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Show me your tool holder storage/crib

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Cast Iron
Joined
Aug 6, 2008
Location
ma
I'm working on setting up tool holder/boring bar storage to be along side the new presetter we just had installed in the shop. All 50 taper tooling and lots of boring bars. I'd like to assign locations for all the holders and I'm thinking with off the shelf stuff I'm going to have to leave lots of empty pots on the racks due to the size of many of the tools we use. Anyone built their own? Lets see'um!
 
Not 100% sure this is what you are looking for but, I took an old file type cabinet. I drew the shelves with holes to fit collets, tapping collets and the 50 taper tools and sent a program to our Laser dept to cut the holes. I spaced them out to accept our biggest diameter tool so none would hit if they were beside eachother.
20130315_150752_zps82e05bae.jpg
 
We use a cabinet from Apfel, link. There are similar patents with higher quality, from Lista for instance, but this is pretty nice. You can load them up with holders for collets and all sorts of stuff.
 
I would not want my cat holders sliding through sheetmetal shelves like that if I was going to bother to build something.

???

I think I would rather have 3/4" plywood.
Yeah - may not be as nice for show and tell, but I think the toolholders would see it another way?


Or buy the plastic inserts from Huot or Lista or ????


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox
 
I think I would rather have 3/4" plywood.

I did what Hertz did except with plywood shelves. I bent 16ga angles and screwed them to the bottom of the plywood to engage the hooks in the cabinets, with one extra down the middle for extra support.
 
I would not want my cat holders sliding through sheetmetal shelves like that if I was going to bother to build something.

???

I think I would rather have 3/4" plywood.
Yeah - may not be as nice for show and tell, but I think the toolholders would see it another way?


Or buy the plastic inserts from Huot or Lista or ????


-------------------
Think Snow Eh!
Ox

I was thinking that at first as well. What I did was deburred all the edges then sent it out to the blast and paint shop and they painted it with a thick industrial paint. But now that you mention it, I may just get some plastic sleeves made up.
 
There is plastic molding that is designed to line the inside of holes . the stuff is sort of "U" channel, but the flange edges of the channel are notched to allow it to form into a circle.....git it in lengths and cut for each hole...
bit of glue to be sure it stays put and you are done....
Cheers Ross
 
We use a cabinet from Apfel, link. There are similar patents with higher quality, from Lista for instance, but this is pretty nice. You can load them up with holders for collets and all sorts of stuff.

Those are mint!! Love how you can get to each tool and now have a bunch stacked all around each other like most racks have. Makes it a pain when you are dealing with heavy 50 taper holders.
 
The old Hout tool carts I believe used platic inserts from Heyco Platics...then they went to the tapered ones that work better for the portable carts for hanging onto the tools. In a stationary cabinet, the standard Heyco bushing should be fine. We use the ten-holer platics stands from Sisan out of Cali, then keep those in a Stronghold cabinet. We will dedicate a couple of the trays for job-specific tooling, so after completing the job, we can pull the odd ball tools and place them on a tray and segregate the tools and toolholders from the general population of tooling.

Steve
 
Steve:

I take it then that you are opposed to bussing?

I didn't realize that AZ was that way?

-----

Think Snow Eh!
Ox
 
Yea...But look at the pics....he's sitting on the flanges.... You're saying that sliding on the soft sheetmetal is impeding his accuracy ????
I would not want my cat holders sliding through sheetmetal shelves like that if I was going to bother to build something.

???

I think I would rather have 3/4" plywood.
Yeah - may not be as nice for show and tell, but I think the toolholders would see it another way?


Or buy the plastic inserts from Huot or Lista or ????


-------------------
Think Snow Eh!
Ox
 
I dont have so many tools but my machine takes 16 and I keep 15 in it most all of the time. The others that I swap out most often live in a rack mounted on my work bench. I cut holes in the plate and installed plastic rings sold by Hout and made for 40 taper tools. I bought them used on ebay.

For the extra tools that dont get used too often I have a couple of wooden racks that sit on the shelf under the work bench. I also have another table that we built wooden shelves for the inside. One side, that isnt show, has holes cut in the shelves to store more tools as needed. Some how I lost that photo while transferring photos from the camera to the computer...lost in space I guess.

Charles
 

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Here's how I do it. This works pretty well for me, and is easily expandable. Tool storage is just a shelf with 3/4" particle board and to the right is all the wrenches, tightening fixture, pull studs, air hose, etc. for assembling tools. I blocked off 3 sides of the shelf with white mat board and hung a small under-cabinet fluorescent light to light the whole thing up. Then the cart has all my collets in a Delrin rack, and that's used to cart assembled tools to / from the machine.
 

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I used 1/4" plexiglass and made the holes just large enough that only the flange could touch. And, unless you have Big Plus double contact holders, that top 3/8s or so doesn't make contact in the spindle. But I also doubt that steel shelves would actually be worse for the tapers than any of the other options.

Dirt and grit will get embedded in wood or plastic materials thus creating a lap. The wider that edge, especially if tapered to fit the Cat 50 or 40, the more abrasion is likely to occur with repeated uses. Now, if your shop is pristine and free of dust (like mine and Ox's), then you have no worries at all and your tool holders will last for centuries.

Todd
 
This thread is way better than I thought it would be. I'm just using a Hout cart, but I'm starting to get some awesome ideas!!


Yea...But look at the pics....he's sitting on the flanges.... You're saying that sliding on the soft sheetmetal is impeding his accuracy ????

I think what Ox is concerned about is the day to day taking tools out and putting them in, you will scrape the tapers against the edges of the holes, thus putting scratches on the tapers. Sure they might have nice thick paint on them, but in time that wears off.
 
Here's my cabinet with the plywood shelves, and a few carts. I drew up a high density rack to build out of angle iron and plywood but haven't put it together yet. I'm lusting after a vidmar/lyon cabinet with rolling shelves that hold toolholder cups in removable racks, haven't found the right ones used as yet.

DSC05981-1280.jpgDSC05982-1280.jpgDSC05979-1280.jpgDSC05984-1280.jpgC45Rack.jpg
 
This thread is way better than I thought it would be. I'm just using a Hout cart, but I'm starting to get some awesome ideas!!




I think what Ox is concerned about is the day to day taking tools out and putting them in, you will scrape the tapers against the edges of the holes, thus putting scratches on the tapers. Sure they might have nice thick paint on them, but in time that wears off.

I believe as well that is what he was referring to. I do have a bunch of GPO-3 sheets that I may cut with slightly smaller holes than what is in the sheet metal and have it sitting on top so that the tapers never rub the metal.
 








 
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