How I Organize My Hand Tool Cabinet

[@SteveRamsey]

Wow...that is a stunningly beautiful cabinet!

[@RenaissanceWW]

Thank you sir, I'm pretty proud of it

[@tonyennis3008]

Hi Steve :-D

[@andrewbrimmer1797]

The advice you give about arranging to our use is great

[@pkpropertysolutionsltd701]

Ive been watching your videos since before your roubo was around and your presentation is the most improved aspect of your channel. The contents always been great but your filming editing and confidence with the camera has raised the quality of your channel the most - thanks for the free entertaining informative content

[@danpusceddu]

I don't know which I admire more - the beautiful cabinet, or the amazing set of tools you store within it! Bewildering for a newbie like me though, just hunting for my first vintage jack plane...

[@RenaissanceWW]

Shouldn't be too hard to find, Stanley made millions of them. Don't forget saws, way more important than planes in my opinion.

[@danpusceddu]

@@RenaissanceWW Funny you mention saws - I just had to replace a 30-year old tenon saw because I ruined the teeth on a nail :(

[@kevincoughlin1023]

I just love the way you put the tool cabinet together. Boy do I need one for my shop. Keep up the great work Shannon

[@katiedotson704]

A lot of food for thought here. I can't imagine that I will ever have the skill to build anything of this caliber but the concept of creating a storage place for the tools I need in easy reach of the area I will use them makes so much sense. Yea, I know. It's a simple concept that requires only a little bit of logic or common sense but some of us need a little nudge now and then. Thanks for the video and "Hot damn! What a cabinet!"

[@craigbaynham-evans9826]

Outstanding fella. I am trying to decide how to make my new wall mounted tool cabinet. This has been the icing on the cake with the cherry on top thank you.

[@cobberpete1]

Very nice, and, 'It Suits you'. Mines the Wood Whisperer of a few years ago. but as you state. Its laid out for my tools. and yes I have over flowed. I built draws under my Roubo where a lot more tools now reside. Thanks Shannon.

[@sumosprojects]

G'day Shannon, very tidy tool cabinet mate & I admire your appreciation for the craft, your podcast with Matt & Marc is also enjoyable listening, keep up the workmanship you do 👍👍👍

[@MintStiles]

Nice groupings. Now I just need to decide where to put all 12 of my jointers lol.

[@joeleonetti8976]

Thanks for the tour. I am about 18'months into my hand tool journey. What I did for now was put my bench up against the wall that as a 4x8 sheet of peg board. It's worked well. I'm good about putting them back so tools don't pile up. I organized where the tools hand by what part of the bench I am more or less working at. My fore main planes (fore, joiner, smoother, shooter) go underneath on a shelf. So far so good. Would eventually like to build a tool cabinet but I'm not in a my rush.

[@deezynar]

I have been telling people for years that tools should be stored so you can reach out your hand and grab the tool you want without needing to open a drawer, open a door, flip a flap, lift a cord, turn a tab, or move another tool first to get at the one you need. The exception is that it is OK to have doors that close to secure the tools. Opening one, or two doors when you first start a work session is perfectly fine. You should be able to grab every tool with the same grip you use when you use the tool. If the tool storage rack is designed so tools are easy to grab with the grip you use the tool with, and if it is located one turn from where you work, then you are probably close to achieving the inverse as well. That is, it may be easy to put a tool away. Design each tool's rack so it goes back easily. There are tricks for that, so if you do it right, it will be almost as easy to put a tool away, as it is to lay it down on the workbench. You'll know you have reached perfection when you arrive at that state. If you have to work to put a tool away, the odds are very high that it will remain on your bench for who knows how long. Also, have you ever laid a tool somewhere and couldn't find it two seconds later? I have. We are not senile, we have other things on our minds when we're in the shop besides keeping track of where we laid a tool down. Since I figured all this stuff out, I don't have that problem any more, my tools are put away. There is a golden area for easy reaching. It is the area between your nose and your crotch. Do not store tools, or anything you need often so you have to reach higher than your nose, or lower than your crotch. Notice I did not say you can't store anything above or below that area, I said don't store them so you have to reach beyond that area. I store handsaws with the handles at crotch level, but the blades hang down out of the golden area. Only the handle needs to be in the sweet zone, but I get to use real estate that is outside of it. That allows me to keep more tools in the sweet area. Another principle to use to keep the area from becoming too spread out is to avoid storing tools flat against the back board. Store them so they project into the room. The plane pointing out from the back board is also cheap real estate, use it. Saws should have the blades down, handles up, and teeth pointing out at you. That way, you can store far more saws in the same amount of space compared to saws stored flat against the back board. Other tools, such as a combination square, take up the least amount of space, and are still easy to grab when they are laid flat on a shelf that's made just to hold it. Chisels also do well when each one is laying horizontally on its own shelf. In fact, shelves work great at holding most tools, and they have the added advantage of being very easy to make. Just be sure to leave enough room between shelves so you can easily grab every tool. And remember, you want to be able to grab each tool with the grip you use when you use it.

