This Week in the Shop: Tool Rack

This Week in the Shop we build tool holders for my recently installed tool wall. An organized workspace is a functional workspace, especially in community shops. When everything has its place, every part of the shop seems to work quicker. So this week, I put together a few tool holders to put up some screwdrivers, chisels, pliers and nail sets.

Tool Racks

There are tons of storage solutions out there. I prefer tool walls, both in my personal shop and at community shops. The plywood provides a solid anchoring surface and custom tool holders can be rearranged as needed. Tool holders can be customized for each tool and can be made from small scraps for next to nothing. Lastly, they can be painted, stained, chalkboarded and more. A tool wall fits any work are, whether craft, machine, woodworking, leather or whatever else.

I have used pegboard, hanging tool-o-dexes, tool chests and more to help organize my workspace. Pegs fall out, hanging tool-o-dexes cost too much for their value, and tool chests attract clutter. Commercial systems never seem to be worth the bang for the buck (nor are they as much fun to install as designing your own tool holder).

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This Week in the Shop: DIY Height Gauge

A quick jig can make the difference in a woodshop.  This height gauge helps measure and set cutting tool heights and thicknesses for rabbets, dadoes, chamfers, etc.  Since it incorporates a digital caliper, the dial is easy to read, precise and accurate.

diy-height-gauge

This tool came in handy building the light box project – I hit the rabbet depth and thickness dead-on each time.

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In the next few weeks, I will be developing new projects for NoVA Labs and this blog which utilize more intermediate woodworking skills.  Build this jig now and it will be used over and over again.

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This Week in the Shop: New Tools, New Projects

I found these boxes inside a log from a tree felled in my parent’s backyard, in the house my brothers and I grew up in. I’m now in my thirties and my youngest brother is closer to thirty than twenty-five. We’ve grown up, moved out, moved back, gotten married, had kids, and brought our kids back. This holiday season, we’ll be together for a few days and hours. Then, like many families, we’ll scatter to the wind. A few years ago, I stuffed my suitcase with a log instead of presents. This year, I made matching boxes for every person in my immediate family – mom, dad and four sons. Continue reading This Week in the Shop: New Tools, New Projects

Community Watch: Build a Bench Is Complete!

Of the three or so classes I’ve taught at TX/RX Labs and the twenty to thirty projects I’ve taught at work, the simple bench project remains my favorite.  It is an intermediate level project which can be reached by absolute beginners, it’s cheap to build (approximately $15 w/ finish) and it lends itself to multiple machines (tablesaw, bandsaw, drill press) and hand tools. I present the latest and greatest class yet: Special thanks to Pratt for building extra supports for himself and everyone else, shout out to Sean for the intense questions, my teaching assistants, and everyone else in the … Continue reading Community Watch: Build a Bench Is Complete!

STEM Project: The CO2 Rocket Car

This is my favorite project from this month’s STEM Fair.  A student of mine decided to build CO2 Rocket cars.  I loved building one of these in middle school.  I distinctly remember my simple teardrop design coming in last and remarking – well, that’s unfair.  I didn’t know I could do THAT! – when I saw the winners thin, stretchy, leggy thing.  I looked like a duck next to a greyhound. Last time, my teacher bought a kit.  This time, I chose a simple design for this piece – a pine wedge cut from a 2×4, 1/4 inch dowels as … Continue reading STEM Project: The CO2 Rocket Car