Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Tool racks and shelves?


Recommended Posts

Looking for ideas for tool storage, from tongs to guillotine fullers, ect.

 

Basically my smithy is a 12' x 24', with a power hammer and hydraulic press, two gas forges and soon to be a coal forge, and one anvil.  Space is tight, so I need to come up with a way to store stuff I don't use much, but can get it down easy.

 

Trying to figure out a way to store hardy tools on the wall rite now, thinking of some type of shelving using square tubing.

 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something like this, maybe?

post-114-0-89397300-1408700012_thumb.jpg

Upon re-reading your post, I see you want something more vertical, like this.

post-114-0-16318000-1408702299_thumb.jpg

Realize that this is a lot of weight to put on a wall without bracing, even if you use individual shelves, you may bow the wall over time. It might need supports to the floor, or a sheet of plywood behind to spread the load.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my shop I use the Rubbermaid or Closetmaid double slot adjustable shelf standards and brackets. You can get brackets from 9" up to 25" wide and the units are designed to hold up to 50 lbs per liner ft when installed properly. The wall I have them attached to is solid 3/4" plywood and we used to load them up with bags of concrete color when I used to do that sort of stuff. Nice thing is the shelves are easily adjustable if you need to make changes. Down side is that they aren't all that inexpensive, but then it's not all that much more than building your own from square tube is.

 

 

http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_ID=RP091171

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-ShelfTrack-84-in-Standard-Bracket-2812/100194576

 

Pegboard is another good option if you want to hang individual tools that you want access to regularly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On one wall I have a 12' long set of board and concrete block shelves---the boards were ex horse trailer floor and a full 2" thick of oak.

I also have a free standing tong rack made from a metal wheel from an old wheelbarrow, also a free standing hammer rack made from a narrow aquarium stand with 4 pieces of scrap 1/2" pipe bolted to it to make a slot along either long side.  I also have an old surplus steel cabinet about 8' tall and a set of shelves made from heavy duty steel shelves bolted to sections of bed rail.  For tooling I have some heavy wire mesh sections where the hardy stems just fit into it.  

 

All in all I have nearly US$20 in storage!  Of course it took a long time to acquire and a readiness to say YES when offered stuff for hauling it off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Old steel two three or four drawer office filing cabinets hide a multitude of tools as well as sins. Their main advantage over open shelves is that they protect their contents from grinding dust. They also hold an awful lot of tools and can carry stupid amounts of weight. While still enabling relatively easy access to stuff that is used once in blue moon.

Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I live in the desert; protection from dust requires canning or storage in hard vacuum...Dust is positively another food group out here!


Somewhere half way between wet old England and desercated New Mexico there must be a geographical blacksmith's Utopia.

Dry enough so that things do not go rusty in an hour and damp enough so that you still need a compressor and gun to do some sand blasting!

Alan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good ideas, thanks.

 

I should mention the wall strength is not really an issue.  My smithy is basically a 12' wide drop shed off my main shop.  Walls are 2"x4" stud with 1/2" OSB inside and out with metal roofing (tin) on the smithy side.  Don't want to hang a 500 lb anvil off the wall, but pretty strong and for anything heavy I'd add bracing.

 

John, that's a heck of a set of tool racks, gives me some ideas.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a couple of pics of my smithy as it stands now.  There's a partial wall around the west side of the smithy to block light and make it easier to see hot metal colors.  It's just 2x4 and tin with 4x4 post for the roof.

 

Sorry for the mess, shop needs a cleaning.  Every once in a while I'll clean and organize, then start a new project and back to chaos.

post-462-0-73534100-1408727958_thumb.jpg

post-462-0-15710500-1408728047_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That second photo is from the tool room off of the blacksmith shop at John C. Campbell Folk School. I have about a dozen more to encompass the whole room, and it is only 8 x 12 or so. Serious accessory envy going on, the only thing you need to bring with you is small punches, drifts and chisels. Somehow the pocket size items tend to evaporate. :angry:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried all sorts of contraptions to hold the ever growing set of smithing tools and finally settled on the old standby blacksmiths tool table that you see in Richardson and other old books. A central table in metal, or I suppose thick wood, with racks around the perimeter to hold hammers, set tools and tongs.  post-182-0-16073400-1408729889_thumb.jpgpost-182-0-18736000-1408729910_thumb.jpg

 

This old design has a lot to recommend it, easy rearrangement as new tools are bought or made, space underneath for infrequently used tools.  Punches and drifts are in a block with holes in it, the recessed, central table top catches stuff tossed in the general direction without falling off the edge.

