I found myself looking at Beta Tool’s new workshop storage solutions, and from there, I decided to treat myself to some Lista eye-candy. Or rather, I tormented myself by looking at super-organized Lista workshops that I can only dream about.
Technically, it *could* be a reality. My kids don’t need college funds, right?
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In all seriousness, if I could clear out enough space, I just might outfit it with a single Lista cabinet to start. Maybe lightly used? Scratch and dent? These things are bullet-proof. But, I never have clear space. Before I can sort out what goes where, I need to keep sorting things out. It’s hard to do, though, given the size of tools that I might be testing for review at any given time. You can’t exactly just put a miter saw in an empty drawer.
I’m kinda almost getting there.
If 80/20 has a holiday discount again this year, I’ll likely build a couple more simple workbenches.
Have you seen Dusty’s series on workshop organization? I might adapt some of his mobile workbench ideas with my own practices and preferences.
I spent so much money on my drawer workbenches that a Lista box or two might have been a competitive option, but I’ve also reconfigured things a couple of times. I digress.
So… I have complex tool and part storage needs, and I’m of the firm belief that if I moved everything to a large industrial space, Lista tool cabinets would be a dream.
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The workstations shown above look like a simple but effective set-up.
No, wait, I like this idea better. Countertop-height shallow drawer cabinets with a stainless steel-wrapped top and shallow overhead cabinet storage. I’d probably go with a butcher block top.
Gosh I love the look of this. Each drawer can support 440 lbs.
Did you know that Lista just came out with a new drawer retention handle pull that can also be retro-fitted to existing products?
There’s also anti-tipover safety measures. Oh, and I believe a digital lockpad is also still an option. These would be as kid-friendly as industrial tool and part storage can get.
List has an adjustable base that seems to be meant for “wet cleaning,” but I might instead built a level platform using 80/20 and swivel feet. I’d need some form of adjustable base in both the garage and basement.
I’d buy more Proto tool cabinets in a hearbeat if I could get them to the basement. I’ve been considering more of Proto’s economical line of tool boxes for basement part and tool storage, but they’re not really worth the investment, from a bang for the buck standpoint. I like that they’re made in the USA, but imported versions are better featured and better built for less money. Although… you can’t get imported tool cabinets of 18″ depth anymore, due to counterveiling tariffs.
I started looking at all this because I had the idea to see if a new Beta tool cabinet would make sense in the garage as a work station. Their base-level made-in-China cabinets are available with anti-tipover safety measures, which would help me feel more at ease when the kids are working with me in the garage. Then I saw the Beta Tools workshop products, and then I started price-comparing and drooling over Lista products.
I like the idea of a mobile island-like mobile workbench, although this one is a bit large. I like how Lista workbenches have functional risers. Just like some of their service bay products can have specialty functions – some brands have hose reel, power station, and oil service pump modules – these risers look to have power and control components.
What I could do with floor to ceiling tool and parts storage…!!!
I think these are eye-level cabinets. Personally, I think that counter-level offer the best balance between workable height and storage density.
This is a clean and basic-looking setup, which Lista describes as being Personal Space Value Editions. In other words, home garage and mancave setups?
Here’s another example of a Lista “personal space” setup.
Okay, so my dream setup would have… counter-height cabinets with workbench space where I’d have a drafting-style stool, and a wide and sturdy mobile workbench. Walls would have oodles of storage and maybe a couple of wall cabinets, and there would be some gaps where I have workshop equipment.
My dream workshop would also have more equipment than I can fit anywhere at the moment. I know, my dreams are somewhat cluttered right now, but I can’t help it. My project goals and ambitions require a winning lottery ticket and at least a 4 car garage or similarly-sized industrial space.
In my dreams, Lista cabinets, workbenches, and mobile work centers would fall (gently) from the sky and solve all my organizational problems. But I know that a lot of my woes are my own doing. Organizing my chaos is a back-and-forth process, but that’s now what I’ve been doing. I’ve been trying all sorts of things, but there are all sorts of complications.
In a perfect world, I would start fresh, plan out my space, and then sort out what goes where and discard the rest. Instead, I’ve been throwing different storage solutions at the current chaos. Hey, I have made progress, just not enough. I’m working on it.
I might eventually get my dream Lista workshop, but it wouldn’t be the end to my organizational problems. My needs and tasks are constantly changing, and it can be hard for a static workshop to accommodate this.
Plus, you can equip a workshop with far less expensive tool and parts storage products – and I do have a bunch of different solutions.
