Plywood for tool wall

[TominDales]

This looks like both the cleats and took storage is made from 18mm birch ply, thoughts on making this from either some 18mm or 12mm hardwood ply instead? Trying to save my wallet.

18mm definitely. My garage has 2 sheets of 4 by 4 18mm ply just screwed to the wall. Its very convenient, above the shelves and opposite the bench (Just out of sight to the right). Its a rough and ready solution but utterly versatile. All the most frequently used tools within reach. It help's encourage the boys to put the tools back. You can't really see from this angle, but pretty well every square inch is used. Very quick to place things, just drill a hole add a small shelf piece. 18mm allows for a lot of weight to be hung directly and enough depth to hold things screwed with 18/20mm long screws. The chisels and flat files are in a gap between two pieces of pine - old bed boards that have holes drilled to take screwdrivers and long tools, the chisel are in a row separating the long from the shot handled tools. Less used items like spanners, allan keys are nested behind the marking gauges so it is double depth.
And many tools just held on zinc plated tool clips, screwed to the board, new tools take about 5 minutes to add unless they are large and heavy. The lads and I have a challenge as to how much we can hand on it while still getting access to everything. Must have about 250 pieces on it. Most things are side on rather than flat so it produces about 5 inches over the work top.
This may not be to your taste but I've had an arrangement like this in every house I've been in since I was 14 and its stood the test of time.
Although not that neat, its simple and can be rearranged easily to accommodate new thinking, with all tools grouped its easy to find things.

 

[Dr W]

Is it just me or do all the tools in the OP photo looks pristine and unused? No dust, no wear on the labels, etc? Is that perhaps the workshop of someone who spends more time on Instagram than at the workbench? And what happens if his new craft knife is a slightly different shape from the old one? This is of course pure envy speaking
I keep telling myself that one day (in that mythical future when I have time for such thngs) I'll build a wall cabinet with more layers of opening doors than the Isenheim Altarpiece and a space for every tool... but in the mean time, nearly everything is hanging from nails in the walls or the rafters.

 

[Wood&StuffLtd]

Saw this online and am wanting to make something similar to keep some of my tools getting lost in the bottom of tool boxes. Mostly hand tools as pictured. This looks like both the cleats and took storage is made from 18mm birch ply, thoughts on making this from either some 18mm or 12mm hardwood ply instead? Trying to save my wallet. I was thinking that maybe some 12mm hardwood ply might be suitable for hand tools and i have a local supplier who is pretty cheap for hardwood ply.

View attachment 105115

 

[Wood&StuffLtd]

I have used building board at £18 for 8x4 sheets and screwed them to the blockwork. I have used magnetic tool strips from Lidl and Toolstation for all the woodturning gouges and accessories. The gouges sit in timber battens and the steel goes against the magnets. Works reasonable well. Not as neat as the photo which started this link though!!! Part of my workshop is our attached garage which I partitioned with 4x2 stud and building board both sides. I have screwed magnetic strips everwhere I have useful space.

 

[houtslager]

I have used building board at £18 for 8x4 sheets and screwed them to the blockwork. I have used magnetic tool strips from Lidl and Toolstation for all the woodturning gouges and accessories. The gouges sit in timber battens and the steel goes against the magnets. Works reasonable well. Not as neat as the photo which started this link though!!! Part of my workshop is our attached garage which I partitioned with 4x2 stud and building board both sides. I have screwed magnetic strips everwhere I have useful space.

Saw this online and am wanting to make something similar to keep some of my tools getting lost in the bottom of tool boxes. Mostly hand tools as pictured. This looks like both the cleats and took storage is made from 18mm birch ply, thoughts on making this from either some 18mm or 12mm hardwood ply instead? Trying to save my wallet. I was thinking that maybe some 12mm hardwood ply might be suitable for hand tools and i have a local supplier who is pretty well after moving 17 times in 25 years(don't ask why) I started using the French cleat system years ago,due to not finding the tool right away. Now only the most used tools are on the wall with the exception of marking out/measuring tools.and in the recycled yoghurt pots are oddball screws/bolts and other odds and sods.
Karl

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

Rather makes my french cleat sandpaper storage look a little, shall we say, basic?

