is a good way to eliminate wasted time
Thirty Minutes is a lot longer than it sounds in your shop. I’ve found that the key to a successful 1/2 hour in the shop and actually completing a project (or chunk) in 30 minutes is ORGANIZATION (Why 30 minutes? Click here). Yep – my Dad always told me to put tools back so you can find them when you need them. As a kid, you can imagine that never happened and things were strewn across the house, yard, shop, and even left in the woods (we built a lot of “forts” as kids). But I did finally discover that putting tools back in their place ensures a much faster build.
Take the case of my tape measures. I continually wasted time look for one – and I do me a lot of time. I thought “hey, if I have 4-5 then I can always find at least one of them quickly.” HA! Boy did that prove wrong. I have three each yellow Dewalt and red Milwaukee tape measures. Still couldn’t find one if I needed it. Damn! Same for my combination squares (3), pencils (dozens), etc. I can’t begin to tell you how much time I have wasted just looking for a particular tool. But for years, this was my “Methods of Work.” It was not an efficient method but the perceived pain to fix it was greater than the frustration of a misplace tool(s). The 6 measuring tapes finally pushed me over the edge.
Since then, I have started on a tool chest to organize my tools. And I have taken to putting my tools back. Wow – life is so much easier. Even now with only the bottom half of the tool chest compete I can find a measuring tape (usually). I’ve built and am using the base cabinet of the tool chest with 5 large drawers dedicated to power tools and three to hand tools with the mid-chest and upper tool chest solely for hand tools. So far really useful and, yes, it is still taking shape.
So, how do you get organized for your project? It depends. It depends on your methods of work, your project, your suite of tools, the location, and the space you have at your disposal. Let’s assume you are small single project focused and working in a corner of your basement. In this case you may just need a couple of open shelves to lay your tools on between uses. Maybe you are in an apartment with limited space, then a tool box you probably workout best. If you have a corner of the garage then a rolling tool chest could well be your ticket to organization. Whatever your situation choose your tools storage to match your Method of Work. April Wilkerson of WilkerDos.com for instance loves to have her tools on a board or open shelf where she can see them. Mike Pekovich (pekovichwoodworks.com) tends to store his tools in cabinets. And of course Henry Studley’s tool chest is the epitome of compact storage.
Which system you choose is up to you but I would suggest that once you give a particular system a try, stick with it for 6-8 months to see if it really fits with how you work on your projects.
Good luck and good Making
Bill
