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In our shared shop everyone had tags with our names on them and when we took a tool off the wall we put a tag on the spot. If a tool was off the wall and there was no tag everything stopped, the tool was found, and the guilty party had to buy lunch. At the end of your time in the shop you should have all 50 of your name tags, if you didn't then you were not done with cleanup. Damage to a tool was never about blame, but we would look at why it failed and see if we needed a different tool that wouldn't fail in that way. That solved most of the issues.
I had a friend who used to work for Lockheed Martin. Once he left he bought an old hanger, and turned it into his workshop. When I visited his shop, EVERY SINGLE OBJECT that could be, was suspended from the ceiling by a system of counterweights, with locking mechanisms in the floor for things like cabinets, or table saws. It was insane, but impressive with the amount of effort he had put into it. I asked him, "Well, you've been using it about a year, how is it?" He told me "I had the idea when I was 12. It's terrible, but it makes me happy so it stays." I was REALLY impressed with how easy it was to pull things down though. Just had a hook mounted to a stick and you could pull down a tool chest that had to weigh like half a ton.
@@MaosTLsadly he passed away about 9 years ago, and his workshop was, at his request, completely gutted by his old work mates. Everyone took something of his home.
@@cavalieroutdoors6036 A wise man once told me sometimes you have to choose between being happy or comfortable. This is definitely one of those times someone chose happy.
A shop is never done... I remember when my grandpa passed away and I went back for his passing the thing that hit me the hardest was looking in his work shop and being able to see when his work shop stopped evolving and how it was the final iteration. I made sure to burry him with his multi meter, I couldn't find his telephone pioneer cap or I would have done that too. I look at my work bench and see a bunch of things that are the same as his and some of the things of his I took home with me. and they always remind me of him when I use them
This is so me. I only use the drawers in my fridge to hold drinks, because they are the only things I reach for often enough to not forget about them there.
Tip for extension cord storage. Long, single pole/bar mounted normal to the wall from a plate, tip bent upwards. Roll each cord up and hang on the bar, one after another, you'll be able to see each one and what you have. Now put a second bar next to the first, when you want something off one bar, but it's behind something else, put everything in front of desired extension cord onto the second bar. I use this system with leads, ropes, power supplies, grinding disks, etc.
I was just lamenting to my wife how you were revising some of the organizational ideas that I shamelessly copied from you years ago because they didn't end up working, so this is a great topic for me as I am soon to be setting up a new workspace and storage area. Knowing what DOESN'T work can be a very valuable way to learn from others' experience! Especially since I imagine you are progressing through the iterative process more quickly than I would.
Extension cords: Canvas sacks with luggage tags and a dry erase safe surface. Tag has the length and gauge and appropriate info, so if you have to replace it you're replacing like for like. And the Dry Erase is what it's being used for if it's not in the bag. Say, if you're dragging out the table saw and going to be using it for a while you'd write table saw on the bag, so when you inevitably forget you've used it for that and have to plug something else in, you know where to find the cord.
Starchy peanuts have two huge benefits: you can dispose of extras by just dissolving them in a sink AND you can pop one in your mouth while your spouse is on the phone with someone and completely freak her out.
I used to do this when I was working in a warehouse 25+ years ago. They are ok. but could use some cheese dust. The same is true of dog biscuits. People thought I was very strange.
I’m not a shop guy, I don’t do any of this, for the industrial that you do. It actually reminds me of my father in law who would have loved to own a shop like yours. I can send you pictures of his garage before we cleaned it out and I’m sure you can see why. I do RC, 3d printing, wood working a small grow room, guitars- and then my wife paints seashells and makes Barbie dolls and outfits. My youngest son drills rocks and gems and tumbles them. I do love seeing your thought processes and organization though. My shop would be completely different- but similar in ways. Keeping mine functional for many different interests is a tricky balance. Anyways- I’ve been watching you since the early days of the show and glad I found your channel. Much love and respect!
Adam: talks about how he loves his sorting system and can find hundreds of specific tools and supplies Also Adam: Doesn't know where the tissues are. Never change man. You are a national treasure
Two thoughts about extension cords; first, they are temporary solutions to temporary problems (power cord too short, outlet too far away) that have better permanent solutions (rewire tool with longer cord, add outlets at the workstation). I have rewired my last two corded circular saws straight out of the box with longer cords. Second, use a short enough cord for the situation. A six-foot long cord solves most "short power cord" problems, a 25 foot long cord will reach anywhere within one room of your house (15 might even be enough), 50 and 100 foot cords are good for commercial spaces and outdoors.
I can't claim to be the most effective at keeping my storage space clean and in order, but one thing I feel is needed is a bin for everything you don't want to throw away but still don't feel is worth setting up a storage bin for. just make sure to empty it out so it doesn't overflow. That bin of "trash" has saved me quite often as I've found some strange part in it that I never would have thought I'd ever need. I had a boss that hated that little box of strange things. Yet it saved us a number of times.
That's great for a workshop (I do something similar) , but I worked for a large-ish production shop and one of the head managers did this. I tried to clean up the yard but I was forced to keep the rusty pail of rusty and over-used parts. There's no place for that in serial production. 😢
@@matthewmillar3804 With a larger scale this becomes both more unnecessary and and less possible. You simply don't need strange parts that often. No this is more use for those building a home shop or working in a smaller scale where strange unexpected requests make you scratch your head wondering just how they expect you to achieve that.
If you have low ceilings they are actually great for storing flat jigs. I also built a revolving tool cabinet that hangs right over the middle of my work table so I can just reach up and grab the glue bottle or a ruler or chisel from any position around the table.
Suggestion for the air: Make it a loop. The loop helps prevent pressure drop over longer distances, because you get more equal flow from both sides as it comes around. Dont have to crank the air compressor pressure up so much to compensate for the length of pressure tubing. The pressure drop will only be noticable happen the length of the hose coming off of it, much less the loop itself. Also helps if you have multiple people using air tools as same time.
I work on cars and often race cars. When I am at a pro race I take pictures of too boxes, pit wall setups and garage set-ups. I'm constantly trying to find the most efficient way to transport and store tools/parts with limited space. Also... I need to find systems that I can lift as I get older.
With a shop of that size and a workflow that has evolved over decades, only using a particular tool a few times across 5 years doesn't seem that outlandish.
