There is no single right way on how to organize your tools. Organizing these equipment depends entirely on individual preference. The placement of each tool depends on how you intend to use them.
Are you a weekend warrior or you are working on a major home renovation project? Are you a hobbyist woodworker? If you have answers to these questions, then you know the set of tools you are dealing with.
That said, we rounded up twelve brilliant ways on how to organize your power tools in the garage.
Battery Charging Station and Cordless Drill Storage
The cordless drill docking station is a safe way to store electric drills and find a convenient palace to recharge the batteries. Incorporate a power strip at the top of this unit to create multiple outlets for chargers.
Feel free to throw in a drawer that will contain the drill bits and other accessories to reduce clutter.
Pneumatic Tool and Compressor Storage
Use a rolling cart to house your compressor. The pneumatic accessories are organized around the space.
It is easier to store the rolling cart in your garage as well as roll it effortlessly to your vehicles to fill up your tires with air.
Tool Pegboard Inside a Cabinet
Instead of having your tools lying in a messy pile, it is a better idea to include a pegboard inside the cabinet. This way your tools hang and are easily accessible.
Storage Locker of Crates
This exceptional organizing idea uses a series of inexpensive wooden crates to create several cubbies. The cubbies house hand tools as well as the smaller power tools.
Adding casters at the bottom makes the locker highly accessible and easy to store.
Peg Board
To execute this idea, hand a sheet of pegboard and look around for what can be hung for storage in plain sight. The bonus is that a pegboard looks amazing.
Flip Top Storage
Other larger power tools pack a lot of weight. You cannot hang these and they are too large for cubbies. These tools also tend to be hard to get out, move around, and carry away.
The idea is that when you are done using one tool, flip the top and use the other.
Portable Rack of Pegboard
Now you have a portable pegboard to bring your neatly arranged tools to you. Add a pull out section to store a rack of clamps. This makes the rack look even cooler and works more efficiently.
French Cleat Blade Storage
This amazing system is ideal for blade storage, saw blades, and accessories. Tools such as sandpaper can easily be organized using this system. You can further customize this method and incorporate it into tool organization cubbies.
Carousel for Hand Tools
This is a simple and space-saving storage idea for your hand tools. Each panel containing a tool flips as the carousel stays on rotation.
Simple Nail Mount
We have shared some fancy storage ideas, but it does not have to be that difficult. Sometimes all you need is some nails and holes in studs nailed to the wall. Use this wall hanging to organize the hand tools.
Custom Tool Caddy
A caddy is great if you are a builder who keeps an arsenal of power tools. Besides looking great mounted on the garage wall, it will keep all the power tools free of clutter and accessible.
Homemade Tool Chest
Use your imagination to create a rolling tool chest functioning as an organizer. Since it is entirely up to you, feel free to be creative with your latest DIY project.
We hope that these twelve ideas have sparked some inspiration in you to find a way to organize your power tools. I have a few ideas in mind that I’d like to execute for my garage.
How To Clean Rusty Tools With Coke
Yes, the Coca-Cola drink you love so much can efficiently clean away all the rust on your tools. Use the following procedure to get rid of the rust:
- Create a tub or bowl of Coca-Cola depending on the size of your tools.
- Submerge the tools in the bowl/tub of Coke overnight.
- In the morning, the rust will be gone. However, if you still have stubborn items, soak them for a few more days.
- Remove the tools and thoroughly rinse them of any traces of coke and rust. Let your tools dry and oil them if necessary. This will prevent further rusting in the future.
Note: Please use the original Coca-Cola soft drink. We are not sure if the diet coke of Pepsi will give the same excellent results.
Coca-Cola can remove rust on equipment because it contains a high level of phosphoric acid. This acid dissolves iron oxide (rust) and when left in long enough, it will dissolve the iron too.
If tools were to stay in a Coke bath for months, there would be significant amounts of corrosion on the steel. However, soaking the tools for a few daisies okay.
If you are reading at this point you are probably worried about drinking Coca-Cola ever again. However, the contents of a stomach are over a hundred times more acidic than Coke. You will not be harming the digestive system by drinking Coca-Cola. It can however corrode your teeth and esophagus.
How To Keep Tools From Rusting
Keeping your tools free of rust is easier than having to deal with getting rid of the unpleasant iron coating. There are three main ways to protect your equipment from rust:
- Control humidity
- Don’t let your tools get moist
- Apply a protective coating to the metallic components of your tools
Control humidity
Hand tools are the most susceptible items to rusting. To prevent this, add a moisture-absorbing gel pack to the toolbox or your preferred storage location.
The silica gel is a desiccant that will absorb the moisture in an enclosed space hence lowering the humidity levels.
Alternatively, you can use a vapor-corrosion inhibitor (VCI). A VCI is a water-based pollution-free molecular coating. It protects metals in an enclosed space for over a year or more.
Upon placement in the storage space with your tools, the VCI releases a vapor that fills the enclosure. The vapor then electrochemically bonds to the metal surfaces and in the process seals out moisture. A VCI therefore effectively creates a barrier on the tool that corrosion cannot form.
The biggest advantage of using a vapor-corrosion inhibitor is that it gets into the places that you cannot apply a protectant. Any exposed metallic surface with being protected.
Don’t Let Your Tools Get Wet
We all know that our tools should not get wet. However outdoor workers often struggle with this.
Use A Protective Coating
Go the extra mile and coat all your metallic worktops with a protective coating such as a wax. This creates an effective barrier against the occurrence of rust over a long period.
Such coating wax is available at the local auto shop or hardware. The automotive paste wax comes highly recommended as oily sprays tend to produce stains on wooden surfaces. They also tend to create a slippery residue when working with tools, which could be dangerous.
How To Clean Rusty Garden Tools
Garden tools rust quicker than any of the other tools we own. Why is that? The reason is fatigue, more than anything else. After a season of thorough gardening, it is easy to forget to properly clean the implements for storage.
The next spring season when you come back, you find that all your favorite tools are sporting a brand new coat of rust.
Many remedies exist when this happens. Folk remedies are some of the favorites. They involve using common household items such as salt, vinegar, tin foil, and cola to remove the iron oxide coating.
Folk Remedies for Rusty Garden Tools
Using vinegar is the most preferred method of dealing with rusted garden tools. Use the following procedure to apply this folk remedy:
- Make a mixture of 50% vinegar and 50% water. Soak the tools overnight in this mixture.
- The next day, use a brush, steel wool, or crumpled tin foil to get rid of the rust by rubbing in a circular motion.
- When all traces of rust is over, wash the tool in soapy water and finally rinse it with clear water.
- Hang the tools to dry and then coat it with a film of mineral oil or WD-40.
Another popular method involves the use of Coke to clean up the rust, but we already discussed it earlier. Soak the tool in Coke overnight then scrub, rinse, dry, and coat.
A lesser-known recipe calls for brewing strong black tea to remove the rust. Soak the tools in the brew and scrub away the rust using a ball of steel wool.
Lastly, the salt and lemon juice recipe is another well-utilized solution to refreshing your tools.
- Create a paste of 1 part lemon juice, 1 part water, and 1 part salt.
- Scoop this mixture with steel wool and rub it on the tool.
- Rinse well with clean water and dry
All of these home remedies for rust removal work excellently. However, all this effort is saved when you take the time to clean your gardening implements before storage. Store the tools in dry and airy locations.
Conclusion
Without tools, life is as good as the stone age era. We need tools to make our life move easier. Sometimes using tools is safer than having none at all. The tool industry has grown exponentially to accommodate even DIY influencers who are continuously seeking new ways on how how to get free tools.