[@arboristBlairGlenn]

I’m impressed with your cabinet. The tool chest I built is a floor unit based on the Anarchist tool chest book. I needed to use higher quality wood so I changed my design a bit but followed the dimensions. Very proud of what I built but seeing your wall unit has me wondering. Did I make the best decision??

[@RenaissanceWW]

I worked out of tool chest for many years while volunteering at a living history museum woodshop. They have their merits for sure but in my smaller shop space I much prefer the wall unit approach. I also like the ability to spread out the tools a bit more instead of having to dig through a chest.

[@Thom4123]

What a beautiful cabinet. I especially like the 2 doors that flanked each side. And the wood just looks incredible.

[@sharifshahwan9256]

Nice work, Shannon. I appreciate the logic of it all and have admired the cabinet from afar for many years. As I have come to appreciate hand tools and become more adept with them in recent times, I fancy building my own. Have put off joining the hand tool school for ages but will definitely be on board soon.

[@lenkuffert7428]

Kenny sighting at 7:00! Thanks for the cabinet tour.

[@jimshuster4021]

Loved your tool cabinet. I appreciate the way you organized the cabinet into sections with specific types of tools. Mine is a mish-mash of old tools that I've collected over the years.(shuster tool chest).

[@3Godfree]

Thanks Shannon, it's a beautiful tool cabinet. And point well made, don't just copy, rather make what works for you. I think I have the same issue as many here... more planes... can never have enough planes :)

[@sgnt9337]

Beautiful job. Lots of great design ideas too.

[@cando9609]

Thanks, Shannon. Really enjoyed the tour! ::heh heh:: I have to add this last part because I now you'll get it... "aaaand, happy woodworking."

[@neonjoe529]

Organizing by task is such a great idea.... I might move some tools around....

[@jonq8714]

Lots to think about. Great video! Glad I saw this when I did because I'm in the process of designing my own and this was tremendously helpful.

[@tonyennis3008]

This guy is spot-on when he says, "Take it out of the cabinet, use it, and put it back." and "take the whole drawer with you". Also fundamental is "design your cabinet so the things you reach for the most often are easiest to reach and easiest to put back."

[@RenaissanceWW]

Hey thanks, I appreciate that. Is this how you have organized your own tool cabinet?

[@tonyennis3008]

I don't have enough hand tools to warrant a tool cabinet, really. At least not one like yours. However, in a similar vein, I did modify a home-center tool box lately. The short story is that I realized I was too old to have only hand-me down toolboxes (dropped of the back of trucks numerous times, I think) that did not close and latch. So I took them all to the road for the scavengers to feast upon. I bought a new toolbox from a Big Box store. Then I realized Home Center toolboxes are useless for storing tools. So my adventure began. I don't presume to compare my skills to yours, but see the link below for my adventure. Or skip to the last installment. This is in-progress. Today I am experimenting with sanding sealers... lumberjocks.com/tonyennis/blog/109961

[@reforzar]

I'm going to build this because it looks cool. 😝

[@willemkossen]

Brian Prusa it does indeed. Its no studley, but very useful

[@hazembata]

I dig it. I had a design in my mind for a cabinet. Now I will have to modify that design.

[@andrewv5104]

Goodness that's an amazing case and collection. Thanks for the tour! I agree to design for how you work. I'm not a fan of drawers, i can't ever keep them organized.

[@bdormer1]

Cool cabinet

[@jjwouters6436]

That is a beautiful cabinet, do you have plans available for it?

[@bret_Lambky]

Well done, you have a great asset to your shop!,

[@magro41]

Your cabinet it plane beautiful

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

6:57 the dogs looking for a tenon saw 😊

[@johnw.peterson4311]

Beautiful work

[@SuperKwame1]

Excellent skills.

[@benferguson3471]

Great cabinet Shannon and thanks for showing it. One question that has been on my mind for awhile is do you need to open the wings in order to open the center doors wide?

