Editing Building a new shop (section)
Jump to:
navigation
,
search
==Accessories== After you have four walls, a roof and a floor, pretty much everything else is just window dressing. These are all the 'I WANTS'! Got $30,000 worth of tools and parts in your garage or shop? Put in a lockable tool crib to house them, or be prepared to lose them over time. Plan out shop layout and place equipment in proper areas. Use graph paper and cut outs of proper proportions of equipment to see if it fits and works in the plan. Locate compressors and lines the same way. Plan stripping areas to house power washers and sandblasting equipment. Design a clean area for assembly and painting. Its all in the planning! ===Shelving=== Install dependable steel shelves and cabinetry with proper labeling to identify the places for your various tools. Make sure that shelves are capable of handling the weight that you will place on them. One option is to use wire adjustable shelving -- it comes in varying widths and lengths, the dirt and dust falls right through, and you never have to climb up to see what's on the top shelf. Add colored bins and boxes, and it starts to look like a well organized shop. One option for independent shelving units are the "Gorilla" shelf units, available at Costco. The "Gorilla" shelves have a powder-coated angle iron frame with high density wood shelves, and are diagonally braced to prevent shifting. If you're worried about shelf units tipping, just add a turnbuckle, or a hook and eye from the wall to the unit for extra stability. ===Cabinets=== For cabinets, you can take stackable ledger card bins with pull out drawers, and find cardboard boxes that fit snugly into the drawers for different bolts, nuts and washers sizes. A double door locking paper cabinet with adjustable shelves can house paint guns and precision tools. Stackable computer cabinets with a large opening door and two interior shelves can store paint supplies. Also, a plastic "Euro style" desk unit can be modified into a rolling work bench. The possibilities are endless, if you put your mind to it. Check out the local auction houses and flea markets in your area. The ignition cabinets with the fancy labeling tend to run in the $100-250 per unit. With proper sourcing, you can get ALL of your cabinets for less than that. ===Benches=== Box tubing, angle iron and rolled 1/8 inch steel top make a nice bench for heavy working and welding. Pretty melamine cabinets should be left in the kitchen along with plastic laminated tops -- you can't hammer on them, welding and grinding sparks put pits in the surface, and spray paint is hard to get off. 10-16 gauge flat steel makes a nice working surface for most hands-on guys. It can be formed to roll over the front lip of the bench, or rolled up for a back splash or a flame and spark deflector. One of the first things that should be installed on a steel bench is a good grounding lug, you can lay a piece of metal almost anywhere on it and be able to weld or tack it. You know you're going to weld on it sooner or later. Tack welds to the bench surface come off easy with an angle grinder and flap wheel. Doors on the benches keep the clutter hidden, welding sparks out of the paint cans, grinding grit on a manageable level, your choice! A unique option is to use a tailgate from a pickup truck as a garage seat. For more details, see [http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/garage-seating-137916.html this discussion]. ===Storage=== ====Indexed stackable plastic containers==== Here's one way to handle garage storage. Buy 24 of those 60-gallon stackable plastic containers with lids and wheels. Ideally, buy clear plastic containers, so you'll be able to see what's inside. Then, attach numbered plastic tags with snap ties to each container, and label them according to their contents (ie: "Spray Paint", "Chevelle", "Flathead", "Air Tools", etc.) Then, make a corresponding entry book. Each entry should include a bin number, and the contents of the bin. Then, when you're looking for something, you can first check the book, then look for the tag with the matching number. When you add or remove something from a container, you can update the entry in the book. =====Hanging plastic containers from ceiling===== For details on building a ceiling rack from which to suspend plastic totes, see [http://www.alpharubicon.com/kids/garagestoragetluweyen.htm this article]. ====Tire rack and cord rack==== Every shop should have a tire rack and cord rack. Tire racks can be place on the front part of the shop over top of bench or storage areas. Use 1 1/2" square tubing as a frame work and make sure the uprights come down to the floor for support. Don't just rely upon the perimeter horizontal rails to wedge the tires up, place a center rail to avoid tires falling through. An eight foot tire rack will hold a dozen tires and rims. Cord racks can be made from 1 1/2" tubing with properly spaced large S-hooks or junkyard tire irons welded to the horizontal tubing. A couple of used rims mounted on the wall will do in a pinch. Air and water hoses can also be hung on the wheel rims, the large radius will avoid stress cracks forming in them.
|
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Personal tools
Log in / create account
Namespaces
Page
Discussion
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
Actions
Search
Navigation
Main Page
Recent changes
Random page
Help
All articles
Start a new article
Hotrodders forum
Categories
Best articles
Body and exterior
Brakes
Cooling
Electrical
Engine
Fasteners
Frame
Garage and shop
General hotrodding
Identification and decoding
Interior
Rearend
Safety
Steering
Suspension
Tires
Tools
Transmission
Troubleshooting
Wheels
Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Special pages
Terms of Use
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Your Privacy Choices
Manage Consent