 

Perhaps not ideal for your shop situation, but a narrower, longer version might do.

 

Please post pics of whatever you come up with to store your tools.  New ideas are always welcome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have my tongs hanging on a rack like John's vertical rack. tongs only need ONE horizontal bar to hang from, hammers and bottom tools need two parallel bars. I have a steel anvil stand and tong/hammer racks that fit the rim of the anvil stand. These let me hang hammers, tongs and bottom tools on the stand where they're immediately handy. I have similar but longer two bar racks that fit the  little steel table that is part of my immediate work station.

 

While I haven't gotten around to it, might never, my plan was to make a vertical rack that holds the clip on racks that fit the table. The system would allow me to change tooling rapidly, either for a job change or travel. Simply lift the rack off the table rim, tools and all, lay it carefully in the truck or hang it on the free standing rack. When I set up at a demo I put the table where I want it and hang my tongs, hammers bottom and top tools, it's a done deal in a minute or two. The racks that hang from the anvil stand aren't the same size so they have to be kept on a different shelf or hanger but that's only a matter of organization.

 

As a reality check, I've NEVER been in such a hurry I've needed to do a fast change and the tools hanging from my stand and forge are usually more than enough to do almost everything I usually do. I have tin cake pans for my chisels, punches, etc. on the table. My shop is pretty large but the area I use as a work station forging is smaller than what you describe unless I'm laying out and assembling something like a gate, railing section, etc.

 

A vertical rack similar to the one John shows only needs enough angle on the front so the tongs can hang without interfering with tools below. It is a good method of keeping tools handy but out of the way. For the parallel bars I recommend strap stock, 1/4" x 1 1/2" is plenty strong wider or thicker is overkill but I LIKE overkill, it CAN be a good thing within reason.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<snip>

 

A vertical rack similar to the one John shows only needs enough angle on the front so the tongs can hang without interfering with tools below. It is a good method of keeping tools handy but out of the way. For the parallel bars I recommend strap stock, 1/4" x 1 1/2" is plenty strong wider or thicker is overkill but I LIKE overkill, it CAN be a good thing within reason.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

Frosty, I started out hanging my hammers and tongs from bar stock, but soon found out that the bar stock edges were chewing up my hammer handles.  I took the bar stock off, rounded the edges and re-installed.  Still chewed up the handles.  :(

 

I changed out all the hammer hanging stock to 3/8" and 1/2" round bar, but left the tong bars as is.  Hanging the hammers on wood racks kinda like Michael showed would also prevent chewing up the handles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made this rack for small stock and jigs etc and with plywood on the flat top it doubles as a junk collector :ph34r:

 

 

I've seen similar racks used to hold various things at the Grange fair for the 4H kids. Those Tidy cat buckets look like a treat. I used to have access to a lot of square 4 gallon buckets back when I did stamped concrete that would work well for that same idea, but they don't have the nice flip lids. Back then a rack like that on wheels would have been the ticket for storing specialty tools on the box truck. Replace those little wheels with big pneumatic casters and we could have rolled the whole rack across the yard to where we needed the tools.

 

We used to keep assorted PVC pipe fittings in something very similar though at the shop, but using the round buckets we had at the time. We'd cut the lids in 1/2 and use that to keep the fittings from falling out. I'll try and grab picts of that if I make it to the shop tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The horse shoes look good but I can see they would be a pain to get the metal in and out of. Be okay I suppose if you had one shelf for each stock size, but Sod's law dictates that the bit you want is under all the others and with the curved form of the horseshoe all the bars are thrown together. With a flat rack bracket you do at least have a chance to roll the top ones away....

It is probably a size thing though, with most of the heavier stuff I have to rack/unrack from the front rather than being able to drag it out from one end...

Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the horse shoe idea, but probably won't use them, there kinda expensive down here and hard to get used/worn ones.  But I can forge hooks similar and somewhat larger for the same purpose.  Maybe twice as wide and about as tall should hold my good cold rolled and such, main thing is to keep it separate from my knife steel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made this rack for small stock and jigs etc and with plywood on the flat top it doubles as a junk collector :ph34r:

 

attachicon.gifBucketRack.jpg

 

Scott

 

Dodge, I really like the idea of the plastic buckets racked up like that.  I've got a bazillion short pieces of metal as well as some anvil tools that are not used often and the buckets with lids would allow me to store them outside.  Now, I just need to find someone with a lot of cats!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...