Hi,

Newbie here. Really looking forward to sharing and gaining with you guys.

Anyways Ive got me a basement with mucho wall space and I am looking for some ideas for racking it out. Im a big guy for my tools (I once spent a whole weekend sorting out my metric from my imperial fasteners) so I’d like racking for tools and odds n’ ends.

Any advise from you guys ????

Danny_D_to_the_V

 

Welcome to the forums!
That's kind of an open ended question. I'd build shelves that would accommodate the tools and their different sizes/uses.

 

How much shelving space do you need? What's your budget? Any restraints or preferences about appearance?

 

This is a near impossible question to answer.
Every garage or shed is different, what tools you feel you may need to hang that you use most often will be different then someone else, what works for one person may not work for you.

 

Tools and nuts and bolts can be heavy, so consideration should be made for stout shelving. I have found that angle iron type frames with keyway slots makes a pretty good shelving unit, and any weight you add, just makes the shelf unit sit tighter in the keyway. For example: Edsal 72 in. H x 48 in. W x 24 in. D 5-Shelf Steel Commercial Shelving Unit in Black-UR-245WGB - The Home Depot

Being totally adjustable, you can customize them as you wish. You are in Ireland, so your selection may be limited.

 

That's excellent feedback Chandler, not so good Joecaption and Marksr - try harder next time LOL

I like the look of that Home Depot shelf Chandler. Good sturdy stuff. That's kindve what Im after. Your right though, no Home Depot here in Ireland, we don't even have DIY stores. I'd have to buy the materials and fabricate myself !

Im thinking of upcycling old household objects to make bespoke tool storage - trying to do it on the cheap. Anyone ever racked with old pallets ? Or made shelves out've tea chests ? Or clipped tools to a wall using clothes pegs ?

To answer Pilot Dane (are you a real pilot ?) I have a lotta tools. I've got a full set of Vaughan hammers - all 26 of 'em. Biggest hammer has a 36" handle and a 28lb head (its like a Tom & Jerry hammer !) and the littlest has a 6" handle and a 10oz head (its a rockhammer, like in Shawshank redemption, but I didn't get it the same way). I've also got 22 power tools from drills to jigsaws and planers, numerous brushes and brooms and my collection of screws - imperial and metric with close to 100,000 pieces (Ive counted them :-)).

Well guys ??

 

Not sure what your idea with pallets is but you could disassemble them and use some of the wood for shelves. I prefer hammers to hang rather than set on a shelf - easier to grab the correct one that way too. You need to figure out in your mind [or on paper] which tools you want where and go from there .... tempered with the material you have available.

 

Yea, I'm sure I'm envisioning shelving made from old pallets. For your collection of hand tools I am seeing them hanging on display. A wall with each tool having it's own place. Perhaps with the outline of the tool painted on the wall.

The power tools could go on shallow shelves. Shelves just deep enough for the tools and their accessories. I don't like deep shelves as some things tend to get buried behind others. I have some 12" deep tool shelves in my warehouse and they're a bit too narrow. I think 18" would be perfect and possibly 24" at the most.

For hardware I have narrow shelves and plastic bins that hang from louvered steel panels mounted on the wall. Some of my hardware shelves are 3" deep and lightweight which is enough for one or two small boxes deep and only allows stacking a couple boxes high. The idea is to keep things visible and not allow them to be buried or require you to remove a lot of things to get to the box on the bottom. Then I have heavier duty 12" deep ones for my heavy boxes of bulk hardware.