Ryobi disorganised organisation.

Boys and Girls,

While I have often been accused of upper crust toolery, I can sometimes see past my 1 i'd Fe$tool extravagance and conceded to invest in some bargain basement Ryobi batteries.


Unfortunately only Ryobi tools fit those batteries so there was a need to expand my Ryobi empire and buy some of their tools.

For my customary digression from the subject at hand and spin you a tale from my sordid past….
I hate those plastic containers and their flip top lids with a passion,





which have cost me more "gorilla knuckle" skin than dragging them on the ground in my youth just to impress the ladies.
Furthermore, every time I reached for a boxed tool it was always the one on the bottom of the pile,

Consequently I used to hibernate the boxes and congregate my tools loosely in a large box under my bench,



Ryobi cordlesses come without a plastic box so when I moved to Churchill, by default they were also relegated to that catch all box,

(note the extra handle for all that new traffic),

and as Uncle Murphy dictates, every time I reached for one of those boxed tools, it was always the one on the bottom of the pile.

I had a swag of these hangers,

that I bought years ago (as can be seen from the blue and orange colour scheme), and thought I could imitate a Chinese restaurant and hang them from the ceiling like my Ryobi nail gun,

but I kept banging my head against them when I walked past,

and kept getting Peking sauce on my shoulders.

I found a vacant spot and when I transferred it from my head to my bench, realised I could give the Ryobi cordless some organisation. Opted against drawers as all that was going to do was shuffle the chaos and decided to use sliding shelves with a separate mount for each tool.
Added some slides under the bench and to some MDF sheets to make up the sliding shelves,

I only had one set of slides with lugs that could be screwed to the bottom of a sheet of MDF,

I wasn't too keen in screwing into the edge of some MDF for the other shelf… added an "L" shaped edge trim using dominos to permit screwing a slide into the edge with confidence,


To individually mount each tool, I opted for some 3D printed mounts based on the battery profile,

and for the other shelf I left it for loose storage, however, I did put on a backing board so the tools wouldn't slip off the back,



The mount for the brad nailer had to be built up,

to acomodate the profile of the "magazine",


Now I have been told that not everyone has a 3D printer, so as an alternative and to cover bases for those few, I thought I'd design some mounts to be cut on my laser,



and screwed it to a piece of MDF as proof of concept,

and tried the fit with a Ryobi heat gun,

Took it up one notch and tested it in a vertical position mounted in a vice,



then pushed boundaries a tad more by hanging a heavier angle grinder from it,

it held…

WOT? Not everyone has a laser???… hell do you want me to chew your custard for you?…
The laser design can be made out of solid timber (or MDF) using conventional cutting tools and drills… and maybe a bit of glue to boot… reminds me of the saying as a kid…chewy on your boot... yeah, I'm an idiot!

The bottom line was to mount each tool onto individual "brackets" so they don't swing around loosely on the shelf.
The larger tools are still left to lay flat and unsecured on the other shelf, however, their size and shape prevent undue mischief.
Finally its no longer my Ryobi cordless tools that are at the bottom of the pile whenever I need them,

but the one I want next from the box, still is.

Spare batteries stand guard at the end of the shelf waiting for the order to spring into action,

and scattered around the workshop hanging off these 3D printed mounts,





in case I break a heel and compromise free workshop movement.

It is not recommended to leave the batteries for a prolonged time in the charger,

as contrary to Ryobi's claim, they gradually discharge over time in the charger.

I have yet to find a more reliable storage space for my dedicated angle grinders mounted with Arbortech attachments,

currently resting in formation on the shelf above my clamps,

though not social distancing.