Drill Station

This simple storage solution stashes your drills and drivers, charges their batteries, and organizes your drill accessories.

- By Chad McClung

When I first set up my shop, I built a few plywood cubbies to corral my cordless tools and accessories.

They worked well enough at first, but over time, my drills and drivers turned into a tangled mess of bits, batteries, and other tools. I’d have to shuffle things around just to find the right bit or a charged pack. It wasn’t efficient, and it drove me nuts.

The more time I spent in the shop, the clearer it became that the issue wasn’t the tools themselves—it was the lack of a system designed around how I actually work. Cordless drills and drivers get used constantly, and any friction in accessing them adds up fast. I wanted a setup that kept everything visible, prevented tools from piling on top of each other, and made it just as easy to put things away as it was to grab them.

So I built a dedicated drill station. Each tool now hangs in its own compartment, ready to grab and go without fuss. The top shelf holds chargers, with a clean cord-management hole and a lower shelf keeps bits and accessories close at hand. Everthing’s organized, visible, and within reach.

Since this is a high-use shop shelf, I used leftover plywood I had around the shop. Its notched sides lighten the design, while the simple dado and rabbet joinery keep the structure solid without relying on hardware. It hangs on a French cleat, making it easy to take down or move as your shop evolves.

Designing Your Drill Station

Use the cut list to build this station as shown or tweak it to fit your tools. Check your drill lengths and handle widths before cutting and adjust the compartments as needed. Make it wider, stack two rows, or add shelves for more accessories—whatever suits your shop. Designing is half the fun.

Rabbets, Dadoes, & Notches