Jamie, people will say this is dumb but I ran compressed air in my shop with pvc piping. It's good for several hundred psi and easy and cheap to install. Never a failure in over 30 years!
Airlines...I use pex ¾ inch lines for my main lines so from my compressor to the sealing. Any line coming out of it I use ½ lines and from the wall to my tools ⅜ rubber coated lines. The pex is just push in tubes and I have a 7hp compressor. Big enough for most of what I ask it to do. The pressure is set at 120 to 140PSI no leaks. Copper is nice but expensive and harder to work with or add a new line to.
Hearing “think[box]” got me all giddy. I’ve passed that place so many times. Watching this today is a bit of a coincidence because I was literally riding my bike around Public Square while they were filming the new Superman movie.
In my first machine shop visit, I saw a chuck where you changed bits while the chuck was still spinning. I got used to it in about 5 tries, and it made rapid prototyping extremely quick. Took forever for me to figure out that it was called a Wahlstrom fully automatic drill chuck, but it was worth. $500 well spent for my home shop. I wanted to get one for the makerspace I help out with, but decided against it due to the safety of the average patron. Definitely an "at home shop" kinda deal, lol. As for a dud, There was a time where I tried to make an organizational system for a wall of tools, and it ended up being completely unused, in favor of everyone's favorite tool spot(literally any flat surface). Realized that the only way to keep a public shop clean is to expect nobody to put any thought into where they put the tools, so reduce unwanted horizontal surfaces as much as possible. Started out as a dud, but eventually turned into something that works.
There is another side to the Jamie type story I have lots of stress to not be the guy to the make the mess or accidently damage the tool to the detriment of getting a project done. My shop partner is always getting on me for buying tools that he has but I don't want to damage his.
As a relatively tall person with long arms, i actually get a lot of mileage out of ceiling storage. I run a cabinet shop out of what's essentially a 2-car garage (~400sqft) with standard-height 8ft ceilings. There's obviously things like lighting and compressed air, but I also have a low-profile storage rack for long skinny things like offcuts from full sheets of melamine that would otherwise take up wall space. The real revelation was when I bolted a 2x8 edgewise to the rafters and clamped all of my big bar clamps and pipe clamps to it - anything longer than 3' goes up there. That freed up a HUGE chunk of wall space; granted, it takes up like 15 sqft of ceiling, but I wasn't using that space for anything else and it's just as easy to access for me as a wall rack.
So glad you love Think[box]! I remember when you visited, you met with some of my classmates in the first couple years the new space was opened. It's still one of my favorite places ever. It even launched an awesome maker here on UA-cam, Xyla.
As a fellow think[box] alum it brings me such joy to hear Adam sing its praises ☺️ If anyone reading this is in the greater Cleveland area I highly recommend checking it out as it's open to the public. Their website is very thorough on what equipment they have and what the prerequisites are to use it. Also I third that Xyla is awesome. I'd love to see her and Adam collaborate.
Ive found extension cords, the best storage has ended up (for me) to get the reels that have 4 plugs on the side and color code the reels (in buying the color or paint) to designate the length of the cord it contains. Provides a nice durable "Box" that can be stacked or stood on edge on a shelf, but is very easy to keep the cord protected and only pull out as much as you need for length and reel back up when done.
I run a small 3D printing shop, and my nemesis is boxes. I keep almost every box I get to reuse for shipping. I have hundreds. But the moment I decide to throw some away, I know the next day I will need one of those exact boxes. It's a curse!
re: the ceiling question I have a tight basement shop that's difficult for a lot of reasons, but I will say it is very nice to have ceiling joists at arms length so I can place hand tools on nails and magnet strips directly above me. It's really opened up a new dimension of shop storage that I never considered with previous shop spaces.
My bulk filament storage for my printers is hanging from the ceiling. 2 scrap pieces of wood, a 5' length of EMT cut in half and 4 EMT clamps. Easy, visible, first order storage. I can reach any of 40 spools within a step from my printers. I have small hang tags indicating the type of filament (in sections). Instantly I can tell how much black PET-G is available, or what colors I have to work with.
I had hardware boxed up in starchy peanuts. Finally went to use it a few months later and all the peanuts were gone, replaced by a pile of rat droppings at the bottom
Seeing the sketchbooks would be an interesting insight into the workings of the shop. I find pencil and paper to be perhaps the most vital step of converting something from thought to something tangible.
It feels similar to managing a computer lab with a server and folder structure. Certain personalities are unable to participate in a common organization method and rebel against it at every turn making it impossible to retrieve things. Bless librarians. Every one of them. Lol
Just watching this and other videos makes me wonder how Adam turns the power on to everything? Is everything just plugged into a switched wall outlet, or is everything "permanently" on and just switched via an onboard switch? I like the idea of the lighting being on one big Frankenstein-esque scissor switch....
You’re the only one in the shop. Besides your personal pet projects, on UA-cam, what do you do for clients and what is the ratio of your video projects online compared to your actual jobs? You seem to spend a lot of time working on your shop and it looks great and was wondering if you’re just kinda winding down and getting ready to retire. How about getting a mentoring program for local kids or something to use your space and your knowledge? Keep up the good work!
lighting sugestion, my shop has 4 celing fans and outlets...all lights are pluged in so change of lighting can be done at night with other string on or one unplugged at a time center of room has a row of boxes for power mill, drill press etc. also wires to unused boxes not connected for future use.
for your compressed air have a look at HDPE piping. the big advantage is you can buy a big roll of it and not require many joins. its also flexible for going around curves. downside because its flexi it needs more supporting.
Great use for low ceilings-- stick metric-imperial / tap-drill size / speed-feed / etc charts up there (Starrett has some great poster size charts). They're a quick look up from the lathe or bench and save a ton of wall space
RE: Overhead storage and Rigging, enter Uni-Strut, the adult version of the Erector Set/Meccano. Build an overhead grid of Uni-Strut, you can hang it from above or use posts. There are deeper sections available for longer spans or heavier loading. There are trollies available so you can build moveable gantries, which can have material or equipment hoists on them. You can mount electrical, air, lighting, the list goes on and everything is infinitely re-configurable because of the continuous channel track.
