Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about efficiency and which tools are most necessary to have around all the time, so this survival tool kit from Flickr pool member Alexander Becker caught my eye. All these tools fit into an Altoids box, which is a smaller package than I’ve been thinking of — but it would’ve been great for the Boy Scout campouts I went on as a kid. Alexander also posted pictures of how the toolbox packs and closes.

He obviously put some thought into the kit, with the mini flashlight, lighter, and knife — half the problems you’ll run into are covered right there. Of course, Sean would say you can’t have a survival kit without super glue.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

It always brings a big smile to our face when we see a group of kids learning about tools and what to do with them. Reader tmib seattle posted up a few pics of a local scout troop getting down on blacksmithing and forge work.

We love seeing this because it’s essential that youngsters learn early both how cool and how handy working in the shop can be — whether it’s metal work like this or plastic hobby-crafting. We have to pass the crafting spirit along to the next generation, or they’ll start to lose something very indefinable — until it’s gone.

It’s a little soapboxish and corny, but if you teach love of the shop — and the projects and tools in it — to young kids, they’ll carry it the rest of their lives.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Sometimes we find better uses for our tools than the manufacturer had in mind when the design specs were originally laid out. Loading up this toolbox with tools made it too heavy for a second floor apartment — so we filled it with toys that needed a bit of organization which turned it into ultimate mobile toybox.

It might not be the most macho use of the 4 in 1 toolbox but for the household it sits in this is noble work indeed. The best part is the wheels and travel luggage handle that lets this rolling fun-time box go wherever needed.

4-in-1 Mobile Workstation [Stanley]
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

We like reader Wattsei’s bed project because he incorporated storage in a normally under-utilized area of the bedroom. But he didn’t just make some drawers to store socks in — he built each drawer to hold 4’ x 4’ pieces of art and up to 240 lbs of stuff.

Functional and relatively inexpensive to build — we see no downside here.  Plus he made it for his girlfriend, so he earns points in that department as well.  Somebody’s thinking.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

You can always tell who uses a tool bag by what’s in it and what kind of shape it’s in. In this case, plumbing fittings and the nastified nature of the canvas scream ‘utility contractor’ — this is a working man’s tool bag.

The coolest thing about this rig: it’s used day in, day out, in the mud, and it still holds up. If it gets too nasty, hose it out and set it in the sun for awhile, and it’s ready to go again. It might not win any new design awards for fancy workmanship — but it might outlast the ones that do.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

We can always count on pegboard to start a hot debate among Toolmongers. We split right down the middle — the anti-pegboard people on one side furiously advocate toolboxes and storage systems, and the staunch pegboard supporters come back with tales of super convenience.  Toolmonger’s own Brad Justinen offers up this slick photo of his pegboard setup, brandishing his fine selection of hand tools.

We’ll say this: almost anyone’s shop can accommodate both pegboard and other storage systems, and it’s a totally subjective thing. Chuck and I often disagree on the virtues of the holy board ourselves, but clearly it does a great job of getting tools off the bench — and almost any tool guy will tell you, that’s a step in the right direction.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Many folks don’t understand the beaming pride of transforming a rather pathetic looking object into something with an entirely new life, perhaps better than it ever was. Take this machinist’s tool chest, for instance. Compare the awful ‘before’ picture on the left with the breathtaking chest on the right. This goes beyond repair – it’s custom restoration.

With no control over what he’s handed, reader txinkman repairs and restores these old chests, creatively putting right what time and a few decades of hard shop treatment have torn apart — and obviously he’s not afraid to accept a challenge.  We put this kind of work on an even par with artistic endeavors.   Hats off and beers up to you, sir.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Making enough room for all your hobby gear might seem like a simple thing, but it can be quite the hassle. Reader ethernectar not only managed to build himself storage for his hobby — RC cars — he still has steam left over to want to build a matching set of shelves on the other side of the garage.

We dig this type of endeavor for two reasons: 1) because, obviously, we love anything that gets the garage or shop straightened up, and 2) because he didn’t go out of his way to approach it from a crazy angle or use material beyond the project’s scope.  2×4’s and plywood are the order of the day here, and we couldn’t have done it better ourselves.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

The last time we saw this room, reader Butterjug2000 had a few tweaks — like flooring and paint — yet to go. Now it hardly looks like the same place. He created some sweet stereo speaker stands to go along with his bad-ass room, and the new stands won’t suffer from weeble-wobble syndrome, because he weighted ‘em down with sand.

