Tool Board

[simonridout]

There is a difference of opinion going on in my local Men in Sheds set up. The shed has been going for nearly a year and is getting off the ground, as it were. At present, tool stowage is a mess, I am in favour of tool boards, as shown below. Tools are easy to see and if the outline is drawn behind the tool, missing tools are easily spotted. This is a legacy of Fleet Air Arm tool control boards! While there is a general agreement on this as a way ahead, there is an argument over the wood to use. Personally, I have used both 18 mm shuttering ply and 18 mm MDF , painted with white undercoat, without problems . One highly opinionated shedder wants to use Marine or Birch ply despite the high cost.

Local costs (all 18 mm), before shopping around, are:
OSB £28
Shuttering ply £31
MDF £36
Hardwood Ply £41
MRMDF £45
Marine Ply £73

Funds are not unlimited. What do others use and would you avoid any option? Tools will mostly be hung from one or two screws ( one for the wrenches below, two for the hammers).

 

[clogs]

If he wants the fancy ply ask him to pay the difference .....UP FRONT.....
guess he wont be so keen then.....
my tool boards are 19mm shuttering ply......un painted....

 

[alex robinson]

There is a difference of opinion going on in my local Men in Sheds set up. The shed has been going for nearly a year and is getting off the ground, as it were. At present, tool stowage is a mess, I am in favour of tool boards, as shown below. Tools are easy to see and if the outline is drawn behind the tool, missing tools are easily spotted. This is a legacy of Fleet Air Arm tool control boards! While there is a general agreement on this as a way ahead, there is an argument over the wood to use. Personally, I have used both 18 mm shuttering ply and 18 mm MDF , painted with white undercoat, without problems . One highly opinionated shedder wants to use Marine or Birch ply despite the high cost.

Local costs (all 18 mm), before shopping around, are:
OSB £28
Shuttering ply £31
MDF £36
Hardwood Ply £41
MRMDF £45
Marine Ply £73

Funds are not unlimited. What do others use and would you avoid any option? Tools will mostly be hung from one or two screws ( one for the wrenches below, two for the hammers).

Being fancy is all very nice, but how about asking him to explain why he thinks it will be 2.5x more effective than OSB? All you need is something functional, save the good stuff for making actual projects! OSB ample for the job.

 

[Bingy man]

Shuttering ply would be my choice as I’m not a fan of osb and the price difference is small - imo it’s a complete waste of money and good plywood to use marine ply .as above if he wants to use marine ply then let his wallet pay for it . Some folk eh

 

[Sideways]

OSB and a thick marker pen will work.
In a men's shed you have far too many demands on your funds to waste them on birch ply for this.
The shadowboards themselves are an excellent idea.
They aid organisation, they improve productivity, they may help deter people from borrowing tools without signing them out.

 

[Fergie 307]

OSB and a thick marker pen will work.
In a men's shed you have far too many demands on your funds to waste them on birch ply for this.
The shadowboards themselves are an excellent idea.
They aid organisation, they improve productivity, they may help deter people from borrowing tools without signing them out.

Hate them in my own workshop, the idea of hanging tools on the wall drives me nuts, but I can see the advantages in the men's shed scenario

 

[Sideways]

My own gear lives in boxes against damp, but in a shed where many people share the same tools, you need to encourage the habit of using and putting straight back in the same place so the next person isn't searching for it.
I guess this proves @Fergie 307 isn't a pretentious youtuber

Must admit though, some of my hammers and the mallet each have a big screw eye in the end of the handle so I can hang them up when they are being used regularly.

 

[scholar]

OSB would do the job, but it doesn’t paint easily - so a bit more effort there - I would probably still go for the OSB.

Cheers

 

[Fitzroy]

I went for ply from a local depot which had a decent surface finish as mine is unpainted. For me OSB painted or unpainted is just not the nice flat surface I wanted. I don't have outlines as I know where my stuff goes.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I don't think osb paints that badly, it is very thirsty admittedly, which could be a cost factor, but if you sand down between layers, a bit more than just denibbing, you can get a half decent finish. It still looks like OSB so it will never be a fine finish, more than eneough for a shadow board.

as others, I don't use them, but in a communal environment it makes sense, my problem with them is that no tools last forever and so when it breaks or you want to reorganise you have to repaint

 

[TRITON]

Well, there is the first project I would think. And avoid osb, its horrific stuff, suitable for outdoor things, but not a nice tool board.