 

[maitland.selwyn]

Ply not ideal for the French cleats, it can chip and delaminate easy. Use solid wood for the cleats. 12mm ply ok if not hanging heavy stuff, but 18mm would be my preferred option.

I have made many French cleats out of MDF, but only for ones that will not be "used" other than for the initial hanging - eg a mirror or a picture, but it might stand up to regular use, cuts well and is cheap. I use a steel pegboard wall with different types of metal hangers for spanners, screwdrivers etc- but it works out quite expensive. I actually like keeping stuff in drawers for some reason.

 

[Robbo60]

If the doors of the cabinets were only half the depth for slimmer items like chisels etc then the space on the wall behind could still be used, again for less bulky items

That's a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel. Good shout.

 

[Robbo60]

I've been contemplating trying to make one of these and then thought build a cabinet below it as space not really much good for anything else.
About 1000 high by 900 wide - two drawers at bottom for big stuff, three on next level, then 4 on next two levels. I can draw it but not sure how to build it. Anyone built or seen anything similar??

 

[Stanleymonkey]

what about using shallow cupboards that open up to make a full tool wall so you fit tools to the cupboards and the doors which are identical depth . Everything will be kept clean and dust free when not in use andd easily accessed when doors opened .

I have made one of these 'door on door cabinets' nothing fancy, just chopped all the parts at the same time on the mitre saw and butt jointed the corners.

It eats tools. I hang small clamps and things on the outside and I think you get 5x the wall space that it takes up inside of it. If you can put seldom used items either side of it or play around with the shallow doors idea then that could be quite clever.

The insides stay pretty clean. I would recommend making a size where you have 2 or 3 wall locations that it will fit. It gives you the option of moving it if you are not 100% happy.

 

[silentsam]

Really enjoying all the ideas here. So much to think about. Thanks for all the input!

 

[TominDales]

I've been contemplating trying to make one of these and then thought build a cabinet below it as space not really much good for anything else.
About 1000 high by 900 wide - two drawers at bottom for big stuff, three on next level, then 4 on next two levels. I can draw it but not sure how to build it. Anyone built or seen anything similar??

Yes this set up would be usefule, I have a something very similar to your suggestion and it works really well.

I've already shared a photo, but here is a one from a clearer angle. Well its not a cabinet on the wall, just a sheet of 18mm ply above two cabinets, but it does show how handy your concept of the tools above deep draws works well. The chests are about 4 ft wide (1.2m). I replaced an old chest of draws with the metal cabinets a couple of years ago as the drill press was beginning to bow the top draws and I had some very heavy engineering tools to stow in the bottom steel draw, but the cabinet on the left is an old chest of draws with reinforced bases using 15mm ply. The racks above have all the small tools that are used regularly and I find they get lost in draws. I keep big items such as some power tools in the deep draws and things that need to be kept clean (vernier, calipers, precision rule etc) in the thin draws. The boxes of draws to the left and right house screws and fittings, knobs handles nails fastener etc. Long things that don't fit in cupboards or shelfs have also gone on the wall, the hedge trimmer for example...

The more I read this thread, the more useful ideas merge, its seems that noting down things that work when planning storage could be collectively helpful. Thinking about it, the following seems to work. (I'm quite short of space as the garage has to hole other things.