What Adam said about shared workspaces always being annoying is exactly how I feel in my kitchen. I buy the most durable and best value gear I can find that allows me to enjoy cooking and then my brother or room mate uses it and doesn’t care about keeping it in good condition. Even if I explain the proper way to use it in order to not damage it, they manage to damage it anyway because they don’t care about taking an extra 10seconds they just want to do the thing and leave the kitchen as fast as possible. Or they will use a tool I never use but be too lazy to clean it, so I’m forced to clean up after them which isn’t a huge deal except I don’t know where that tool goes, so now I end up cramming it somewhere because I can’t figure it where its original home is. Oh and don’t get me started on the fridge. You feel like you don’t have the right to throw away other peoples food but they just forget that they ever bought it and let it perpetually take up space in the fridge, and basically the only time I can throw it out is after it expires. For some reason they refuse to use the dishwasher, they’d rather wash plates with a cheap stick brush instead of the sponge and put it away dirty.
For your favorite/valuable tools you might try what I do because my husband has dementia & can't help what he does. Hide what you don't want used or abused. Get some bins that are easy to handle & store in them. You can then put the bins in the back of a deep cabinet or something. You didn't mention knives or scissors the most easily damaged tools in my kitchen. In an extreme case, you could take over 1/3 of the cabinets for YOUR storage & lock them. For the refrigerator, you can have a throw out day. Maybe Sunday evening the refrigerator is emptied of food unless it's labeled SAVE w/name. I've learned, due to my husband, if you can't change their behavior change yours. Your roommates might not like it but they can suck on it!
@@yarnexpress I use SamDuk Scissors, they are super cheap, big and very durable/sharp because they are built for korean barbeque restaurants for customers to cut their cooked meat at the table. I'm planning to buy a sharp carbon steel petty knife for personal cutting use and one of those massive/cheap chinese vegetable cleavers (because I know they would never use it, americans are afraid of cleavers even though they are more versatile and safer knives) I also store a ramen pot and pressure cooker in somewhat inconvenient places which works well since they aren't normal kitchen equipment. My main issue is with pots and pans, they abuse nonstick and ruin them very quickly and aren't smart enough to use stainless/carbonsteel/castiron without ruining them because they are lazy and like to soak pans.
If you have bins of extension chords I wonder if you saw cable management backstage at Hamilton? I know not all extension chords are created alike but in my shop we store ours in coils (over under) locked with tie line at the plug end. Then every chord can fit on a schedule 40 pipe or a hook or stack in a round pyramid or whatever you like without getting tangled and like-diameter cables can get sorted more easily.
When it comes to extension chords, it's similar to rolls of tape It's tempting to wrap it around something to store it but then you have to unwrap it to use it The solution is similar to tape, shelves How you sort them from there is up to you
Jamie- Why use copper pipe? Very expensive and a real PITA if you want to run another line from it. My shop uses high pressure PVC pipe. Easy to modify and never have had a blow out or pipe failure in almost 40 years.. One bonus is you can use a much larger diameter feed pipe as it can add as more air storage space.
My shop is always in a state of evolution. There's always a better way, method, etc. And there is always something to learn from others shops. Prolly the #1 reason I watch @tested. To steal, appropriate, and adapt the ideas applicable to me.
Just put 10 hours into my shop upgrades today, it really is never ending 😅 What started as a DIY HVAC upgrade has turned into a total revamp, got double the bench space now at least!
My Gpas garage had one of those I beams with a chain winch on it, and central air compressor system. I've been jealous my whole life and it's on my list of stuff to do in my garage.
You just barely mentioned it at the end, but knowing when to stop accumulating stuff is important too. I'm retiring and downsizing, so I gave away about 3/4's of my tools to one of my nephews a couple of years ago. I mean, do I *really* need a full set of both 1/2" and 1/4" drive sockets as long as I have the 3/8" drive set?
I can’t tell you the hours I’ve spent staring at areas of my shop trying to imagine how to or what way to organize to flow with work and to only redo what I did 6 mo ago
FYI: Add a vacuum line as well; you can get it from the intake on your air compressor. When I worked at a fab shop @ "Mobile Solar Energy Corp" back in 1991, they had Air & vacuum everywhere. IT was constantly used. :)
That’s a really interesting idea. What did you use the vacuum lines for? Sounds like one those things that once you hear some examples you can’t live without it. Thanks for sharing.
I use empty wire reels to store my extention cords. That way I just have to roll off the length I need, then I can roll it back up and stow it away with ease.
I have 2 "shops". One is my garage workshop. The other is my retail game store. Neither is ever in it's final configuration. I am in the process of moving my store to a new location. I've come up with a general layout for the new shop, but i know that i am going to spend the next several years rearranging, tweaking, struggling, agonizing over the layout. The counters, racks, displays are all going to migrate around for years. I wish i could just move in and that be my final layout, but i know it will change.
I listen to your videos in my shop without watching and one thing that always cracks me up is how much your nose blowing sounds like a cartoonish fart 🤣🤣🤣 Especially unprompted and without context. Thanks for the hours and hours of content and (unintended) humour!
While you're building shop air infrastructure, build an aftercooler for the compressor (if you don't already have one). Keeps the tank from filling up with water and rust. Also, retractable extension cords in the ceiling are amazing. We have them for our various voltages in my labs/workshops (120/240/28vdc/120V@400Hz) If you think about gaff taping it to the floor, it should be suspended.
Regarding the use of ceilings: can I recommend also adding adjustable boom arms for cameras, etc? With the arms attached to the workbench and the tool units, every time you bump something the camera jiggles making it hard to watch. A ceiling mount would allow you to position the camera in a way that won't move when you bump the work, and then move the boom out of the way when not in use.
I work at a museum as a volunteer. In our workshops everything has a place. At the end of the day everything is put back in its place. Everything! It has to be that way.
Although I work alone, & have no where near the stuff Adam has, I still have organizational issues. If a tool has a home & it's home is working, I'll put it away. If I don't, then I know it needs a better home. Best tool I've come across, recently, is to ask yourself "Where would I look for this?"
Madness you say? I have a whole closet for packing materials. You think me mad, do you? Eventually one day I will need to ship something and I will certainly have everything I need! Then, who will be mad? Sure, I only have 3 closets...
Hmmm, maybe ya should do a carving or two to help integrate your chisels into your repertoire? They are great things. So versatile.... and thus still relevant.
