Tool Storage Shelf | Build It | Ask This Old House

Ask This Old House general contractor Tom Silva and host Kevin O’Connor build a tool storage shelf out of leftover lumber from other Build It projects.
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Time: 5-6 hours
Cost: $0 and up, depending on how much leftover lumber is available
Skill Level: Moderate
Tools List for Building a Tool Storage Shelf:
Track saw [amzn.to/38xOGCY]
Drill [amzn.to/38wP9oU]
Forstner bit [amzn.to/2TPiKG4]
Jigsaw [amzn.to/2RKRcin]
Router [amzn.to/2vfA78F]
Shopping List:
5/8-inch plywood for cabinet [amzn.to/2RF5pNS]
¼-inch plywood for adjustable dividers [amzn.to/2RF5pNS]
1x10 or wider lumber [amzn.to/2GjBDJi]
Cup [amzn.to/37mSjLJ]
Wood screws [amzn.to/3azmvoV]
Steps:
1. Cut the plywood into 5 sheets until you can frame a cabinet to the desired dimensions, with one board as a divider. In this case, Tom cut the plywood to form a 3-foot x 4-foot x 1-foot cabinet.
2. On the bottom shelf, measure and mark good locations for the fingers. Make them evenly spaced.
3. Drill holes at the peak of each finger using a forstner bit to ensure it has a rounded edge. Tom advises putting a sacrificial board underneath the bottom shelf to prevent blowout, and another board on top to act as a straight edge to ensure each finger terminates at the same depth.
4. To make the outside edges of the fingers round, take a cup and trace the curve on the board.
5. Cut out the rest of the fingers using a jigsaw.
6. Cut the dimensional lumber to size to act as shelves.
7. Layout the shelves inside the box of the cabinet and determine their heights. Each shelf can be slightly different to accommodate specific tools you wanted stored in the shelf.
8. Dado one side of two shelves at the same time to accept the ¼-inch plywood dividers. Add as many dados as you want dividers.
9. Assemble the cabinet using wood screws. Since it’s just going in a garage, butt joints are fine. It will help to slide some of the ¼-inch dividers in place before screwing in the top and bottom of those shelves.
10. Attach a back to the cabinet using any leftover plywood.
Resources:
Tom built the tool storage cabinet out of leftover materials from previous Build It projects, including ¾-inch oak plywood, 1x12-inch select pine, and ¼-inch birch plywood. These can all be found at home centers and lumber yards if you don’t have enough material in your scrap pile.
To cut the boards to the correct dimensions, Tom used a TS 55 circular saw [amzn.to/2TQgXQZ] from Festool. He then secured everything together using GRK #9 2-inch multi-purpose screws from GRK Fasteners [amzn.to/37ncc5s] and some wood glue from Gorilla Glue [amzn.to/2tCqjW2].
The kit that Tom and Kevin referenced and used as inspiration for their tool storage organization was the M18 18V Cordless Combo Tool Kit by Milwaukee Tool [amzn.to/2sRTPGR].
Build It:
This Old House general contractor Tom Silva, This Old House host Kevin O’Connor, and special guests including Jimmy DiResta, take you through step-by-step DIY projects in this popular video series. From end-tables to cutting boards to wine racks to chicken coops and more, learn how to build from the best pros in the game. Segments include mention of all tools and materials needed to get the job done.
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Watch the full episode:
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Tool Storage Shelf | Build It | Ask This Old House
/ thisoldhouse

[@TheBritishPatriot]

These are my favourite segments! I don't have the space or tools to make the builds he shows but watching and learning from Tommy is priceless!

[@jmfia2391]

Watching this show is so soothing 🥰. I love Tommy so much, He's like a grandpa❤

[@laitarasiemmanuelstokes2366]

Contractor Tom and Host Kevin, thank you for giving your time to demonstrating this miracle of a making--tool shelf for the garage. I believe I will study furthermore to build this with my father. You both and each at "This Old House" Are fantastic engineers, and am appreciative, more than known. God bless you guys this season and beyond. IEmmanuel

[@rramach9091]

I want to drop a note of appreciation for the guy who steps in to clarify anything that might be unclear (e.g spreading his fingers on the board to show a finger cut) . Keep up the good work.

