Note: Since storage varies greatly, dependent on the items and space, this is a very broad subject. The object is to present ideas and criteria to stir the imagination and not to espouse the merits of specific methods. To reduce loading time and bandwidth, many subtopics are linked to secondary pages. Some may be incomplete or in rough draft form.
In the beginning there may not be a problem, but sooner or later, things get out of hand. More of everything gets accumulated and things get stashed anywhere, requiring a perfect memory and eagle eyes. Being a pack rat does not help. Next week I'll get organized, but how? There is not enough room. Variations of the ideas presented may help with compact, organized storage solutions. Experiences, some bad, will soon teach the merits of good, safe storage. Sometimes a few examples of not too successful attempts can provoke more thought and ideas.
To handle the needs of our hobbyshop, repairs, and custom work a very wide variety of parts had to be stored compactly and well organized. When, through the indirect influence of the casino boom, rents became exorbitantly high, we were forced to relocate to buildings on our property, adjacent to our home. This required a total reorganisation of storage facilities. Many of the ideas presented are direct results. More often the modelling workshop is devoted to my personal use.
As my daughters flew the nest, spare bedrooms became free. Our modeling shop was moved into one, from a shed and the cellar for convenience. The first thing required was a floor plan to fit work benches (old desks) and storage racks for unfinished projects. Using Deluxe Paint and measurements, ideas were juggled to fit or be shoe-horned in. Then benches were positioned, followed by racks and shelves. It was great at first, but as things were moved in, on an as needed basis, the storage problems cropped up. Where do I put this? Did the room shrink? With a few revisions and some additional bins and cabinets, over the years more was squeezed in. The large power tools remained in the poorly heated shed.
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INITIAL PLANNED ROOM LAYOUT
Dark red= C-5 lathe desk
Yellow= C-5 mill desk
Blue= workbench
Red= general modelling desk
Green= storage shelves
Light blue= bin drawers
Yellow at right= floor vent and window
Lines parallel to walls= shelves.
Circle= ceiling fan
With all the planning, revisions had to be made, by removing some center room, storage shelves to provide more clearance behind chairs. The one by the door was replaced by two rolling drawer bins. Shelves were added in the unused closet as a substitute.
Old desks were carefully selected for size, drawer number, type and location. Even a spray booth is on a small desk in a corner of the "guest room" (It's required by my wife. I don't encourage overnight guests.) Drawer tops make convenient props for siting kit box lids, storage boxes while rummaging for parts and other goodies. Trays and dividers provide some semblance of organization for tools.
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MILLING MACHINE DESK DRAWER W/TRAY
Often used accessories.
Milling machine crossfeed handwheel is visible in top center.
Mill bits and center drills are stored in plastic vials, while clamp heads, nuts and screws of varying lengths are stored in a plastic box. Unfortunately the spintite with T bar and longer allen wrenches do not fit any compartment, but drawer is deep enough to avoid jamming, when laid on tray top.
Deeper side drawers hold larger accessories like vises, collets, chucks, angle blocks and indicators. Excess drawers store presses, benders, rollers and other tools. Plastic and metal sheets and shorter bar stock along with larger lathe accessories are stored in the side, lathe desk drawers.
The lathe desk only has wide drawers down the head side for better position. To provides access to head belts and gears, a swinging door is affixed tothe housing. A clear view inside and work space for forearms require the desk top to be clear. Only a lamp in the back occupies any space; but being adjacent to the doorway, far too often the area serves as a temporary parking space for items in transit into and out of the room. At the rear of the knee well, a vacuum cleaner, with hose, stands ready for quick cleanup.
For a single bench work space, surplus metal government desks are a very sturdy, excecellent choice. Usually about 3' x5', they provide a large work area. Most have top slide-out shelves on either side; some with a shallow compartment below a hinged top. Fairly large drawers are usually on heavy duty slides to support weight.
Spaces between or under benches often can be used well with a little thought. The shelf below the large workbench stores larger and heavier tools. It extends past the inset legs, rendering the space between them useless for objects the must be slid out the front. Fitting the space nicely, an old Evergreen display rack holds shorter plastic and metal strips and shapes. Toward the wall, the surrounding space contains longer 36" stock in long tubes and boxes stood on end. Lead and other heavy weighting materials are best stored under the workbench in a sturdy, slide-able plastic box.
Even the window sill above serves as a place to store larger clamps, which are tightened only enough to hold them without damaging finish. Too often the sill acts as a quicky resting place for boxes.
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CLAMPS STORED ON WINDOW SILL.
Holding imminent kit projects in boxes, a small bookcase on casters covers the front. It is easily rolled out for access to rear items.
ACCESSIBLE BENCHTOP STORAGE _of tools is always a problem. Very rapidly tools get mixed with or hidden behind parts, boxes or instructions. Off bench storage is often inconvenient , often requiring partially visible, sorting through boxes or drawers. Many solutions have been offered commercially, but few were useful. Each tool has its own quirks, that too often require special treatment. Sometimes imagination is the only key to solution. To solve some similar holding problems, office suppliers offer some very useful devices, which can be easily modified for use. It is most desirable that tools should be held securely and compactly with identifying, working tips or ends clearly visible for easy selection.
Playing junk picker with a discerning eye, many useful holders may be found almost anywhere, especially behind malls. When revamping, often retailers discard perfectly usable containers and racks of all types. Often hobbyshops discard, up-to 36" long, cardboard or plastic tubes, in which metal items are packed, that can store similar items neatly. It is a good idea to always carry a small tape measure and note book with you to make sure the proposed acquisition fits. Having a knowledgeable wife, who is a flee market, yard sale, close-out and antique junky, is the best aide you can find.
