Chris’s Tool Storage

After giving a few thoughts about my tool storage last week I thought it would be interesting to have a look at some of your own solutions. I’ve had some great ideas sent though already and if you have something that you feel is a bit different then please keep them coming! – richard@rm-workbenches.co.uk

A couple of my favourite suggestions came from Chris Albee who needed to find a new solution for his plane till after coming in to that inevitable problem – he ran out of space!

Chris’s first till was designed to be portable and is a rather fine looking piece from solid timber complete with dovetails. When I saw it I thought it’s cupboard-like design could make a nice alternative to a small tool chest. Perhaps it could be hung up on the workshop wall with a French cleat to keep the tools visible and at a comfortable height to grab but still allow the whole piece to be lifted off and carried away when needed. It would want to stay small for this though as that’d be a lot of weight to lift up and down! The best part of this was it’s made entirely on a Work Mate!

“I just read the most recent blog, and thought I’d share my handplane till. It was designed around the idea that you mentioned, in that the set of tools is ever evolving. I had made a “travel” plane till, since I split my woodworking time between my apartment and my parent’s place. The issue I ran into was that it had been designed for a specific set of planes, but once I got my #4 1/2, and later #5 1/2, I had to modify it, and leave something else out.
So the idea for an “adjustable” plane till came to be, and I decided to run with it.” – Chris

Chris’s solution for that ever expanding tool collection was a till made up a series of runners and T-tracks that can be adjusted to allow planes of any width to be supported perfectly. This looks like a great way of adding flexibility to your storage and I’m sure it could be made with wooden rather than metal tracks.

If you’d like to see how Chris made these tills then more images and details can be found through the following links:
Portable Plane Till
Adjustable Plane Till