We have a small (1 small car) garage which houses our shop. In total square feet, our shop is fine. The trouble is that we also build chicken coops — and they take up a 3′ x 6′ footprint — therefore, we have to keep the front 1/4 of the shop clear as a work / lumber storage area. So, we have to be clever about tool placement and storage.

There are a couple of dedicated stations for frequently used tools (ex. the bandsaw, drill press). Hand power tools are stored on a small bakers shelving unit. The big Makita Miter Saw sits on its own rolling cart (still need to build out its proper in/out-feed fences), etc. Recently, my collection of proper hand tools has been growing (ever so slightly), which means new storage solutions.

I have a rule of thumb about tools, materials, and parts: KEEP THEM VISIBLE

How many times have I rooted around the shop to find a glue gun I forgot I had. Or had made due with another tool when a better solution was in the shop, but hidden and forgotten about. This not just important with tools, but also materials. It’s critical to keep your materials “out there” so you can always be reminded of what you have. I know this can be difficult, but having all those tools and materials out there in front of me often sparks new ideas.

Now back to the till…

A saw till is a storage unit, usually for large hand saws. It keeps them safe, organized, and available. I’m mostly a power tool guy, but I do own some hand saws which were owed a better storage solution than a nail on a wall. Here you can see how the dovetail saws (these are Veritas) as stored:

It’s a frame made out of 1×4 pine, with some dowels (or, in my case, a ripped piece of pine, rounded over), and another piece of pine with slots to hold the blades. There a bunches of ways of doing this — I built this till for a very specific use, storing these Veritas saws.

After building out the unit I found I had space toward the top that wasn’t being used (where the blades slide under). Instead of wasting that space, I tacked on a chisel holder:

As a bonus, the top is flat, so I can store other stuff behind the chisels (that blue container, which holds some spare bits).

But I could not neglect my two (I know, only two?) planes. So, the bottom area is for storing them. (The till was sized to hold a #5 Jack plane and at least 5 dovetail saws.) here’s how everything looks:

The Jack is an old Stanley we found in Puerto Rico, rusting away (and still needing a rebuild). Above it is a Veritas DX60 block plane, which was pretty much perfect out of the box. Those Canadians do know how to build hand tools.

You can also see that I have space to hang saws on the outside — the left side has a small Japanese utility pull saw–frequently used, the other side has a Japanese Ryoba (two cutting edges).

I so liked how the saw till came out, I decided to make a matching unit to hold a couple of common screwdrivers and hammers.

An important design note on the screwdriver section: I tilted it at a pretty significant angle (I’d guess 30 degrees forward). Two reasons for this. First, it saves a LOT of space. Second, it makes getting the drivers out a LOT easier. If you are building screwdriver storage, try tilting it outward. It makes a big difference in space used and ease of use.  (In the middle you’ll see that I can also store mechanical pencils here, along with a Japanese nail set.)

My Incra rulers were feeling a little neglected, and my second-hand rules too, so I repainted my measuring device storage area black (for contrast, and I had it on hand). Twelve and eighteen inch rulers hand from the bottom, and a 6″ Pinnacle centering rule sits in the middle. (I love that ruler–so sturdy and a handy length. You can get them at Woodcraft.)

Here is the Heroic Trio, mounted to studs in the walls. (I need to make some of those fancy french [?] wall bracket setups, but too many things are above that on my to-do list.) I’ve even space for a bottle of glue (top of hammer one) — Evelyn found that at a local Korean market. It’s for storing sauces, but is perfect for glue.

I’m happy how everything came out. Not only do they look nice and professional, but they also (more importantly) keep my hand tools at hand.