# How do you keep your bench from becoming a "shelf"?



## JeffP (Aug 4, 2014)

I'm working on designing my next shop.

Every shop I've ever had suffered from the same major problem. No matter how much shelf space I added to the "space", everything always winds up on top of the work bench (and the saw and every other work surface in the place).

So, I beg you…tell me how to solve this!

For those few of you have solved it…was it a "thing" solution or just a "habit" solution?


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## recoveringoakaholic (Aug 21, 2014)

For me it's a habit thing. When I first built my shop I was remodeling my home and I needed a specific tool for a job I was doing. After three hours of looking for said tool I stopped working on the house and told my wife I'm going to organize the shop….a place for everything and everything in its place. Now when I need something it's exactly where it belongs…..unless someone else used it and didn't put it back.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

A habit solution here. I learned many years ago to just stop, once in a while, and put everything on my workbench away before going on to the next step in my project. I was spending more time looking for a tool than I spent using it. I also have most all my wall space used to accommodate shelves.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

> A habit solution here. I learned many years ago to just stop, once in a while, and put everything on my workbench away before going on to the next step in my project. I was spending more time looking for a tool than I spent using it. I also have most all my wall space used to accommodate shelves.
> 
> - Jim Finn


I do this exact thing. I've also found a bench against a wall is more likely to be used as a shelf. I don't know why. Maybe I have mother issues or something. I envy a person that can use a tool and put it back. I try to do it, it just never works.


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## InstantSiv (Jan 12, 2014)

Make less space where crap can pile.

If there's less space available for crap to pile on, your projects will be fighting the crap for that valuable space. You'll quickly force yourself to find solutions for that crap.


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## ScottKaye (Jan 19, 2013)

Use the 10 tool rule. Every time you go out to your shop, put away 10 tools. Eventually, it all gets put away. Until the next disaster happens. rinse and repeat


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## rad457 (Jun 15, 2013)

I just use the still in construction phase excuse! going on over 3 years now and even starting to sound bad to me, that's it as soon as the basement is finished I will clean up the shop! LOL.


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## Yonak (Mar 27, 2014)

Here is the answer :

http://www.leevalley.com/en/home/page.aspx?p=71736&c=

This bench was introduced earlier this year, on April 1.


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## TheWoodenOyster (Feb 6, 2013)

For me it is a habit thing as well. I am pretty middle of the road as far as how clean the shop is. I too try to stop once every 10 to 15 hours of shop time and clean up for an hour or so. It used to be bad, but it is getting better. It gets real dirty when I am in a hurry.

As far as horizontal surfaces go, I cannot wait to get more square footage so that I'll have somewhere to put parts and pieces while I continue to work. I honestly think that an assembly table is going to be very important in my next shop design.

It is absolutely a "habit" solution. Only you can prevent a dirty shop


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## JeffP (Aug 4, 2014)

I sort of suspected that the successful respondents would all say it comes down to personal responsibility…to which I have but one answer:

We are doomed.



> For me it is a habit thing as well. I am pretty middle of the road as far as how clean the shop is. I too try to stop once every 10 to 15 hours of shop time and clean up for an hour or so. It used to be bad, but it is getting better. It gets real dirty when I am in a hurry.
> 
> As far as horizontal surfaces go, I cannot wait to get more square footage so that I ll have somewhere to put parts and pieces while I continue to work. I honestly think that an assembly table is going to be very important in my next shop design.
> 
> ...


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I have a tool tray. I shove stuff into it when the
bench gets too crowded.

Getting clear with yourself about which tools 
you really use all the time and making a drawer
or something to hold them is a good idea.

http://lumberjocks.com/Loren/blog/39288

http://lumberjocks.com/Loren/blog/39169


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## NoThanks (Mar 19, 2014)

I put away as I go. Every time I'm on one side of the shop and I'm going to the other I try to grab something to put away. Not only keeps the shop picked up but saves steps.
Organizing is not hard, you just have to have a dedicated place to keep everything.


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## CharlesA (Jun 24, 2013)

For me, it has been to find a way to organize my tools that fit my personality. I am not a neat freak, and I am not going to spend months building great quality cabinets for all my tools. I travel a lot, so I don't want to spend all my shop time making things so I can make things.

My shop is a one-car garage with no inside finished walls. So I covered one side of it with OSB, and then I drill in screws to hang every tool I can. Use magnetic bars for others. And then use angled pocket screws to attach 2×4's for all my clamps. I have an angled shelf unit made to fit my planes (OSB scraps, again). I have it to about 80% of the right organizational setup-I like the fact I can just remove a screw and re-install it in the place I like better. I put all my tools on the wall in convenient places in a few hours.

I agree with the bench location tip. I have a lot fewer tools on my bench in the middle of the shop than I had when it was against a wall. I also try to do the 10 tool rule, and that works very well for me.

I'm still not where I want to be, but I don't have my old problem of having half my work bench covered with various tools.