If you're not careful you can easily spend more time and money building the "perfect workshop" and never use it for anything else. Or you'll be so precious about it that you don't use it because you don't want to make a mess!
Ever consider putting together a complete list of you supply inventory and tools (and their storage systems) for other makers, so they can have the benefits of your years putting together a a well thought out and reworked (and reworked) maker space
3:44 I don't run a shop but this is the biggest pet peeve I've had at every place I've worked. People that break things and then don't tell anyone, shifting the responsibility on whoever uses the tool next. Just a selfish thing that really grinds my gears.
Adam and Jamie are the definition of Yin and Yang. I miss Mythbusters terribly. It was the greatest TV show ever. I'm so glad that Adam keeps us entertained with this UA-cam channel.
If you have a carpentry workbench, cut a channel on the wall side top, and use the channel to hold modular units for specific toolsets. Having them on the wall nearby isn't enough temptation to use them, maybe set yourself a challenge of carving non-work surfaces in the workshop, a tiny bit at a time, and before you know it, the workshop will look like somewhere between the past and future of making!
@Adam - given all the ceiling work, would data center ladder-racking be useful, say on the perimeter? Could carry some moveable cabling, tubing? Hang or storage space for some items? Just a random thought. Love your stuff, best wishes for good shop design. 😊
I had a job at a yacht builder a few years ago. For some reason starchy packing peanuts came up, and I told them they were essentially the same as the colorful toy peanuts you can stick together with just water. I don't know why, but nobody else knew it XD So I went to the storage, and got a small box of the things to demonstrate. One of my colleagues was so intrigued, he just couldn't stop playing with them XD It was a bit gross though that he LICKED them to get them wet. I mean, it was USED packing material that likely had been used to keep engine parts safe.
It's interesting that you used the term "cap head screw." Up until now I've heard it mostly from Aussies and Brits. Here in the US the full name (at least in the catalogs) is "socket head cap screw." There are hex head cap screws, too, meaning it fits with an ordinary open end or box wrench. "Cap" refers to it's use, as in securing a bearing cap, rather than a head style. "Cap screw" also indicates that it's a high strength alloy. And while it bugs me a bit, that's just how language changes. So I won't complain too much, though I'll continue to call them socket head cap screws.
Sounds like you have the right idea for lighting. Layers! For shops and such many people think it's just a simple matter of making everything really bright everywhere. Sadly there are even some people who use the same bland, wasteful approach to living spaces. Good lighting is all about balancing light and shadow. To those who think considering aesthetics in a shop is just silly, well... we have nothing to talk about. Have a nice day.
The Sortimo boxes are cool but wow are they prohibitively expensive. Super hard to justify when I can get similar (if inferior) serviceable boxes for a quarter of the price.
The cheap boxes tend to skip the primary advantage of Sortimo boxes: individual bins that can be removed and tipped into the palm of your hand. There are a million and one tackle boxes that can do the same job in theory, but aren't very practical. However, the Allit modular storage cases from Lee Valley are pretty good and a third of the cost, but they are built much more cheaply. Personally, I was able to pick up some clearance Tanos Systainer cases which I fitted with their storage bins for about half the cost of MSRP, which is also outrageously expensive.
@@cmmarttiI have functionally similar organizer boxes from Harbor Freight, Stanley, and Dewalt which all have removable bins and are a fraction of the price. Not as nice as the Sortimo to be sure but I can buy the Harbor Freight ones for $10 and they are perfectly serviceable. Money no object or if the company is funding the purchase, yeah get a Sortimo. Or buy 8 Harbor Freight ones with money left over. Spend your money how it makes sense to you.
@@cmmartti Anyone can get cheap boxes with removable bins very similar in function that work quite well from Harbor Freight for 1/8 the cost of the sortimo boxes. $10 each. Not as nice but perfectly serviceable and excellent value for money.
actually i've found out accidentally that the sortimo brand has one of its manufacturing locations not too far away from where i work my dayjob at in hamburg / germany.
Can anyone suggest a more accessible alternative to Sortimo in the US? I'm starting from no organization so preferably something budget friendly. By eye, I suspect my workflow would use about 4 of the Sortimos.
With thanks to Tested members @lo pro java, @ianrigby7395, Michael Schnell, @peckenstein and @davidmarden4789 for their support and questions! Join this channel to support Tested and get access to perks, like asking Adam questions during live streams:
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In our shared shop everyone had tags with our names on them and when we took a tool off the wall we put a tag on the spot. If a tool was off the wall and there was no tag everything stopped, the tool was found, and the guilty party had to buy lunch. At the end of your time in the shop you should have all 50 of your name tags, if you didn't then you were not done with cleanup.
Damage to a tool was never about blame, but we would look at why it failed and see if we needed a different tool that wouldn't fail in that way.
That solved most of the issues.
Great system. They did the same thing at a DIY auto shop on a military base I used to be on
I really like that idea!
I had a friend who used to work for Lockheed Martin. Once he left he bought an old hanger, and turned it into his workshop.
When I visited his shop, EVERY SINGLE OBJECT that could be, was suspended from the ceiling by a system of counterweights, with locking mechanisms in the floor for things like cabinets, or table saws. It was insane, but impressive with the amount of effort he had put into it. I asked him, "Well, you've been using it about a year, how is it?"
He told me "I had the idea when I was 12. It's terrible, but it makes me happy so it stays."
I was REALLY impressed with how easy it was to pull things down though. Just had a hook mounted to a stick and you could pull down a tool chest that had to weigh like half a ton.
Tell him to upload a tour…
@@MaosTLsadly he passed away about 9 years ago, and his workshop was, at his request, completely gutted by his old work mates.
Everyone took something of his home.
"It's terrible, but it makes me happy - so it stays."
I frikkin love that.
@@cavalieroutdoors6036 A wise man once told me sometimes you have to choose between being happy or comfortable. This is definitely one of those times someone chose happy.
Do you have any photos of this? Or can you get photos? I need to see this.
A shop is never done... I remember when my grandpa passed away and I went back for his passing the thing that hit me the hardest was looking in his work shop and being able to see when his work shop stopped evolving and how it was the final iteration. I made sure to burry him with his multi meter, I couldn't find his telephone pioneer cap or I would have done that too. I look at my work bench and see a bunch of things that are the same as his and some of the things of his I took home with me. and they always remind me of him when I use them
8:31 - "If you can't see it... it doesn't exist."
