Workshop
Askew /adjective/ - not in a straight or level position.
This is one of those goofy little posts that I do from time to time... you know - some seemingly insignificant little project with meager impact on life here at 173. And while all that's true, it's also true that these little ditties Gabe me an hour or two in the shop, and fulfilled some little duty! Let's get into it!
The Thing About Pegboards
I love pegboard. Hanging pegboard in the workshop was one of the best things I've ever done down there in terms of storage and esthetics.
But with all the storage options like those little wire style hangers that you put into the pegboard they just never seem to be just what you're looking for. Okay, maybe not never, but there's always that one piece or two that you just wish you had something different. And that's the thing about pegboards.
So What's A Man To Do?
It kinda started with this block plane I'd had since maybe August or September of '22 and finally got around to giving it a good cleanup back in March.
In the meantime, the plane had been living in a space above the small parts storage rack...
But I wanted to have a spot over the bench to store it...no idea why, but that's what I wanted. I had seen a brilliant way to add some light shelving to the pegboard so I thought I'd give it a shot.
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. - George S. Patton
After cutting a scrap piece of wood to the size I wanted...
I inserted a couple L-hooks in the back of the board, and beveled the top back edge of the board to give it space to tilt the hooks into their holes on the pegboard.
This little shelf became the natural habitat of my little block plane.
So What Now?
I’m not that fussy of a guy. I mean, I do like things to be orderly, but I’m not a nut about that. My career has been an absolute organized chaos for the last 15+ years, and I’m completely okay with that. As far as the workshop is concerned, I’m generally ok if things are in their proper place so I can find them when I want them – I hate having to look all over the shop just to find a certain tool.
If you’ve been following 173 for a while you may have noticed the workbench looking a bit sloppy, that’s usually the case when I’m mid project. But there are some things that just drive me nuts, one of them being when my screwdrivers are in their proper place, but the storage accessory just doesn’t keep them straight. Look in this next picture, can you see it?
Askew! The screwdrivers are askew! And no matter how carefully I put a screwdriver in its place, they eventually go, yeah you guessed it – askew! I’ve even changed the pegboard accessory a couple times and – askew! Something had to be done.
For whatever reason, and completely out of the blue, I had a compelling notion that now was the time to eliminate the insidious mental impact of screwdrivers gone askew. I spent a minute or two considering my options, then I remembered the block plane shelf.
Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor. - Samuel Johnson
So I cut out a length of scrap wood, and marked out two rows (I figured why not properly store a few more than my everyday Stanley screwdrivers, which have been my primary screwdrivers since 1997 or ’98)...
Once it was all marked out, I used a 3/8" drill bit, just big enough for a slot screwdriver to fit through.
Then a couple minutes on the drill press…
A few random workshop posts!
✤ A couple minor workshop updates - February 2022
✤ From Harbor Freight, my very first anvil - January 2023
✤ Salvaging a small parts storage chest - August 2021
✤ Finally! A Craftsman tool chest - January 2023
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
And here's a few Homemade Tools posts!
And, like with the plane rack, I beveled the back edge of the shelf so it could be positioned onto the pegboard, and then I screwed the L-hooks in after pre-drilling. And now we have a screwdriver shelf that would keep them from being....being....askew!
Done And In Its Natural Habitat
And just like that - at the spur of the moment and with about a half hour, and a $0 investment, my main screwdrivers can be stored in the proper position - NOT askew! And here's the new storage rack in its natural habitat:
And that's the long telling of a short tale - thank you so much for stopping by. See ya' next time!
