Continuous improvement is a way of life. It is about eliminating the “fires” in life that we deal with over and over. It is about finding little ways to make life better, our jobs or hobbies more efficient and the quality of our work better. The term I’ve adopted is Kaizen, a Japanese word that means change for the better.
To illustrate how Kaizen can be applied I will use my efforts to find better methods of storage and use of my lathe gouges. When I first purchased my Jet lathe there was little room (or money) to invest in a storage cabinet or tool roll.
When not in use my gouges were “stored” lying on my workbench. While using the lathe, I would move what I needed to lay across my table saw situated directly behind me. You can imagine, I am sure, how well this worked. Until, of course, they rolled off the saw. It never failed that the cutting edge was first to hit!
It didn’t take too long (that’s a lie) before frustration forced me to Kaizen. Looking for a low cost and simple way to protect my tools but still keep them readily available I came up with the idea of use an old kitty litter container with several lengths of PVC tube glued in.
This approach was great. It was portable, the tools were close at hand and they were all protected. Well, mostly, I did knock over the bucket once or twice but the results were much less damaging than letting the tools fall off the table saw.
Over time however I found a couple faults with this approach. The first was that sawdust and debris would collect in the bucket. The second concern happened over time as I collected more turning tools. It became increasing difficult to determine from the handle which tool was which.
Depending on each turning project, there were only a few of the tools needed. Plus I had begun to acquire a number of other lathe related tools that were not gouges and the bucket storage system was simply not appropriate.
Ultimately I determined I needed something better. A specialized cabinet ended up being the approach I took. This cabinet is made from a single piece of plywood and was constructed in one weekend. It is hung on a french cleat allowing flexibility in the shop. Over time, as you can see, I have established specialized storage locations for most of my lathe related tools.
This however was not ideal either. While I was satisfied having a special place designated for each tool or accessory, it was not conducive to efficient lathe work as I found myself going back and forth as I changed gouges during a project.
To address the need of tool storage at the lathe I developed what I call a tool saddle.
This was purposefully limited to just a few tools to force myself to keep clutter at the lathe down. On the back side I mounted an outlet strip to power various accessories I may use such as a work light or dremel. On top is a hole for my homemade depth gauge.
This approach has enabled me to protect my tools, keep my shop better organized and still provide the opportunity for efficient work.
How about you, have you developed a unique approach to maintain an organized and efficient shop? We’d love to hear about it. Share your thoughts below in the comments section or if you would like to write a guest post on this blog, drop me a line at greg_summmers {at} myturningshop {dot} com.
