Bicycle Mechanics - Workbench set up.

I'm setting up my workbench and tool area and was looking for advice. Anyone have pictures of their areas or suggestions? I will have a pegboard on the wall and worktable.

Thanks

Having just bought my own house with a garage, having a pretty good selection of tools and 5 bikes (and 2 motorbikes!) I'm quite interested in how others have tackled this.

In the past I've been a ghetto mechanic, so i liked to have a tarp down in my (parents) conservatory, bike upside down and all my tools in a cardboard box and spread all over the place when in use. There was a lot of swearing when not working on the wheels/drivetrain because I had nothing to hold it when shiny-side-up.

I use 1/4" plywood mounted to the wall as a tool holder and 6d or 10d nails as "hooks" The plywood gives me the ability to place the tools exactly where I want them with custom spacing while pegboard fixes your hanger locations and spacing. Also, I can remove and replace the nails at will as the tools change and are added to ro deleted.

BTW, get a good repairstand.

Make sure you have plenty of light.
Get a storage container with lots of little bins so you can organize little parts.
I have a Park Tool allen key set that came with a holder that attaches to pegboards. Its been great for keeping my allen keys organized.

My biggest challenge has been figuring out what to do with parts that don't hang from the pegboard. I've been putting them in the bins but still looking for a solution that allows me to just grab them.

Everybody's workbench reflects their personality and preferences, so you should likewise make the bench your own. The only advice I'll give you is to think about how you've worked in the past, and plan so there's a very handy area for the tools you use the most, with the tools you use the least stowed out of the way in the back.

I've seen so many people create a place for each tool on the back wall, only to have them piled up on the bench all the time because it's too much trouble to reach that far all the time.

Better to not have the pegboard mounted to the workbench. Excessive sawing, hammering on other projects will have them bouncing around. Home Depot has many different hooks, bins and other pegboard hanging stuff. A repair stand is really nice, mine's 28 years old and makes shifting and brake adjustments a lot easier. I've seen pegboards with two different hole diameters. Chris

I'm very much a 'backyard mechanic' in that I just have a box of tools in the corner, along with assorted spares etc. When work needs doing I'll grab whatever I need and use the back garden, or shed if it's raining. Ideally I'd have a sturdy bench with a vice mounted on one corner, hooks on the wall for spanners and other tools, and a stack of plastic drawers of various sizes for spare parts.

In the past I've been a ghetto mechanic, so i liked to have a tarp down in my (parents) conservatory,

I was in a 300 sq ft bachelor apartment with a brown/grey mottled rug. No need for a tarp. However, it was a b*tch for loosing greasy ball bearings etc.

Tools randomly scattered at arms length on the floor.

Sitting cross legged on the floor, humming a little tune was akin to doing yoga.

My main workbench is set up for general purpose repairs and has no bicycle specific items on or near it other than the fact that my best bench vise is mounted on it. My welding table where most of the bench work gets done is in the middle of the garage and I try to keep it clear for whatever project moves to the top of the list. Many of my bicycle related tools are often hanging on the tool tray that I made for the repair stand that I also made, and a few are hanging on a small peg board on the wall behind the stand. Most of my tools are either in one of the roll around tool cabinets/chests or in the tool box on my pick-em-up truck. Less than half the work I do in my garage is bicycle related so it is set up more as a welding/fabrication/repair shop than as a bicycle shop. I have found that a well built bicycle repair stand can function quite satisfactorily as a third hand or positioner for some welding projects as well. Every time I clean up the shop, I end up rearranging just about everything and have yet to decide "yep, that's it".

Do a search here and in C&V for some threads with pics.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/515388-Post-your-Workshops?highlight=workshop+photo

dedhed, thanks for the link.