themselves in transit. Stacked temporarily whilst I clear some other stuff, so can't get at them, but... ISTR you just flex them upward at the centre and the ends pop out.

You may want to sacrifice depth by reinforcing the bottom panel of each drawer. I like leftover "engineered" flooring laminate for that. Spruce plywood might be far better.

Otherwise, anything in them needs to spread-out its weight evenly - as drawings or blueprints did - else, as mentioned, they bend very easily.

Another trick is to shed a drawer, do a bit of surgery, make the one below double-height, reinforce it with somewhat thicker plywood, add taller cover/panel screwed to the metal at the front optional.

CAVEAT: Folk who lust after these - myself included - often change their mind once they finally get them. A Lista or Vidmar they surely are NOT! My two will be getting far lighter goods than first planned as well as the reinforcing and doubling-up mods.

Mine hold six decades of two generations of map collecting.

They really aren't for tools.
 
Im kinda going though the same issue, used to be putting measuing tools I didnt use too often in a drafting cabinet similar to the one you posted.

Didn't work too bad for light stuff like measuing tools, but they weren't perfect. Would not all use them for cutting tools, that sort of stuff get heavy FAST.

Right now, as I move into the shop and start assigning semi permanent homes to things, most stuff has been going into a couple of roll around Kennedy's. Beat up junky ones from Craigslist and auctions, but functional.

I just bought 500 endmill off eBay, so going to rearrange stuff again tommorow.

Might grab some pictures if I come up with anything that looks nice. Been using 3" deep plastic trays to store endmills, that works pretty good. HSS blanks have a drawer to them selves in a 7 drawer kennedy as well as brazed carbide tools. Small taper shank drills are sort of in a pile in the top tray of the same 7 drawer

Large taper shank drills are in milk carton crates and army surplus footlockers on the floor next to the planer. NTBM 50 tools are all pilled on the table of the currently non running 5CK mill.

Hout drill organizer chests are one of the best purchases I've ever made. Have hundred and hundreds of drills all organized, labeled and accessible.
 
Hout drill organizer chests are one of the best purchases I've ever made. Have hundred and hundreds of drills all organized, labeled and accessible.

+1 You'll want all of those Huots - drawers, not flip-opens - as can be found! Even one can hold a slew of endmills, just as it does drills, reamers, taper-reamers, taps, drill blanks, even cut lengths of drill rod, dowel pins..etc.

I'd also suggest the wire shelving "bakery" racks with uprated casters as a grand way to be able to shift all the trayed and boxed and binned goods about.

The milk cartons will teach you to find something better Real Soon Now. I've learned to detest them for stuff either getting caught or slithering out the webbed openings, too damned seldom a third choice. And then they crack.

'Nam era GI wooden footlocker lid cuts up neatly into shelves, box stood on-end, bookcase style. DoD planned it that way.
 
This is what we are building from estate and thrift store finds.

18 ball bearing supported drawers that are inverted shelving units.

1.8 inches between as that is height of slides.

Will be assigned the squares and other tools that fit to make room in the real chests.
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