ingenious workshop solutions?

[addjunkie]

I have two of these in my boxes

 

[Thrashsmith]

I screwed pieces of MDF to my breeze block walls and then just fired in long screws to the MDF so I've got "hooks" for spanners etc. I hang new and used 1mm discs on them too. Used ones kept for 1mm shims. If you have a move about in a few months time all you've got to do is unscrew the MDF and move it. That's probably a very old trick but I've barely spent any time in other peoples workshops so I'm probably always reinventing the wheel.

 

[roofman]

I always wrap my grinder cords around the grinder in a figure of eight from top to bottom...i always also put an 8 to 10 meter length of cable on all my power tools as i cant be doing with extensions all over the place so the figure of eights stops any twisting and tangles

 

[Screwdriver]

Never mind the monster in the background. My go-to vice is a regular Record number 2, I have several dotted about fixed to benches but this one I bolted to a half inch plate is a surprisingly useful gadget to plonk anywhere. Great to have on a welding bench for obvious reasons but I often take it outside to wherever I am working, on the van or the bike for example. Base is good and heavy and having a flat plate of steel to work on is also quite handy. Bolts mount flush into threaded holes so the whole base is flat and it can go on any surface.

 

[danbrown89]

On groupon they have some cheap shelves work out £22 each and hold 150kg per shelf


Clearing out our back offices at the moment as my Dad was of the generation of “we might use that on another job one day” I’m more of a “let’s throw it away and buy it again if we ever need one”. We’ve got 10 years worth of s*it !

 

[MattF]

Not a fan of those shelves myself. I have a set out in the workshop, and trying to get the shelf supports even in their notches is hard work, leading to the rails bowing under load. They do the job, just, but I'd trust wooden shelving over those any day of the week. Some 3"x2" doesn't even break a sweat compared to those units.

 

[Rig Pig]

I've got several of them, they are all right but the shelves sag over time.

 

[danbrown89]

I've got several of them, they are all right but the shelves sag over time.

I’m using them for light storage. I accept that if it’s cheap, it won’t last forever!

 

[Screwdriver]

I’m using them for light storage. I accept that if it’s cheap, it won’t last forever!

Is this some alternative meaning of the word "ingenious"?

 

[MattF]

Is this some alternative meaning of the word "ingenious"?

Nope. He means they have a valid place/use, and are decent units if used within their limits. I wouldn't trust them to hold their supposed rated capacity for any length of time though. Two pre-B lathe beds are making one shelf struggle here, and there's no way they weigh anywhere near 330lb.

 

[Screwdriver]

Nope. He means they have a valid place/use, and are decent units if used within their limits. I wouldn't trust them to hold their supposed rated capacity for any length of time though. Two pre-B lathe beds are making one shelf struggle here, and there's no way they weigh anywhere near 330lb.

A quick glance at the photo suggests the frame is one step up from tinfoil and the sort of thing you could crush with your hand. I am surprised it can hold a shelf...

 

[bourbon]

agreed. I have a set of those shelves, They are bent, with nowhere near the rated loading on them

 

[MattF]

A quick glance at the photo suggests the frame is one step up from tinfoil and the sort of thing you could crush with your hand. I am surprised it can hold a shelf...

They are stronger than you'd think, but not as sturdy as the spec's suggest. I've put mine to what I think is its limit.



Those plastic tubs second shelf down contain taps, dies, lathe tooling etc., so some fair weight there. The shelf below with the lathe beds is bulging the long supports out slightly. I'd much prefer to make a unit from 3"x2”'s, but that was a quick & cheaper option, for the time being.

 

[Screwdriver]

That doesn't even look like the same shelving. Are you sure?

 

[MattF]

Different supplier, same stuff. Boltless shelving, with chipboard shelf panels.

 

[daleyd]

I've got some of that stuff. It's not the best but it does the job - I wanted something quick and easy to chuck together and while I appreciate it's not as good as other types it served it's purpose.

 

[danbrown89]

Is this some alternative meaning of the word "ingenious"?

Upon reflection of my original post, it’s not an ingenious solution but thought it might be helpful if you don’t have the affordability, knowledge or space to make something

 

[roofman]

If that shelving is screwed to the wall it changes the whole dynamics and it becomes a rigid unit...just saying

 

[MattF]

If that shelving is screwed to the wall it changes the whole dynamics and it becomes a rigid unit...just saying

It really needs to be screwed to a wall, with there being no diagonals. It's not floppy, but neither is it fully braced.

 

[Aesgarth]

It also helps if it's been put together right. I have quite a lot of it at work, the stuff that was put together before I worked here is hopeless floppy stuff. The correctly assembled (by me) but otherwise identical stuff isn't too bad.