Layout and Storage
When designing the new workshop my key concerns are being able to access tools and materials easily, have space to work and not having dust or mess from one task affecting others.
Having more space in the new workshop will allow me to have zones for different tasks. For example grinding, welding and metalwork can be away from the area I do soldering, finescale work and finishing.
There is also more wall space so hopefully I can utilise that for storage but something like a blackboard or whiteboard for sketching out ideas.
One mistake I am keen not to repeat is stacking in front of things. That happened quite a lot in the Workshopshed. What that meant was that I could not access drawers or open them fully. That might have been what contributed to one of the drawer handles getting broken and needing repair. Needing extra preparation time to able to work was a constant source of frustration. It also meant that some equipment rarely got used as I had to rearrange the workshop and often unload materials outside to allow me to work.
One plan to avoid that is to put wheels onto some of the storage units. For example my first planned project for the new space is to create a welding cart. That will allow me to have the welder setup and ready. Simply plug in, set the tungsten and gas and get welding. The cart will have a drawer for storing clamps and accessories. Hopefully, that will allow me to quickly build some metal benches too.
Similarly for storage, I’ve learnt a few tricks over the years. Many shallow drawers are often better than one deep drawer. And for cupboards, having shallow cupboards with deep doors means that when they are opened, everything is accessible.
A few people have mentioned pegboard to me, particularly with the idea that I could have the outlines painted onto the board. I am not a big fan of this idea as it leaves the items exposed to the room. Also with the painted outlines that cancels out the advantage of the board which is flexibility. But it would mean that the regularly used tools should be readily accessible. So as an approach, it does have advantages.
Posted in: Storage
Tags: Drawer, pegboard, welding cart
Metal sculpture in brass, mounted on an 1800s French Coin