I’ve been testing “pro” garage cabinets, and they’re… okay, but I already busted at least one drawer. Sure, they’re a fraction of the price of Lista, and I’m unlikely to be able to get Lista cabinets up and down stairs on my own, but garage cabinets seem to be more for occasional weekend warriors and not daily users. Maybe some of the new Harbor Freight US General Series 2 tool cabinets are in my future. The smaller US General boxes are very attractively priced, and they seem to be well-regarded.
Part of my problem is that I get stuck in dreamland, thinking about how my work areas and storage spaces could look, or should look. I’m going to wrap up this post and get to cleaning in just a moment.
The other part of my problem is that my needs are always changing. I have not yet budgeted for “dream workshop” tools, such as a cabinet table saw, benchtop mill (larger than my Taig), or benchtop lathe (larger than my Sherline), wood jointer, or wood workbench, because I know what will happen. I might use certain equipment frequently for x-number of weeks or months, and then a different project (personal or ToolGuyd-related) will come up, and I’ll suddenly wish that I could move my large and heavy equipment someplace else.
You know what? I need a TARDIS – a full-scale facility that I could fit in the footprint of a 2-car garage. Well, a 2-car garage that loses some space to kid and home essentials, such as a cordless snow blower during winter and Power Wheels during the summer.
Yep. And you thought YOU had workshop woes.
I have what, a month before Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales? If I can get some cleaning, decluttering, and organizing done in the next two weeks, that gives me two weeks of planning for how to better organize my spaces. I can probably budget for another 80/20-based workbench cabinet and maybe design a base around Harbor Freight’s single bank roller cabinets. Or… maybe I’ll just work on cleaning and decluttering for now.
There is a bright side to all of this… if I can get some cleaning done, I’m sure there will be some stuff to giveaway.
Andy
A 2 car garage is my dream. I have an 8 x 14 shed. I make due, but when winter roles around and I can’t work in the yard, I’m done. I used to rent a shop, but then I bought a boat, and with slip fees, something had to give. Oh well, workshop porn will have tio do.
Stuart
I learned that self control can help – I made the most of a spare bedroom for a long time, half a spare bedroom before that, and half a college and grad school bedroom before that.
I seem to have let myself forget that, but I’m getting back to it.
If I don’t use it, it’s gotta go. I must commit space with any new purchase.
For samples, I’m aiming for a one month testing/review turn around. That’s a tough part. Sometimes things like vacs and saws will show up unexpectedly, and take up space before I can get started testing them.
Josh
I’ve had a 56″ Lista mechanics rolling tool box for years now. Absolutely stuffed full of mechanics hand tools. Took a forklift to get it into my truck when I changed jobs, but it’s worth every penny of the cost.
I got mine through what is now American workspace dot com, so it was less expensive than Lista sells it, and I picked it up from the factory myself, so I didn’t have to pay for shipping. At the time the Lista price was almost half the cost of the equivalent Snap-on box, but it has a higher drawer weight rating and thicker metal, plus I picked the color and custom drawer layout I wanted.
The drawer interlock is great, especially with uneven floors, given that aircraft mechanics move their toolbox to the aircraft, not the other way around like a car mechanic.
My box probably has a couple hundred miles on it by now, and the wheels and brakes are still good and easy to push.
I’m still considering a butcher block top, but the rubber mat is good enough
Kilroy
Look for a maker space in your area.
Not nearly as convenient as having a shop in your own garage or backyard, but most are nonprofits and fairly cheap (~$50 per month is a common price), with access to tons of tools and a community of people who hang out and make things.
I’m a member of my local maker space just for the expensive tools that I can’t justify buying, even if I had space for them (bandsaw, SawStop, jointer, drum sander, etc…). $50 a month is easy for me to justify based on access to tools I can’t afford (even used) and that help save me time compared to cheaper / less efficient tools.
Stuart
Closest maker space near me is 45 to 75 mins away depending on the time of day. =(
Nate B
Time to start another one! That’s where they all came from in the first place, after all.
45-ish minutes seems to be a good spacing, because cutting it in half gets you under the all-important half-hour mark: https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/08/commute-time-city-size-transportation-urban-planning-history/597055/
Dav id Swearingen
The story to which you you linked was one of the most fascinating and instructive things I’ve ever read. Thanks for the link!
Koko The Talking Ape
“Or rather, I tormented myself by looking at super-organized Lista workshops that I can only dream about.”
That way lies madness, my friend. A totally organized workshop is like a totally cataloged book collection, or a completely documented piece of code It cannot happen. It exists only as a Platonic abstraction.
We can still dream, and we SHOULD dream. But we should know it is a dream. Not JUST a dream, because dreams are important. But a dream nonetheless.
