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Thread: Ideas needed- wall mounted hand tool storage cabinet

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Ideas needed- wall mounted hand tool storage cabinet

    Thinking/planning of doing a wall mounted hand tool storage unit in early 2017...It would hold handplanes, blocks, chisels, back saws, DT saws , spokeshaves etc. The primary purposes would be protection, storage as well as dust avoidance (when I'm using my TS and routers etc, even with dust control, the hand tools are covered with light coating of sawdust).. Have found some ideas in the Taunton books as well as here and online but nothing is grabbing me as the "one to build"..... Would appreciate your general suggestions, examples of your solutions, and any ideas....

    Anxious to hear and see your thoughts..Probably start after the Jan 1 bowl games!!

    Thanks in advance
    Jerry

  2. #2
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    Feb 2009
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    Jerry,

    Take a look at Fine WoodWorking. In some past issues Michael Pekovich and Chris Becksvoort designed a couple of nice wall mounted cabinets. I designed mine using their ideas.

    Thanks,

    Dennis

  3. #3
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    I applaud your priorities of storage and protection. So many people, influenced by the pretty pictures in the powertool-shill press, build showcases/shrines that perform neither of these functions well.

    These sort of cabinets can be quick and dirty and inexpensive and utilitarian, made from painted MDF or CDX plywood, or they can be expensive heirloom pieces made of fine woods with beautiful joinery and luxurious finishes that take both skill and a long time to make. Of course, as with all things, you may choose a middle path in terms of cost, time and quality. My point is that, unless you have done this already, which I can't tell from your post, you will need to give this some careful thought at the early stages of planning.

    Unless you intend to lug it around, make it at least twice as strong as you think it needs to be. Plywood is not strong as solid wood. MDF is significantly weaker than plywood.

    Swinging doors with sturdy hinges of the kind used to hang architectural doors are absolutely essential, especially if you intend to mount tools to the doors. Cabinet hinges are not tough enough. Assume the hinge screws will eventually pull out of plywood and MDF, and plan countermeasures in advance.

    Double doors are probably better than a single door to minimze interference with the area in front and below of the cabinet. If frame and panel, make them very rigid so they won't sag over time. Consider a shear panel.

    If you use double doors, add an astragal to keep out dust. Build an overhang or crown that projects over the doors full-width to help keep dust out.

    I assume you want this cabinet to last at least your lifetime. If so, future-proofing is important unless you are absolutely certain you will never add to or upgrade the tools stored or mounted inside the cabinet. Instead of cutting and gluing, I suggest you mount shelves and mounting brackets with screws so they can be R&R'd in the future.

    Oh yeah, and give careful thought in advance re how you will mount it to the wall, and what sort of reinforcement the wall will need to carry the extra weight and bending moment.

    Best of luck.

    Stan
    Last edited by Stanley Covington; 12-17-2016 at 3:01 AM.

  4. #4
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    Good info so far. Since I take it you do not already have a version to draw experience from I think there are (at least) two ways to approach this. Build for your immediate function and anticipate a version 2 in your future. Build for form and function and build-in enough versatility to handle some rearrangement.

    Using an approach that couples a carcass with internal fixtures allows alteration without a complete rebuild. Your saw till and plane till can be separate inserts that can be removed and modified or replaced. The same can be done for internal swinging panels that can be modified without having to scrap the whole beast.

    To this end I went with what is many peoples nightmare due to memories of the past; peg board. I live where the weather is moderate and so an open plane till was the order of the day. The main carcass and its depth relationship to the wings was made to allow the addition of doors if I choose to do so later.

    Plane Till (59).jpg . Plane Till (60).jpg


    Since you have already perused the usual articles I will just say that laying your tools out or using cardboard cutouts to try arrangement ideas is well worth the trouble. The current config is one wing to the left of the carcass. Once I get the north wall rearranged the right wing will come over to join them.

    The planes hang from paracord.. The panel that the planes rest against is easily removable for tool rearrangement which has already happened twice. The wings have pegboard panels on the back as well as the inside and outside of the doors. I make tool holders with "L" hooks in the back so that they can be placed or moved easily. This too has already come in handy a few times


    Plane Till (30).jpgPlane Till (51).jpgPlane Till (54).jpgPlane Till (35).jpg

    The lower gallery is a separate fixture that can be easily removed for modification.

