When I built my workbench, I wanted to be able to work on any side. Adding a tool well would mean losing usable work space on one whole side of the top. Instead, I designed a tool caddy that helps me beat benchtop clutter, keeps tools organized and within easy reach, and can be moved anywhere on the benchtop.

The design is easy to customize for your own group of often-used tools. On mine, the caddy features a shallow tray for larger tools like handplanes, a kerfed block to hold a selection of scrapers, and custom-fitted slots to hang tools like chisels, mallets, and handsaws.

Dowels glued into through-holes in the tray’s bottom fit into a pair of dog holes, holding the caddy in place. Because I drilled dog holes along every edge of my bench, I can locate the caddy for easy access regardless of my task.

click to enlarge

 

Drawings by Jim Richey.

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