The Art of Woodshop Organization

Being organized seems to come easily to some and not to others.  I know several people who run their businesses efficiently but whose shops are always in a state of chaos.  With just a little organization they could accomplish even more in the same spaces.  Spending time searching through piles of hardware, wood and supplies is simply wasted time. 

Personally I find satisfaction in working in a well organized space.  An often heard comment by visitors to our shop is “I can’t believe how clean you keep this place.”  Bottom line is that order leads to cleanliness, and cleanliness and order lead to increased production and a safer working environment.

Organizational concepts can be applied to existing spaces.  If I were designing a shop from scratch though, I would start with machinery layout.  This can be looked at as creating efficient material flow through the shop.   Basically you want to find an effective work flow that moves you from machine to machine or process to process.  Having to relocate yourself, material and project from one area to another for subsequent steps is a wasteful use of time and energy. 

Whether your shop is large or small mobile machine bases can be useful additions.  It is often easier to bring a machine to the material then vice verse, and in tight spaces just getting a machine out of the way can be a necessity.  Looking at your work flow with both permanently installed and mobile machines in the mix can lead to a more efficient operation.

After evaluating your equipment, next look at your space itself.  Power tools, bits, blades, tooling and hand tools all need to be easily accessible.  In our shop for example, moulder knives were once stored across the room from our moulder.  The addition of a new drawer storage unit has moved the knives to within a few steps of the moulder, resulting in a savings of time and energy.  Also, all router bits are in one place next to our CNC router.  Small multi-compartment parts containers stored in a rack system hold our bits, which are organized by type.  An assortment of collet wrenches and cleaning brushes hangs nearby.

Personal tool boxes are another key item.  If you can’t have your primary workbench within arms reach of your tool box then consider a mobile tool box cart.  Some like wall storage for these items, but I prefer mechanics style tool boxes with drawers as they organize more tools in a smaller space.

Storing Materials

The next thing to consider is storage of primary construction materials such as plywood and lumber.  Whether you use vertical or horizontal storage, panel products need to be easily accessible.  Horizontal storage makes for easy transfer of material onto moveable carts and subsequent transfer to machines, while vertical storage makes for easier access to specific panels buried in the middle of the pile.

Lumber storage has similar choices and rack systems are helpful.  Whereas small amounts of lumber are often stored vertically along a wall, this method quickly loses its appeal as volume grows.  That is when racks become more attractive.

For a moderate amount of wood….say a few dozen board feet of a given wood species, cantilever racks can prove effective.  Boards are set on two or more arms sticking straight out from the wall or steel uprights.  You access the boards from midway along their length and can easily see the face surfaces.  Removal is easy as long as there are not too many pieces of wood on that set of forks. 

As lumber volumes increase, I like racks that stack the wood lengthwise away from you.  You can see the butt ends of all the boards and with moderately sized bins individual boards within a pile remain easily accessible.  This is the lumber storage system we use.  We also mark the length on the butt end of each board so we can tell at a glance what we want to pull.  The one downside to this system is that it can waste storage space as shorter boards will not take advantage of the full depth of the rack. 

Open as versus closed storage

Most every shop has a large quantity of small items it must contend with storing.  Items such as glue, putty, hardware, sandpaper etc. have to be readily at hand.  Open shelves will work, but I prefer closed cabinets for most things.   I have some open shelves for assorted machinery parts and other occasionally needed items, as well as open compartmental units for small parts storage.  However, these are all in a separate area away from the bulk of the wood dust and so stay relatively clean.

The storage in our shop space, on the other hand, is behind cabinet doors.  One full wall is lined with upper and lower units and there are numerous other cabinets located around the shop.  I prefer closed cabinet storage in the work area for a cleaner, less cluttered feel to the space.  Further, cabinet shelves make for fast and easy organization of many types of supplies.

Office space

Don’t forget your office workspace.  Even if you are not one of those people with a six inch pile of papers on your desk you probably know of someone whose desk fits the description.  This type of office environment might seem comfortable to some, but it is a recipe for wasted time and effort.  When I sit down at my desk I only want to have the items in front of me that need to be processed.  Those 6” deep piles invariably end up being swept into a trash can anyway, so why let them accumulate in the first place.

One of the most productive items you can have in your office is a rolling chair.  I like things within arms reach so I don’t have to get up from the desk.  The rolling chair increases my range by swiveling and sliding quickly across the floor.

Don’t forget your computer either.  Take a look at how you store files so they can be easily found.  If you don’t have a good understanding of Windows Explorer (or some other file management system) take the time to acquire one.  All my drawing files, for example, are organized in a folder named AAAdraw which always appears at the top of my alphabetically sorted folder list.

Invest time and money in organization

Nearly all of us have time pressures placed upon us, and making room for yet something else to do can be a challenge.  However, you need to gauge the time invested to improve your working environment against what will be gained in safety and efficiency.  I consider an investment in a storage system to be equally important to acquiring a new machine.   Ideally new machinery increases production while storage systems help increase efficiency.    

However, to save money look for existing storage opportunities.  For example, our edge sander has a space within its base in which we keep the machine’s accessories.   Our CNC router base has racks built in that we use for storage, and there is a drawer on the stand of our miter saw to keep its’ accessories.  Our drill press sits on a three drawer cabinet that holds assorted clamps and the stretchers on our main work bench serve as a neatly organized clamp rack.

Small investments can have significant impacts too.  Inexpensive small plastic parts drawers are very useful, and even more so if you take the time to label the drawer fronts.  Larger plastic storage bins are a bit more expensive, but come in a wide range of sizes and can solve a whole host of storage problems.  We have a couple three foot wide metal shelf units filled with these in our open storage area.

A few low cost tool purchases can also lead to increased efficiency.  Consider things like buying an extra wrench to hang by a machine where a specific size is used regularly. Further, even if it means purchasing extras, make sure shaper, router and table saw wrenches are hanging within easy reach of where they are used.

Search out storage opportunities

Wall space is a scarce commodity in most shops.  However, you can increase the functionality of what is available by applying lumber or plywood to the existing surface.  Organization systems such as pegboard are also worth considering.

Don’t ignore the ceiling either.  I have seen numerous magazine articles on drop down units that mount up there.  In a previous shop space I had a 4’ x 8’ hinged drop down unit in which I kept veneer and laminate cut-offs.  These light weight items were perfectly suited to overhead storage.   Finally, look down.  A trap door in the floor of our current shop is directly above the wood scrap trailer for easy barrel dumping.

In conclusion I would emphasize that a clean and organized work space is a stepping stone to a safer and more efficient woodworking operation.  The less time you have to spend moving around clutter and looking for things the more time you will have to do what you came into the shop for in the first place….building your projects.

Search out storage opportunities

Wall space is a scarce commodity in most shops.  However, you can increase the functionality of what is available by applying lumber or plywood to the existing surface.  Organization systems such as pegboard are also worth considering.

Don’t ignore the ceiling either.  I have seen numerous magazine articles on drop down units that mount up there.  In a previous shop space I had a 4’ x 8’ hinged drop down unit in which I kept veneer and laminate cut-offs.  These light weight items were perfectly suited to overhead storage.   Finally, look down.  A trap door in the floor of our current shop is directly above the wood scrap trailer for easy barrel dumping.

In conclusion I would emphasize that a clean and organized work space is a stepping stone to a safer and more efficient woodworking operation.  The less time you have to spend moving around clutter and looking for things the more time you will have to do what you came into the shop for in the first place….building your projects.