Travis
I’m intrigued that you are concerned about moving Lista’s down stairs. I have a 48″w x60″ tall vidmar cabinet with 8 drawers. With all the drawers in it, it is too heavy for me to move on my own. With all of the drawers removed however ( less than 2 min per drawer) I can comfortably lift and move the carcass around unassisted. Have you tried moving one of these cabinets after removing the drawers? If you havent yet, there may be some Lista cabinets in your future now 🙂
Stuart
I tried moving a Proto 34″ wide 25″ deep cabinet. Without casters and drawers, I still couldn’t get it up two cement stairs. It was both large and heavy.
30″ wide and up to 24″ deep cabinets from other brands are more manageable. I have a narrow stairway and then turns.
Besides, I’d want to invest more in where I work the most.
If I worry about transporting storage where I need or want them, it keeps me from trying to find ways to budget for it.
MattF
Damn, I need to get all this stuff off the workbench into the lista drawers sitting below. Having the drawers doesn’t make things clean automatically…trust me…now where did I put down the part I was working on.
The only reason I see to resort to lista is if you need uniform drawers regardless of cost or you have very heavy tooling that typically not found in the home setting. A drawer of carbide endmills will easily be several hundred pounds.
On a dollar basis, the tooling value of ONE drawer can be several times the cost of the entire cabinet in the industrial setting.
ToolGuyDan
FWIW, I recently bought four 56″ US General Series 2 roller cabs, and a single 56″ top, and couldn’t be happier. They’re not Lista, but in terms of bulletproof-ness, they’re damn close at less than a tenth of the price.
Frank D
It is good to dream, but don’t drive yourself crazy for some premium gold / platinum level setup … if it is not attainable.
I have created my own adaptable and economical version of Adam Savage’s Sortimo setup with shelving and Stanley bins. Could not be happier with that.
For the rest my storage needs evolve too much to even pin down a setup. Too many trades, tools, essential parts, … and it has to be ready to be mobile and easy to find. So, while I could desire a 24 foot long 6-7 ft tall series of drawer and door cabinets; then I’d be opening and closing drawers all the time, have constant trouble fitting stuff and tools in drawers, can’t maximize space / volume.
So, wall to wall, floor to ceiling adjustable shelving it is. Does it look high end? Not by any stretch, but with tools and consumables exposed on shelves, organized between various trades and tasks ( plumbing, carpentry, electrical, … ) and various installable extra parts in clear containers; I can find stuff at a glance, or anybody else could for that matter.
Shelving is the only thing that has worked and been adaptable enough, as I have long outgrown any tool box, tool cart, tool cabinet, storage cabinet, …
My silent goal is to be more mobile and get more tools and their extras organized in rugged tool boxes; and even that will be expensive, at $40-100 per small, medium or large box … but it is cheap relative to the cost of premium / industrial cabinetry.
Stuart
I still have a lot of L-Boxxes (although most need to be reconfigured), and a lot of hinged-lid containers, and wire shelving.
The wire shelving is extremely inefficient for what I’m using them for. Depending on budget and what I decide to keep, I’ve been thinking about going with Ikea kitchen cabinets for at least part of the space. They’re kind of basic, but I don’t think there will be a more economical solution for door-enclosed cabinet space. For drawers, Ikea cabinets have limitations in workspace contexts and are not very economical compared to what you can buy in terms of rolling steel tool boxes with ball bearing drawers.
Part of my problem is the accumulation of small parts, and of certain tools and equipment that needs “stations” to be of optimal use.
I considered wall to wall mounted shelves, but if wire shelving is very limiting, shelves might be too.
Frank D
Having been forced to consolidate more items into a single car space in the basement, shared with the furnace and fuel tank; I have gotten some small wheeled tables and cabinets to hold a frequent-ishly used « desktop « tool up top and something else under it.
Shelving wise, some of my shelving is has an extra shelf or two to all the way being doubled up, so everything can be its own single layer.
In a perfect world, I would have a permanent residence and the equivalent of an oversized eight car garage, so I can finally fit out a decent woodworking shop, and have spaces for other interests, hobby storage, …
Actually, maybe even bigger, room for an RV, a boat, enclosed tool / toy trailer, …
😀
Now where is that winning lotto ticket???
Farid
While you are are at it, Stuart, why not add one of these to the list. This way, you are never too far from your tool cabinets (;D
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/hinged-truck-side-toolbox-cover-gif-75962
Jared
That would be incredibly handy. Especially around the farm – or when I head to races! I can only imagine how much that cost. It’s all custom work I presume?
Farid
It appears so. I bet it cost a pretty penny. Too bad the poster did not include a link to the original site.