You need to do some drawings, lots of drawings, and look for lots of examples on yt, google images, here etc before deciding what exactly it is needed for and whats going to go on it. Treat it like any other project and do the homework. If you dont it will do the job in an approximation, but you'll need to try to change things. The section for chisels for example. You make it in one part, then 3 weeks later need to either add more chisels to it, or a spot for carving chisels, and you failed to make that provision.

I'd also look towards shopfitting, that have multi functional holding systems. You can have clips, you can have shelves or boxes.
In fact some of the systems you see on ebay use this system of attachment.

Example -
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115913913375?hash=item1afd01f41f:g:wV0AAOSwutFlAsI~

 

[Bingy man]

I used plywood -odds and ends and off cuts etc if I had the luxury of a large and unhindered workshop and a large amount of surplus cash they would all be in tool chests and nice fancy systainers but back to reality - it’s a good use of wasted space and without the prison style outlines I can tell if anything is missing . Also when looking around at the walls it often jogs my rubbish memory that I need my hacksaw or mastic gun etc . Easy for me to forget things and then have to travel back home to get it ..

 

[Ollie78]

Another option is the hardboard with already drilled holes in it, you can get metal pegs that fit in the holes. My sister used it for pots and pans in her kitchen, I was a bit sceptical but once it was painted it looked good. Very cheap, they put a sort of frame up first and battons to space it from the wall so you can fit the pegs in.


Ollie

 

[TheUnicorn]

Another option is the hardboard with already drilled holes in it, you can get metal pegs that fit in the holes. My sister used it for pots and pans in her kitchen, I was a bit sceptical but once it was painted it looked good. Very cheap, they put a sort of frame up first and battons to space it from the wall so you can fit the pegs in.


Ollie

or in metal, harder wearing and pre-painted
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pegboard-P...eywords=metal+pegboard&qid=1702583575&sr=8-24

 

[Fergie 307]

My own gear lives in boxes against damp, but in a shed where many people share the same tools, you need to encourage the habit of using and putting straight back in the same place so the next person isn't searching for it.
I guess this proves @Fergie 307 isn't a pretentious youtuber

Must admit though, some of my hammers and the mallet each have a big screw eye in the end of the handle so I can hang them up when they are being used regularly.

I do have a rack behind the lathe for the chuck keys etc
I think for the men's shed Triton is right, some sort of pegboard or similar system would be ideal, so you can rearrange it easily as you get more tools.

 

[gmgmgm]

I don't think osb paints that badly, it is very thirsty admittedly, which could be a cost factor, but if you sand down between layers, a bit more than just denibbing, you can get a half decent finish. It still looks like OSB so it will never be a fine finish, more than eneough for a shadow board.

In my limited experience, painting OSB is a nightmare, and for the (tiny) cost difference I would go for a flat surface if you intend to paint it. It will save a lot of time. You don't want a "feature wall" with character and OSB-type shadows, you want a tool board.
(I would like to see your sanded OSB TheUnicorn, it does sound an interesting finish).

 

[TheUnicorn]

(I would like to see your sanded OSB TheUnicorn, it does sound an interesting finish).

unfortunately that was on an oversized tool box that I made, decided was too oversized and gave away.

On reflection, I used OSB for that project because I had some offcuts, if I was starting from scratch ply would be probably a better choice, would paint quicker and flatter

 

[rob1693]

Mines just made from recycled pine wardrobes painted with black chalk paint and waxed, if anythings not their it shows


.

 

[TheUnicorn]

that looks good in black

 

[Stanleymonkey]

I can't believe anyone is arguing for a high quality board - to just drill some screws into.

Is there any reason for his argument? Does he thing the screws will work loose in MDF? Or that the marine ply will take the knocks and abuse better? I'm not taking their side - I think it's a ridiculous waste of money to buy Marine play.

He sounds like the sort who will get their way with the marine ply - then kick off when screws and sharpie outlines go up because he hasn't listened properly to what was actually prorosed.