I have a full size lathe, and for a project, I had my kids make a tool holder for it. It basically involved taking a piece of 1x10x18" and some 2x2x24" strips of cedar I had lying around. I took the cedar strips and clamped them together, cut 3" off of the ends to be used later, and drilled a bunch of holes through where the two faces joined together - about an inch or so apart. I then separated and screwed the cedar sticks to each side of the 1x10 with the half-holes facing up. The two 3" blocks I screwed to the bottom of the 1x10 and used to slide down the slot in the ways of the lathe bed. Now I have a table that I can sit my tools on that is removable and can slide towards me as I work. I further embelished it by adding some hard drive magnets to the front face of the 2x2 cedar sticks so that I can hold my chuck wrenches, face plate wrenches, calipers, etc. I hold about 14-18 tools on it without a problem.
I also use a couple hard drive magnets to hold sand paper to the lathe so that I don't have to stop and grab a piece of paper as Im working.