How to best use this cabinet for hand tools and ??? storage
Many years ago I was helping an Aunt clean out her house and saw this cabinet she wanted gone. I thought it was a really cool piece and brought it home thinking that it could provide a lot of storage space. Maybe tools, plans, manuals, books…something. I recently found out that it is a solid wood Woodruff card cabinet.
It’s been about 50 years (I’ve been busy) and I am finally bringing it into the shop to help get organized and consolidate my hand tools, measuring devices, plans, etc that are lying all over the place. The vertical Woodruff drawers pull out and tilt down. They have a wood panel that slides up and down. Finding a use for the horizontal drawers is easy – chisels, measuring instruments, other odd tools etc. I will probably remove the sliding panels in the Woodruff drawers and am trying to figure out the best way to use them. Maybe planes if they fit but that would only be one or two drawers. Maybe make drill bit, router bit holder inserts. Any other ideas on what items would make good use of these drawers?
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one issue I would have with this setup: I forget the tool if I don't see it. So whatever you do, make it system that fits your mental organization process. Maybe nice big, clear cards in those slots with the exact tool in there.
Its a nice piece of cabinetry and that quartersawn oak is awesome.
“Maybe nice big, clear cards in those slots with the exact tool in there.”
That’s one of the things I like about it for storage.
I had never heard the term “Tiger Oak” in relation to quartersawn before researching this cabinet. I’d seen the wood, just didn’t know that’s what it was called. The cabinet is solid wood, not veneer. My next post is going to be on the best way to clean it up and restore it without ruining it.
It's a cool cabinet, but the layout does not seem ideal for tool storage.
I found these...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256266870149
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1062871
Rather than tool storage, it may be better suited for all the other stuff we have in the shop - super glue, screws, shellac flakes, spools of string, brads, tacks, small extension cords, magnifying glasses, etc. As others have noted, cataloguing these items on the front of the drawer would vastly increase the usability of the cabinet.
If it were me, I'd use it for non-tool storage: nuts/bolts, different tapes, shims, bottle caps and seals, and stuff like that.
For tools, I'm with Bailey. I have no object permanence either, and if I don't see it, does not exist.
It is a cool cabinet with history, though. Love it.
I'd be concerned about the dimensions of the vertical storage compartments. How deep are they, how wide are they? Can you reach in with your hand to access the contents at the bottom of the compartment? What size tools would they accommodate?