Pretty much describes everything in my refrigerator. 😅
a little trick he must have picked up while working on star wars episode 2. /j
This is so me. I only use the drawers in my fridge to hold drinks, because they are the only things I reach for often enough to not forget about them there.
Tip for extension cord storage. Long, single pole/bar mounted normal to the wall from a plate, tip bent upwards. Roll each cord up and hang on the bar, one after another, you'll be able to see each one and what you have. Now put a second bar next to the first, when you want something off one bar, but it's behind something else, put everything in front of desired extension cord onto the second bar.
I use this system with leads, ropes, power supplies, grinding disks, etc.
I can also imagine Jamie's exasperation. He must have the self control of a saint to have dealt with that for so long.
I'd imagine so. I know I feel uneasy when other people touch my stuff because so many people I've loaned stuffed to seem to break or damage it.
I was just lamenting to my wife how you were revising some of the organizational ideas that I shamelessly copied from you years ago because they didn't end up working, so this is a great topic for me as I am soon to be setting up a new workspace and storage area. Knowing what DOESN'T work can be a very valuable way to learn from others' experience! Especially since I imagine you are progressing through the iterative process more quickly than I would.
Extension cords: Canvas sacks with luggage tags and a dry erase safe surface. Tag has the length and gauge and appropriate info, so if you have to replace it you're replacing like for like. And the Dry Erase is what it's being used for if it's not in the bag. Say, if you're dragging out the table saw and going to be using it for a while you'd write table saw on the bag, so when you inevitably forget you've used it for that and have to plug something else in, you know where to find the cord.
Starchy peanuts have two huge benefits: you can dispose of extras by just dissolving them in a sink AND you can pop one in your mouth while your spouse is on the phone with someone and completely freak her out.
I remember unpacking something and thinking “Hey these smell and look like unflavored Cheetos!” And they are!
I've done that around a group of friends to freak them out, it's fun
I used to do this when I was working in a warehouse 25+ years ago. They are ok. but could use some cheese dust.
The same is true of dog biscuits.
People thought I was very strange.
Adam, can’t express how much I enjoy your conversations about getting a workshop organized. You are an inspiration my friend. Thank you.
I’m not a shop guy, I don’t do any of this, for the industrial that you do. It actually reminds me of my father in law who would have loved to own a shop like yours. I can send you pictures of his garage before we cleaned it out and I’m sure you can see why. I do RC, 3d printing, wood working a small grow room, guitars- and then my wife paints seashells and makes Barbie dolls and outfits. My youngest son drills rocks and gems and tumbles them. I do love seeing your thought processes and organization though. My shop would be completely different- but similar in ways. Keeping mine functional for many different interests is a tricky balance. Anyways- I’ve been watching you since the early days of the show and glad I found your channel. Much love and respect!
Adam: talks about how he loves his sorting system and can find hundreds of specific tools and supplies
Also Adam: Doesn't know where the tissues are.
Never change man. You are a national treasure
And he makes the stock, high-pitched honk, a single, short blast. Because of course he does :D
Two thoughts about extension cords; first, they are temporary solutions to temporary problems (power cord too short, outlet too far away) that have better permanent solutions (rewire tool with longer cord, add outlets at the workstation). I have rewired my last two corded circular saws straight out of the box with longer cords. Second, use a short enough cord for the situation. A six-foot long cord solves most "short power cord" problems, a 25 foot long cord will reach anywhere within one room of your house (15 might even be enough), 50 and 100 foot cords are good for commercial spaces and outdoors.
Look into a rapid air system from fast pipe instead of grazing copper. Took like 4 hours to plumb a small CNC shop that’s like 2,000 square feet
I can't claim to be the most effective at keeping my storage space clean and in order, but one thing I feel is needed is a bin for everything you don't want to throw away but still don't feel is worth setting up a storage bin for. just make sure to empty it out so it doesn't overflow. That bin of "trash" has saved me quite often as I've found some strange part in it that I never would have thought I'd ever need. I had a boss that hated that little box of strange things. Yet it saved us a number of times.
That's great for a workshop (I do something similar) , but I worked for a large-ish production shop and one of the head managers did this. I tried to clean up the yard but I was forced to keep the rusty pail of rusty and over-used parts. There's no place for that in serial production. 😢
@@matthewmillar3804 If you have the money, then the store is your junk drawer. (As long as it's something that can be bought.)
@@matthewmillar3804
With a larger scale this becomes both more unnecessary and and less possible. You simply don't need strange parts that often. No this is more use for those building a home shop or working in a smaller scale where strange unexpected requests make you scratch your head wondering just how they expect you to achieve that.
If you have low ceilings they are actually great for storing flat jigs. I also built a revolving tool cabinet that hangs right over the middle of my work table so I can just reach up and grab the glue bottle or a ruler or chisel from any position around the table.
Suggestion for the air:
Make it a loop.
The loop helps prevent pressure drop over longer distances, because you get more equal flow from both sides as it comes around. Dont have to crank the air compressor pressure up so much to compensate for the length of pressure tubing. The pressure drop will only be noticable happen the length of the hose coming off of it, much less the loop itself.
Also helps if you have multiple people using air tools as same time.
I work on cars and often race cars. When I am at a pro race I take pictures of too boxes, pit wall setups and garage set-ups. I'm constantly trying to find the most efficient way to transport and store tools/parts with limited space. Also... I need to find systems that I can lift as I get older.
With a shop of that size and a workflow that has evolved over decades, only using a particular tool a few times across 5 years doesn't seem that outlandish.
Jamie, people will say this is dumb but I ran compressed air in my shop with pvc piping. It's good for several hundred psi and easy and cheap to install. Never a failure in over 30 years!
Airlines...I use pex ¾ inch lines for my main lines so from my compressor to the sealing. Any line coming out of it I use ½ lines and from the wall to my tools ⅜ rubber coated lines.
The pex is just push in tubes and I have a 7hp compressor. Big enough for most of what I ask it to do. The pressure is set at 120 to 140PSI no leaks.
Copper is nice but expensive and harder to work with or add a new line to.
