New member. New garage build.

[shakenbake]

First off this forum is great. I'm sure I'll get lots of great ideas here.

Well the time has come to take things to the next level. I've been borrowing garages for the past 2 years and it's getting old. I decided to convert my current 2 car garage into a small but functional shop. The swimspa was the first hurdle, but I convinced the wife and sold it on ebay faster than I thought. Here is some progress.


Here is what I had to get rid of.

After it left the challenge of cleaning out a garage piled with 5 years of stuff

I picked up this natural gas heater off a local forum and couldn't be happier. It works great.

After partial cleaning I started to build a small but functional bench to house the drill press, grinders, belt sander, vice and whatever else I can fit.

Now to the good stuff. After a 2 hour drive to Indy we returned with a trailer full of goodies. Here is a sneak peek.

Got the bench finished up along with the peg board and power strips.

Stopped at Harbor Freight and picked up a few things to help get organized.

Put the oil drain together from Greg Smith. It will work out great for me. I may pick up another for coolant.

Home Depot had these on special at Christmas and were closing out the last few. It's no Snap On box but a step up from the Harbor Freight box.

I wrapped up the day with about half of my board full. I need to find more places for peg board.

 

[falconflyer04]

First, Welcome to the Garage Journal!
I also recently started being more active in this forum and there's one thing I can already tell you.... it's addictive!

Also, you should check your links because the pictures aren't working!?

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

None of these photos work so this post makes no sense...

 

[shakenbake]

Picked up new drill press and put the blast cabinet together.

Got the Press put together.

Stood up a lift post. That sucker was heavy.

Got both of them in place and lined up.

Finished up the night with all the hydraulic lines and support cables installed. All thats left to do is put the arms on and hook up the power.

Next day I finished up the lift and ran it through a few cycles.

Got most of the trash out and put the blast cabinet and press in their place. Next I just need to get the compressor moved to the basement and plumb in the air lines.

Got the adhesive spread on the bench top for the hard rubber surface.

 

[kywildcat]

Looks like the Mega Million jackpot winner last week.........LOL

 

[shakenbake]

Haha. All from the proceeds of selling the SwimSpa.

 

[kywildcat]

Haha. All from the proceeds of selling the SwimSpa.

Good Job........have fun with it all.

 

[shakenbake]

Got the aluminum trim on the bench today. It turned out great.

 

[Noisy Nova]

My goodness! No half measures here.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I've got to get myself one of those SwimSpas -- and then sell it.

Great job! Talk about going from zero to sixty...



With the lift, it looks like you're going to be limited in how high the underside of the car is going to go. It looks like step one was to go to a manual roll-up door. But how tall are those ceilings?

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Looking good, shakenbake. Keep us posted!

 

[shakenbake]

I've got to get myself one of those SwimSpas -- and then sell it.

Great job! Talk about going from zero to sixty...



With the lift, it looks like you're going to be limited in how high the underside of the car is going to go. It looks like step one was to go to a manual roll-up door. But how tall are those ceilings?

I'd like a roll up door but I haven't seen one that looks nice for the front of a house. I am however going to have the tracks raised around 18" for better clearance. As far as the height goes I have just under 11ft. The lift will go as high as 80" without pad adapters. I mainly build and sell 93-95 Mazda Rx-7's with the Corvette LSx powertrain swap in them. That car is less than 3ft. tall so I have plenty of room to raise that all the way up. A truck may be another story.

 

[sscustom]

wow your garage came out realy nice i like what you did with the al trim on your workbench

 

[mrgm]

I like where this is headed. also like the rubber on the table.

 

[V-10 Killer]

Wow looking sweet!
I see a lot of similarities between your garage and mine.
Greg Smith lift, check
********* toolbox, check
Rolling oil catch can, check
Harbor Freight storage rack, check
PVC laminated bench, aluminum trim, check

I'm liking your style

 

[4StarCstms]

Awesome!

Like the progress Youve made in such a short time. Great Job!

 

[shakenbake]

Wow looking sweet!
I see a lot of similarities between your garage and mine.
Greg Smith lift, check
********* toolbox, check
Rolling oil catch can, check
Harbor Freight storage rack, check
PVC laminated bench, aluminum trim, check

I'm liking your style

Surprisingly I didn't see your thread until I had bought most of my stuff. I did however steal your bench top idea. It is my favorite find on this forum so far. Your garage is amazing. I can't compete with that no matter what I do.

