[chipper67]

Hi. I am just wondering what people think (if you have one) of the "Bucket-Box" which is sold by the Woodchip Shop? Is is worth it or not? I am in search of a better way to organize my tools. Currently, my tools are just stored in what they came in when I bought them. When I reach for a tool I just tend to lay it right down on the table in front of me and in no time at all I have a clutter of knives and gouges in front of me and sometimes it causes me to drop one on the floor which is so not good. Maybe I just have a bad habit. I guess I just get so caught up in my carving I just don't relalize the clutter until it's too late. When you reach for another tool do you put it right back in the holder? I'm just curious what other people use. If possible please post some pictures of your tool storage. I thought about making something too but I first wanted to see what other people have come up with.

Thanks,

Chipper67

[wade clark]

Chipper67,

Hi!
The problem with the buckets is you can't see your tools, just the end of the handles, if they're like the few I have.

I have a great amount of tools, far more than common sense would ever allow. It's an addiction. BUT it requires good storage. Here's what worked for me after doing months of looking.

Most tool boxes have drawers that are 12" to 16" front to back. Lots of chisels and gouges don't fit that size, laid in front to back. Most of the drawers are only 24" to 30" wide. Wider is far better but lots more money.

Sam's Club sells a big beautiful stainless steel toolchest with maybe 10 drawers, most of them 2 1/2"x24"x44", some deeper. It'll hold maybe 200 tools laid out in perfect organization and easy to find. The chest isn't cheap, but it's worth the price if you have more than a few dozen tools and that same addiction. Craftsman doesn't even sell a toolbox that compares in size re: carving tools. {another great choice if you can find them is chart drawers like archetects and surveyers have...sometimes on ebay, but best to call every surveyer etc and find a few...they're expensive new and not as good as the Sam's Box}

THEN I found an old rolling cart - mine's a hotel laundry cart, but any cart with wheels will do with imagination - built 3 trays that slide in to it, each having wood ridges to separate the tools so they don't bump together. I take one of these trays to my main toolbox and pick out the tools I want to use for the day, especially if I'm carving something too big to bring it near my primary toolbox, carry it to the rolling cart and work off that for the day. Sometimes all the trays end up full before I know it, but they stay organized and in view. The trays are about 20x30. It's easy to carry a whole tray back to the toolbox to put them away, but the best part is having them in reach and viewable, and you have the selection of tools that you want at that time in easy reach! If all you do is build a few simple trays out of 1/2" plywood, with a 1x1 edge and 1x1 or smaller dividers, life and carving will be much better! But if you can, go for that Sam's toolbox! Don't buy a box you won't be happy with in the long run.

Hope this helps a bit.

Wade

[dryheat]

Here is what I use. I believe I posted this before to a long thread about carving station and tool storage. Might try a search. This rack will hold seveal palm size tools and could be revised to hold longer chisels.
Note the 2 knives Rick made for me to the lower left. I use my shop for other woodworking so I need somthing that is portable. This rack could have wheel but I just pick it up and move it. the tool slots have small earth magnets so the tools snap in place and I don't have to worry ablut them falling out when I move it. This is similar to a rack I saw in a woodworking magazine only it was for woodworking chisels and Dave Stetson has something like this in his studio.

[squbrigg]

Ah yes, I remember seeing that rack. l stand for your ready use tools, while you are working on something. I am tempted to make myself a desk version of that, or a stand to hold a full drawer from my own tool chest , on an angle.

Bob

[bygeorge]

My tool rack made from some scrap walnut. This works OK but I plan to construct one similar to dry heat's sometime in the future.

Chuck

[Irish]

Chipper,

I would similar to what you are experiencing. Although I do have a tool box that holds all of my tools, point down, during any one carving session I will pull a tool then lay it on the table. For me the mess is part of carving. I don't want to be searching through the box nor taking the time to pick up-use-put away. Putting away comes after carving.

The two racks that have already been shown are beautiful but ... ... even if I owned either of them my tools would still be on the table within reach.

Susan

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I have a couple of tool rolls and a little quickie chisel holder I threw together that sits on my work bench...this is for the junk chisels that do take a good edge, I use them as bench chisels, the good stuff is in the rolls lol. the pick will be under tools in carvers gallery, still not sure how to put a pic here, it asks for an url, and these pics are in "my pictures " on my computer...no url. ummmm duke, duke, duke of url url url.........lol

[Nancy_G]

This is my reject which holds 83 tools and some tiny Dockyards.... made from some cheap plywood and PVC pipe. The bottom is made in layers of plywood so the tools stand at different heights for easy viewing and retrieval. I removed some of the tools for the photo so you could see the two different sizes of pipe for different sizes of palm tools. I used epoxy to glue the pipe to the bottom.

I stand each tool point UP so I can see which tool I need and because of the different heights of each row I don't "jab" myself too often - lol - any more often than searching for the right tool from a loose mess on my table.

It's a REJECT because the PVC circles take up too much room - wasted space. It should be done with thin birch plywood used to make individual square spaces.
And the PVC weighs a TON.

[Old_Gord]

Boy oh Boy...if this thread doesn't merit a photo spread in a near future WCI issue nothing else does. Good work guys/gals, great ideas and great looking pics.
I'd show my tool storage/organization method, but who wants to see about 6 miles of photos of old canvas tool rolls.

.

OG

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Boy Nancy.....that makes me want to yell "Ouch" just looking at it! You have any idea how many times in one day I could jab myself with that setup ha ha ha......I even turn my drill bits upside down in the case because I got tired of cutting my fingers.....yeh, I know fumblebutt here! LOL