[@dw1984dw]

"10 more and we'll have enough storage for the rest of your tools." Good one, Kevin! 😆

[@VegetaIsBetterThanGoku]

I think that would only cover his cordless tools if that. 😂🤣 He needs 50 more. Haha

[@kobelcofan]

Festool shelf, Milwaukee shelf, dewalt shelf, bosch shelf...

[@ontheroadwithralph1530]

Nice project - the fingers were impressive - but I would have provided a power outlet so the charger could do its job on the batteries while still on the shelf.

[@1wadup]

Wow. Love it. I built a smaller one just for drills, but I think I am going to need something like this in the future. I love the build list in the comments, YOU EVEN INCLUDED THE CUP! Bravo!!

[@daleannharsh8295]

And here's me seeing a cabinet for my temporary kitchen with wine glass storage!

[@robre6840]

kevs vacuuming skills are second to none

[@Redandranger]

About all a banker is good for.

[@souldefunk]

Fantastic build! Really enjoyed those detailed close-ups when drilling out the fingers too.

[@jasongardner2894]

Great idea. Easy to customize to suit your specific needs. Would work great on a French cleat wall system as well. Very nice

[@maghinay299]

I Love This Old House !!!! I grew up watching you guys are amazing !!! So many great memories now looking forward to building the future Just liked and subscribed

[@oneflymanflies4924]

Doesn’t need to be fancy for a garage storage cabinet. Proceeds to cut the plywood with a festool track saw 😂

[@TheInroad]

ONEFLYMAN FLIES lol

[@heybuddy1901]

I was going to say the same thing. LOL "A lot of people have these tool kits" proceeds to not use the saw in the tool kit.

[@charlescho]

I used to comment things like that here. Now I own most of those nicer tools. Also, prices have come down substantially since this segment originally aired many years ago. As they say, “buy once, cry once.”

[@toddzino58]

Don’t need to be fancy......then cuts dados

[@Jddlincoln]

Wait you don’t have a track saw? Pffffft peasant.........

[@dreammaster2175]

Love watching all the crew of This Old House

[@jasonrivera1274]

Best carpenter I've seen... you go tom

[@MarkGS111]

I love it, got to make one of these for my garage. Sure wishTommy lived next door to me..

[@joejr9653]

Good easy project. I like the finger idea.

[@benjaminkoval3807]

Love this for my tools to store my tools and you could put doors on the front and a hole in the back to slip the cords out to plug the chargers in. I may need a couple of them.

[@chofbrighton7014]

Awesome video and great idea. Always, always enjoy your detailed videos which energize me to build similar projects. Thank you for sharing!!!

[@sonofcong]

I thought they were going to use that 'kit set' to make it. I guess Festool sponsor's the show.

[@petersensalas8643]

Ur da best tommy !!....da best I tell u..!!

[@aaronmattia8998]

another nice build!

[@thomaslandry403]

Great project Thanks

[@johnyarborough8283]

Would it be possible to get a copy of the drawing for the tool storage shelf?

[@davidrobins4025]

Good ideas! Thanks

[@frickinda]

Awesome info sir thank you

[@notta3d]

Looks great.

[@kurtzgarfield358]

Great project

[@hobbyhermit66]

Nice. Gonna hafta build it.

[@jiujitsumike1]

Watching your show is great and i learn so much and love to see all the renovations everyone does on here . I would love to work for you guys I’m not as good as tommy or the others just saying it would be an honor to work for this old house

[@thenordichandyman1924]

great project!

[@SalehalOreef]

Good work..

