Here’s a dirty secret: If it weren’t for my job at a woodworking magazine, I’d be almost unemployable.
I cannot sit for more than a few hours at a time. During long meetings and dinner parties, I’ve been known to just stand up and rudely leave the room. My legs feel like involuntary muscles when that happens.
So thank goodness for our shop at Popular Woodworking Magazine and my shop at home. I can abandon whatever sit-down task I’m working on and sharpen my tools, cut some moulding or work on the project on my bench.
On Thursday I had – no exaggeration – more than 200 e-mails to catch up with. After slaving on that all morning at the office, I shut down all the programs on my computer and decided to build a prototype of a shelving unit I spied in a French book on handplanes (see the story here).
It was just what my head and hands needed. I had some dry yellow pine 2x12s in our rack that were fairly clear. And I got down to work. I had only enough pine to build a 50-1/2″-long version of the rack – the one I designed is more than 70″ long. And I screwed the prototype together – the real one will have through-tenons etc. But this prototype will tell me how well it holds and dispenses tools and if it looks ungainly.
I wiped on some finish on Friday morning and hung it before lunch in my shop at home. I’ll probably put my shop-reference books on top of the shelf today and hang my two miter saws on the pegs so my miter boxes will take up less space below the bench.
I do like the way it looks on the wall. But looks go only so far.
Edit: SketchUp drawing download added:
FrenchToolShelf.zip (23.01 KB)
— Christopher Schwarz
That’s pretty spiffy! Last year I spruced up my hand tool room in a similar way (new hardwood floor, new walls) and now I hate all my tool storage options. I’ll have to keep this in mind – Thanks for sharing.
Chris,
Is the Sketchup model available?
-Terry
Chris,
That is a very cool looking shelf. I am jealous that you can do that type of stuff. I thought I was the only person with involuntary legs muscles…
If I ever threw a project like that together I would never get to the REAL version as its was already functioning.
How long did it take you to "throw" the prototype together?
Did you use the bow saw hanging from it for the ends?
Were any power tools used for the prototype version?
I just purchased the saw bench DVD and it said it shipped. I cant wait to be done with school and build one. I have long wanted to take that course with you. The DVD is the next best thing.
Happy new year!
Chris,
Nice prototype. I’ll be remodeling my shop over the next year, so I have been keeping an eye out for good storage options like this.
The more I analyze my working style and tendency to put tools away wherever they fit, rather than where they can be most easily accessed the next time I need them, the more I find myself moving toward the philosophy of having "a place for everything and everything in its place." I would be interested in hearing if the slotted holder ends up as a real organizational help, or if will end up as a catch-all for whatever tool fits.
Do you see yourself using this as a transient holder for the tools you are using at the time just to keep them off the bench, or is this a more permanent solution for storing your most commonly used chisels, awls, etc. within easy reach of your bench?
Thanks for sharing,
David
Chris,
<<How long did it take you to "throw" the prototype together?>>
About three hours all-told. But I used some machines.
<<Did you use the bow saw hanging from it for the ends?>>
I’m trying to use more frame saws. That’s the Gramercy. I like it.
<<Were any power tools used for the prototype version?>>
Oh sure. I had to process the 2x12s down to 3/4". and I ripped everything to width on the table saw. All the details and surfaces were cut by hand. I’m a hybrid guy.
David,
I have a tool rack above my bench. This is at the end of my bench. I’m planning on keeping the less-often used tools in the new rack — floats, drawbore pins, detail carving tools. Stuff I need at hand. But not everyday — like bench chisels.
Looks great Chris. I like the Shaker pegs along the front — nice touch.
Chris,
I’ve seen the pictures of your rack of saws, rasps, mallets, etc. behind your bench (and have silently coveted your collection of hand saws!), and this seems like a nice supplement to that. Hope it works out well, and happy new year!
What a tangled web you weave. Your escape from emails and questions just generates more emails and questions! It is your own fault. … 🙂
Dang right. Just like building roads doesn’t relieve traffic congestion, it creates it.
Chris:
Nice rack! Though I am wondering what you are going to place on the shelf. Will it be stout enough to support books or planes? Seventy inches seems like a pretty long span, with little support along the front edge.
Chris:
I’ve been wondering about one thing about chisel/other handled tool storage using the open slot that this rack uses, as well as the one attached to the back of the latest Roubo:
Would it be worthwhile to add spacers to the slot (or perhaps dadoed slots) to keep chisels or other edge tools from being damaged on an edge when you are moving them in or out of the slot? I’ve been thinking about adding the slotted storage for the in-use bench chisels on the back of the bench and this is the only concern that’s been holding me back.
Have you had any "incidents" or other like concerns?
Thanks, and thanks for the continuous inspiration!
Robert,
I don’t have a lot of shop reference books. Likely in the end the books will be on one end and I’ll have moulding planes along the rest, much like the original did.
Nick,
I have spacers in part of my rack on the bench. They do keep the tools from leaning into one another. However, on my rack above my bench at home and work there are no dividers. I’ve never had an incident, and I don’t expect it to be a real problem considering the short distances the tools travel.
So the dividers are nice for tidiness — nothing wrong with that.
Chris, I retired on June 1st of this year. Based on your post you will understand how satisfying it was to delete a couple of hundred emails that I didn’t get around to answering. One day you’ll get to the place where you will only write and answer emails you want and meetings will be few and far between.
In the meantime, keep exploring traditional woodworking as you are doing important work. Great looking storage shelf.
http://www.cabinwoodworks.com/
Aren’t you worried about the books out in the open being exposed to the wood dust ?
Very nice little project. I think I need one for my shop now. I really like the bow saw too; is it from the Gramercy kit?
Chris:
You mention your reference books. Have you and your compatriots considered offering some form of bibliography for those books you find useful? I’ve seen some woodworking libraries which cover a wall (more of a collection, in most cases), and other so austere they wouldn’t cover a linear foot. Yet, both variations (and many in-between) do the job for the particular woodworker. Recommendations do a lot, guiding us through the morass of books (Amazon is a lot like digital photography, except we cannot as easily delete the books we find of no value), and open our eyes to finding others on our own.
I know I am in the minority, but I really hate SketchUp. I would rather work off a drawing on a napkin.