Introduction: Shadow Board
This guide will teach you how to create your very own shadow board! You can use it yourself or give it as a gift for someone who could use a little bit of organization in their workshops.
This is a project that can be done for very little cash. Definitely under $50 and easily under $20, depending on which route you choose when creating the board.
You will need the following to complete this project:
- - Some sort of board
- - Your tools
- - Either paint, tape, or some sort of writing utensil (pen, sharpie)
- - Paintbrush, if using paint (optional)
- - Hammer (optional)
- - Nails (optional)
- - Velcro (optional)
Step 1: Choose Your Materials
There are multiple different types of boards that can be used for a shadow board. You can use a standard flat sheet of wood of any kind, a peg board, anything. Whatever works best for you.
You should also decide how you want to outline and organize the tools. Tape, sharpie, or paint is what I recommend for this.
Example materials:
Peg board: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-White-Peg-Boa...
Step 2: Arrange the Tools
Now you need to figure out how you want the board oriented and how you are going to organize the tools on the board. If you want the board to hang on a wall, then you need a hammer and nails to hang it on the wall and to also hang the tools from the board.
To start arranging the tools lay the board down on a flat surface and begin to arrange the tools in whatever way works best for you. Keep in mind that if you are going to be hanging the board that the tools need to be properly oriented so that they can hang from nails.
Step 3: Outline the Tools
Using your preferred method, begin to outline the tool on the board. Simply trace the outline of the tool with whatever you decided to use on the board.
If you want to organize your tools even more, consider color coding the different types of tools based on size or purpose. For example, if you are hanging up many wrenches and have more than one of certain widths, color coding each width a different color would help to know exactly how many wrenches of each width you have available. Likewise, you could split up colors for wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, etc. if you hate having plain, mono-color things!
Some other tips that I've found are useful when organizing my tools are where to place each tool. I personally like to keep all of my tools of a certain type together, so I tend to group my wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. all in their own areas. This helps it to look more organized and makes it much easier to find what you are looking for so that they are all in one area as opposed to spread out over the board.
Step 4: (Optional) Hanging the Tools
If you decide to hang the tools, then you will need to either put nails in appropriate spots to allow the tools to hang from the board, or attach Velcro to the board and tool to allow it to hang into place.
If the tools have a hole in them like wrenches, put a nail where the hole is and the tool will hold there. Otherwise, simply put nails wherever necessary to ensure the tools will hang. Some good areas would be any extended parts of tools, like the head of a hammer, or between the prongs of pliers.
If you want to use Velcro and don't mind the look/feel of it on your tools, simply attach Velcro to your board and your corresponding tool wherever you decided to place the tool on the board.
Step 5: Hang or Place
Congrats, you're just about done! To finish, simply place the board wherever you planned to place it or hang it from the wall!