Forstner Drawer - Fun with Foam

[glenn bradley]

I keep my 1/4" - 1" Forstners out in the open along with a set of twist and brad point bits. Somehow my larger Forstners gathered there as well. As I plan for the new shop I want to move things into a wall cabinet near the drill press and out of my faithful old Craftsman red metal tool box top tray. I'm no snob but I would like the C-man metal box out of the main shop and dedicated to things one might expect in that sort of tool box; wrenches, sockets, sledge hammers, bolt cutters, pliers, etc. etc.

To that end I was playing around with a lot of wall cabinet formats to hold things involved at the drill press. I soon realized I was trying to make room, right at hand, for things that I only occasionally use. My best shop organization efforts have been storing things used daily near at hand, things used weekly a few steps away, things used less often farther than that, etc. . . . until I have to leave the shop to go get them .

I decided that my larger Forstner bits need to be near but not right out in the open. Some previous re-org efforts had yielded an open drawer in the DP base cabinet. My son in law dropped off some packing foam that he had come across at work headed for the recycle bin. He has seen some of my dumpster-diving inventions and knew I might like to have the foam.

Anyway . . . quite talking Bradley and get to it already . . .

Some foam, a cutting mat and a razor knife plus a little quick set glue.

A piece of scrap cut as a divider.

I'll play with this for a while and see if it sticks.

 

[Ryan Mooney]

I need to do a drill press base cabinet.. I feel guilty about the wasted space everytime I see yours and look at the clutter of drill bits on the shelf next to it that could be used better for other things.

 

[Vaughn McMillan]

Looks like a great solution, Rennie. :thumb

I need to do a drill press base cabinet.. I feel guilty about the wasted space everytime I see yours and look at the clutter of drill bits on the shelf next to it that could be used better for other things.

Same dog bit me.

 

[glenn bradley]

Looks like a great solution, Rennie.

That’s “Glennie” to you, mister.

 

[Toni Ciuraneta]

Good job Glenn. However my friend, if you don't mind some criticism, the foam separators could have been thinner, and adapted to the different bit diameters. that would have given you more spare room within the drawer, unless you wanted a drawer dedicated only to Fortsner bits.
Sorry but this is my small shop mind frame conditioning. I tend to cram things as much as possible. I've got my Fortsner set from Rockler and they are still in their original box which is far smaller than that drawer. (No pun intended)

 

[Vaughn McMillan]

That’s “Glennie” to you, mister.

Mea culpa, lol. You guys are so often trying to out-organize each other that I get you two confused.

 

[Chuck Ellis]

I have a rather crudely built drawer base under one of work benches that I keep my forstner's in, in their original box. I do have a couple of oversized bits that also reside in the drawer.... most of my twist bits reside in a block behind my drill press or in a metal box that also hangs on the way behind the DP. the bits I use in my pepper mills which get the most use, are in the top drawer of another crudely built set of drawers under my lathe.
If I don't keep things exactly same place every time I use them, they wander away and I never see them again.

 

[Darren Wright]

Great idea!