Jared
I am perpetually organizing and reorganizing my tools too. Everything currently has a home, but I always feel like I wish I had more counter space to lay things out when I’m working on projects.
When organizing tools, I feel like the only perfect solution is to have way more space than you need. That way everything can be easily accessed, is easy to put away and find again. The problem is, my tools rapidly expand to fill all available space…
Kizzle
I need to find a way to categorize tools. For instance: soldering stuff. I don’t have a dedicated soldering station or work bench, so a lot of the stuff for soldering (iron, shrink tube, wire, wick, flux, magnifier, helping hands, etc.) All get stuffed into a tote bin until I need it. Then I pull it out, dig through a pile of solder stuff, complete the project, and throw it all back in the tote until next time. You could apply this to lots of things. Car specific tools: tote bin. Paint spray guns and supply’s: tote bin. I don’t have the space for large cabinets and need to remain somewhat mobile. What does a person do? Maybe like a toughsystem or packout? That way you have projects organized, but you can sub-organize stuff due to multiple box sizes and organizers? Anyone else in a similar boat?
Jared
Yep, my shop is largely organized this way. I try to have my stuff organized so I can grab sets to complete specific tasks.
E.g. I have an electrical tool bag with linesman pliers, cutters, crimpers, round and long nose pliers, electrical tape, utility knife, screwdrivers, multimeter etc. Then I also have a deep parts organizer which holds wire, various types of connectors, heat-shrink, spare hardware, etc. That way if I’m doing an electrical repair, I grab those two kits and it’s highly unlikely I will need to run back to my shop for anything else.
Same thing for dirt bikes. I had a big bag I assembled by adding tools or parts every time I needed something to complete a repair. Now I take it with me whenever I head to the races, confident that if I need a tool that’s not in the kit, its unlikely to be a repair I can reasonably complete at the race anyway.
Stuart
I’ve got L-Boxxes and it’ll work a lot better if or when I build shelving for them. I built some tote rails last year, have been balking on making more since I haven’t been loving it.
Nate B
Don’t wait for 8020 to have a sale. Call up Tnutz and just order a pallet. Do it once, you’ll get a hell of a quantity deal. Helps if you have a forklift to get it off the truck, but I know from personal experience that 3 guys can bucket-brigade 200 pieces off a truck in about 10 minutes, which doesn’t seem to bother the truck driver any, especially if you offer him some of the pizza you’re bribing your buddies with.
Stuart
I also have a distributor that usually gives me a discount, but 80/20 had 15% off last year instead of 10%.
I’ve been ordering precut sizes and with fastener machining, and also some specialty profiles with black anodizing. It costs more, but I can focus on assembling what I need or want to build rather than trying to find the time to fabricate.
Chris
I plan to build a steel frame that will hold a couple US General 44” cabinets. I can add on as I need and use other size cabinets for a custom fit.
Dav id Swearingen
I could not work in any of the shops shown, they are just TOO CLEAN!
Jaxon Wager
I have two queries:
1) I have a plan to set up a workshop but I am getting confused amount Lista, Vidmar, and SnapOn. When I talk with people, they gave me their own different opinions. Please help me to choose the best one or to go.
2) are https://listacabinets.com is also a reliable website to order cabinets?
Stuart
1) If you’re not set, you could/should talk to dealers of all three brands. Explain your needs, listen to their pitches, and then tell them the other brands you’re considering.
Every so often I research different options again, and I typically feel that Lista seems more approachable for individual users. A lot of times, you’ll find brands that cater more towards institutions, industrial customers, and large businesses, with much less information or access to someone who is shopping for themselves. This could have changed since then.
2) I don’t know – that’s a 3rd party retailer that I’ve never heard of before.
Jaxon Wager
Thank you, Stuart.
Stuart
You’re welcome!
It’s really hard to differentiate between products in this category.
I’ve tried looking at Snap-on cabinets, but they seem to only have the mobile-type solutions I’m aware of.
With Snap-on, part of their premium pricing is tied to the at-your-door service and mobile dealer component. Individual users might not all benefit from that.
If that’s what you’re looking for, Lista and other brands also have mobile solutions in addition to their stationary products.
Cody Palmer
My experience with listacabinets was really bad… the mobile cabinet I ordered came with scratches and dents and I couldn’t get ahold of their support team to fix the issue. i ordered the cabinet in black so I was able to use a paint pen to fix the visible so it ended up not being too big of a deal.
Rich
I started with some nu era cabinets at auction. Now over the years I think I have accumulated one from most makers used or damaged. I love them, once you own these, regular tool boxes look like pieces of junk. Took me 18 years.