Finally made some progress on organizing my shop

CH4Ohio · Jan 17, 2026

EddieWalker said:
Smart Siding is a high end OSB with a hard texture to make it look nice. The chips are tighter and stronger than your regular construction grade OSB. It cuts cleaner and there isn't as much flaking or separating of the chips. The same is true for ZIP System.

It will be similar to half in plywood for hanging stuff on, even though it's thinner. 3/4 inch plywood would be a lot better because of how much thicker it is. There are other OSB products that are also thicker that would be better too, but the price increases quite a bit.

Home Depot and Lowes both sell Smart Siding and other Smart products like Smart Trim.

I've recently noticed several people nearby are selling pine shiplap and tongue-and-groove boards in various widths -- all nominal 1" thick. Been thinking about using 10" wide boards and running them vertically. I'll just face nail them to be sure they're secure -- not concerned about hiding the fasteners. It's also an actual 3/4" thick. I'd also probably just leave it natural -- no stain or paint.

Seems to me like pricing is pretty good compared to plywood or some of the other options. I can get it for about $1.20 per sq. ft. A little more for "premium" grade to reduce waste.

Do you see any down-side to just using pine?

jmc · Jan 17, 2026

AlbertC said:
One of my goals last year was to get some organization in my shop. So I built this bench and tool boards and bought some cabinets to store everything. Thought everyone might like these pics.

That's really inspiring, AlbertC.

Like several others here, all my benches are usually just horizontal storage to the point that I keep putting off jobs that require reorganizing beforehand. Maybe I just need a rolling rack dedicated to tools I'm finished using for the time being instead of laying them on a working bench.

What's the long white triangle under the model car?

AlbertC · Jan 17, 2026

Quaffer said:
That is quite impressive. Nice job!

I really like the section devoted to old tools from days gone by. Now I have an idea to do with all that kind of stuff laying around .... when I have time to do it!!

Regarding your main tools stored on the wall, did you lay it out on paper first, or a computer, or just start experimenting by putting things in different places?

I tried to put all common things together. For example all measuring tools (tape measures, squares, etc), wrenches, pliers, hammers, are grouped together. I just started putting them on the board and it just kind of came together

AlbertC · Jan 17, 2026

EddieWalker said:
That looks really nice. One of my goals in life is to have a space like that!!!!

Eddie - I’m sure you don’t remember this but a couple years ago when I was trying to decide whether to go with a stick built or metal building I asked for advise from you as to what you would do all things being equal. You advised me that you thought a stick built building had some advantages that you wouldn’t have with a metal building and that you would recommend stick built. I took your advise and built this building with 2 by 6 construction and I am very happy with the way it turned out.

AlbertC · Jan 17, 2026

jmc said:
That's really inspiring, AlbertC.

Like several others here, all my benches are usually just horizontal storage to the point that I keep putting off jobs that require reorganizing beforehand. Maybe I just need a rolling rack dedicated to tools I'm finished using for the time being instead of laying them on a working bench.

What's the long white triangle under the model car?

That is a Rockler circle cutting jig.

dodge man · Jan 17, 2026

The old Rockler jig, I’ve got 5 or 6 of those laying around. Not really, never heard of it until now. I had to go back and look at the picture. Does it just trace a pencil mark or does it actually guide something like a jigsaw?

Carl_NH · Jan 17, 2026

AlbertC can you post a close up or provide the hanger set up you used?

Appears to be a hook with a loop for a screw. Thanks !

bdhsfz6 · Jan 17, 2026

AlbertC said:
One of my goals last year was to get some organization in my shop. So I built this bench and tool boards and bought some cabinets to store everything. Thought everyone might like these pics.

Wow! An awesome, well organized shop!! I'm jealous of all the space you have to work with.

When I built mine 40 years ago, I made the mistake of making it too small. To make it work, I had to optimize the available space.

The walls are all 5/8" plywood and I started out mounting tools in an organized way. As my collection grew, I eventually ran out of space and began doubling up.

I discovered I could organize and store small tools better in a bin rack, rather than hang each tool separately.
I cleared a section of wall and installed a larger bin rack system to maximize what could be stored in that space

My biggest problem is storage space for hardware and small parts. The bins and drawer cabinets help with the smaller items and shelves are used for larger bins.

The shop has a 10' ceiling so I installed a motorized overhead shelf unit to take advantage of that wasted space.

Other tricks I use are dollies with lockable casters for my welders and band saw. This rolling workbench is also a great help.

grsthegreat · Jan 17, 2026

Holy crap….a carpeted shop. I just have too much stuff. If I ever fully shut down my electrical/generator business that will free up a lot of shelf space

Try as I might, I can never get mine uncluttered

AlbertC · Jan 17, 2026

dodge man said:
The old Rockler jig, I’ve got 5 or 6 of those laying around. Not really, never heard of it until now. I had to go back and look at the picture. Does it just trace a pencil mark or does it actually guide something like a jigsaw?

You can attach your router to it to cut through the wood. I’ve only used it a couple of times but it does a real good job of cutting out a perfect circle with the router.

AlbertC · Jan 17, 2026

CH4Ohio said:
Looks great! What did you put on the lower section of the walls? Is that tongue-and-groove painted wood? I need to finish the interior walls in my building. Really like yours and the color scheme breaks up the too-much-white that you can get with all metal.

