This way you have an easy way to turn on the lights, no pull cord hanging in your face, plus extra outlets for power tools or a convenient place to charge Di2 batteries.Īnd the final key to being able to work on bikes in your new space is a good work stand. Instead of using a pull cord on the light, mount a power strip on the side of your workbench with an on/off switch of its own. You can save a bit of coin by going with the shop lights that don’t have their own on/off switches which are usually the cheapest at Home Depot ($12 a piece) and similar home improvement stores. He’s also lucky in that there are large windows nearby, too, which let in the best light source of all: the sun! Tyler has both in his workshop, which provides a nice balance depending on the time of day and type of task. Compared to a big fluorescent, the color of the light can be more finely controlled depending on the type of bulb you buy, but they can create harsh shadows, too. LED lights are available to replace the older halogen bulbs now, which cost more up front but last for a decade and reduce utility bills. Older ones will still have halogens, which are great for warming up your workspace in the winter, too, but cost a ton in energy. These will work well at putting a bright spot of light in dim areas, so I use one of these behind my work area, with the various lights aimed mostly at the work stand, since it is shaded from the main fluorescent light by some basement heating ducts. If you need to put direct light in certain areas, home improvement stores also sell decent, inexpensive track lighting kits. I have one of these directly above the workbench to see what is going on over there, and light up what is being worked on. Almost everyone will use a fluorescent shop light, as they are pretty cheap ($40), easy to find, and put out a lot of light. Since most of our workshops are in basements, proper lighting is essential to see what you are doing. Tools are expensive, and unless you plan on putting together two different sets, having everything road trip ready in a single case makes a lot of sense. ![]() In fact, for most home mechanics keeping your tools in a tool box like the Park Tool model above may be the best way to go. If you start out with a simple tool starter kit, it will most likely come with a box that will work just fine. No matter what, its not necessary to jump into an expensive setup like either of those right away. It also keeps the tools looking fresh since you aren’t searching in your tool box to find the one you need.Īlong with the pegboard, mag strips are very useful for keeping track of smaller tools that aren’t exactly peg friendly. The biggest advantages of visual organization boil down to speed and efficiency during repairs since the proper tool is always in the same spot. Using pegboard, everything is right in front of you and easy to see, but you also need to be diligent enough to hang each tool back up in it’s proper place after you are done using it. Zach appears to be quite a bit more organized than me, so he uses the pegboard method. They also act as great storage vessels for things that don’t hang well on walls or are used less often like brake bleed kits and suspension tools. They cost about $70-$100 depending on how many drawers you need, but real professional-sized models can run up into the thousands of dollars.Įven if you prefer the pegboard method (below), tool chests are still great places to store more delicate tools like torque wrenches. These tool boxes can also be used to store other sundries from around the shop. I choose this style because I am not typically very organized with my tools, so this works as a good alternative to leaving them all over the surface of the workbench.Ĭheck out the other methods, some lights and stands, and some pictures from readers after the jump… Even for metal drawer style toolboxes, you don’t need anything special, mine are just the basic house-branded items from the local home improvement store. But once you start to outgrow that basic kit, you will need to look int other options. Many basic tool kits come with their own pretty nice plastic tool box that works very well for that quantity of tools. What you need completely depends on the amount of tools that you have. ![]() There are a lot of nice ones out there that have sliding drawers, and are made of metal to last a long time. Everyone is different, so there are a lot of different ways to do this, and no specific right way, just whatever works for your preferences and your space. Once you get working on your bike, you will start to accumulate tools. ![]() Now it’s time to start filling that space up. In Part One, we laid out a few ideas for creating a work space.
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