Lets hear your workspace tidy tips.

[dwardo]

I think it would be useful if we could share any tips we have on keeping our workspaces in order. I spend far too much time cleaning up rather than working unless I keep on top of things.

I know the answer might sounds a little obvious but when you are using lot of grades of sandpaper, various rasps, files, clamps, jigs, nuts bolts nails n screws, spare blades, spoke shaves n draw knives, potions, sharps,,, you get the idea.

Storing files and chisels from different sets, some kind of sandpaper system?? Storing leather, wood, and other raw materials.

So thoughts please all

 

[Toddy]

Hah! I wish

Right now you can't see either the living room floor or the kitchen table for my sewing

Sandpaper's pretty easy though; one of those stackable file things for mail on an office desk. It keeps the paper flat, graded, and pretty much at hand. The spaces are deep enough too that they'll hold small jigs (I do 12th scale and N gauge modelling) as well. They don't slide out like drawers so I don't need to keep the desk in front of the stack clear just so that I can get at things.

Ikea sell magnetic strips meant for kitchen knives, etc., they're not very expensive but they're useful, so is a metal noticeboard with those metal button type fridge magnets (£2.99 in one of the bargain shops not long since)

Son2 likes good malt and the bottles come in really sturdy tubes. I stash a pile of them together (they can be taped around if necessary for extra stability) and use them to hold everything from paintbrushes to thin strips of mini moulding and metal tubing.

Interesting topic for a thread timely too

atb,
M

 

[xylaria]

I made a tidy for my carving tools. It was like a tool belt, but bigger and because I made it myself fitted every tool. It is not a difficult thing to sew. i have been tempted to make a really big tidy for every other tool.

Sewing stuff ooohhh crickey, now that is another ball game. I am crocheting up a blanket of squares, to use up all the odd wool I have hoarded over the years, i going to sew all half done jobs into it while i am there. I sew quilts out of upcycled material, so my scraps go in a big bag that works like a solid bean bag.

I wish i was more organised.

 

[xylaria]

I hang on the wall shoe tidys with labels would be useful for tools.

 

[Shewie]

Complete one project at a time, don't get distracted by something else, don't start the next one until you're done, always tidy up at the end of every session.

That's four things I never do right there

 

[Niels]

I need to learn to put stuff back where I put it rather than making it into a big pile on my 40 by 40 cm workbench...
Maybe put it in the same place everytime too because I keep losing all kinds of stuff.

I also have a special box for stuff that could be useful much much later so I can find it in years time. However so far I usually just forget I put it there when I need it and happen upon it accidentally.

 

[Toddy]

"Organisation stiffles my creativity"



M

 

[Macaroon]

The single best thing that happened in my workspace, ever, are those small cabinets of drawers that come from IKEA..............they take care of all the small-ish and delicate or easily lost stuff. and I've found the clean-up time is really fast if you can whizz around without the fear of losing those things............the big stuff is easy. I also have a good few of those stackable trays that the bread comes to the stores in, they're great for the medium sized things and you can see at a glance what's in them.

The big bugbear for me is the sawdust and the debris that comes from the sanders and other power tools; I use them rarely but the resulting dust and stuff that comes from them is everywhere, all the time, and the cost of an extraction system would be impossible for me to justify.

One thing I've learned over the years though; the cleaner my workspace the better the output!

 

[British Red]

Tool boxes - lots of tool boxes. And industrial racking. and old bedside cabinets (dirt cheap on the bay for drawers).

I totally stripped out my organisation and re-did it a while back. I have now "purposeful" toolboxes rather than "tool oriented" tool boxes.

By that I mean I have a chainsaw toolbox. It contains an old socket and handle to remove the bar and the right sized screwdriver for the chain tensioner and the files and guides plus the 12 V sharpener, spare chains, plugs, filters etc.

Previously I would have put the socket away with other sockets, screwdriver with screwdrivers etc. Now I have one toolbox for working on the chainsaw. Clearly its handy that I can do this and keep a complete socket set together, but a "task based" toolkit makes sense to me - only one kit to get out and pack up again.

 

[Wayland]

Screw jam jar lids to the underside of shelves and then you can store small bits like nuts and bolts in jars hanging from the lids.