1. Build in flexibility, the future will change - vis the new row of alan keys for a boy who fiddles with skate boards.
2. Site the tools on a wall away from major dust. Put table saw, mitre saw and lathe at the other side of the space.
3. A mix of draws, shelves and a wall display (either cabinet or ply on wall) seems to be most efficient.
4. Laying this out by size of item staring with the big items such as the saws planes and tuck the small things such as spanners in last. Long rules and spirit levels go well next to the long saws.
5. Allow tools to protrude up to 5 inches out of the wall, its still leaves about 18 inches of work space on the chest below, if ca 23 inches deep. That way saws, planes, and tools with depth can be packed close together without using up real estate. Don't put things too low so that you can access most of the work top without cutting yourself.
5. fix sockets for power tools and also for a charging station or two.
6. Have a separate shelf for safety equipment with a plastic door/cover to keep the dust of the eye protecting and mask etc as these really must be dust free.
7. All long things can be stored on one double rail, ie screwdrivers, alan keys, files chisels knives, pencils, augers, brawls, punches. Drill lots of holes starting small at one end and getting bigger. Also if you have 3 or even four rows deep, small at front and long at back, slop the front ones forward, and reduce the slop towards the rear makes it easy to extract each tool. chisels and flat files are in a channel between two 2 inch boards
8. Set squares and marking gauges and (cheaper verniers - expensive one in a draw) sit neatly together.
9. Plyers, cutters, tin snips dividers, composes and wrenches also fit neatly together.
10. Hammers and mallets + the brace (amazingly) also fit together.
11. things like spanners, alan keys, can be tucked behind other tools such as the marking gauges, or hammers as they aren't used that often - I prefer to have them on the wall, so that you can see where they are stored. have a row of tape measures, can do wrong.
12. G clamps do take up space.
13. The roof joists/ rafters make excelled additional storage for long clamps etc, its possible to go a layer deep at that hight ie they can be hanging above the bench - unless you are very tall...
14. Fit bright (LED) lights, it makes a huge difference, you can find everything..
14. Don't acquire too many tools, even if you inherit some from distant relatives....

I'm sure things kind of thing has been said before elsewhere on this forum, and I'm sure others have learned a few tricks. but this is what i've found to be effective. I've move my back board and bench between a couple of houses and it has worked out well for me. So yes your suggestion has worked for me, go for it, and good luck.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I have made one of these 'door on door cabinets' nothing fancy, just chopped all the parts at the same time on the mitre saw and butt jointed the corners.

It eats tools. I hang small clamps and things on the outside and I think you get 5x the wall space that it takes up inside of it. If you can put seldom used items either side of it or play around with the shallow doors idea then that could be quite clever.

The insides stay pretty clean. I would recommend making a size where you have 2 or 3 wall locations that it will fit. It gives you the option of moving it if you are not 100% happy.

That is one I’m going to have to make but with the door storage on the inside and outside, as my wall space is running out. I do have a floor standing version on wheels so the hinges have little to no strain. The french cleat hanging version will have less depth though.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I've been contemplating trying to make one of these and then thought build a cabinet below it as space not really much good for anything else.
About 1000 high by 900 wide - two drawers at bottom for big stuff, three on next level, then 4 on next two levels. I can draw it but not sure how to build it. Anyone built or seen anything similar??

Your post doesn’t have context so it’s impossible to give advice.

 

[Jameshow]

Yes this set up would be usefule, I have a something very similar to your suggestion and it works really well.

I've already shared a photo, but here is a one from a clearer angle. Well its not a cabinet on the wall, just a sheet of 18mm ply above two cabinets, but it does show how handy your concept of the tools above deep draws works well. The chests are about 4 ft wide (1.2m). I replaced an old chest of draws with the metal cabinets a couple of years ago as the drill press was beginning to bow the top draws and I had some very heavy engineering tools to stow in the bottom steel draw, but the cabinet on the left is an old chest of draws with reinforced bases using 15mm ply. The racks above have all the small tools that are used regularly and I find they get lost in draws. I keep big items such as some power tools in the deep draws and things that need to be kept clean (vernier, calipers, precision rule etc) in the thin draws. The boxes of draws to the left and right house screws and fittings, knobs handles nails fastener etc. Long things that don't fit in cupboards or shelfs have also gone on the wall, the hedge trimmer for example...


View attachment 105338

The more I read this thread, the more useful ideas merge, its seems that noting down things that work when planning storage could be collectively helpful. Thinking about it, the following seems to work. (I'm quite short of space as the garage has to hole other things.

