Popular Woodworking 2007-02 № 160, страница 35

This rolling tool cabinet holds a lot of tools in bins and drawers. When folded up, the cabinet doesn't take up much room and it can be wheeled out of the way.

shelf could be used for a belt sander. Repair a lot of chairs? Build a mobile tool station that houses just those supplies and can be rolled to any part of the shop where it might be needed.

A rolling cabinet devoted to a single tool saves space in a small shop because it can be pushed into a corner when it's not needed. More than that, having one or more of these rolling workstations helps parcel tools and their many accessories into dedicated spaces where they won't get lost.

As an example, consider the router. Many woodworkers eventually will own several: A laminate trimmer, a mid-size router and a big plunge router all might be found in a single shop. Each has a collet wrench (or wrenches), one or more bases, edge guides and a trammel for cutting circles and curves. Plus there are a lot of bits in one or more shank diameters. It all adds up to a lot of tooling. Building a rolling cart around a router table is a good way of keeping it all straight. Devote a drawer to bits, divided for ^/^/4" and ¹/2" shanks, and another for bases and edge guides. Routers themselves can go in a large enclosure at the base of the cabinet.

Tools that Travel: Totes & Rolls

In addition to working at a bench or around the shop, many furniture makers will also find it necessary to leave the shop once in a while with some of their tools. Maybe it's a repair around the house or construction of a shed or outbuilding or even a working stint a good distance from home. Tools that travel need to be organized and protected from damage just as much as those that never leave the shop.

Depending on how often you need them, carpentry tools can be kept in a separate, out-of-the-way cabinet or segregated on their own shelf. These tools are just as specialized as woodworking and cabinetmaking tools - just a little different. They aren't generally used for woodworking so there's no sense in mixing the two together.

One way of keeping them straight is to build a wooden tote with a handle and keep it in a corner of the shop where it won't get in the way. When you need to fix something in the house

- trim a sticky door, for instance, or patch a hole in a drywall ceiling - the tools are ready and waiting.

Totes can be very simple and still very useful; even a box with rope handles made from scraps of plywood or rough lumber and nailed together at the corners will prove practical. Make it long enough to house at least a 2' level and a handsaw. Adding a row of shallow drawers in the bottom of the tote is a good way of organizing small things

- drill bits, a compass, drivers and the like - as well as protecting tools with sharp edges that would be dulled if they were thrown in with everything else. Or you can build internal trays and dividers to make it easier to find things as well as protect sharp edges.

Tool rolls are another way of keeping sharp-edged tools safe when you travel.

A storage cabinet dedicated to a single tool is one way of ensuring that tool accessories are always close at hand. Making the base mobile is an advantage, too.

Popular Woodworking