diybench, Efficient Shelf Use

More workshop ideas from diybench.com

Too often power tools are stuffed in a cabinet with no thought about accessing them later. When it comes time to dig one out, the power cords are often entangled. This complicates removing the tool and sometimes results in damage.

Mounting the tools on the back wall of the cabinet leaves the shelf for their power cords.  This reorganization allowed me to store one more power tool in this cabinet.

The left side was formerly inaccessible I used a 4x4 with holes to mount two drills and an angle grinder.  Photo 3 shows this assembly before installation.

Photo 3

I used a hole-saw to cut the holes and drilled each center hole through the 4x4 so I could leave driver bits in the drills when stored.

Fundamental elements of efficient shelf use

Every shop and garage has storage shelves.  Organizing items stored on these shelves in an orderly manner can make a big difference in how efficiently you work and how much you enjoy that work. 

Three important elements of efficient shelf use are:

Access

Visibility

Vertical usage

Access

Inaccessible shelf space is inefficient and becomes the location by default for dead storage items.  Dead storage items are those things you don’t need but cannot yet part with.  Eventually they are sold, given away, or scrapped.  Until then they are relegated to a less accessible location every time you reorganize your shelves.  Optimizing shelf space requires turning dead storage into live storage.  The good news is that dead or inaccessible shelf space can be made accessible with a little innovation and dead storage items can be better managed to hasten their day of final disposition.

Vertical Usage

If you can see a lot of open space between your shelves, you are not effectively using vertical shelf space.  This is actually good news because it means you have lots of space to claim.  Claiming this space can be as easy as mounting things on the back wall of each shelf or reducing the distance between shelves.  Both of these fixes can often be accomplished without buying anything.

Visibility

If you can’t see what’s on a shelf it is basically a dead storage location and the items stored there become dead storage items.  You can easily forget what is stored there and you may even buy another one considering the old one lost.  With a little innovation these invisible, dead storage areas can be made visible and brought to life. 

Go High and Save 

Vertical storage is cheap but the higher you go, the more challenging it is to keep that storage active.  Wire shelving is good for visibility.  If you must put that stored item in a box write the contents on the front of the box in big letters you can read easily. A mirror on the ceiling is another solution.  If it’s dark up there, you can shine a flashlight on the mirror to illuminate the contents of the shelf.

For boxes that contain several items take a photo of the contents before storing it.  Then post or file that photo in a handy location for future reference.  Easier yet take photos with your phone and put them in a special album to help you find things later.  It’s a lot easier to search a file of photos than a lot of boxes stored up high.

Paintbrushes

Those who know will tell you that a paintbrush should be stored laying flat in a place protected from contamination but open to the air.  I found a good way to accomplish this.  I added a narrow shelf at eye level.

Summary 

For a commercial enterprise focused on efficiency, the goal is to make all storage active storage and to insure that all stored items are actively used.  For your private shop or garage the same concepts can be used to enhance enjoyment of your free time by reducing frustration and improving your personal efficiency.   For more ideas like this go to diybench.com.

The Best Workbench for Me

Soon after I retired I started spending a lot of time in my garage and shop.  I quickly found I needed better workbenches.  As a temporary fix I mounted plywood on saw horses.  I spent the next several months experimenting with workbench ideas and evaluating my work habits to determine what was important in a workbench.  What I found was interesting.  I learned that a lot of bench top space was far better than a little.  With more bench top I could work on several projects without storing everything before a project was completed.  I found that rigidity was a high priority as well.   I wanted a work surface that was solid and sturdy.   I learned that the ability to move my workbench out in the middle of the room was important especially if I had a project that required access from more than one side.  That required keeping the bench light by avoiding under-bench drawers and shelves.   From the start I knew I wanted a solid oak or maple top because they absorb impact well and look great.  If you have ever had a steel top workbench, you know exactly what I mean.  The most surprising thing I learned is that having the right working height made working at my bench far more comfortable.  My son, an industrial engineer, explained why this is true.  There is an ergonomically correct standing height at a workbench for every person and that height is the distance from the floor to your elbow with your arm bent 90 degrees.  This dimension depends on more factors than your height.  It depends on the length of your arms, legs, and torso.  Two people of the same height can easily have different ergonomically correct working heights.

Based on these requirements I tried to buy a bench that was right for me.  What I found was that almost all commonly available benches came at one height, 36”.  That is 7” too low for me.  Most also had either a drawer or a shelf.  If they had adjustable legs they were expensive.  A solid oak or maple top was prohibitively expensive.  When I added freight cost the total cost of the bench I wanted was crazy.  I also wanted more than one so my total cost was enormous.  That awakening forced me to find a more cost effective solution. 

I got on the web and looked for some kind of modular solution but I found nothing.  I knew dry-van decking was a low cost alternative for an oak top and I knew 4 x 4’s would make good legs because they could easily be cut to the right length.
 I did not like wood framing.  I had experience with all-wood workbenches and I was not impressed with their rigidity.  I wanted steel for support and a bolted construction for rigidity.  That meant I needed to design my own steel brackets to hold these 4 x 4’s together solidly.  After sketching several ideas I came up with one that looked good.  I had a metalworking shop make a prototype set of brackets and built a bench.  It worked well but I made improvements.   The next set worked very well indeed.  See photos below.

I am now offering these brackets as well as the details on my overall solution to anyone interested.  For a full description including video, photos, and assembly instructions go to diybench.com.  I realize this bench is not for everyone but it is perfect for the person who wants a cost effective, premium quality, work bench that is rigid and mobile and above all made to the right working height.
For more go to diybench.com

                                                                 36" x 70" bench

                                                         Three benches with painted legs.

diybench, Built-in vs Self-standing

When I embarked on the mission of developing my optimum workbench one of the early questions was whether to make my workbench built-in or self-standing.  I wanted benches in both my garage and shop each of which presented a different set of circumstances.  In the process of answering this question I found several considerations.  Here are those considerations presented in a pros & cons format followed by a comparison of tradeoffs and a conclusion.

                                                          Garage Bench 3' x 20', built-in.

Built-in

Pros

Usually cheaper.  Wall brackets are cheaper than spanning brackets.  In addition at each point you support with a wall bracket you save the cost of a leg.

The bigger the bench the bigger this cost advantage.

Cons

Built in means you can’t move it. 

Built in benches usually go with the house when you sell.  An exception can be made in the contract allowing you to keep the bench but the reality of house deals is that if the buyer takes a fancy to your bench his offer will include it going with the house.  You can avoid this also by removing the bench before showing the house, but then where do you store the bench?

A built in bench is usually made to a specific length to fit the space available.  It is therefore unique and not readily adaptable to a new location without alterations.

                                                       Three shop benches, self-standing.

Self-standing

Pros

Moves easily to a new location that suits the project at hand.

Allows flexibility of work shop layout to suit changing projects.

It is furniture.  When you move it goes with you.

Cons

Costs more.

Comparison of Tradeoffs

If you don’t intend to ever move the bench build-in and save on cost.

The bigger the bench the better the bargain for built-in.

If flexibility of your shop layout is important make your benches self-standing.

In my work shop flexibility is important so I can change my layout to suit my current project.   In my garage my work space is defined by the location of my cars.  There is clearly only one place that a work bench will fit so a built-in bench made sense.  Of course I could move the cars out in the driveway to make room for benches but that raises the question, for how long?  If the answer is a short time I find I am better off using saw horses and a piece of plywood for a temporary bench.

Conclusion

If the location of your bench is not optional a built-in bench is cheaper.

If flexibility of layout is important, make your benches self-standing.
For more go to diybench.com