    Plane Till (17).jpg

    I figure once I go a year without changing anything it might be time to make another one that is more attractive to look at. For now, I keep morphing the arrangement.
    Last edited by glenn bradley; 12-17-2016 at 10:18 AM.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  5. #5
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    Jerry, I started out on a similar quest almost two years ago (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...-Cabinet-Build).
    What I like about my cabinet - I'm generally pleased with the plane storage as well as the chisel storage. I made the main cabinet 12" deep so that it could hold a numer of bench planes sitting on their sole. I wanted storage in the doors for chisels and possibly other tools. I made a pretty specific plan for plane storage, and a more general plan for saws and chisels.

    I used piano hinges for the doors and would do so again. French cleats to hang the cabinet; if or when I move the cabinet is coming with me. IMHO there is no better choice for wall mounted tool cabinet than french cleats.

    What I would do differently - I think we share a tendancy to own more planes than we probably need. Unless you are going to downsize your collection of planes and repent from your trend of growing your collection, you might want to focus on building one cabinet for planes and another for saws and perhaps another for chisels. I'm not thrilled with the 15" depth. While my 3 inch deep doors allow me to store chisels on hinged racks two inches deep, I don't like how far the cabinet protrudes from the wall. I also don't think the cabinet is going to accomdate all of the handsaws I want to store. It has room for a few backsaws, but that's about it.

    Search here for plane tills, saw tills and tool cabinets for more great examples. I got some good ideas from this thread:

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...r-tool-cabinet

    Good luck. I will be interested to see what you decide to do.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  6. #6
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    Already some useful comments and suggestions....i'm learning from y'all.....
    My cabinet will be utilitarian (nothing fancy) but with a purpose: protection, safety and dust.
    Early thanks, all above very helpful...Very sensible, practical suggestions,.....Thanks.
    I'll continue to check in.
    Jerry
    Jerry

  7. #7
    Mentioned in another recent thread, but just in case - - a Unibit makes quick work of 'tapered' (sort of) holes for chisel storage.

  8. #8
    Jerry, How extensive is your selection of hand tools and how likely are you to add new tools?

    I'd worked out two basic wall hung cabinets for saws and hand tools but this week I totally changed direction to a two piece free-standing cupboard/tool cabinet.

    I'm planning on using borg sheet material with overlay doors. Oh yeah, the borg ply warps in a minute so I plan to Kreg Jig it together with multiple fixed shelves to keep it square. I'm shooting for between shaker cupboard and the plywood cabinets our dads built for the garage.

    As basic as the casework sounds, I'm actually planning to invest in a very organized interior. I've drawn on Andy Rae's tool cabinet for interior organization. I have some ideas on a different storage path for my jointers. His system is really not efficient enough for what I have.

  9. #9
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    ~ Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

  10. #10
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    ~ Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

  11. #11
    IMG_7664.jpg

    Jerry, Top of the tool cabinet has two 5" deep doors with storage on inside for thin items like chisels and screwdrivers.

    Inside the cabinet, the white areas are open 12" deep cubbies or shelves to hold smoother sized planes and tools. Colored area on top is three loose boxes to hold Skew rabbets, small plow plane, and router planes along with their accoutrements.

    Colored area in bottom for block planes and various plane related parts and tools.


    IMG_7665.jpg

    I originally planned on a 18" deep bottom unit with a few drawers on top and doors with open shelves on bottom. This version is all drawers with drawer faced pull out shelves for the jack sized planes.

    The gray box is to hold carcass and dovetail saws.

    The bottom green drawer is for longer tools like panel saws, tenon saws and jointers organized along the lines of the bottom floor of the Anarchist Tool Chest. Drawers are all on Full extension slides.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  12. #12
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    Sean - really nice job. I really like what you came up with for the Japanese saws.

  13. #13
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    IMG_0525.JPG

    Just a little something I built in my free time with some offcuts.

  14. #14
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    I call BS. No one has five sets of hinges of the type you need for the project on hand. At the very least, you had to make a borg run so that does not count as "spare time". Oh, did that during the commercials! yeah right.
    David

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer View Post
    IMG_0525.JPG

    Just a little something I built in my free time with some offcuts.
    Quote Originally Posted by David Eisenhauer View Post
    I call BS. No one has five sets of hinges of the type you need for the project on hand. At the very least, you had to make a borg run so that does not count as "spare time". Oh, did that during the commercials! yeah right.
    Malcolm (Great names think alike),
    I have one too. Doesn't everybody Built it this morning.

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