[@TheCodEliteKiller]

You guys make really good build videos

[@deepconcept2020]

Fantastic

[@JoseHernandez-tc1kl]

Good idea

[@warrenvalentino5763]

Thank You Very Much for this tool storage idea. it will Realy come in handy in my workshop. i will take your building material idea, i will make it from left over project pieces. :)

[@floydhockley5726]

I might have some Tools with other stuff in my Bedroom!

[@OscarM.94]

Too perfect👍🏼

[@electricalron]

Tom, you are the man! You're alright too, Kevin!

[@MegaRandomJackass]

I love watching these videos and I love that room it is like my dream room filled with every thing i need can i move in please 😍

[@justinwoods240]

I bought a black and Decker jig saw for this project for the fingers and I realised I didn't have a bit big enough for the slot finger so I free handed it with the jig saw and my first time using it but I made the slots 3 inches wide and didn't realise the holes need to be like 1.5 inches lol

[@ElectorNiklas]

ĴusTin 山όσᗪs you could turn the tool sideways in the finger to make up for the bigger gap

[@justinwoods240]

H. E. Niklas yea I did a big oop since I was in a hurry it was 10 at night

[@ChiefArchitect]

Another great video. Thank you for sharing this helpful information!

[@alonzojohnson7955]

Cool

[@halfcab81]

Love a good sar.

[@williamsavaria9722]

It's a nice project! I also like the french cleat system from April Wilkerson to organize tools.

[@amoscardoza5253]

Good project!!

[@rawbacon]

I'll bet there's a lot of carpenters that wish they could make fingers.

[@5ociopathic]

Or grow them back

[@Stillnapie]

That's an asshat thing to say. You must not work with your hands.

[@Stillnapie]

@@msw7021 If so.. in very bad taste....

[@TheFPSCENTRAL]

I bet none of you work in construction. If a guy is missing fingers he would be nicknamed “stumpy” or something like that and he would wear that name proudly. Tradesmen have pretty thick skin (especially over their missing fingers lol) and we can take a jab.

[@MrHengDoItAll]

Come to this cannel never disappointed. all way have different idea.

[@Musabe009]

I always mount a battery charger on my tool shelf and have it lugged in so I can always have a charged battery

[@ronaldong5055]

great stuff once again, I was wondering how you mounted it to the wall. I know there are lots of video's that shows how to do that but I was curious how you would do it. Would screws to the back plywood be enough and safe to use?

[@MorrMedia1]

I'm guessing french cleat for something that size, but I'm surprised they didn't mention that part at all. Seems like a big miss. At 6:15 it looks to me like there's a board on the back of the unit at the bottom, but hard to tell. I wonder if this is a backer board to offset any forward lean from a french cleat. Who knows.

[@charlescho]

He used 1/2” ply as the back. Yes, that is plenty strong.

[@ronaldong5055]

​@@MorrMedia1 thank you

[@ronaldong5055]

@@charlescho thank you

[@geraldcreager4432]

I mounted mine with a French cleat, but... A lot of folks cut their cleat to 45 degrees, and I've found that a problem: they seem to be loose and the piece wants to lean off the wall. I cut mine to 25 degrees and they're solid and tight. My cleat is at the top, secured to the top and sides with construction screws. I also have a spacer of the same width at the bottom.

[@NYFan-wv8bc]

I wanted to know if you guys have a idea for a silverware wooden box

[@nighthawkj30A4]

Dang the tools used to make a shelf to store the tools.

[@chuaysantan6646]

จะทำบ้าง

[@carlprendergast3827]

Great video, can you tell me the size of the cut outs and fingers for the drills?

[@beingboston]

Looked like a 1 5/8th bit. Maybe 3 inches between the fingers.

[@johnlavier77]

What's Tommy going to do when he loses that cup?

[@1wadup]

John LaVier don’t worry, they linked the cup in the comment!!