Hearing “think[box]” got me all giddy. I’ve passed that place so many times. Watching this today is a bit of a coincidence because I was literally riding my bike around Public Square while they were filming the new Superman movie.
In my first machine shop visit, I saw a chuck where you changed bits while the chuck was still spinning. I got used to it in about 5 tries, and it made rapid prototyping extremely quick. Took forever for me to figure out that it was called a Wahlstrom fully automatic drill chuck, but it was worth. $500 well spent for my home shop. I wanted to get one for the makerspace I help out with, but decided against it due to the safety of the average patron. Definitely an "at home shop" kinda deal, lol.
As for a dud, There was a time where I tried to make an organizational system for a wall of tools, and it ended up being completely unused, in favor of everyone's favorite tool spot(literally any flat surface). Realized that the only way to keep a public shop clean is to expect nobody to put any thought into where they put the tools, so reduce unwanted horizontal surfaces as much as possible. Started out as a dud, but eventually turned into something that works.
There is another side to the Jamie type story I have lots of stress to not be the guy to the make the mess or accidently damage the tool to the detriment of getting a project done. My shop partner is always getting on me for buying tools that he has but I don't want to damage his.
As a relatively tall person with long arms, i actually get a lot of mileage out of ceiling storage. I run a cabinet shop out of what's essentially a 2-car garage (~400sqft) with standard-height 8ft ceilings.
There's obviously things like lighting and compressed air, but I also have a low-profile storage rack for long skinny things like offcuts from full sheets of melamine that would otherwise take up wall space.
The real revelation was when I bolted a 2x8 edgewise to the rafters and clamped all of my big bar clamps and pipe clamps to it - anything longer than 3' goes up there. That freed up a HUGE chunk of wall space; granted, it takes up like 15 sqft of ceiling, but I wasn't using that space for anything else and it's just as easy to access for me as a wall rack.
So glad you love Think[box]! I remember when you visited, you met with some of my classmates in the first couple years the new space was opened. It's still one of my favorite places ever. It even launched an awesome maker here on UA-cam, Xyla.
Xyla is amazing!
As a fellow think[box] alum it brings me such joy to hear Adam sing its praises ☺️
If anyone reading this is in the greater Cleveland area I highly recommend checking it out as it's open to the public. Their website is very thorough on what equipment they have and what the prerequisites are to use it.
Also I third that Xyla is awesome. I'd love to see her and Adam collaborate.
Thank you for the thumbnail highlighting the chisel display 😅. Saved me from spending too much time trying to spot in the background!
It's in the background of the Tested ad that's inserted at the end of every video.
Ive found extension cords, the best storage has ended up (for me) to get the reels that have 4 plugs on the side and color code the reels (in buying the color or paint) to designate the length of the cord it contains. Provides a nice durable "Box" that can be stacked or stood on edge on a shelf, but is very easy to keep the cord protected and only pull out as much as you need for length and reel back up when done.
I run a small 3D printing shop, and my nemesis is boxes. I keep almost every box I get to reuse for shipping. I have hundreds. But the moment I decide to throw some away, I know the next day I will need one of those exact boxes. It's a curse!
Why I love that most are very easy to disassemble and store flat.
re: the ceiling question
I have a tight basement shop that's difficult for a lot of reasons, but I will say it is very nice to have ceiling joists at arms length so I can place hand tools on nails and magnet strips directly above me. It's really opened up a new dimension of shop storage that I never considered with previous shop spaces.
My bulk filament storage for my printers is hanging from the ceiling. 2 scrap pieces of wood, a 5' length of EMT cut in half and 4 EMT clamps. Easy, visible, first order storage. I can reach any of 40 spools within a step from my printers. I have small hang tags indicating the type of filament (in sections). Instantly I can tell how much black PET-G is available, or what colors I have to work with.
I had hardware boxed up in starchy peanuts. Finally went to use it a few months later and all the peanuts were gone, replaced by a pile of rat droppings at the bottom
Seeing the sketchbooks would be an interesting insight into the workings of the shop. I find pencil and paper to be perhaps the most vital step of converting something from thought to something tangible.
I love watching your expressions when you talk about your triumphs and failures.
It feels similar to managing a computer lab with a server and folder structure. Certain personalities are unable to participate in a common organization method and rebel against it at every turn making it impossible to retrieve things. Bless librarians. Every one of them. Lol
7:16 Adam turns into Mr. Incredible’s office job boss
Just watching this and other videos makes me wonder how Adam turns the power on to everything? Is everything just plugged into a switched wall outlet, or is everything "permanently" on and just switched via an onboard switch? I like the idea of the lighting being on one big Frankenstein-esque scissor switch....
You’re the only one in the shop. Besides your personal pet projects, on UA-cam, what do you do for clients and what is the ratio of your video projects online compared to your actual jobs? You seem to spend a lot of time working on your shop and it looks great and was wondering if you’re just kinda winding down and getting ready to retire. How about getting a mentoring program for local kids or something to use your space and your knowledge? Keep up the good work!
lighting sugestion, my shop has 4 celing fans and outlets...all lights are pluged in so change of lighting can be done at night with other string on or one unplugged at a time center of room has a row of boxes for power mill, drill press etc. also wires to unused boxes not connected for future use.
for your compressed air have a look at HDPE piping. the big advantage is you can buy a big roll of it and not require many joins. its also flexible for going around curves. downside because its flexi it needs more supporting.
Great use for low ceilings-- stick metric-imperial / tap-drill size / speed-feed / etc charts up there (Starrett has some great poster size charts). They're a quick look up from the lathe or bench and save a ton of wall space
RE: Overhead storage and Rigging, enter Uni-Strut, the adult version of the Erector Set/Meccano. Build an overhead grid of Uni-Strut, you can hang it from above or use posts. There are deeper sections available for longer spans or heavier loading. There are trollies available so you can build moveable gantries, which can have material or equipment hoists on them. You can mount electrical, air, lighting, the list goes on and everything is infinitely re-configurable because of the continuous channel track.
What Adam said about shared workspaces always being annoying is exactly how I feel in my kitchen. I buy the most durable and best value gear I can find that allows me to enjoy cooking and then my brother or room mate uses it and doesn’t care about keeping it in good condition. Even if I explain the proper way to use it in order to not damage it, they manage to damage it anyway because they don’t care about taking an extra 10seconds they just want to do the thing and leave the kitchen as fast as possible. Or they will use a tool I never use but be too lazy to clean it, so I’m forced to clean up after them which isn’t a huge deal except I don’t know where that tool goes, so now I end up cramming it somewhere because I can’t figure it where its original home is.