 

[Man of Tanith]

My grandfather who was a joiner and all round woodworker used to let my nan tidy his workshop!!!

Me I have a range of baccy tins with assorted gubbins in

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

We have racks with 20 tools each, then lesser used tools in a roller cupboard and each machine has a tray with tools specific for that machine. So a wood lathe has the running centres and face plate. We have trays with 20 sets of metal tools eg micrometers and cold chisels.

We need to get kids to tidy up every 53min period otherwise you can imagine what a workshop would be like with 100 pupils using it in one day.

As 5 staff share two workshops everyone must put trays in the same place otherwise you are lost !

 

[Biker]

Put some music on, like rock or something with a fast beat, then start tidying/cleaning makes it less of a drag to have to do it.

Any stackable containers such as margarine or icecream tubs are a godsend, but the best thing I invested in was a small bucket with is where I put all the tings I know I need to keep safe, just like Niels suggested. Works too.

Top tips coming out here folks, I'm benefiting from this advice too, thanks!

 

[resnikov]

Don't let others use your workspace, then you only have yourself to blame when its messy.

 

[British Red]

I ask everyone over the holidays to keep any proper tins they get (you know with fudge or chocolates in). Larger tins are a godsend for drill bits etc.

 

[Nomad]

Easy...

Learn to work in a coup.

Take up Ker-Plunk to understand the physics of unstable piles and apply that to piles of projects, tools and equipment.

If your bench is full of tools and unfinished work, get another bench. Keep going until you run out of floors to put benches on.

Sit back with a brew to work out what your next project is going to be, and then work out which unfinished one will yield the best raw materials for it. (Let's face it, if you've got a better idea than the unfinished one, it's a waste of materials to finish it. If the unfinished one really was a good idea, it would have been finished by now.)

 

[nickliv]

The single best thing that happened in my workspace, ever, are those small cabinets of drawers that come from IKEA..............they take care of all the small-ish and delicate or easily lost stuff. and I've found the clean-up time is really fast if you can whizz around without the fear of losing those things............the big stuff is easy. I also have a good few of those stackable trays that the bread comes to the stores in, they're great for the medium sized things and you can see at a glance what's in them.

The big bugbear for me is the sawdust and the debris that comes from the sanders and other power tools; I use them rarely but the resulting dust and stuff that comes from them is everywhere, all the time, and the cost of an extraction system would be impossible for me to justify.

One thing I've learned over the years though; the cleaner my workspace the better the output!

Go to a car boot sale, and buy a cheap 'knackered' (clogged) dyson. 15 quid will buy a complete kit of filters. Replace them,give what you can a good wipe with a damp cloth, and let it all dry and you're good to go.

 

[nickliv]

Tool boxes - lots of tool boxes. And industrial racking. and old bedside cabinets (dirt cheap on the bay for drawers).

I totally stripped out my organisation and re-did it a while back. I have now "purposeful" toolboxes rather than "tool oriented" tool boxes.

By that I mean I have a chainsaw toolbox. It contains an old socket and handle to remove the bar and the right sized screwdriver for the chain tensioner and the files and guides plus the 12 V sharpener, spare chains, plugs, filters etc.

Previously I would have put the socket away with other sockets, screwdriver with screwdrivers etc. Now I have one toolbox for working on the chainsaw. Clearly its handy that I can do this and keep a complete socket set together, but a "task based" toolkit makes sense to me - only one kit to get out and pack up again.

Oh. I LIKE that. Cheers Red.



Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[dwardo]

Some great ideas so far thanks.
I too use the knackered old dyson for keeping the dust down, works a treat.

Red, your idea of job oriented tools sets is a great idea. I just need to double up on a few tools.
Mary the idea of drawers for sandpaper is great thanks.
Also the idea of jam jars screwed to shelves is a winner.

Half the problem is I am working in several different projects at the same time. Mainly with bowyery this is the nature of the beast as several stages of making bows is do a little then wait, then repeat so the only way to fill your time is working on several bows at the same time. Also squeezing in some leather work in-between.

 

[Kong]

If your shelves are full, nail some jam jar lids to the bottom of the shelf and screw the jam jar into the lid. They are glass so you can see exactly what is in them like screws or nails and other bits.