[@prisillaspace]

Wood-looking paneling from the 80’s???? In my parents home, my dad wants to stain them...should a conditioner be used first? It seems the paneling would soak up a lot of the stain??? 💙🌟

[@richardharrison2203]

I used paste wax on mine

[@prisillaspace]

Richard Harrison Thank you kindly 😊💐

[@optimusprime1634]

What's the diameter of the hole that he drilled and what's the spacing?

[@CompadreRuelas]

How was it mounted though?

[@PtrOBrn]

an exercise in futility... trying to suck up chips from a forstner bit while drilling.

[@karl_alan]

Yup...lol. Unless you have a 4 inch hose ckming off a dust collector, those chips are going to do whatever they want off the forstner bit, and it'll get maybe 10%

[@StormLaker]

Is there a plan for this somewhere?

[@Guardducks]

Watch it sonny.

[@brianklein6387]

Uses a thousand dollar saw to do this lol

[@Skammerd]

He busts out the $1k Festool for us commoners to make a cabinet for our $199 Ryobi special at The Homeless Despot.

[@diltzm]

Festering stool

[@Redandranger]

@@Skammerd He did use a Ryobi Forstner bit.

[@FredMcIntyre]

😃👌🏻👍🏻👊🏻

[@not1but2and37]

Can you make one from 2x4's and OSB?

[@JimMeredithSD]

Link to cup doesn't match the cup in the video, what is up with that.

[@drumunl]

Lol, let's make a place for this $100 circular saw, using this $1,000 track saw. Still a great build, I just thought you were going to use the tools that you just explained homeowners have lying around. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@Monsieur405]

Austin McCleery poor mans track saw: straight edge clamped to workpiece. Run circ saw along that.

[@drumunl]

@@Monsieur405 That's exactly what I was expecting 👍🏻

[@frankieg3953]

He also had a $1000 miter saw.

[@drumunl]

@@frankieg3953 Lol, yep. The Kapex! Doing a $200 job for over $1,000. 🤣

[@Redandranger]

@@drumunl Trim carpenter on YT said he burned up 2 motors on those Kapex so he quit them and went to Dewalt 780. He does great work and videos.

[@ectoplasmicentity]

Can you guys build a playhouse? My daughter has been asking me to build one for her.

[@gregjohnson720]

How do you folks recommend recharging drill batteries? How often? Can I leave it on charge all of the time?

[@j.t.hlandscapingservices6800]

Third

[@coltonkozma6527]

anyone watching this for school?

[@matthewcraig7925]

Dont like that they started using so much Festool stuff. Most diy and homeowner hobbyist can't afford or won't spend the big bucks for those products. Professionals probably aren't this old house for tips.

[@waitforitfpv8432]

First :)

[@hihi-bb4qz]

I bet this guy where's hearing protection to vacuum his house

[@mikegallant8782]

Festool track saw, then uses a ryobi Forstner bit smh lol

[@kman-mi7su]

So what? It got the job done.

[@mikegallant8782]

kman 4443 guess you can’t see the irony...it’s a joke

[@WilliamBrownGuitar]

My next project at www.MaineCoastWorkshop.com (Traditional woodwork and carving classes) --Bill

[@mcarroll598]

Tom should just host the show. Kevin has no clue what’s going on!

[@Redandranger]

The fact that they picked some banker (Kevin) to host was when I lost interest. So many better people out there.

[@allanjohanson8538]

Kevin is great at preparing and understanding what the project is about. His comments help the viewer understand.

[@yonu5983]

That Redheaded dude is useless. All he wants to do is touch everything and be in the way.

[@antoninalarcon1018]

The yummy seeder embryologically reject because step equally warn an a ambiguous bean. mature, equable crocus

[@sdolman79]

That Kevin guy is just a glorified dust extractor for Tommy.

[@scarroll625]

Steven Dolman smaaaht!!

[@sr7138]

What does the guy with the blue shirt do? He's useless.

[@tonythetiger9839]

Is this all just a commercial at this point?

[@alpha42069]

my guy loves festool