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## jerrells (Jul 3, 2010)

To be honest, at the present time mine looks worse that anyone. I decided to do a remodel and in the middle changed my mine about direction. Most have already usedthe habit word and that is the key. However for that to work you must have an assigned place for every item. If is pegboard, drawers or storage boxes does not matter. Then you must keep it organized. Stop every hour or 15 minutes and put things away. A small mess is easyto clean up.

Next research organization ideas that will work for you. Go toGoogle and type in "small tool organization" and in the pictures you will see lots of great ideas. I found a web page called WWW.hobbyzone.com that sells some great bench top organization products. Or it might inspire you to build something of your own.

It is a process that you will need to work on till it becomes a habit. Good luck.


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

I tried putting my tools away….it didn't work out….

I'd rather build stuff.


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

more shelves and a commitment to putting things back after you use them


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I have the same problem. I work out of one car garage and everything is on mobile bases or casters. I built some cabinets and drawers to hold a lot of stuff, but still, things wind up on the bench.

Feel free to browse through my blog. The storage cabinets have been very helpful, especially all of the tackle box style trays that hold screws, bolts, and other stuff that is small that I use a lot.

http://lumberjocks.com/MT_Stringer/blog/36493


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I'll point out a few things I've figured out.

If you use a tool often or have a hard time
finding it when you need it, create a place for it.

Most of my files and rasps are now stored vertically
in wood blocks with holes drilled for the tangs. This
prevents them dulling each other. Storing them
in drawers where they can bang into each other
is an awful practice.

Screwdrivers, ice pick, marking punches and long
screwdriver drill bits are stored vertically right over
the bench. I have this odd little shelf I built 
years ago to store a couple of drills, chargers
and a laminate trimmer on but its use has evolved. 
It's in the pictures linked to above. Originally
it was designed to hang on pegboard.

I adore pegboard but my collection of junk has
become so bloated I can't use pegboard anymore.

Little drawers are the most effective way to
organize I have found. Any opportunity you
get to salvage something with little drawers,
grab it.

I have a preference for steel workshop storage
cabinets. File cabinets are not ideal. Various
steel cabinets may be found cheaply on ebay 
using the zip code search function. The advantage
is the drawers typically pull way out and can take
a lot of loading. Larger wood drawers in comparison
are bulky and troublesome.


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## Dabcan (Feb 1, 2011)

I started forcing myself to clean up at the end of each work day, not only did this help clean the place up, I now find I put things away right after using them to save me the trouble at the end of the day.


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## longgone (May 5, 2009)

I built four trays for my worktable for storing smaller frequently used items such as pencils, erasers, rulers, squares, sandpaper…etc. Each tray is 24" wide 5" tall and 5" deep. The smaller items are what normally would clutter my worktable and they now are always conveniently located in trays that sit just inches below my worktable top.

The trays all have a steel mesh bottom that allows the dust to fall through…and for a thorough cleaning I just zap it with compressed air.
The use of these storage trays in addition with the habit of always putting the larger tools back in their proper place keeps my worktable clutter free.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

The problem with most of us is the availability of time to spend in the shop. We want to use the time available doing a project, not cleaning up. I will clean up as best I can before starting a new project, but when several projects are going on at the same time, my shop becomes a disaster zone in short time. Other factors are heat or cold in the shop. After spending hours in a hot or cold shop, we don't want to spend any more time cleaning up. These are all excuses that need an answer, but unfortunately, I haven't a clue.


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## TheWoodenOyster (Feb 6, 2013)

Loren is dead on with the little drawer comment. Shallow drawers are awesome but very hard to come by. In my dream shop, I want to have a map file cabinet. One of the ones where the drawers are about 2 inches deep but are huge in terms of length and width. Too bad they cost a lot, even used.


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

> I m working on designing my next shop.
> 
> Every shop I ve ever had suffered from the same major problem. No matter how much shelf space I added to the "space", everything always winds up on top of the work bench (and the saw and every other work surface in the place).
> 
> ...


*There is no solution!* ;-)


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

Stop work a few minutes early every day and put things away and sweep the floor. I don't do this but I know how. If you want to leave your tools out and use them again tomorrow or for your next shop session, leave them but every 3 sessions or so, stop and clean up.


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## tomclark (Feb 16, 2010)

I added shelves over my workbench years ago, because there are too many things that I never want to put away. They should be handy at all times, but when they are on the bench they hog too much room. Now the only thing on my bench is what I am working on at the moment.


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

Looks like it is a little of both, Habit and Storage. If storage is close and convenient your more likely to keep it clean.


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## Gentile (Jun 3, 2013)

My Dad had a sign in his shop that read,
"Don't put it down, put it away" 
I've noticed that when I put stuff away, it slows me down to where I don't rush things working on a project.
There have been times I've dragged so many things out that I can't find them. So, I'll just start putting tools away and I'd find the tool I've been looking for sitting right in front of me…


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## exelectrician (Oct 3, 2011)

At the end of each day clean Everything Off the bench, this is a habit. 
Then you won't dump stuff on when you Know that at the end of the day you will have to pick it up and find a place for it that is Not on your sacred bench, simple eh!