[@RenaissanceWW]

not entirely, the doors stop at about 120 degrees.

[@gizanked]

Great video and a good message. It's funny because the last klingspor's catalog came with a picture of a Studley tool chest replica on it. While it is amazing, I just look at how busy it is and imagine how hard of a time I personally would have with it. The other thing I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned yet but these last videos with the new lighting almost look like they were shot on a green screen. Mix in the stationary camera and fade cuts and it takes you interacting with the background to break that illusion for me. Maybe it's just me though. Last thing. I know you mention your site but adding the URL into the video description box might be a good idea as well as possibly a direct link for the semester 1. Just a thought.

[@RenaissanceWW]

yeah yeah, all stuff I meant to do but when typing up descriptions after midnight the brain tends to check out. Green screen huh? Dang you uncovered my secret. I'm not a woodworker at all, I just play one on KZbin.

[@gizanked]

We all know you pull the green screen down to hide your table saw. The secret is out.

[@josephkrug8579]

Nice cabinet. What do you use to lubricate the drawers? Is it just wax or something else?

[@ronin4711]

logically useful, cool. thanks.

[@rickgatewood6442]

Nice Organization! How are those big bench planes hung on the wall?

[@RenaissanceWW]

they rest on a ledge and there is a rare earth magnet under the toe

[@johqcitizen7851]

Little late for this comment. However, you mentioned an online video re, the planning and construction of this tool cabinet. Is it/they still available.

[@RenaissanceWW]

Yes its the final project of semester 1 of The Hand Tool School. www.handtoolschool.net/products/semester-1-hand-tool-fundamentals/

[@nixonwu1754]

Do the Norris style adjusters annoy you and are they hard to adjust when you need to laterally adjust or advance/ retract the blade

[@mskulls83]

Do you have plans for that cabinet if you don't want to join the school but still would like to buy the plans?

[@RenaissanceWW]

no I don't, only available through the school.

[@mskulls83]

@@RenaissanceWW Can you think about it i don't really want to learn to do it all hand tools but would love to build a cabinet like that.

[@AJB2K3]

I need to build one of these because I'm hopeless at putting tools back in boxes that live in cupboards.

[@DesignEcologies]

Thank you

[@Avrohomperl]

Gorgeous!

[@willemkossen]

I like your thinking.

[@Irishsilverstack]

very cool

[@bigscreenbird8198]

People go plane crazy. Goes on to show 40+ planes. Logic. Love that case!

[@RenaissanceWW]

Do as I say, not as I do! Seriously though as stated in the video I was referring to the bench planes, Stanley numbers 1-8. But the average 18th century cabinetmaker had about 75 planes. Most of those were moulding planes, maybe 10 were joinery planes, and 3 or 4 were bench planes.

[@bigscreenbird8198]

RenaissanceWW I know just busting your balls. I'm the same way and have 10 planes but now realize I can easily get away with 4. Some are collectible though, so I might have to keep them! 😂 I haven't gotten into mounding planes mainly cuz I know my wife will go crazy!

[@willemkossen]

bigscreen bird 40+ is not even close to plane crazy ;)

[@bigscreenbird8198]

thats of course being subjective. to the average diy person, 40 planes is a bunch,

[@What_Other_Hobbies]

I have watched this several times and gone over what I have and need vs what looks cool. I am tootaly with you, tool cabinet has no standard layout; it's up to what and how the user uses.

[@zaneclark3667]

I hope you don't mind but I want to copy your tool cabinet, but make it my own ! (A little redesign a little custom rework}

[@jamesspires8096]

Hey Shannon do you know of a place that makes new molding planes ?

[@RenaissanceWW]

James Spires yes quite a few. MS Bickford, Caleb James, Old Street Tool, Philly Planes, JW wilding, Time Warp Toolworks, and 5 or 6 more

[@jamesspires8096]

Thank you i will look into them!! :)

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

Might be the camera, but the finishing does not look good, and the joints a bit gappy... The centre doors obscure the side doors. Why do the side doors have inner walls? or, indeed, tops and bottoms? not used for anything, and take space and material. Some hardware to keep the doors closed would be useful. I like to machine them myself- give a custom fit.

[@thereal4850]

ENVY!

[@heru-deshet359]

This would also make a beautiful gun cabinet.

[@pastorjorgealbert7009]

super Otimo

[@mohamedzulkifly8966]

First time watching..

[@pinkeye00]

Reverse OGs. :)

[@mammambo2222]

Okay.