It's easy for a woodworking bench to become a temporary storage area. Set down a couple of chisels, a screwdriver, a square, and a few other tools during a project, and pretty soon there's hardly any room left to work.
This pull-out workbench tool rack offers a better solution. It keeps frequently used hand tools right beside the bench without taking up valuable benchtop space.
The rack is essentially a narrow plywood storage box mounted on heavy-duty drawer slides. Inside, custom holders organize chisels and screwdrivers. A pegboard back adds another layer of flexible storage, while a shallow tray across the top keeps small items from wandering around the bench.
Pull the rack out while you're working and your tools are right at hand. When you're finished, simply slide the whole thing back alongside the workbench.
Build the Plywood Tool Rack
Construction starts with a plywood box sized to fit the available space beside your workbench.
After cutting the parts to size, cut dadoes in the sides to accept the top, bottom, and interior tool holders.
Next, cut a groove in the top, bottom, and sides for the pegboard back. Capturing the pegboard in grooves gives it support while still leaving the holes available for additional tool storage.
There's one additional groove in the bottom for a hardboard lip.
The combination creates a compact case with several different ways to organize tools instead of simply piling everything into a drawer.
Add Custom Chisel & Screwdriver Holders
The interior holders are where you can really tailor this project to your own tool collection.
Rather than building generic racks and hoping your tools fit, lay out the tools you want to store and size the holes and openings accordingly.
Drilled holes work well for screwdrivers and other round-shank tools. Chisels and similar hand tools can be stored in appropriately sized slots or openings.
The two holders also make good use of the rack's vertical space. Tools stay separated, upright, and easy to identify instead of being stacked on top of one another.
Woodsmith Tip: Build Around Your Tools. Before drilling or cutting the holders, arrange your actual tools on the blanks and mark their locations. Pay attention to handle diameter as well as blade or shaft size. Leave enough space between tools that you can comfortably grab one without knocking its neighbors out of the rack.
Put the Pegboard Back to Work
The pegboard isn't there simply to close off the back of the case. It provides another useful storage surface.
Add pegboard accessories or shop-made holders for the smaller tools and accessories that don't fit naturally into the interior racks.
This makes the organizer easy to change over time. If your tool collection changes, the pegboard portion doesn't require rebuilding the entire rack.
RELATED ARTICLE: Custom Pegboard Tool Holders That Save Wall Space
For even more storage, custom wooden pegboard holders can be built specifically for drill bits, router bits, chisels, wrenches, and other small tools.
Add a Top Tray for Small Tools
Not everything needs a dedicated hole or slot.
The shallow tray across the top provides a convenient landing spot for small items you use regularly at the bench. It keeps them contained while still making them quick to grab.
That's especially useful for the miscellaneous tools and accessories that would otherwise end up scattered across the work surface.
Mount the Rack on Heavy-Duty Slides
The feature that makes this tool rack different from a typical wall-mounted organizer is the drawer-slide mounting system.
Heavy-duty slides attach the rack to the side of the workbench. This allows the entire organizer to pull out when you need access and slide back alongside the bench when you don't.
Before building the case, check the available space around your bench and the dimensions required by the slides you plan to use. You'll want enough clearance for the rack and tools throughout the full travel of the slides.
The slides should also be sized appropriately for the combined weight of the rack and the tools you plan to store.
Woodsmith Tip: Check Your Longest Tool. When laying out the rack, don't just measure the available space beside the bench. Check the height of your longest chisel or screwdriver as well. Making the case slightly taller than the longest tool prevents handles from interfering with the top tray or workbench as the rack slides in and out.
Keep Your Most-Used Tools Beside the Bench
The best tool storage isn't necessarily the storage that holds the most tools. It's the storage that puts the tools you use most often where you naturally reach for them.
That's what makes this pull-out rack so useful.
Chisels and screwdrivers have dedicated holders. Pegboard accommodates smaller accessories. The top tray handles miscellaneous items. And the whole organizer occupies space beside the workbench rather than covering the work surface.
Instead of cleaning off the bench every time you need room to work, simply slide the rack out, grab what you need, and put the tool back when you're finished.
More Ways to Organize Small Hand Tools
Don't have room for a pull-out rack? Magnetic strips, wall-mounted holders, portable tool caddies, and pegboard racks offer other easy ways to keep frequently used tools organized and within reach.
SEE 5 SMALL TOOL STORAGE IDEAS → 5 Small Tool Storage Ideas for Your Woodworking Shop
