tool organisation

[evildrome]

Hi All,

I'm in the fortunate position of moving from my all too small garage to a new industrial unit.

The unit is filling up fast and I want some pointers on how to organise my tooling and clamping, preferably on boards or shelves I can put on the walls behind the machines.

I am interested in any solution though as I'm not bound (yet) by any constraints as most of the machines aren't in yet.

Some pictures of your setups would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Wilson.


wilson.logan (at) ntlworld.com

[evildrome]

Oh come on Chaps! Lets not be shy!

Over 70 of you have already read this & not one of you is willing to post a pic?

No ones going to laugh at the size of your pin board. Well... I won't, so come on, show me how its done or I'll just leave it all on the floor where it is now.

Cheers,

Wilson.

[widgitmaster]

Sometimes the most obvious is the best solution!
I have found that having all the accessories and components for each of my machine within arms reach, helps my work and thought process flow smoothly! If I have to stop and look for something, then that is distracting as well as annoying!

I have a Bridgeport clone, a 13x40 geared head lathe, a 6x12 surface grinder, and a metal cutting band saw. All in a 12x25 foot shop in my garage! My big tool box which contains all the endmills, drills, taps & dies, and measuring hand tools are right by the mill, the lathe has all the quick-change tool holders on a shelf in front of the lathe. My surface grinder will soon get a large board with wooden dowels to hold all my wheels, some of which are always mounted on extra flanges for quick change setups!

The rest of my tools such as c-clamps, kant-twist clamps, and parallel clamps are hanging on the walls!

Many people prefer to have a large surface plate in the middle of the work area, as a central point for assembly, and in process measurement of components.

Some shops have a portable lift table which contains heavy items like rotary tables, indexing/dividing heads, mill vises, and heavy angle plates. This helps during setups, as you don't need to hurt yourself lifting these items!

Other shops have turret drill presses near their main machines, and each turret station contains frequently used 2nd operation items like tapping heads, countersinks, reamers, drill bits, etc.

Last but not least, there is the fire proof locker for combustibles like ink remover, kerosene, mineral spirits, way-lube, spindle oil, ink, grease, etc.

Hope this helps!
Widgitmaster

[BobWarfield]

Photos of lots of shops here:

http://www.thewarfields.com/cnccookb...allOfFame.html

Maybe this will give you some ideas.

For my own shop, I have wall organizers from:

http://www.wallcontrol.com/

I have a table in the middle of it all with 2 large toolboxes, and I built this giant parts organizer of wood:



It's not so much for tools. I use it for hardware, small stock, bearings, and similar kinds of things. It is largely crammed with plastic organizer boxes that say things like "1/4-20 Hardware" or "Key Stock".

Best,

BW