# Router Bit Organization and Storage



## Bob Adams (Jul 5, 2014)

Over the years I have collected a large amount of bits. Most of them on the lower quality side, and a large portion of those have profiles that I have never used. I am currently grounded and recovering from surgery, I am limited to no lifting, etc.. and bored out of my mind. So I decided it was a good time to go through my bits, toss what I don't want or use and replace the low quality ones with what I want. I will be replacing the majority with Sommerfeld bits which come in nice boxes that I will probably keep and use for storage. The ones that I am not replacing have a variety of shanks sizes, 1/2, 8mm and 1/4. In the past I have used high density foam for the bits and this works ok but I would like to see alternatives before I commit to the foam. I have a bank of 4 drawers next to router table, and that is where the bits will be stored. Anyway I would like see and read about how you store or bits.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

inch wide by 1.5 ~ 2'' thick strips laid tightly in the drawer...
no holes to drill or crosses to cut... just put the bits in between the strips...
infinite spacing is one fell swoop...
This system allows greater flexibility with infinite spacing and self adjustable tension on any dia of shaft...


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## Bob Adams (Jul 5, 2014)

Stick486 said:


> inch wide by 1.5 ~ 2'' thick strips laid tightly in the drawer...
> no holes to drill or crosses to cut... just put the bits in between the strips...
> infinite spacing is one fell swoop...
> This system allows greater flexibility with infinite spacing and self adjustable tension on any dia of shaft...


Sounds interesting, but strips of what?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

dense foam rubber...


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I went with the foam solution. My son left a 2" x 2' x 8' sheet of the white stuff in my shop I wanted to use up so I used it. I couldn't drill the holes so I melted them with a pencil type soldering iron. The 1/4" holes are a little big but the 1/2" are pretty good.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Charles , that’s such a simple but effective setup that I never would have thought of it . Nice job 

I’m wondering if I guy heated up a metal rod with a torch , if they may be a good approach for making the holes?


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## Bob Adams (Jul 5, 2014)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> I went with the foam solution. My son left a 2" x 2' x 8' sheet of the white stuff in my shop I wanted to use up so I used it. I couldn't drill the holes so I melted them with a pencil type soldering iron. The 1/4" holes are a little big but the 1/2" are pretty good.


Very nice, I ordered the foam and bits, if mine turns out half as nice I will be happy!


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> Charles , that’s such a simple but effective setup that I never would have thought of it . Nice job
> 
> I’m wondering if I guy heated up a metal rod with a torch , if they may be a good approach for making the holes?


I tried that first but shortly after I started the soldering iron idea popped into my head and it turned out to be way faster since I didn't have to keep reheating the rod (or bolt as was my case).


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Another thing I have no worries about. I have a 1/2" flush trim bit in the router in my table. Then I have one each 1/4" and 3/8" flush trim bits, in their original boxes, in a cabinet drawer. However, I do plan on acquiring a 1/2" radius roundover bit, that will live in another router, which will be permanently in a router plate.


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

I really like the foam strip idea. I made a box (chest?) quite a few years ago that has a false bottom with holes drilled for 1/2 and 1/4 shank bits. But the box is filling up and its time to consider expanding. I have plenty of drawers now, so I might just go the foam route. It's so flexible in bit placement. 

Thanks, Y'all!


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> I went with the foam solution. My son left a 2" x 2' x 8' sheet of the white stuff in my shop I wanted to use up so I used it. I couldn't drill the holes so I melted them with a pencil type soldering iron. The 1/4" holes are a little big but the 1/2" are pretty good.



Bob I have a suggestion. If any of the bits are good that you are going to throw out why don't you try and find someone that is getting started in wood working and give them to him or her. Ofcoarse you may already have plans of your own.


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## Bob Adams (Jul 5, 2014)

hawkeye10 said:


> Bob I have a suggestion. If any of the bits are good that you are going to throw out why don't you try and find someone that is getting started in wood working and give them to him or her. Ofcoarse you may already have plans of your own.


Already working on it, once my new bits arrive, I will post the ones that are usable. They will be free + shipping. If nobody is interested, they will go to habitat.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

I don't have that many but I just drilled holes in MDF for my bits.









David


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Because I'm stuck for space this is MY storage.


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

I like to label each of my bits to make it easier and quicker to pick the one I need. Mine are arranged in a drawer mostly by type but the front row has my most frequently used bits. Each bit is in a 1.5" cube with holes drilled for both 1/4" and 1/2" shanks. It took more work to initially set everything up but it's more flexible for my uses in the long run.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

That is really cool how you guys store your bits. I'm not going to show you mine. Hmmmmmm


Herb


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

Gaffboat said:


> I like to label each of my bits to make it easier and quicker to pick the one I need. Mine are arranged in a drawer mostly by type but the front row has my most frequently used bits. Each bit is in a 1.5" cube with holes drilled for both 1/4" and 1/2" shanks. It took more work to initially set everything up but it's more flexible for my uses in the long run.


In addition to being talented, you are CDO. That's OCD in Alphabetical Order.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Been watching this with interest as my bits - those not just lying around - are stored in their little plastic boxes in a drawer in my rolling cabinet.

I do have one of the metal Rockler racks bolted to the side of my router table, holding those bits I use most of the time. 18" Router Bit Storage Rack | Rockler Woodworking and Hardware

Drilling holes in a piece of MDF to lie in the bottom of a drawer was my next step, and I was looking on Lee Valley's site for the split plastic bushings they used to sell to reduce a 1/2" hole down to 1/4" so you don't have to worry about how many 1/2" and how many 1/4" holes do you drill. Apparently they don't sell them any more and I thought the replacement was a little pricey.

