For the last several years, I’ve been trying to devise a way to keep my projects in various stages of completeness organized, protected and out of the way. I should have known the gunmaking craftsmen on the other side of the pond would have had this problem sorted out long ago. And so it was, while reading the excellent Westley Richards Explora blog that I found my inspiration.
The design is simple and very functional: four tall compartments house stocks and barreled actions. Each compartment has small hooks to hang freshly oiled stocks and bins to keep track of all the small parts.
Initially, I had ordered plastic bench bins to organize the small parts; this was functional, but “how you do one thing is how you do all things”, and these bins never quite looked right. To solve this, I ordered a lock-joint mitre and built some proper wooden boxes. A bit of cork sheeting on the bottom of the boxes softens the floor to protect delicate metal edges. The bins can be completely removed and carried to my workbench while work is completed on that particular project. The locker and bins were painted using Sherwin-Williams’ “Pristine Wilderness” green, which not only seemed apropos, but also compliments the rich color of the walnut stocks this furniture will house.
A set of brass locker numbers keeps the projects and their corresponding bins aligned. This is particularly useful in the event that I’m working on multiple builds using the same action. A good example of this would be the two pre-’64 M70 projects currently in the shop.
While feeling inspired, I also built a rack to house a portion of my stock blank inventory. This was installed right behind my bench so that I can admire these beautiful blanks while I work.
My workspace would never be classified as “large”, so a bit of thoughtful organization goes a long ways!