Oh and don’t get me started on the fridge. You feel like you don’t have the right to throw away other peoples food but they just forget that they ever bought it and let it perpetually take up space in the fridge, and basically the only time I can throw it out is after it expires.
For some reason they refuse to use the dishwasher, they’d rather wash plates with a cheap stick brush instead of the sponge and put it away dirty.
I feel your pain.
For your favorite/valuable tools you might try what I do because my husband has dementia & can't help what he does. Hide what you don't want used or abused. Get some bins that are easy to handle & store in them. You can then put the bins in the back of a deep cabinet or something. You didn't mention knives or scissors the most easily damaged tools in my kitchen.
In an extreme case, you could take over 1/3 of the cabinets for YOUR storage & lock them. For the refrigerator, you can have a throw out day. Maybe Sunday evening the refrigerator is emptied of food unless it's labeled SAVE w/name. I've learned, due to my husband, if you can't change their behavior change yours. Your roommates might not like it but they can suck on it!
@@yarnexpress I use SamDuk Scissors, they are super cheap, big and very durable/sharp because they are built for korean barbeque restaurants for customers to cut their cooked meat at the table.
I'm planning to buy a sharp carbon steel petty knife for personal cutting use and one of those massive/cheap chinese vegetable cleavers (because I know they would never use it, americans are afraid of cleavers even though they are more versatile and safer knives)
I also store a ramen pot and pressure cooker in somewhat inconvenient places which works well since they aren't normal kitchen equipment. My main issue is with pots and pans, they abuse nonstick and ruin them very quickly and aren't smart enough to use stainless/carbonsteel/castiron without ruining them because they are lazy and like to soak pans.
Been watching the busters on UA-cam recently... and the amount of stuff I missed on discovery is mind blowing..
It is a process, not a plan. Thank you, the story of my projects.
If you have bins of extension chords I wonder if you saw cable management backstage at Hamilton? I know not all extension chords are created alike but in my shop we store ours in coils (over under) locked with tie line at the plug end. Then every chord can fit on a schedule 40 pipe or a hook or stack in a round pyramid or whatever you like without getting tangled and like-diameter cables can get sorted more easily.
When it comes to extension chords, it's similar to rolls of tape
It's tempting to wrap it around something to store it but then you have to unwrap it to use it
The solution is similar to tape, shelves
How you sort them from there is up to you
Jamie- Why use copper pipe? Very expensive and a real PITA if you want to run another line from it. My shop uses high pressure PVC pipe. Easy to modify and never have had a blow out or pipe failure in almost 40 years.. One bonus is you can use a much larger diameter feed pipe as it can add as more air storage space.
Or just use PEX tubing. Cheap and easy to crimp on a fitting.
My shop is always in a state of evolution. There's always a better way, method, etc.
And there is always something to learn from others shops.
Prolly the #1 reason I watch @tested. To steal, appropriate, and adapt the ideas applicable to me.
Just put 10 hours into my shop upgrades today, it really is never ending 😅
What started as a DIY HVAC upgrade has turned into a total revamp, got double the bench space now at least!
Adam, gotta come out to Makehaven in Connecticut to see our unique and inclusive style.
We love maker spaces!
@@tested no seriously, you have to see this place.
My Gpas garage had one of those I beams with a chain winch on it, and central air compressor system. I've been jealous my whole life and it's on my list of stuff to do in my garage.
Rofl that way lies madness: yep! Love seeing R2 in the background!
I recently moved shop. The attic space was full of boxes and bags of peanuts and bubble wrap that I forgot was up there. I never used any of it.
I can agree 💯 percent on others using tools in my shop. They never put things back in the same place. Or tell me when something gets broken.
You just barely mentioned it at the end, but knowing when to stop accumulating stuff is important too. I'm retiring and downsizing, so I gave away about 3/4's of my tools to one of my nephews a couple of years ago.
I mean, do I *really* need a full set of both 1/2" and 1/4" drive sockets as long as I have the 3/8" drive set?
I can’t tell you the hours I’ve spent staring at areas of my shop trying to imagine how to or what way to organize to flow with work and to only redo what I did 6 mo ago
Run a nice dust collection system when you are working on the ceiling. Go full PVC, multi-run system, if you haven't already.
FYI: Add a vacuum line as well; you can get it from the intake on your air compressor. When I worked at a fab shop @ "Mobile Solar Energy Corp" back in 1991, they had Air & vacuum everywhere. IT was constantly used. :)
That’s a really interesting idea. What did you use the vacuum lines for? Sounds like one those things that once you hear some examples you can’t live without it. Thanks for sharing.
I use empty wire reels to store my extention cords. That way I just have to roll off the length I need, then I can roll it back up and stow it away with ease.
numbered pillow case system with key tag where u write on the paper and close it.
drill , grinder, dremmel, soldering, hotglue stuff, ect
I have 2 "shops". One is my garage workshop. The other is my retail game store. Neither is ever in it's final configuration. I am in the process of moving my store to a new location. I've come up with a general layout for the new shop, but i know that i am going to spend the next several years rearranging, tweaking, struggling, agonizing over the layout. The counters, racks, displays are all going to migrate around for years. I wish i could just move in and that be my final layout, but i know it will change.
I listen to your videos in my shop without watching and one thing that always cracks me up is how much your nose blowing sounds like a cartoonish fart 🤣🤣🤣
Especially unprompted and without context. Thanks for the hours and hours of content and (unintended) humour!
Another brilliant video , thank you Adam .
While you're building shop air infrastructure, build an aftercooler for the compressor (if you don't already have one). Keeps the tank from filling up with water and rust.
Also, retractable extension cords in the ceiling are amazing. We have them for our various voltages in my labs/workshops (120/240/28vdc/120V@400Hz) If you think about gaff taping it to the floor, it should be suspended.
Regarding the use of ceilings: can I recommend also adding adjustable boom arms for cameras, etc? With the arms attached to the workbench and the tool units, every time you bump something the camera jiggles making it hard to watch. A ceiling mount would allow you to position the camera in a way that won't move when you bump the work, and then move the boom out of the way when not in use.
