Patron Version Video: Tool Wall Tour
Added 2023-03-04 12:00:03 +0000 UTCFriends:
I've had MANY requests for a tour of my tool-wall and I resisted because....actually, I don't know why. Once I got into this video, I found there were lots of interesting details to discuss.
My tool-wall goes all the way back to my roots as a maker. I built it around 2014, when I was still an English teacher in California. It's been in every shop I've had since and even though it was an early effort, it's been reliable and made my work better.
As I went though my wall, I found that I have many tips and tricks from my years of working with wall-mounted tools. You don't need much time or fancy materials to make a tool-wall. I made mine from scraps and junk.
This is a Patron-version video with a little tip that's just for Patrons. Our next video will have an even longer Patron Tips section.
Oh, I'm also at Workbenchcon this weekend! If you're also at the show, be sure to say hi. It's my first time at the conference and I hardly know anyone.
Happy Saturday!
--Rex
Comments
Great stuff! I love to reflect on when I was a different guy. It's fun, informative and reminds of the good things that have changed in my life.
Mark Pinder
2023-03-17 00:48:06 +0000 UTCHey Rex, would you be interested in doing a plane till and saw till build? I am interested in making one of each and would love to see your take on it.
Bryce Carver
2023-03-07 04:25:31 +0000 UTCNot just in the workshop, I want things to work 1 handed because I'm usually holding the thing I want to work on in the other hand.
John H Paul
2023-03-06 16:47:21 +0000 UTCAll of those tried and true ideas would make for a great book.
Scott Burleigh
2023-03-05 12:00:45 +0000 UTCLot of great ideas. Thanks
Scott Burleigh
2023-03-05 11:58:35 +0000 UTCI built a cart along the lines of Adam Savage's First Order Retrievability methods. All the tools I use the most are easiest to access. After 2 years of changes the cart has my most used tools ready to access. I can glance at the cart and see what is missing and make sure I return the missing too. As a cart it can travel to any available workbench. I have an outfeed table between the table saws, a hand tool bench against the wall and three out door benches for extra messy projects. My helper and I work quit well with this system. The Cart is 2' square and about 5 feet tall. All of my nail guns are in the bottom and the weight helps keep the cart stable.
Skully Wood and Metal
2023-03-05 04:05:56 +0000 UTCREX I have been a patreon customer for about a year and a fan maybe 3 years before that; I run into a brick wall I have a decent sized double car garage but I am so cramped I redid shelving and things around but I think I have just too much stuff. What I would like to see is an expansion of what you have just shown and how to plan a shop from scratch based on your minimalist principles.
Charles Sierra
2023-03-05 03:11:21 +0000 UTCAny chance you can share the plans for the screwdriver holder you showed in the video? It is pretty unique and I would rather copy your measurements than muck around with the angles and measurements on my own right now.
doug reid
2023-03-05 01:42:28 +0000 UTCSome really nifty ideas. I am going to make that pencil (?) holder.
Louis Brooks
2023-03-04 19:44:11 +0000 UTCAs one of the folks who asked for this tour, I have to say that I wasn't disappointed. Thank you for doing this video!
Jon Linna
2023-03-04 18:52:13 +0000 UTCThank you Rex for the tour. Some very good ideas are on that board and it uses space that would normally go unused. Save having tools in drawers or cluttering up the bench top.
Matt Evans-Koch
2023-03-04 18:00:57 +0000 UTCI find Harbor Freight magnetic tool bars to be inexpensive and versatile for use on walls, work bench edges or stationary tool sides.
Robert Rutledge
2023-03-04 17:20:37 +0000 UTCI am impressed that you identified the (self-imposed) constraints on your tool wall. Recognizing from the start that you want to access each tool with one hand and without lifting the tool shapes the whole layout. I have just put up a blank tool wall and am struggling to decide what to put on the wall. I know I don't want to fill it just because I can. Your explanation will help me figure it out.
Bob Templeton
2023-03-04 17:20:06 +0000 UTCThank you for taking us down your memory lane from when you were just getting started with woodworking. Tool walls are great and I really enjoy mine. I recently changed the layout of mine to add more tools that I didn't have when I first made it, which was kinda challengingly fun. Lol
Jennessa Lynam
2023-03-04 16:36:53 +0000 UTCI’ve probably spent more time studying your tool wall than I should have but there’s a lot happening. It’s even more subtle than I realize. The ergonomics of it are wonderful. The screw driver holder is clever. The item I’m most envious of is your tiered pencil holder. I made one out of dog food cans and two by fours. It’s inefficient in its space utilization but I couldn’t bring myself to buy a section of three inch conduit and use less than three feet. I have a dog and scrap lumber so I used their byproducts instead.
Richard C von Brecht
2023-03-04 15:52:31 +0000 UTCThanks for the nostalgic tour. The phrase that caused me to reflect on my journey with making things was, “the push and pull between knowledge and creativity “. Half the fun of the hobby is coming up with satisfying and sometimes elegant solutions to problems that arise. My latest project has been full of problems. Working from plans that my son found, I wasn’t satisfied with the results and had to think of ways to improve the outcome without spending more money. It has been a great learning experience.
John Hiemstra
2023-03-04 15:48:05 +0000 UTCI don't have much wall space so I made four sliding panels, each 2' wide, between a couple of cabinets. There is about 2' of space between the panels; behind the panels are 3" deep shelves for storing planes. So I have turned four feet of wall space into twelve feet of storage. I've got some unused space on the outermost panel. I think I'll add the PVC holders.
Fred Gosbee
2023-03-04 15:46:35 +0000 UTCDang it Rex, I just finished my tool wall like hours before you posted this video 😂. I may have to reconsider some design because I have a lot of the "lift out" going on.
Brian Schival
2023-03-04 15:27:55 +0000 UTCI’m going to have to steal that screwdriver holder design. Props for not making the obvious dirty joke at 8:40.
Max Goldstein
2023-03-04 15:24:04 +0000 UTCThanks Rex its not like I spend half the time watching a new to me woodworker to see how he organized his stuff to see how i can steal ideas....
Jamie MacDonald
2023-03-04 15:09:17 +0000 UTCThanks for sharing. Former English teacher -- makes total sense. I always enjoy the story-telling in your videos.
Jay Otto
2023-03-04 14:58:33 +0000 UTCAnother interesting video. Thanks for your time making it.
Marc Barash
2023-03-04 13:26:26 +0000 UTCGreat video with lots of good ideas. Thanks. 1. I first saw your pencil holder idea on April Wilkerson's channel. I have a couple of them. 2. My tool wall(s) have evolved for the way I work in the space I have. I have a wall for the tools I use on an occasional basis. I have a wall for my layout, measuring, and marking tools. I have a small stand on my work bench for the tools I use frequently. And I have the tools that I use constantly in/on my apron, which is really just a portable wall. Those tools include a 6" rule, a little 8' Stanley tape measure, a set of digital calipers, a 4" machinist square, an automatic center punch, and a couple of pencils. 3. In other words, I'm a big fan of tools walls. But we all work in different ways. A friend of mine favors a tool bag. It weighs 50-60 lb, but it works for him.
Brian Taylor
2023-03-04 12:56:30 +0000 UTCInteresting that you were an English teacher before going full time as a maker. I was at University training to be a teacher before I chucked it in and became a handyman. Gave up the "safe career" but best adventure ever.
Martin Hartley
2023-03-04 12:49:15 +0000 UTCSome nice ideas, cheers Rex.
Gareth McMahon
2023-03-04 12:26:49 +0000 UTC