 

[shakenbake]

Today I started working on the TV, Audio and Internet cabling and install. I own a Home Theater company so I always have something laying around. This is nothing special at all and basically free to me except for the Sonos ZP90. I replaced my bedroom TV a few weeks ago and figured this would make a great shop TV. It will double as a monitor for the Mac feeding it from in the house.

 

[JC23]

WOW, shakenbake! You done hit the ground running on this one!

Keep up the great work!

 

[mhulbrock]

Looks cool! Is the bench top that hard rubber flooring? You see in industrial buildings?

 

[rlwhitetr3b]

Looking good.
If you are 2 hours from Indy, you are either not too far away or right next door.

 

[shakenbake]

Looking good.
If you are 2 hours from Indy, you are either not too far away or right next door.

I'm the other way in Ohio.

 

[jktruck150]

Looks great!

 

[gtivr4]

I mainly build and sell 93-95 Mazda Rx-7's with the Corvette LSx powertrain swap in them. That car is less than 3ft. tall so I have plenty of room to raise that all the way up.

Double check your measurements on an RX-7. 3 feet is REALLY low. (Wikipedia has the RX-7 at 48.4 inches). Just want to make sure you have space!

 

[2ndgenguy]

Double check your measurements on an RX-7. 3 feet is REALLY low. (Wikipedia has the RX-7 at 48.4 inches). Just want to make sure you have space!

Pretty sure that 48.8 height is from the ground to the top of the car. Two post lift will go under the frame and not under the tires.

 

[On Edge]

Shop looks awesome. Where abouts in Ohio do you live? I'm in the Cincinnati area near Kings Island.

 

[JMisora]

holy cow.. haha awesome! what size is the garage?

 

[e-tek]

Beatiful work!!! Nice to buy a bunch of tools/toys all at once!!

Did that spa not cause moisture issues in your garage?? I've seen people rent HotTubs and put them in the garage and the mositure pulled the sheetrock down!! I could NOT live without my HT - but then I didn't have to choose - that would be TOUGH!!!

Keep posting, we'll keep watching!! Looking forward to seeing you work on a Mazda - those are some of my fave imports.

 

[shakenbake]

Shop looks awesome. Where abouts in Ohio do you live? I'm in the Cincinnati area near Kings Island.

I'm on the north side of Cincy.

 

[On Edge]

Where did you get the rubber for the workbench? I really like that, I may have to use that for my bench.

 

[shakenbake]

Where did you get the rubber for the workbench? I really like that, I may have to use that for my bench.

I picked it up at Home Depot. It was a closeout and I think I got the last of it. I got real lucky finding it. It was so cheap I couldn't pass it up.


With the help of my brother we were able to get this 400lb compressor down to the basement in it's final resting place. The garage is finally starting to clear out enough to get a car in!! Also I picked up this new toy yesterday.

It's a 98 TJ with a 6" Long Arm lift kit. It was too good of a deal to pass up although I'm sure I will sell it before long. I have serious car A.D.D.

 

[kbkna]

I sure hope that is not PVC piping used for the air lines.

 

[shakenbake]

I sure hope that is not PVC piping used for the air lines.

I can't believe it took that long for someone to flame on me here. I've used PVC for the past 15 years without any issues. I'm not running more than 100psi and it is all protected behind my workbench in my garage which is climate controlled. If I ever have issues I'm sure I might think differently but for now this will have to do.

 

[shakenbake]

Finally finishing up the rest of the details. Got the winch bolted to the floor and tested it out. It works great and easily pulls a car in from outside.

My buddy wanted his brakes done on his wifes car so I figured that would be a good first test car for the lift rather than the Rx-7. Everything went well. He is 5'11" and we still had room to raise the lift higher.

We brought the Rx-7 in with the winch and put it up on the lift. It went all the way up without hitting the lights. Exactly what I was hoping for.

First shot from the outside looking in. I still have a bunch of organizing to do to get it how I want but it is at the point where I can comfortably work on a car.