As I mentioned last week, I don’t think I’ll ever have space to array all my tools on the walls of my workshop.
That said I think there’s definitely scope for a few frequently used ones to live on the wall above my bench and I think it’d be good if certain tools could live in portable racks/tills/caddys.
As a starting point I’ve been focussing on storage for my Marples chisels.
They came in a wooden box, but as there were two free that box is too full, with a couple of the smaller ones tucked under the others, so the chisels aren’t exactly ready for action.
My initial thoughts were to build the A-framed one in Woodshop Storage Solutions
Both the racks above don’t lend themselves easily to wall mounting, due to their wide bases. I suppose the second one could be built with legs which swivel parallel with the rack …
Given my somewhat shopaholic nature, any wall storage will need to allow for reconfiguration and expansion.
The obvious solution for wall storage would be pegboard, but it doesn’t seem to be as widely available as it used to be and since I don’t much like the way it looks I’ve been looking at alternatives.
My next thought was french cleats on MDF panels, but then I found this chisel rack while googling.
The dovetail mounting takes the idea of french cleats one step further and makes it’s harder to knock off the wall and there’s scope for customisation and expansion with the front accessory dovetail.
If I wanted to go mad, I could use that accessory dovetail to attach legs, or replicate it at the back for legs front and back, or even underneath if I wanted to attach a base.
I think it’s a great solution, but it may be overkill …
Aggravated Wood Butchery 
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Right now my chisels live on a small slotted rack that is mounted to my bench, much like the wall mounted one you suggest here. It’s a good solution for now but as my chisel collection grows I will need to store them elsewhere and only keep the ones I’m using at that time on the bench rack. Eventually I’ll be building a tool cabinet to house all my hand tools and hopefully solve all my storage issues!
I quite like the idea of having a simple rack that sits on your bench near your work – but, I’ve never actually tried this, for space issues similar to your own.
For the last few years, I’ve been using a magnetic strip (they’re cheapest from Toolsation) with is screwed to the wall. It allows quick and instant access but, I think it would benefit from having a rebated strip below, for protection of both their edges and my own hands!
Thanks Olly,
I had considered magnetic strips, but as I do a fair bit of work with computers I’ve always been pretty wary of magnetising my tools. I know it’s silly as I’ll hopefully never need to take a chisel to my PC, but there you go 🙂
Even in my small garage I really like the idea of being able to take just the tools I need to the thing I’m working on, but have them stored out of the way on the wall the rest of the time.
John