Finishing my French cleats project

 Last nite I finally got my rows under the window, the ones under the boring till will have to wait, I decided on some changes, which will required longer cleats and different holders. 

Thinking I should make a holder for my cordless drill and Impact driver.  That would also required a power outlet to be added nearby.

Put them on then loaded them with a few holders.

When I made the holders I gave no attention to their lengths, I simply used whatever piece of scrap wood leftover fit the bill for whatever application I was doing.  That resulted in a varieties of holder length, which may or may not fit side by sides on same row.  That would not be much of a problem if I was covering a large surface like a wall, but I have dedicated, rather not too long spaces.  The cleats under the window are my longest so far at 40 inch.  The one over the hobby bench are 36 inch and the ones that were to go under the boring till are 26 inch.

Looking at the space under the window: 

The top three holders happened to fit side by side along the 40 inch cleat, purely by luck.

This wont be the setup I will keep, I am just trying various holders to get a sense of their ideal height and what space they would required around.

For example, the holder I made for my English cabinet maker screwdrivers required lots of space above and below.  The screwdrivers are inserted and removed from the top only. Brilliant design choice :-)

Those I will need near the bench so maybe in a different location??

The opened end holder can hold a lot of different tools, some better some wobbly.  Depends on the tool shape and the hole sizes/spacing

A variety of holders, both open ended and closed.

The Cabinet maker screwdriver one has good spacing, but it is a dedicated holder.

The closed one on top is a bit wasteful in space for screwdrivers.  

It was made years ago to hold file/rasps.

The small stubby screwdriver's one is also dedicated and hold them securely with good spacing.

The open end one can hold a variety of tools easily but depending on their handles shape can get a tad crowded.  The hole is too big to hold my socket chisels by the socket.

 

The dedicated hammers and mallets holders are very solid, I like how the tools goes in and out.  Just need to find the right height, in multiples of 4 inches due to the 2 inch cleats being spaced 2 inches apart.

Resting on my lower cleats.

It barely clear the bench. and the 24 Oz framing hammer does not.

Not that I need it around my bench anyway :-)

I am starting to notice a trend in white primer paint spots on my banging tools.

Humm, due for a clean up :-)

Tried the mallet holder on the next upper cleats.

Would be too high to fit under the boring till, where it used to live.

But would be fine on the lower one.

Looking at it, I think I will add one or more lower cleats

In order to install my cleats I had to removed a few holders that were screwed on the side of both tills.

Those would need relocating, perhaps new holders?

Then I must also finished my marking gauges holder.  I want that one to be self supporting on the bench once removed from the wall.  But first I have a boo boo to fix on it.

Had a end piece of walnut which makes beautiful small pieces of inlays 

with the right grain orientation.

I knew I kept it all these years for a reason :-)

I eyeballed them to be all about the thickness of the blade.

My bright plan is to inlay a border around the square hole

which I screw up in a NY minute with an errand jig saw cut.  Oups!

Don't have too, but want to.

Once I fix (hide) that screw up, I will need to figured out the size and shape of the side pieces to make it standing up on its own on the bench.  Again, don't have to, but want to.

I usually used a "few" gauges throughout a project, which means they need a place to go nearby.

That holder does not have to hold all my gauges, that would take the whole space under the window :-)

but rather a small assortment, and when I say small I mean roughly 10?

It is also a nice piece of figured maple, so I'll do something nice for it.  NO idea what that would look yet.  Must first look into my offcuts boxes.

Finally, since I have some extra 26 inches cleats, may as well put them somewhere else.

But where ?? 

So all in all, I think it's safe to say I'm done with that project moving on ... :-)

Off course I'm joking, it is never done around here.  Always tweaking rearranging.

I reckon I should have my shop reorganization completed by the time I reach my 80s or there about :-)

My next big projects in my shop are:

Find a better place to store some of my wood and take down that built in bench

That would give me space for a shaving horse and a Morovian bench 

Finished my drill post installation

Build more plane tills

Come up with some sort of drill bits storage.  The boring auger bits till I was using, a recycled spoon rack, is too wasteful in spaces. 

Then, coming up in the garage:  Bring in 220V, insulate, replaced garage doors, built in storage etc, etc

Should keep me occupied for a while, but the next big projects are replacing the carpet by hardwood flooring in dining/living room and building a new rear deck.  These two were awaiting the French Door installation, recently done.

Meanwhile

Another storm is about to hit us tonight.  That one is throwing out the whole enchiladas or the kitchen sink of weather at us.  Rain, icing rain, snow up to 40 Cm, 90 km/h winds then ice pellets.

I am better prepared this time.  My snow blower got picked up for service Wed AM and delivered back to me Thursday PM.  Thank you Greenwood Rentals.  My official caretaker on my small gas engines  since I came back here in 2011. 

Snow Checked Serviceable, I'm happy 

Bob, who needs more cleats and holders.  Oh, and storm beers