Using an airplane galley cart as workshop storage
Over the last few months I have been slowly building out a little workshop for myself in a spare bedroom. I wanted to create a space to work on art projects, do some small scale woodworking, and play around with my typewriter. I've never really had the luxury of a dedicated workspace before, and it feels really good to put one together. So far I've acquired a work bench, a shop stool, a little laptop desk for my typewriter, a growing amount of tools, and tool storage.
Storage has been the main challenge in the small space I have to work with. I've been reluctant to commit to shelf storage or other kinds of wall storage because I am not sure of the final layout I want for the room. The room was originally intended to be a bedroom which means there is some closet space I can use (abuse?) as storage for some of my more bulky items like my shop vac, and a folding Dewalt jobsite table. The closet also has a shelf which I am using to hold a few modestly sized storage bins to group some more oddly shaped things together. It is a pretty modest start. Most of my tool organization is already handled by the tool bags I have, but I still have a lot of things such as cutting and marking tools, art supplies, adhesives like glue or tape, stationary, etc that I wanted quick access to but also don't fit within the current set of options I had.
I bought two old airplane galley carts to use as storage in the shop. I really love these things. They are astonishingly functional! I got the idea for using these from the YouTube channel of Adam Savage - famous for being on the show "Mythbusters". I don't recall specifically what Adam used them for, or what episode I saw them on, but I do remember instantly being attracted to the idea of using one of these things. It would allow easy access to things I regularly need, allow me to stash it to the side easily, and honestly just look really stylish sitting in the workspace. This is the smaller of the two that I bought. It is a "half size" model. The second one is full-size and has twice the depth, but also has doors on both sides.
Look at the door hardware!
It is surprisingly lightweight, and is on casters so it can be easily moved around; there is also a break to keep it in place. The door latches closed, and can be opened wide enough to sit flush with the side of the unit out of the way. The inside storage is also totally configurable: all the drawers can be removed from the unit by sliding them out and reconfigured as needed. Being able to just roll the unit around has been fantastic. If I leave my workbench to sit in front of my laptop table with the typewriter I can just roll the unit over with me. I can also roll the unit out of the way if I need space for other things. The flexibility they give me in that way is nearly as good as their organizational capabilities.
I added some velcro to the top so I can stick stuff to the top of the unit and roll it around without worrying about anything falling off if I bump it into something.
The one major downside to these galley carts is that they are expensive; the shipping costs were especially unforgiving. Drawers for these carts are also relatively expensive as well. However I still feel really good about the purchase. I use them constantly, and really enjoy them. Sometime in the near future I'll make a few more drawers out of pine or something for the larger unit I have. In the mean time though, I'll be slapping stickers all over the sides of these things.
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