As memory grows dimmer, it is a good idea to label storage compartments to avoid an endless search. Originally Dymo labels were tried, but after a while they fell off, and would not adhere again. Grease pencil often rubbed off with handling. More recently a Casio electronic label maker is under test. But in my case, familiarity breeds contempt and labels are quite frequently ignored.
Although some may have them, partitioned trays are usually shallow boxes without lids. As well as their uses in drawers, on the bench, they can sort and hold parts for a current project. They may be stackable to store unfinished work. Since they usually have rounded bottom corners for easier pickup, compartmented, desk drawer trays are more convenient. Thickness of walls is normally not important, bit heavy locos may break flimsy ones, if lifted without support. Fancy versions are available with cradles and magnets, but they are not usually worth the extra price. A good source of free usable trays is TV dinners. Usually small with rounded internal corners, they are excellent for sorting coupler parts for storage or kit parts when cut from runners or dumped from bags.
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PARTITIONED PROJECT TRAY
PRR H-27, six bay hopper, splice job.
1870's tank car, truck trial.
Boxes, of all types can hold and organize many different things like screws, parts, tools and raw materials. Before the advent of plastic; kit, shoe, cheese, cigar, hosiery, gift and any other "suitable" boxes were used, often to good advantage. Most were cardboard, with a few wooden or metal. The introduction of small, 1" x 1" and up, plastic boxes permitted sorting small parts in larger DIVIDED BOXES. Some model items and electronic components come in smaller plastic boxes or vials. Some old medicine vials , prior to the "adult" proof caps, can be used for larger items. The only trick is to accumulate enough of the right size to fit. Horde them in a box for that rainy day. With a little luck, imagination and fortitude, many compact arrangements can be developed.
Many boxes are used as-is, with or without tops. Plain boxes can be stacked or stored almost anywhere. All too often, excess rollingstock must be stored off layout. Hard to find, since the advent of giant hard drives, large computer tape reel boxes are sturdy, stackable and ideal for up to 30 Varney (Life-Like) hoppers or even 85' passenger cars in HO. Glued to the bottom, a stiff cardboard sheet, holding a metal hub, must be removed. With a few indentations added on the rim, hubs make good ashtrays. With a couple of layers of paper towels to cover the remaining glue and provide padding, the lid applies just enough pressure to hold cars in place, without squashing. However they must be carried level to avoid sliding. Very easily loaded and unloaded at the layout for quick era or operation change, they are also useful for storing and transporting rollingstock to the spray booth for batch painting.
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COMPUTER TAPE REEL BOX.
29 Varney hoppers, some track tested and waiting for new couplers and paint.
Polyethylene food containers, without tops, make excellent leak-proof boxes to hold liquid cement, chemical and lube bottles, tubes and cans. Walls reduce tipping and help avoid messy damage and clean-up by retaining spills and cascades down container sides. Lids can be used elsewhere as leak-proof work surfaces.
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LEAK-PROOF FOOD STORAGE BOXES HOLDING LIQUID CONTAINERS
Similarly, alpha cyanocrylate (ACC, CA) may be a great adhesive; but since the polymerization catalyst is water, it does not store well, unless kept cool and dry. Storing in a hermetically sealed container (jar) with a desicant (silica gel) will greatly extend shelf life. Often suitable desicant capsules are found in aspirin bottles, while small cloth bags may be packed in imported item boxes. The darker blue, charged color fades toward white during exhaustion. Recharging is through slowly heating at a moderate temperature to avoid melting plastic capsule. Long term storage should be in a refrigerator.
CABINETS, WITH OR WITHOUT, DIVISIBLE DRAWERS _can often hold larger parts. Those with smaller drawers may be hung on a wall or set on a shelf. Larger ones may have casters to move them about on the floor. Even at the layout, they can hold scenery materials, other bulky items and some tools. If not provided, dividers can be easily made. To help stay organized, one drawer in a large floor bin could be set aside to hold incoming items, waiting for sorting.
Possibly able to solve a storage problem, excess racks and displays are often discarded by retailers. Replacing several large boxes, an old Evergreen display rack now holds strips, sheets and shapes of plastic and brass with the aid of a few sleeves, push rod and mailing tubes. (Often a standard dealer pack, sleeves are boxes which hold smaller boxed, bagged or loose items neatly in displays, such as track sections, fuel tanks, K & S metal shapes etc.)
A tie and belt rack can hang some odd hand and small power tools. Cup and other hooks make handy hangers under shelves or on walls. They can conveniently support power tool cables out of the way or hang them for storage. They are very useful for stringing wires under the layout, permitting quick changes or additions. Often they can hang awkward sized tools.
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HANGING TOOLS ON A TIE AND BELT RACK OR CUP HOOKS
In an otherwise wasted space, for drawer clearance, even the phone gets hung, on the wall, at about arm's length. Above rack is a set of fancy screw drivers in pouch. Hammers, Vibrotool, power sanders, small rotor tool and some odd tools are suspended from rack. Hand pieces for resistance soldering unit, on shelf above, are suspended from cup hooks. Still plugged in, the last one used is hung from a separate hook in front.
Below, between desk leg and wall, cutting and soldering mats and other flat objects are held, out of the way. Power tool cases slide nicely under desk along with foot controls and power outlets.
SHELVES _can hold many boxes, racks, tools or other items, but they must be sturdy enough to support the weight. Since, when mounted on walls, leverage may be great, bracket screws must be in studs and large enough to avoid pull-out. Shelf hights should be set to clear use below, but provide easy access to items stored on them. Unless very long thighs present a problem, shelves can be erected at the rear of desk knee wells; a space that is normally wasted. On work bench tops, often small movable shelves, at rear or sides, can provide double-deck storage.
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