Since I’ve been making regular content for a little over a year now I figured it’s a nice time to give a tour of the workshop where I make all these projects and videos. Adam Savage’s tested videos on how he organises his shop inspire me to organise and optimise my workshop.
When I arranged the workshop 1.5 years ago I had Adam’s ‘first order retrievability’ system in mind. This means that I can grab any tool without moving something else. For all the tools that I use regularly this worked out really well. With the shop being this size I cannot have everything at the ready at all times so I’m using some other systems as well.
One of the things I’m particularly happy with is the storage part of my tool bench. Laura Kampf (link) made a video where she made a system using clear Ikea boxes as drawers. I thought this was a great idea so I made a similar version in my workshop.
Dividing my workshop in 4 sections:
1: Workbench
This is a fairly simple (60x120cm) assembly table that I use as my main working area. I try to keep only the parts that I’m working on at that moment on this table. This helps me with organisation and it also looks a bit nicer on the video.
On the wall above this workbench I have all my most used tools hanging. Having this also helps me a lot to keep the workbench tidy. Placing the tool back on the wall is just as easy as dropping it on the table.
2: Tool bench
The purpose of this workbench is to give me a space to place some stationary tools without taking up a lot of room. When I designed this workbench a year ago I made it as shallow as possible but deep enough so I can place a drill press, vice and disk sander on it. Underneath I made the clear box storage rack as I described above and an open spot for other storage possibilities.
3: Bandsaw / dust collection
Next to the tool bench is my bandsaw and dust collection cart. At the moment I’m writing this I’m working on a nice upgraded cart from the current one that gives a nice compact cart to hold both my vacuum cleaner and my bandsaw. Having this on wheels makes it easy to move it a bit when I need to cut larger pieces.
4: Lathe
On the opposite side from my bandsaw is the largest (and heaviest) tool in my shop. My lathe! I bought this lathe as a big heavy piece of rusted metal two years ago. I took it completely apart, cleaned all the parts, removed the rust and put it back together.
The machine has more play and inaccuracies than I had hoped for but it is still a great machine to use and good enough for most things that I make with it.
Let me know in the youtube comments what you liked and disliked from my shop system. If you have other great small workshop tips please drop them in the comments as well so we can all learn from it.
