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Thread: Shop Cabinets

  1. #1

    Shop Cabinets

    Home workshops are the place where dreams are made. We all love our shops, and the time we get to spend in them…

    Thirty years ago I built my first wood shop, and while filling it up soon learned that a lot of storage was necessary. And one of the best parts of being a woodworker is building out our shops, and making them a fun place to spend our time. You can buy workbenches and storage cabinets, but you can build your own far more suited to your needs, for less money, and loaded with storage we all need.

    Look at most shop photos online, and you will lots of wasted space. Having little room, I started throwing out the stands and building simple shop cabinets that were loaded with storage. Many of these cabinets are nearly 30 years old and are holding up well. They even survived a move from Florida to New Mexico a few years ago. The shop may look large, but in reality it is only 10' on a side bigger than the average garage shop. A wide angle lens makes it look larger than it is.
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  2. #2
    My shop has supports three separate areas, woodworking, modem making, and machining. These photos are mainly show the shop cabinets around the shop. Hopefully they will serve to give you folks some new ideas on building shop areas that include a lot more storage space than what you usually see on posted photos. Building your own cabinets is a lot of fun, and you build exactly what you need to suit you.

    Look forward to seeing your ideas on homemade storage in your shop.
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    Last edited by Tom Clark FL; 08-01-2015 at 3:25 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    So Cal
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    3,739
    Looks great Tom I like the drill press station with the disc sanders nearby,Along with bench grinders.I also like the work areas above the cabinet storage.Looks like a well kept shop.Thanks for sharing.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    SoCal
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Clark FL View Post
    Look forward to seeing your ideas on homemade storage in your shop.
    I'm with Tom. I don't have room for tool / machine bases that don't provide storage. My oscillating edge sander is still in my gun sights but mostly:

    de-pelter-quattro (17).jpgG0529 Cab (17).jpg19-38-stand(25).jpgTS drawers (35).jpgTS-Outfeed (38).jpgDP-Cab (33).jpgTNNW (69).jpg

    I build drawers into everything.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Leesville, SC
    Posts
    2,378
    Tom,

    That is one GREAT looking shop. I did see a shop vac, but I didn't see any pipe for a central dust collection system. Am I missing something.

    You should be very proud of a wonderful shop.......
    Army Veteran 1968 - 1970
    I Support the Second Amendment of the US Constitution

  6. #6
    Yep, you missed it. This thread was meant to feature just shop cabinets, not a shop tour. However, the second photo in the first post showed the whole shop for the curious. My main machines are clustered in the center around my dust collectors, eliminating the need for dust lines running everywhere. I never wanted a shop octopus, and when I see a photo of a shop with stuff running all over the floor, it is all to easy to imagine me tripping over it and breaking something.
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    • File Type: jpg 1.jpg (111.7 KB, 321 views)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Florida's Space Coast
    Posts
    389
    Wow!!
    I love all the drawers.
    Only makes sense to utilize the space the best way you can.
    Steve Kinnaird
    Florida's Space Coast
    Have built things from wood for years, will finally have a shop setup by Sept. 2015 !! OK, maybe by February LOL ……

  8. #8
    Real pleasant space. Kind of part shop and part colorful den.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Leesville, SC
    Posts
    2,378
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Clark FL View Post
    Yep, you missed it. This thread was meant to feature just shop cabinets, not a shop tour. However, the second photo in the first post showed the whole shop for the curious. My main machines are clustered in the center around my dust collectors, eliminating the need for dust lines running everywhere. I never wanted a shop octopus, and when I see a photo of a shop with stuff running all over the floor, it is all to easy to imagine me tripping over it and breaking something.
    Knew I missed something. That shop is way too clean........
    Thanks for posting the pictures..... Now the rest of us can dream......
    Army Veteran 1968 - 1970
    I Support the Second Amendment of the US Constitution

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Carrollton, Georgia
    Posts
    1,815
    Tom, your shop looks great. You've got more drawers than Tommy Hilfiger.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    6,393
    Quote Originally Posted by Yonak Hawkins View Post
    .......You've got more drawers than Tommy Hilfiger.
    Ohhh, MAN!!!!! Yonak - you just cost me a mouthful of 1997 Guenoc Cabernet........... You owe me, brudda. THe invoice is in the mail.
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Mount Vernon, Ohio
    Posts
    168
    Do you have an indexing system to guide you to the correct drawer?
    Do like you always do,,,,,get what you always get!!

  13. #13
    Naw. There was an index system, all those little yellow labels, to guide the wife to the correct parts she was looking for so she could fill the orders. (I ran a machine shop and manufactured a lot of different parts.) I have to admit that now that we are retired, there are a few empty drawers here and there, but still love the cabinets.

    This 16 drawer cabinet is 25 years old, so even I can remember where things are after that long.

    I have to admit to having too many drawers. However, the point is most of you guys could use a lot more drawers than you now have. Don't you love seeing forum shop photos where every flat surface has stuff piled up on them, because there is no place to put things?
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    • File Type: jpg 2.jpg (111.5 KB, 191 views)

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    State College, PA
    Posts
    376
    I have Tom's book, Practical Shop Cabinets. As a beginner, I have found it very helpful in getting started designing and building cabinets for my shop. It has a no-nonsense approach.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    fayetteville Arkansas
    Posts
    629
    Tom, I purchased your Practical Shop Cabinets book a few years ago and have used it as my "Bible" to build cabinets for my shop. I appreciate you taking the time to write and publish the book, I'm sure you didn't get rich off it but more a labor of love. Thanks!

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