So, I found this https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/cmtrouterbitorganizer.aspx I don't want to make the drawers 12" wide so thinking I could split the tray down the middle, losing 10 holes but 90 should be enough, and the bushings can be used to make the hole size to suit the bit. I have the Rockler metal stand so think a 3 high drawer unit would fit between the angle legs and the dust box - make them 16/18" deep to match the stand and have a little room left over for odds and ends.


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## MGildersleeve (Jan 15, 2018)

I have the same three door bit storage. I bored out the holes into wood, though. I have two 1/2” shank drawers. Used a Forster bit to drill one drawer. The results were a little tight and slow drilling. So, I used a Brad bit on the next hole. The results were fast, but the bores were way too loose. The bits rattle around and are a little sloppy. Eventually, the Forster bit holes loosened up and stayed that way. Word to the wise.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

After I saw Oliver's (@Gaffboat) photo, adding labels to the holes looks like a good idea - I have some of the u/s bits for plywood, plus a couple of metric bits, and they're easy to get mixed up. I've already ordered the CMT tray - 12" wide, the plan is to cut it into two 6" wide pieces - but a better idea may be to go with the 3/4" MDF and adjust the spacing so that I have enough room for labels. From the Highland WW catalog, it looks as if the holes in the tray for the bushings are 7/8" diameter so I'll do a little test in some scrap MDF and see whether the bushings will work in drilled holes - if so, I'll go with the drilled holes in MDF and spacing to suit. Using the bushings, I can make all the holes the same and then install either a 1/4" or 1/2" bushing as needed.

https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/cmtrouterbitorganizerpackof2014bushings.aspx


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## Steven Owen (Aug 14, 2017)

difalkner said:


> I don't have that many but I just drilled holes in MDF for my bits.
> 
> View attachment 322682
> 
> ...


This looks a very practical solution. The dense rubber looks interesting, it’s hard to find the specialized bits that can drill into rubber. I’ll be building bit storage into the table for my new Incra LS. Your solution will be the most practical.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Great string. At present, I keep most of my bits in their original box, stored inside plastic trays with covers. I sometimes have problems picturing the cuts they will make so I like to keep the profile art with the bit. But I like the idea of a drawer, with MDF drilled. I will keep my door bit sets in their original boxes, so it will take two drawers to store all of them along with the profile art by each bit. 

Funny how they multiply, but it's probably that rabbeting bit causing the mischief.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

While waiting for the organizer tray to show up - due Saturday, delivered today - I spent some time gathering and organizing my bits. Found some I'd forgotten I had, and more than one where I'd obviously forgotten that I had them and bought a duplicate (sometimes a couple) but these are mostly ones that I use a lot so they won't go to waste.

I took a look at the Rockler router table, trying to plan the project rather than just jumping in and making something that I wouldn't be happy with. Based on that, I scrapped the idea of using the tray (and will ship that back to the vendor) and will go with drilled holes in MDF to accept the 1/2" or 1/4" bushings - now need to buy a 22 mm Forstner bit as the 7/8" hole is loose on the bushings. What it looks like is going to happen is a two drawer cabinet the width between the angle legs of the table and the height up to the bottom of the collector box - this would make the drawers about 4-5/8" high inside x 16" deep, high enough to get 95% of the bits standing up. The second drawer will hold all the other bits and pieces stored under the table - feather boards, clamps, guide bushings, extra collets, etc.


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## Bob Adams (Jul 5, 2014)

Shortly after I started this thread I was diagnosed with a very nasty type of skin cancer and the 1st doc said I wouldn't make it to the end of Jan. Didn't care for that doc so I found some new ones that set me on a course of 35 glow in the dark sessions. and 11 cemo. The tumor (which would have killed me by the end of Jan, had it not been treated), has shrunk from softball size to about the size of a quarter, Docs are optimistic, I am trying to be. Lots of side effects from the radiation are keeping me grumpy, right now, but I ain't dead. Anyway, I got some stuff in the shop done over the last few months, working as my energy level would allow. I ordered some Kaizen foam and cut it into strips, hot glued the strips a little less than 1/2" apart. I went through my bits and got rid of the profiles I don't use, (my son wanted them, made it easy). I ordered the bits that I know I will use from Sommerfelds and following Sticks advise reorganized them. I still have to make a drawer for the rabbet set, large profile, and door making bits, but those will stay in the Sommerfeld boxes. And I haven't tackled the 1/4" and 8 mm bits, but I am getting there. Here are the before and after pictures. Thanks for all of the ideas!


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## Hypnotoad (Apr 17, 2018)

Bob Adams said:


> So I decided it was a good time to go through my bits, toss what I don't want or use and replace the low quality ones with what I want. I will be replacing the majority with Sommerfeld bits which come in nice boxes that I will probably keep and use for storage.


Bob I will say a prayer for you and sincerely hope you recover fully and get back to good health soon.

You could always donate them to someone on here who would use them? I am not suggesting myself, but if someone in the U.S. paid for shipping.............


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## Belperboy (May 18, 2018)

After 30 odd years of cramped living in London (UK), we moved to a rambling Georgian house in the Midlands of the UK. It has a large basement/cellar which was not being used because it flooded regularly, this also reduced the purchase price. I was able to deal with the cause of flooding and could make use of the cellar. During the past three years it's become somewhat cluttered with tools and timber, so I bit the bullet and started to install shelves and tool boards. Drill bits and cutter bits are now in cabinets on shelves, but I keep the frequently used bits in convenient reach on the tool boards near machinery. I've also painted outline shadows on the tool boards to help the wife, kids and grand kids return tools to their proper place (well, that's the polite version).

What I have found useful is a Brother P-Touch labelling machine to produce labels to mark shelves with the tool bit diameter.


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