Shop Organizer

Two primary approaches to shop storage dominate project design: closed and open. This concept applies to everything from portable tool totes to full-on “one-wall workshop” systems. This project falls into the open concept. It follows the idea of “See it, use it, don’t lose it.” John Doyle, the designer, took inspiration from several sources. Woodsmith has featured several versions of wall-mounted shelves and organizers in the past. So he expanded on the idea to create a two-part combo unit. Stand back from the project a bit and you can see the other influence — a dining room hutch. Eye-level storage and display for smaller items, a small worksurface or staging area, and a bulk storage area down below. The key to making this all work is providing a lot of options without creating a bunch of overly specific spaces. The glamour photo abpve shows a variety of options to consider. Before you dive in, I’d prefer you take a look at your current needs (or where they’re headed). Then mix and match the solutions you like, and skip past those that don’t apply. A strong argument in favor of building this workstation for your shop is the construction. We used Baltic birch plywood because the cut edges are consistent and clean looking. So you don’t need to apply edging or face frames. The joinery consists of dadoes and rabbets backed up with glue and screws. Considering the storage potential, not much stands in your way.

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