As the cutaway picture shows, Butterjug cleverly stuffed the center pole to the gills with a few pounds of sand, then he covered it with a top plate to seal everything up. Is it the perfect solution? Maybe, maybe not — but it’ll last for a long time, and if it ever leaks the worst that could happen is he’d have to get a dustpan. Nice design and execution on the speaker stands and the room, Butterjug.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

You hear a lot about recycling old junk into shiny, productive items around the house, but photo pool member Nick Johnson put his skills where his junk was and came up with a great addition to his new lathe.

I built a drawer set to hold the plentiful accessories that came with my lathe.

The entire drawer set is built from scrap wood that was being thrown away on the streets of Brooklyn, with the exception of the wood screws, and the drawer pulls that I got at the park slope flea market.

Nick made someone else’s trash his building material — and he wound up with sweet storage for his lathe attachments. He wins a gold star on his planet-friendly card this week!

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

If you farmed the land fifty years ago, you probably owned or leased something a lot like this 1947 International tractor — a seriously handy thing to have. Reader Brad Huffman posted up his dad’s latest find, and from what we can tell it’s pretty well preserved. Brad says a few issues need to be worked out, though.

I’ll be redoing the mess of spaghetti that is the wiring/electrical. Someone converted the 6 volt system to 12 volt, and borked it up a bit along the way. May keep the 12 volt system, but may also go back to the original 6 volt. Not sure yet.

A Flickr commenter raised the question, is this an old Farmall Cub or a Farmall “A”? To be honest, we don’t know enough about old-school farm equipment to make the call, so we’ll leave that part up to you. Anyone out there a farm equipment aficionado?

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

A while back we showed you some photos of a modern barn-raising, courtesy of reader and photo pool member Remberto. Recently he was kind enough to add a few pics of the new roof.

Here in Texas, we refer to this as an old-school “tin roof” — even though it’s clearly corrugated steel. Complete with sturdy timber bracing and some added skylights, it looks like the sides are next. We must say we’re completely jealous of both the barn and the land he put it on. Keep the pics coming, Remberto.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Reader tmib seattle is setting up and constructing his own gas forge. From the pictures we’ve seen, he looks to be rounding out the process already. This photo of his home setup shows the forge after he painted it and added the castable refractory.

Even though it’s not a huge forge, you can make tons of stuff with this type of setup, from square nails to your own tools.  Of course, there’s more to it than just throwing an iron in the fire and pulling out a newly formed Snap-on wrench — but that’s half the fun.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

When someone says they’re putting together some table saw upgrades, we normally think better blades and a quality fence. Reader 1200tec went way past blades and guides — he put together a rolling storage cabinet/feed table that not only stashes gear and funnels dust out the back, but also rolls right under his miter saw table.

If this isn’t slick, we don’t know what is. The drawers are nice and large to stow plenty of gear, and the blade storage rack is a total nice touch. Elegant and solid, someone had their coffee before putting pencil to paper on this one.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

The first time I saw this photo, I thought someone had taken a picture of my shop and posted it to the Flickr pool. I use this same setup, including the Irwin clamps and the Delta drill press, in my shop at home.

It actually works pretty well, all things considered. Just clamp wood in position, as shown here, and off you go. Sometimes I clamp another piece of wood on the other side of the table for added bracing — but in any case, it was funny to see someone else performing the same acts of “make do with what you got” that I do.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

After a particularly dust-laden weekend in the Toolmonger shop, we must say that the sight of Dugbee’s collection system choked us up a bit. Of course it could’ve been the quarter pound of oak particles, or the ever-floating mist of dust in the shop — but who knows?

Not only is this shop in good working order, but Dugbee has laid out his gear in a handy row so the dust collection system can capture debris from all the major offenders in the shop. Well done.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

I’ve often wondered how something like lacewood would finish out, if used as a main design piece. Photo pool member Butterjug2000 has removed all doubt in this matter with his recent mantle project.

Normally, we don’t see much lacewood outside of veneer, but this looks to be a solid piece. If it’s not, Butterjug did a masterful job of concealing it with the finished edges. We also applaud him for keeping the design very simple and letting the wood speak for itself.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]