File and Sandpaper Racks

With all of the fun and frivolity with family over the 4th of July weekend, I didn't get any knife work done out in the shop and, honestly, I don't regret it for a second.  It was a joy watching the little ones scurry about, picking up the candy from the hot asphalt during the parade and the smell of BBQ in the afternoon.  It was a fun weekend.  I hope you enjoyed yours as much as I did mine.

I did slip out to the shop for a few minutes between activities and did a little organizing.  Here is what I accomplished.

I hung some bins on the wall to hold all of the different grits of sandpaper that I use regularly for my knife-making chores.  Before now I have had all my sandpaper all jumbled up in the same drawer.  I had to sort through a big pile grits and sizes in order to find the right paper I needed to do some sanding.  Now, all I have to do is go to the right bin and grab a piece without having to sort through the mess.  I think I'm going to like this.  I also picked up a couple "project boxes" to keep my builds separate and organized as well as a place to store knife patterns.  They are the two little, clear boxes below the sandpaper bins.

The other thing I managed to do was to get my files organized.  I've had these files rolling around in a single bin, banging into each other.  It's nice to have them all out and visible now.  It's a simple block of 2x2 scrap wood that I had laying under my workbench for some time.  I drilled a series of holes in the block to hold the files upright where I can see what I need.  I have regular needle files on the left, diamond files in the center, and larger files to the right.  I also put the files that I use most toward the front and those that don't see much use are in the back.  I think this will work pretty well to keep my tools organized and accessible without the frustration of sorting through the bin to find the right file.

I hope someone finds this information useful.  Thanks for stopping by the Robinson Edge.

-  Brandant Robinson