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+-- Thread: Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? (/showthread.php?tid=7339004)
Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? - giradman - 04-18-2018
Hi All - still working on re-organizing my workshop - router bit storage greatly improved, added clamp storage on a small portable unit, etc. - I have 3 main work surfaces and they always seem to be cluttered w/ tools - have improved storage on two of the tables - another one has a bunch of my routers (Bosch, DeWalt, P-C x 2) - they occupy half the surface and the cords are a PITA - need to get these machines into a compact storage unit possibly portable but small.
SO, please show me and/or comment on the ways you keep multiple routers off your work surfaces and stored close by but conveniently available for easy access - I already have a few thoughts but curious how others may have solved this issue (if applicable) - thanks for any input. Dave
P.S. guess if I had just one router w/ a plunge base, all would be easy -
RE: Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? - BloomingtonMike - 04-19-2018
I have a ton of routers. They live on an above bench shelf. Recently i was using two different setup/build/install locations. At one station was a clamp table. It had a toolbox close that had a drawer side cabinet the 48" tall. I pulled out three shallow drawers, one for a worx plunge saw, one for a 611 router, and one for a 1590 jigsaw. When done put them away andclose drawers. Worked great.
Other station was on the lift. I got some snap clasp straps and clipped on a soft side rigid tool carrier my makita router fit in. It could go on any rail or on my aerial ladder cage bars or even the scaffolding.
I plan to make mounting storage stations for the routers on the slat-wall setup.
RE: Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? - GlenS - 04-19-2018
I only have 3 routers. One in the router table. One in the router table lower drawer. The 3rd stays in the case it came in under the workbench. So I can't actually help you there. lol
I use cable clamps to tame the cords. You can also get velcro straps to tame them. Wind them up & wrap the clamp/strap around the base & the cord. I have them on all sanders & circ saws.
RE: Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? - Hank Knight - 04-19-2018
Dave,
Several years ago I junked the cobbled-together bench I used for my radial arm saw and built a new one with lots of drawers. The two bottom drawers in the middle are very deep and built to hold my routers, drills, sanders and other small hand-held power tools.
![[Image: 39443735135_ee098b489a_z.jpg]](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4624/39443735135_ee098b489a_z.jpg)
RASBenchBuild006Medium by Hank Knight, on FlickrI have 5 routers, a half dozen hand drills and drivers, and about as many sanders, not to mention a heat gun, a biscuit joiner, and several other miscellaneous things, all of which fit nicely ion those two big drawers. The accessories (except for router bits which I hang on the wall in their original packaging), stuff like drill bits, collet wrenches sandpaper dust collection fittings and everything else related to the hand helds are stored in the shallower drawers immediately above the big drawers. The RAS bench is one step behind my workbench, so all of my hand held power tools and related accessories are very handy.
![[Image: 41523849332_b2528c98a9_c.jpg]](https://farm1.staticflickr.com/879/41523849332_b2528c98a9_c.jpg)
IMG_0096 by Hank Knight, on FlickrP.S. I just read GlenS's post and he made a great point. I couldn't get all my power tools in these drawers without binding up the cords with Velcro strips or rubber binders.
RE: Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? - giradman - 04-19-2018
Thanks All for the great comments and pics of some awesome looking shops and storage places - my half basement shop has been evolving since the late 1970s and is pretty much 'fixed' w/o major surgery -
Looking today, I have found a few possibilities by moving out other items - I was also curious about ceiling/rafter storage - I use the space between 2 rafters to store long pieces of molding and similar objects - but just wondering if a 'drop down' storage unit might work? Kind of like the one below but would need easy reach - also, I was wondering if there is any hardware (similar but smaller to those of pull-down attic stairs) out there that would use a pull-down mechanism? Any thoughts? Thanks - Dave
.
![[Image: eeb8d0f7398e41e182b1f21c4477c4f2.png]](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ee/b8/d0/eeb8d0f7398e41e182b1f21c4477c4f2.png)
RE: Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? - Belle City Woodworking - 04-19-2018
(04-19-2018, 01:51 PM)Hank Knight Wrote: Dave,
Several years ago I junked the cobbled-together bench I used for my radial arm saw and built a new one with lots of drawers. The two bottom drawers in the middle are very deep and built to hold my routers, drills, sanders and other small hand-held power tools.