1. Build in flexibility, the future will change - vis the new row of alan keys for a boy who fiddles with skate boards.
2. Site the tools on a wall away from major dust. Put table saw, mitre saw and lathe at the other side of the space.
3. A mix of draws, shelves and a wall display (either cabinet or ply on wall) seems to be most efficient.
4. Laying this out by size of item staring with the big items such as the saws planes and tuck the small things such as spanners in last. Long rules and spirit levels go well next to the long saws.
5. Allow tools to protrude up to 5 inches out of the wall, its still leaves about 18 inches of work space on the chest below, if ca 23 inches deep. That way saws, planes, and tools with depth can be packed close together without using up real estate. Don't put things too low so that you can access most of the work top without cutting yourself.
5. fix sockets for power tools and also for a charging station or two.
6. Have a separate shelf for safety equipment with a plastic door/cover to keep the dust of the eye protecting and mask etc as these really must be dust free.
7. All long things can be stored on one double rail, ie screwdrivers, alan keys, files chisels knives, pencils, augers, brawls, punches. Drill lots of holes starting small at one end and getting bigger. Also if you have 3 or even four rows deep, small at front and long at back, slop the front ones forward, and reduce the slop towards the rear makes it easy to extract each tool. chisels and flat files are in a channel between two 2 inch boards
8. Set squares and marking gauges and (cheaper verniers - expensive one in a draw) sit neatly together.
9. Plyers, cutters, tin snips dividers, composes and wrenches also fit neatly together.
10. Hammers and mallets + the brace (amazingly) also fit together.
11. things like spanners, alan keys, can be tucked behind other tools such as the marking gauges, or hammers as they aren't used that often - I prefer to have them on the wall, so that you can see where they are stored. have a row of tape measures, can do wrong.
12. G clamps do take up space.
13. The roof joists/ rafters make excelled additional storage for long clamps etc, its possible to go a layer deep at that hight ie they can be hanging above the bench - unless you are very tall...
14. Fit bright (LED) lights, it makes a huge difference, you can find everything..
14. Don't acquire too many tools, even if you inherit some from distant relatives....

I'm sure things kind of thing has been said before elsewhere on this forum, and I'm sure others have learned a few tricks. but this is what i've found to be effective. I've move my back board and bench between a couple of houses and it has worked out well for me. So yes your suggestion has worked for me, go for it, and good luck.

I think I might have enough space for a few more tools?!!

Cheers James

 

[Robbo60]

Your post doesn’t have context so it’s impossible to give advice.

Perception is reality. makes perfect sense to me - but I did write it. I'll do a sketch and post later. Cheers

 

[Sideways]

He doesn't have much weight on that original image does he.
Mine is 12mm birch ply for both the back board and cleats.
Simple wax finish with the light colour of birch ply avoids the dark slab look or the need to paint.
It has been rearranged several times, justifying the choice of french cleats over fixed cabinets.
I have shelves, hangers and even cabinet sized storage slung from it that weighs tens of kilos with zero problems. Just fit two or three cleats to distribute the load onto the backboard when you hang something big ....

Birch ply is significantly better than the cheap stuff and I have no problem with splintering. Its uniformity helps.
One sheet for the wall, one sheet ripped into the cleats for wall and accessories.

 

[MarkDennehy]

The thing with wall hanging cabinets with doors is that you need to be able to open the doors. In my little shed, the only way I could do that would be if I stepped outside while they were opening, so I don't have any

You do miss the doors in winter though, because in an uninsulated shed, you get a fair bit of rust. ACF-50 helps a lot (I suspect any regular oiling would too, but ACF isn't terribly expensive here for how long a can lasts). The great advantage of the tool wall in a tight spot though is that it wastes little volume - a lot of wall cabinets I've seen assume that if the cabinet comes out a foot from the wall that's grand so you get plane tills that are just inclined ramps. I have six feet in the shed from wall to door, so a foot-deep cabinet would be imposing a lot, hence the fun arrangements with the block planes on the left:

and the chisels on the right:

Necessity, invention, etc, etc.

Skip the felt though, that turned out to be a mistake - held all the damp up close to the metal, created a lot of de-rusting work for me later.

 

[Jameshow]

You could get a few more planes in there!!

Nice use of space!

Cheers James

 

[TominDales]

The thing with wall hanging cabinets with doors is that you need to be able to open the doors. In my little shed, the only way I could do that would be if I stepped outside while they were opening, so I don't have any

Very neat solution. A little tardis of tools. Question: is the pointy stuff on the ceiling insulation of sound damping? It looks like an anechoic chamber. My garage is freezing in winter, all the heat goes through the roof tiles. I've been toying with fitting insulation but not sure what to do as dont want to trap damp and the joists are full of wood... Thanks Tom