Cleats and Tool Storage

Not that I have an enormous collection of power tools, but each one I have came in a hand plastic carry case. Those are great -- when you need to carry the tools around.

But now that I'm doing most of my work in the shed, those plastic boxes get in the way and take up valuable space.

So I decided to make a "french cleat" storage rack and some shelf/boxes to attach to it, and use that to store my tools. I've made all of this from scraps, which kind of explains how rough they look.

The idea is that I can just put the tool and maybe some of its basic accessories in a custom sized box hanging from the cleat and just put the plastic carry case somewhere else (in case I need it) or even toss it.

Here's the one I built for the small router. It's not exactly beautiful, but it was fun to make and it does serve its purpose. I cut a hole in the center of the bottom of the shelf/box so that the router can fit even if there's a bit inserted.

So far I've built three of these, one for the router, the jig saw, and the sander. I'm thinking about making one for the drills and charger next.