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Machine Shop Tour: How to Keep Track of Your Stuff

Here's what can happen when you decide to really organize your shop—or workspace, or kitchen, or whatever…

By David Frane - July 18, 2017

in Organization | Videos

It's never too late to organize your stuff. Last year I put my tools and machines in storage while remodeling my shop. When I brought them back, I reorganized the way they were stored. My only regret is that I didn't consult John Sanders' videos before organizing the contents of my mechanics tool box.

The owner of Sanders Machine Works in Zanesville, Ohio, Sanders moved from NYC a few years back—which is why his YouTube channel is called NYC CNC.

The video below is a shop tour that focused on storage. You don't have to be a machinist to appreciate the level of organization in his shop; the principles he espouses can be applied to any craft or trade.

They include putting like items together and keeping things close to where they will be used. If at all possible, keep the most frequently used items out where you can see them—preferably in shadow boards (Sanders uses Kaizen Foam). If you store things in containers or drawers, be sure to label them so you know what's inside. And get rid of the stuff you never use.

That last piece of advice is the hardest to follow. I found it difficult to get rid of things before remodeling my shop. But it felt good once I got going. I sold a machine and gave away a bunch of tools—it helped that a friend had retired and was taking up woodworking. Eight months on there have been only a handful of times when I wished I'd hung onto something I'd gotten rid of.

There's a lot to be learned from watching the video tour of Sanders' shop. Don't be disheartened if your gear is nowhere as organized as his. Mine is not. But it will be better when I incorporate some of the things I've seen in this video.

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jason campbell

7 years ago

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Argh, I find organizational solutions work about as well as a cloud for an umbrella. You get one fleeting moment of tranquility then biff! Every surface is again covered with everything. I have even tried to reduce the number of work surfaces to only allow for one project at a time, no love. I have tried to keep it simple and divide by tool or material, no love. I have spent more time working on the shop than in the shop, again no love - this time from my wife. It seems no amount of medication, meditation or mediation can sustain my shop's organization. I can't get a bot to do it and this machine can't seem to learn. The only crazy idea I haven't tried is to build an absurdly long conveyor belt snaking through the crawlspace under the house where at most 5' winds through the corner of my shop. I can just drop whatever wherever and retrieve it whenever. But would I use it? Argh!! No!!!

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Abhijit Dey

7 years ago

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Awesome and very methodical organization.

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