Workshop Storage

[David P Williams]

A quick brag first. I'm finally getting to sort out and set up my dream workshop. Did early retirement and moved to this house 4 years ago, partly because of the old attached garage. Taken til now to do the house renovations to a stage where SWMBO has release me to do the workshop, so it's being insulated and re-wired and boarded out at the moment. It'll be 8m by 3.5m woohoo! Knacky old garage doors replaced by cheap-ish upvc double french doors, existing two windows replaced and increased in size and a third window added, and a sink in the corner.

Now trying to design the layout - aircraft/heli building zone, storage areas, lathe and metal working zone, painting area, picture framing for SWMBO area

I'm looking for ideas for storage arrangements. I'm particularly interested in methods for storing materials - balsa sheet, strip, wire, rod, covering materials, etc - and for components - horns, clevises, hinges, connectors, leads, lipos, etc, etc.

How do you do it? What innovative (and inexpensive) solutions have you found?

David

Edited By Captain Slog on 02/11/2012 18:11:13

[Reno Racer]

Not as fancy (yet), but I have a seperate area for the building bench, covering with cork flooring tile sections.Thats a 1/4 scale WW1 Bipe for scale.

Seperate space for spare balsa, unbuilt kits and covering film (Right hand side). The carboard box with fuses and wings sticking out it those kits that are either half finished or too frustrating to finish just yet (HET 90mm Super Sniper EDF Jet)

Seperate place for current flying fleet (this was taken some time ago; it now also includes a HK Vampire, 1/4 scale Nieuport 11, Bobcat Jet, SBACH 342 and a HK Phoenix 2000 glider). hence the rack listed below.

But, my best and cheapest invention (not yet reapplied after house move), was this storage rack for planes. Fuselages one side and wings the other. Its just a simple rack made out of cheap pine form the DIY shop. Takes at least 6 planes or 46-60 size with ease. On casters for ease of moving around the workshop.

Hope that gives you some ideas. I do love having a workshop/strorage redesign in the winter.

Chris

Edited By Christian Ackroyd on 02/11/2012 19:05:07

[IAN EDGE]

Hi there David, good for you i often daydream about my perfect workshop having M E means its about all i can do at the moment with not being able to work and a shortage of funds but browsing ebay i noticed some Plan chests that architects use going cheap and thought they would be great for storing plans and meterials, lots of drwaers not to deep so things dont get buried and a nice flat top for working on, def on my list when the numbers come up, that is after buying a smallholding so i can have a huge shed for cars, bikes, planes and many other interests i would like to take further, all the best to you now back to my dreams and admiring the build blogs on here

PS i also saw a build blog on an american site and the builder was using an A0 drawing board to build on which i thought looked rather good as it can be tilted to suit the individual again a nice flat surface to work on usefull for tracing plans  aswell as building on and can be stored against a wall leaving extra room in the workshop again these always turn up on ebay quite cheap as not man people want them now we have computers

 

Edited By IAN EDGE on 02/11/2012 19:48:42

[David P Williams]

Chris - I like the rack on castors ( and your garage looks HUGE ), I might pinch that idea. I previously had a rack fixed to the wall, lengths of wood with holes bored in at intervals, dowels pushed into holes, but the idea of a moveable one is great.

Ian - I will be second in the queue for a plan chest as my wife is an artist and that is on her list for her new studio (wants my workshop now she's seen how it's turning out, but I think it will be her who's in a shed in the garden

David