Like any woodworker, I have started a nice collection of basic router bits. Different brands have different boxes within which these bits are held. I wanted a nice, easy-to-access storage facility for my bits.

A simple, small piece of wood with some holes in it for the various bits (not all bits have the same shaft diameter) is all that I required. Maybe later I will build a nice cabinet to house these bits, but for now they will just sit in a drawer of one of my tool cabinets.

Many years ago I built a simple storage box shown in the photo below. I had outgrown it, and it proved to be a bit difficult to use sometimes. The bits on the outside would poke my fingers when I tried to get a smaller bit on the inside. The overall size made it difficult to find a good location for it.

For the new stands I started with two sets of pieces of Red Oak wood. These were left over from another project. They measure 10-1/4" by 2-1/2" by 1" thick.

I decided to make one for my smaller bits and one for my larger ones. Using a disk sander I rounded over the edges of the blocks of wood. I measured out where I wanted to put the bits and drilled holes for them. Most have a 1/4-inch shaft, but the larger ones have 3/8-inch shafts. I used a drill bit one or two sizes larger than the shaft size to drill the holes in the blocks (done on the drill press). For the big holes I had to use a Forstner bit.

After a good hand-sanding, I put one layer of Minwax "Special Walnut" stain on the stands. I wiped the majority of the stain off in a matter of minutes so as to not have the wood come out too dark. Over the next week I put three layers of Minwax "Polyurethane Clear Semi-Gloss" lacquer on the blocks (both on top and the bottom). Each layer was preceded by a sanding with a very fine-grid sandpaper. This yields a smooth surface. Now I have a storage system that looks nice, will last for years, and can be expanded as my collection of bits grows (speaking of which...).