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

My main work bench doesn't become a shelf, as you put it…..I have 5 benches and two assembly tables in my shop…...I don't store things on any of them…When I'm done with the tools for the day, I put them away to keep the clutter down…..All my tools have a place to go, and that's where they go….If I'm working on a project that may take a few days or a week, or longer, they are still put up at the end of the day….I know where everything is, and where it belongs….Death to anyone who comes in and moves them…My wife knows to stay clear of my tools…..I don't go in her sewing room, and she stays out of my shop…...That's the rule…..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

> My main work bench doesn t become a shelf, as you put it…..I have 5 benches and two assembly tables in my shop…...I don t store things on any of them…When I m done with the tools for the day, I put them away to keep the clutter down…..All my tools have a place to go, and that s where they go….If I m working on a project that may take a few days or a week, or longer, they are still put up at the end of the day….I know where everything is, and where it belongs….Death to anyone who comes in and moves them…My wife knows to stay clear of my tools…..I don t go in her sewing room, and she stays out of my shop…...That s the rule…..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> - Rick Dennington


We have two different cases here. One is a person who does woodworking for a living and the other does it as a hobby, having a full time job away. The hobbyist has limited time to spend in the shop. Cleaning up the shop and putting tools away is different for each person.


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## neverenougftackle (May 6, 2013)

NOW,,,This post got my attention, This worked for me , maybe you too ?
With a couple of buddies who are also woodworkers do to our differences in personalities have different solutions. I when getting involved and into a rhythm flow of a project, I have this tendency to put my mind on the subject it's next step then the next (etc), and only on the tool to ask, where it is, and then set it down where ever it is the handiest. One of my buddies is the exact opposite. So I made a drill press cart on wheels modified from Shopnotes mag., with as large enough top space, the same as the height of my assembly table. It has served as a tool push off/tool location station and as a holder for the In's & out of the wood into the planer, with some other choirs also. THEN also, with a suggestion from a contributor over a Wood Magazines web site ,I made a narrow box jointed storage box (4"w.) the width of my bench, using a French Cleat, so it can be removed. For such item as drill bits, pencils, scribes, drivers, compass,chisels, you get the picture. Above where the pictures shows my narrow box jointed box, it is that DP table being made on my assembly table, but ,,,it also shows there at the bottom, a lower side storage that came about in my modifacation of the Shopnotes design. I just added a short walled, "keeping everything in" piece of Hardboard running from the full sides onto to the front, of the two sides. All has proven out, in my case, to have been WELL worth taking the time to stop and make, well worth doing !!!!!!!!!!!!


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## CharlesA (Jun 24, 2013)

I mentioned earlier that for my personality, easy, disposable, wall-hanging works best. This pic shows a bit of that.


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## timbertailor (Jul 2, 2014)

I just make a habit of putting my tools away at the start or finish of the day.
My wife and I dedicate spaces in the house and garage that are not to be used for storage and left as work spaces.

That includes one of the sinks and counters in the kitchen.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Mr. Ron…..I hope you're not referring to me as the person who does woodworking for a living…..I don't….But I do have a few customers that I work for when the need arises from them…..I'm retired military, and don't depend on ww for an income….I just have rules about my shop that I try to follow….helps make it run smoother.


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## jklb (Sep 1, 2014)

I've battled a messy shop due to working until the last minute on a project and not putting my tools back in their spot. Then I have something else take more priority so I slide everything to the side and start the next project and so on. I have found that if I stop an hour before I have to quit for the day and put all my tools up and do a clean up. I have to get the tools back out the next day, but if something else comes up then I have a clean slate. I also have a plastic coffee can that I place small odd ball items (left over hardware mostly) that doesn't really have a place. When I get a few minutes or take a break, I go through the can and place these items where they need to go.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

A combination of having specific places for tools in handy locations plus discipline in putting stuff away works for me. Tools should be within a couple paces of the work area and each work area should have its own set of tools for whatever operations happen in that area. If you always need two clamps near the miter saw then keep two clamps in that location instead of putting them on a clamp rack across the shop.

I have a personal toolbox that's in progress which will eventually contain all the bench tools I typically use in day to day work. It's portable so I can put it wherever I intend to work. This allows me to grab a chisel, make one cut then put the tool away without stepping away from my position.

Few things are worse than wasting time cleaning up in order to locate missing tools or make room to place parts for a project. Cleaning off machine surfaces is even worse. Those should be clear of obstructions so they're ready for use. It's better to just not make a mess in the first place.

It's my orderly approach that makes me the slowest moving person in the shop. Yet I'm inevitably the first to complete my projects since more of my time is directed at productive activities.


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