Thanks for posting the pics!

It is Smartside siding and it comes in a 4 by 8 sheet.It looks like OSB on the back but it is much tougher. You can put it in a bucket of water and it will not swell up like OSB.The thing I like about it is it pre-primed and it only took one coat of paint.

AlbertC · Jan 17, 2026

Carl_NH said:
AlbertC can you post a close up or provide the hanger set up you used?

Appears to be a hook with a loop for a screw. Thanks !

AlbertC · Jan 17, 2026

It’s really simple. Just take some romex wire and strip the insulation so that you have an individual piece of copper. Then you can bend a loop in one end of the copper wire with a pair of needle nose pliars. You put a screw through the loop and then bend the other end however needed to support the tool. I saw a guy doing it on YouTube and thought it was a good idea. It works really well and is basically a free way to hang your tools.

Torvy · Jan 17, 2026

Albert C. was my grandfather's name. (He passed in '46, so we never met)

I should take this as divine inspiration to fix up my little shop space.

Most of it is occupied by a door I am finishing. That's no excuse, though. It is always a mess!

EddieWalker · Jan 18, 2026

CH4Ohio said:
I've recently noticed several people nearby are selling pine shiplap and tongue-and-groove boards in various widths -- all nominal 1" thick. Been thinking about using 10" wide boards and running them vertically. I'll just face nail them to be sure they're secure -- not concerned about hiding the fasteners. It's also an actual 3/4" thick. I'd also probably just leave it natural -- no stain or paint.

Seems to me like pricing is pretty good compared to plywood or some of the other options. I can get it for about $1.20 per sq. ft. A little more for "premium" grade to reduce waste.

Do you see any down-side to just using pine?

How did you do your math to figure $1.20 per sq ft for the pine? I just went to the Lowes website and it's closer to $5 a sq foot

A 3/4 sheet of plywood is just over a buck a sq ft

My only concern with pine is it's tendency to split. It also likes to warp and bend if it's not fastened every foot or two. I would never span more then two feet with it. Tongue and Groove or Shiplap help deal with the warping issue over large spans.

It's not something that I would use. If I was going to spend extra money, I'd buy 3/4 ply. My current shop has 7/16 OSB that has held just about everything I've needed it to. I find a stud when I need to hang something heavy. It's easy to see where the studs are from the screws attaching the OSB to the wall. The only thing I don't like about OSB is looking at it over time. Paint helps, but it's still ugly. Right now Lowes has OSB for $15, but the Lumber Yard that I buy from has it for $9.

Suburban Plowboy · Jan 18, 2026

AlbertC said:
One of my goals last year was to get some organization in my shop. So I built this bench and tool boards and bought some cabinets to store everything. Thought everyone might like these pics.

Yeah, my shop looks like that for a few hours every five years or so.

scootr · Jan 18, 2026

My shop could look clean and organized if I just stop doing too many projects at once... well, that will never happen. As for hanging everything up that doesn't work for me. I need a drawer of hammers, a drawer of flat head screwdrivers, a drawer of phillips screwdrivers, a drawer of metric wrenches, a drawer of SAE wrenches, a drawer of 1/4" drive sockets etc, drawer for 3/8ths, drawer for 1/2, drawer for vise grips... you get the idea. Lots of drawers.

ultrarunner · Jan 18, 2026

I can see I lost this race a long time ago…

My number one retirement goal is consolidate and organize… it’s good to have goals!

CH4Ohio · Jan 18, 2026

EddieWalker said:
How did you do your math to figure $1.20 per sq ft for the pine? I just went to the Lowes website and it's closer to $5 a sq foot

A 3/4 sheet of plywood is just over a buck a sq ft

My only concern with pine is it's tendency to split. It also likes to warp and bend if it's not fastened every foot or two. I would never span more then two feet with it. Tongue and Groove or Shiplap help deal with the warping issue over large spans.

It's not something that I would use. If I was going to spend extra money, I'd buy 3/4 ply. My current shop has 7/16 OSB that has held just about everything I've needed it to. I find a stud when I need to hang something heavy. It's easy to see where the studs are from the screws attaching the OSB to the wall. The only thing I don't like about OSB is looking at it over time. Paint helps, but it's still ugly. Right now Lowes has OSB for $15, but the Lumber Yard that I buy from has it for $9.

Several guys around here have ads on FB Marketplace. I've talked to a couple and looked at the lumber at one guy's place last week. Looks like they're buying this out of various mills up in New England. Prices vary a little but run between $.95 to $1.20 per linear foot for the 10" wide boards. One side has a v-bead milled down the middle and the other is just plain. I'd say if you were real picky you'd have to figure close to 20% for waste due to loose knots and cracks. But at that price, it still looked attractive from a cost standpoint.

I was worried about pine being too soft and splitting too. Also don't like the OSB look. Was trying to avoid the ribs on metal but maybe I should rethink that. I thought about 5/8" plywood sanded on one side but then kinda stumbled across these guys selling pine on FB.

Here's a pic of a shop building where they were using some of this tongue and groove with the v-bead side up so it looks like narrower boards.

Appreciate your thoughts! You make good points. Thanks.