Router bit storage ideas?

[nn4jw]

I've acquired enough router bits, both 1/2" and 1/4" shaft that I need to get more organized so I know what I have, can find them quickly, and avoid buying duplicates. Some are small sets of similar bits in wooden boxes. Some are individual bits in plastic boxes or sleeves. Some are loose. Some are long. Some are short. Some are wide. Some have extra bearings. There has to be a better way.

So, I'd be really interested in pictures (if you can figure out how to post them) showing your solutions to this "problem".

Thanks in advance.

 

[JimD]

If I did this right, this should be a link to a Youtube of Norm's router table. I didn't copy all of it but I did use his bit storage idea. I used 2X scraps and plywood to create what look like drawers but are really trays for the bits in the router table. I have 1/4 inch on one side of the router compartment and 1/2 on the other. The 1/2 is a lot more full than the 1/4. I put an actual drawer of the same size at the top on the left for wrenches. On the right is the power switch. My major deviation from Norm's design was the incorporation of a home made lift which affects the router compartment but not so much the bit storage. I think I used a Chinese forstener bit that was slightly oversize to make the holes for the bits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hMsj4YnuCo

 

[marinosr]

I don't have too many bits but I just put mine in these Plano storage cases. At $5/case, they do the job just fine. I just tape the bit labels to the outside, over the slot where the bit is stored.

https://www.amazon.ca/Plano-23620-0...ocphy=9001027&hvtargid=pla-435853414711&psc=1

 

[KenOfCary]

I also built a router table similar to Norm's except I used a ready made table top. The router bit storage system he uses works well and there are a few drawers for the miscellaneous stuff.

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The top-left drawer is for collets and wrenches, etc and the top-right drawer is fake and contains the electrical wiring and such.The bottom bit drawer is extra tall for those long bits. There are two drawers drilled for 1/4" shaft bits and 4 for 1/2" shaft bits two short and two long. The bottom drawers hold misc jigs and box sets of bits.

 

[Charlie]

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[mdbuntyn]

Though I don't have a use for it, I like the cabinet that Marc Spagnuolo built https://youtu.be/c0K_jVoX7Nk

 

[MarkE]

A chunk of wood (well, melamine) with a bunch of holes in it, stuck in a drawer.

 

[Gotcha6]

That's a neat storage idea in the video but it takes up a lot of wall space. Better to go with drawers on the router base like MarkE did IMO.

 

[Barry W]

This month's Woodworker's Journal Has plans for a router table storage solution:

http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/build-a-router-table-organization-cabinet/

 

[bob vaughan]

One kink I learned years ago is for 1/2" shanks, drill a 33/64 hole. 17/32 is too sloppy for my tastes. For 1/4" bits, use a 9/32nds bit. I ground brad points on my bits for flat bottomed holes. I also drilled some 13/64th holes for the 3/8" diameter bits that I have a few of.

I guess if you've got sets, then sit them close together. They're usually the same color. Retrieval of the matching bits shouldn't be too difficult.




Two router bit boxes. The bottom one I made out of shop scraps in 1984. When that got too full, I made another box, the top one, in 1991. Maybe one day I'll make a better one that will take all the bits and be a little easier to use. The top box tips if the drawer is pulled out all the way. Workmanship is pretty crude but I don't use a hand router all that much these days so my motivation is somewhat limited.

 

[nn4jw]

I do already have a shop built router table. I didn't build it with dedicated bit drawers. That was on purpose at the time because I had no idea how many or what types of router bits I might collect and didn't want the router table to become a problem and need rebuilding because of outgrown customized bit storage.

All my bits are basically in the original boxes for small sets and a little scattered about for individual bits. The sets are mostly 3-5 bit special purpose sets. I never bought a larger general purpose set figuring (correctly) that there would be too many bits in it that I'd never use.

While I do appreciate all the router table cabinets people posted I still don't want to rebuild my table for storage for the same reasons I didn't build it that way to begin with.

There are some interesting stand-alone solutions contributed. I'll probably combine some of those ideas and make a storage unit to sit on one of the metal shelf units in my shop. Most likely it will be similar to a wooden tool chest with appropriately sized drawers and anchored to the shelf unit so that I don't have to contend with tipping.

Thanks again all.

 

[bob vaughan]

Where those bit drawers were originally placed, they fit nicely, but since moving to a separate shop building in 1995, they don't fit. After looking at what an abysmally made router bit storage box I did so many years ago, it may be time to do an upgraded box that will give me some more room for bits and accessories. Its just that after 34 years, I've almost acquired an emotional attachment to that sloppy piece of workmanship

 

[drw]

I have thought about building storage specifically for my router bits, but I still rely on the information on the packaging (cove or round-over radius, etc). How do others deal with this?

 

[bob vaughan]

I didn't know the instructions were meant to be kept. Most of it is pretty intuitive, or at least I hope so. I do keep a file folder with portable power tools and tooling instructions . Maybe that would work.

 

[KenOfCary]

I have thought about building storage specifically for my router bits, but I still rely on the information on the packaging (cove or round-over radius, etc). How do others deal with this?

I used a fine-point sharpie to mark the size on the plywood next to the bit. Things like 45 degree chamfer, 20 degree chamfer, 1/4" radius roundover, 1/2" radius roundover, etc.

 

[Grimmy2016]

Michaels just had those types (not Plano) of plastic cases on sale for $1.. maybe still be on sale. They were over by the thread and beads aisle.

I don't have too many bits but I just put mine in these Plano storage cases. At $5/case, they do the job just fine. I just tape the bit labels to the outside, over the slot where the bit is stored.

https://www.amazon.ca/Plano-23620-0...ocphy=9001027&hvtargid=pla-435853414711&psc=1

 

[nn4jw]

Plano type boxes are ok as long as you store 1 bit per compartment. Even then they are going to roll around but at least the bits won't be hitting each other and damaging their edges. Quite a few of my 1/2 shaft bits just won't really fit into those boxes either being either too long or too wide.

 

[kairamartinii]

I have used the wood to make the router table Pporter Cable698 according to the dimensions of the table as 698 weight 37 pounds and 0.75 inch slot. But it wasn't possible for me like the wood which is required for the Table is not available in the market. As the company manufactures this, I tried to make it use by the local plywood. Can anybody please recommend me which plywood to use? Or Else should I order from the market

 

[Jeff]

No real help for you, but the Porter Cable 698 has been discontinued.

https://www.portercable.com/product-repository/products-portercable/2018/01/26/21/01/698

I have used the wood to make the router table Pporter Cable698 according to the dimensions of the table as 698 weight 37 pounds and 0.75 inch slot. But it wasn't possible for me like the wood which is required for the Table is not available in the market. As the company manufactures this, I tried to make it use by the local plywood. Can anybody please recommend me which plywood to use? Or Else should I order from the market

 

[bob vaughan]

For me, this has been a horrible thread. I'm now looking askance at my abysmal router bit box and am anxious to get to designing and making a better one. Problem is that I'm in the middle of another less interesting but more involved project. So much to do... so little time.