Small basement tool storage and workspace

[Duffman]

Any ideas from the mags here on the best way to store a bunch bike , ski , and generalized home tools (drills, drivers, hammers, etc) in a small basement area? I'm trying to organize my random shit without much success, and space is at a premium in a city rowhouse. Any good modular toolboxes or such? Right now my area only has stuff loosely on wire shelves. Would also love to have some sort of portable workbench for bike and ski work. Right now i'm using a really small Black and Decker workmate with is pretty unstable.

TL:dr Help me make a shop out of a closet sized space: GO!

[XXX-er]

I have a BD workmate before I had enough room I made a form to hold skis, a park pro bike clamp and a vice which i could clamp into the table,

bascily I put a cleat on the bottom of whatever I want to hold so you can also see the vice chucked into the BD and the ski holder , not sure where the pict of bike holder is but you get the idea i hope

[Duffman]

That's a pretty slick idea. May try that

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[Foggy_Goggles]

Aside form the price, Packouts are great. They have a wall mount system now also.

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[mcski]

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[SoVT Joey]

I’m a milwaukee fan and the packouts suck unless you have a ton of space and the money. Load a large one with tools and you will blow your asshole out trying to lift it. Beyond that I have nothing to offer. My shop and garage are just full of random shit on shelves. My Decked in my truck and my over the rail tool box stay organized

[scmartin69]

If you have the wall space a pegboard for hanging tools is great. Cheap 4x8' sheet and a buncha hangers from Harbor Freight can store a lotta stuff.

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[ASmileyFace]

Pegboard for tools on the wall is the way as long as you have a workbench space. But then you actually have to keep the workbench clean, which is more challenging imo

[scmartin69]

Pegboard for tools on the wall is the way as long as you have a workbench space. But then you actually have to keep the workbench clean, which is more challenging imo

[emoji1787]

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[Duffman]

No consistently unobstructed wall space enough for pegboard unfortunately.

[Core Shot]

No consistently unobstructed wall space enough for pegboard unfortunately.

Pegboard is only good for over a bench, or a wall that can’t hold shelves.
Wire shelving sucks. The angle brackets suck and they don’t hold weight. I tend to build hd shelving with 2x4 and plywood. Or, use shelf brackets screwed to the studs.
Small plastic totes are key. As are cardboard office boxes (heavy duty). I build shelving based on those. 1” taller. I’ve also got some adjustable frame shelving and set the same height.

Cardboard Boxes I have racked:
Paint tools
Bike tools
Plumbing tools
Electrical supplies
Ski tuning
Car detailing
Rarely used tools (labeled on box what’s there)
Etc etc.
most don’t have lids

Another great shelving idea I’ve used is one or two rows above door height all the way around the room. It’s amazing how much space you can get up there.

Never used the garage pulley shelves but that might work in the middle of your room.

Even 6” shelving is useful for smaller supplies. Shelve the fuck out of everything. Try not to use totes, but the small ones are useful for small parts in larger boxes. Large totes are essential for bulky items or clothes, but I’ve come to enjoy standard office boxes.

[climberevan]

Cabinets if you're working in there, or shelves if not.

Or just go whole hog.

[spanky]

How about a tool cabinet? Storage and a work surface. I have this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-46...C9V2/313615421

[old goat]

I hate pegboards.
Do you have room for a wall cabinet. Square box maybe 4- 6 inches deep with various shelves and hangers. Two half width doors on piano hinges, maybe 3-4 in deep, with various hangers. Indicate where each tool goes by the shape of the hanger, a label, or an outline of the tool. Build it yourself. Sorry I'm not where mine is or I'd show you a picture. Make it as wide as you have room for.

And yes, keepiing a workbench clear is a major challenge, especially if you have a wife. I'm happy if she just keeps wet stuff off the cast iron table saw.

[singlesline]

Really like my Worx Pegasus portable workbench:
https://www.worx.com/pegasus-work-ta...rse-wx051.html
Used to be pretty common to see it on sale places for $100. Folds away nicely, pretty stable (especially if you put something heavy on the base), and the clamping/bench dog system works pretty well.

Not sure about bike stuff other than using it as a table, but I was able to clip ski vices to it in the past although it is a little short. But nowadays I only use it for other projects.

Now in the corner of my garage I have a Toko tuning bench (Swix sells an identical one if you prefer Red): https://tokous.com/workbench-small/
Ski vices clamp to it in the winter (and I threw sandbags over the legs for more stability when scraping). In the summer it is a nice small table for parts/tools that still leaves enough room to set up my bike stand while the car is still parked in the garage.

Behind it I have a small 2-panel pegboard kit with some hooks/a big shelf/bins: https://www.wallcontrol.com/metal-pe...k-accessories/
I sort of rotate it between ski tuning tools/wax in the winter and the most common bike tools/fluids in the summer.

Rest of the small hand tools live in a cantilevering toolbox that I've had since living in a small apartment that looks kind like this: https://www.amazon.com/Bahco-Orange-...A1GJZM3EQ&th=1
Organized well enough that I can find things fast and it is a single box that can take care of most things.

Power tools and bigger hand tools like saws, plane, clamps, etc. just live on shelves somewhere. I don't really see the need to organize these better. Power tools mostly came in their own cases and the bigger hand tools store fine just sitting there or in bins--don't have the space to build out a giant pegboard and I'm not sure I'd want to even if I did.

[dunfree]

I made a folding ski work bench with some folding legs from Amazon that I screwed onto a 2*12. It’s held up for years. Pegboards, TSlots or best a shadow board work if you’ve a limited number of tools.

[stuckathuntermtn]

IDK if it's what you're looking for, but Harbor Freight sells magnetic tool holders that drill into the wall for very cheap. I have a few. Bike tools to the right side and multipurpose to the left. Surprisingly for Harbor Freight stuff, they work pretty well.
Plastic drawers are good for rotating stuff between seasons. If the bike needs to go into the stand, that happens outside, off the mudroom where said magnets are. Also, don't be afraid to just make or modify a small workbench. We did. My housemate basically cut the board that was the work surface that was already shorter (less deep, so more room for bikes and other stuff). He didn't do it in a straight line (come one, dude), but it worked. We also used some 2x4's to give it strength for things like a scraping skis and boards. These slot into brackets and are not fixed in place, so if they are in the way, they can just be moved, and if they fall over they can just be wedged back into place.
The best workshop situation? No. Does it get the job done? Yeah. I can try to get picks of the mess if you want.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Here's some random shit through a wide angle lens. If your basement walls are cinder blocks, you'd have to anchor a backboard into the wall, then attach magnets and pegs to that. The walls in this picture are formerly the outside of the house and the rest of the low ceilinged mudroom that was added (cheaply) on to the back of the house. Not sure what the deal is with the ceiling. Or how they moved the nonsensical electrical out to it.