4:45 “Schnell!” 🇩🇪
I work at a museum as a volunteer. In our workshops everything has a place. At the end of the day everything is put back in its place. Everything! It has to be that way.
Although I work alone, & have no where near the stuff Adam has, I still have organizational issues. If a tool has a home & it's home is working, I'll put it away. If I don't, then I know it needs a better home. Best tool I've come across, recently, is to ask yourself "Where would I look for this?"
Whenever you can't find something put it the first place you looked for it when you do find it. That's where it really belongs.
Madness you say? I have a whole closet for packing materials. You think me mad, do you? Eventually one day I will need to ship something and I will certainly have everything I need! Then, who will be mad? Sure, I only have 3 closets...
An I-beam in the ceiling sounds really useful. :)
Adam: tell us about your bikes ?!
Hmmm, maybe ya should do a carving or two to help integrate your chisels into your repertoire? They are great things. So versatile.... and thus still relevant.
If you're not careful you can easily spend more time and money building the "perfect workshop" and never use it for anything else. Or you'll be so precious about it that you don't use it because you don't want to make a mess!
Ever consider putting together a complete list of you supply inventory and tools (and their storage systems) for other makers, so they can have the benefits of your years putting together a a well thought out and reworked (and reworked) maker space
3:44 I don't run a shop but this is the biggest pet peeve I've had at every place I've worked. People that break things and then don't tell anyone, shifting the responsibility on whoever uses the tool next. Just a selfish thing that really grinds my gears.
'The fact that i can look at a few feet of wall and find everything... Now where are the tissues.'
LOL.
Adam and Jamie are the definition of Yin and Yang. I miss Mythbusters terribly. It was the greatest TV show ever. I'm so glad that Adam keeps us entertained with this UA-cam channel.
If you have a carpentry workbench, cut a channel on the wall side top, and use the channel to hold modular units for specific toolsets.
Having them on the wall nearby isn't enough temptation to use them, maybe set yourself a challenge of carving non-work surfaces in the workshop, a tiny bit at a time, and before you know it, the workshop will look like somewhere between the past and future of making!
@Adam - given all the ceiling work, would data center ladder-racking be useful, say on the perimeter? Could carry some moveable cabling, tubing? Hang or storage space for some items? Just a random thought.
Love your stuff, best wishes for good shop design. 😊
Old wire spools from your MIG work great for cord storage
Out in Cali, you have to be cognizant that anything you suspend from the ceiling might end up falling on you when the ground starts shaking.
6:38 That makes me think of Gerty from Moon, having an arm on the ceiling that you can deploy pretty much everywhere.
I had a job at a yacht builder a few years ago. For some reason starchy packing peanuts came up, and I told them they were essentially the same as the colorful toy peanuts you can stick together with just water. I don't know why, but nobody else knew it XD
So I went to the storage, and got a small box of the things to demonstrate. One of my colleagues was so intrigued, he just couldn't stop playing with them XD It was a bit gross though that he LICKED them to get them wet. I mean, it was USED packing material that likely had been used to keep engine parts safe.
That was a well tuned nose trumpet!
Zapple always makes me think of Babu from Seinfeld. 🤣
The best way to store extension cords is in spools, sorted by length
1:20 Here's a tip, don't use workshop (blue) towel to blow your nose too often, it will get sore after a while!!!
I hang extension cords and other a/v cables on a coat rack or make a unistrut wall rack
It's interesting that you used the term "cap head screw." Up until now I've heard it mostly from Aussies and Brits. Here in the US the full name (at least in the catalogs) is "socket head cap screw." There are hex head cap screws, too, meaning it fits with an ordinary open end or box wrench. "Cap" refers to it's use, as in securing a bearing cap, rather than a head style. "Cap screw" also indicates that it's a high strength alloy. And while it bugs me a bit, that's just how language changes. So I won't complain too much, though I'll continue to call them socket head cap screws.
And in drafted drawings since ancient times they’ve been called out: SHCS for Socket Head Cap Screw
I hope we get to see the process of the shop upgrades.
Starchy peanuts are great with salsa.
(It really freaks people out when you eat one)
Maybe extraction vacuum in celling as well?
Sounds like you have the right idea for lighting. Layers! For shops and such many people think it's just a simple matter of making everything really bright everywhere. Sadly there are even some people who use the same bland, wasteful approach to living spaces. Good lighting is all about balancing light and shadow. To those who think considering aesthetics in a shop is just silly, well... we have nothing to talk about. Have a nice day.
The Sortimo boxes are cool but wow are they prohibitively expensive. Super hard to justify when I can get similar (if inferior) serviceable boxes for a quarter of the price.
The cheap boxes tend to skip the primary advantage of Sortimo boxes: individual bins that can be removed and tipped into the palm of your hand. There are a million and one tackle boxes that can do the same job in theory, but aren't very practical.
However, the Allit modular storage cases from Lee Valley are pretty good and a third of the cost, but they are built much more cheaply.
Personally, I was able to pick up some clearance Tanos Systainer cases which I fitted with their storage bins for about half the cost of MSRP, which is also outrageously expensive.
@@cmmarttiI have functionally similar organizer boxes from Harbor Freight, Stanley, and Dewalt which all have removable bins and are a fraction of the price. Not as nice as the Sortimo to be sure but I can buy the Harbor Freight ones for $10 and they are perfectly serviceable. Money no object or if the company is funding the purchase, yeah get a Sortimo. Or buy 8 Harbor Freight ones with money left over. Spend your money how it makes sense to you.
@@cmmartti Anyone can get cheap boxes with removable bins very similar in function that work quite well from Harbor Freight for 1/8 the cost of the sortimo boxes. $10 each. Not as nice but perfectly serviceable and excellent value for money.
actually i've found out accidentally that the sortimo brand has one of its manufacturing locations not too far away from where i work my dayjob at in hamburg / germany.
Please do a reveal video when you get the lighting done.
That was a perfect e-flat tissue blow! :)
As someone who does a mix of work in your shop, how do you deal with sawdust in your machining tools?
Can anyone suggest a more accessible alternative to Sortimo in the US? I'm starting from no organization so preferably something budget friendly. By eye, I suspect my workflow would use about 4 of the Sortimos.