4. Pegboard
Just as wheels add flexibility to a shop floor, pegboard adds it to the wall. Pegboard and hooks are inexpensive and allow you to store tools, small parts and other items to support your project. They also make it easier to stay organized. When the project is done, you can simply rearrange the wall for the next project.
5. Scrap Wood
Clamps and vises are handy for holding parts while you’re working on your project, but sometimes they’re not quite enough. Scrap wood is actually a powerful, inexpensive tool that can enhance your clamps and vises. Sometimes you’ll use a wood block to keep your car from rolling away. You may also use some wood to hold the engine at just the right angle when engineering a swap, as a fixture for a fabricated bracket, or as a hammerform for a custom sheet-metal part. Keep some 2x4s, furring strips, and scraps of plywood in the corner of the shop, and you’ll always find a use for them.
6. Clamps, Clamps and More Clamps
Remember what we said about two hands being better than one? And how handy a good vise is? Well, a clamp is basically a portable vise. One clamp is good, but more is better. A good assortment of C-clamps, locking pliers, ratcheting clamps, and any other form of clamping device will help you squeeze things into position, hold parts where they need to be, and generally keep your hands free. Like vises, good clamps can be very expensive, but also like vises, there are many ways to buy them used for reasonable money. Buy every one you can afford, and hang them on your pegboard.
7. Shelves, Cabinets, Drawers and Bins
By now, you may have picked up a sub-theme of this story: Organization and flexibility can make or break a shop. While wheels and pegboard are key in this area, you still need to put stuff somewhere. We like cabinets for stuff we want to keep clean, shelves for stuff we need to be able to see, drawers for tools and supplies, and plastic bins to subdivide all of the above. All of these items can be bought new for reasonable money, and many of them can be found used for little money or even free. Don’t forget flexible storage when you plan your shop.