I have 5 routers, a half dozen hand drills and drivers, and about as many sanders, not to mention a heat gun, a biscuit joiner, and several other miscellaneous things, all of which fit nicely ion those two big drawers. The accessories (except for router bits which I hang on the wall in their original packaging), stuff like drill bits, collet wrenches sandpaper dust collection fittings and everything else related to the hand helds are stored in the shallower drawers immediately above the big drawers. The RAS bench is one step behind my workbench, so all of my hand held power tools and related accessories are very handy.
P.S. I just read GlenS's post and he made a great point. I couldn't get all my power tools in these drawers without binding up the cords with Velcro strips or rubber binders.
Alright Hank.......Color me jealous! WOW! That is really nice!!!
RE: Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? - Hank Knight - 04-19-2018
Dave,
I have a basement shop and it has joists from the upstairs floor for a ceiling. I store clamps between the joists over my bench and I use a long-arm "grabber" to retrieve them. Otherwise, I find stuff stored above, between the floor joists, a PITA to get to. Consequently, I don't store anything up there I will need on anything like a regular basis.
My $.02.
Hank
RE: Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? - Hank Knight - 04-19-2018
(04-19-2018, 09:11 PM)Belle City Woodworking Wrote: Alright Hank.......Color me jealous! WOW! That is really nice!!!
Thanks! I appreciate the compliment. It's a pleasant place to work.
RE: Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? - Arlin Eastman - 04-19-2018
(04-19-2018, 02:48 PM)giradman Wrote: Thanks All for the great comments and pics of some awesome looking shops and storage places - my half basement shop has been evolving since the late 1970s and is pretty much 'fixed' w/o major surgery -
Looking today, I have found a few possibilities by moving out other items - I was also curious about ceiling/rafter storage - I use the space between 2 rafters to store long pieces of molding and similar objects - but just wondering if a 'drop down' storage unit might work? Kind of like the one below but would need easy reach - also, I was wondering if there is any hardware (similar but smaller to those of pull-down attic stairs) out there that would use a pull-down mechanism? Any thoughts? Thanks - Dave
.
I had one like that in the garage but it was 6' like a pull down stairs with a rope hanging down. I did not have anything in the upper 2 feet but on the rest of the 4 feet and I made sure I put a 2.5" plate on the front of each space so nothing would fall out when put up or taken down. It really worked good but now my sweetheart has the garage now and I my own shop.
RE: Router Storage - Off Workbenches, Easy Access, Possibly Portable? - R Clark - 04-20-2018
Wow...I'm a real piker compared to many on here...I love seeing these ideas.
I have three routers and I'm not likely to get any more; ok, maybe one to replace my PC 690. Here's how I'm consolidating them into one easily-moved cart.
25 years ago, we bought a kitchen roll around cart from an IKEA-like store in New Jersey. We used it for its intended purpose until about 10 years ago. Then I moved it into the shop for use as a roll-around parts cart. I've been looking at the less-than-useful kitchen cart the past couple years and decided I wanted a better router table to replace my small, limited capability, inconvenient PC bench-top router table.
I'm repurposing the kitchen cart into a router table. All of the structure is hard maple, so all I did was disassemble it, make a few minor configuration changes, and reassemble using pocket holes. I put it up on heavy casters, and added a 3/4" ply bottom to give it stability.
The table top is a two-layer top form 3/4" particle board with a Kreg insert. A Triton router will be mounted.
Here is a pic from a couple weeks ago; I set my new Triton router inside just to see if it was ballpark in terms of height. At full height, the router still will have a few inches of clearance.
[attachment=10003]
I added a second pic in which the sides of the box (the plenum-like chamber have been added. I intend to store routers and other underneath, and sides will hold trays for my router bits. My intention is to have all of the router stuff in this roll-around.
[attachment=10004]