Thanks.
(Be honest - was the vise handle "advantage" luck?
)
Actually, it wasn't. Although I'll admit happenstance has produced some of my very best ideas. But I originally thought about putting the vise on the center island bench -- until I saw that the drawers would interfere with the handle. So that made me move the air line drawer face from the left to the right side when I put together the plan for this bench. The line is farther from the car, now -- but it actually works better in that there's a straight run on the right side to pull the length of hose out until it clicks to the appropriate stop.
A few thoughts:
1. For your tool box labels, if you put them on magnets you can easily relocate them and not have to re-make
2. I found when trying to wrap wood around a curve, getting it wet and going slowly can keep it from breaking. Made a skate board ramp this way. I was able to bend 1/4" plywood into a nice curve with no splitting.
3. Don't you rotate your vise 180 degrees when not in use so noone will walk into it?
4. Seems like the airline would be closer to your car if mounted on the LH side of the bench.
Your latest work bench is getting me motivated to work on mine some more.
1) I agree on the magnets. But I always tell myself I'm never changing the arrangement and therefore magnets are overkill. Well, here I am changing the arrangement -- again. I'm going to put inserts in the handles on the new drawers. But I'm thinking about repainting the drawer faces on the stacked box to match the ones I (mistakenly) painted with flat black instead of satin. Now that I've made the mistake, I kind of like how it looks. And I'm wondering if painting the Craftsman doors to match would be worth the trouble.
2) You're right. I've used water and steam to bend stuff in the past. I was hoping in this case I could cut a thin enough veneer to save me the time. As it turned out, it was easiest to just go out and get a piece of solid wood.
3) I hadn't thought of that. It's a good idea. But then, I'm also very lazy. We'll see how often it gets turned.
4) It would be closer on the left hand side. But it's easier to unwind it on the right hand side, as I mentioned above.
The bench looks good Jack. An I beam running the width of the garage would look good too. *Nudge Nudge*
If I ever did work on a car where the engine had to be pulled up and out, I might consider it. But all I do is drop them out. But who knows, if I ever stumble upon a beam in the trash, my mind might start cranking away...
Food for though about the vise, double check that you're not crackin' your elbow on it when you're sitting at the desk. I have my vise on my right side of the upstairs workbench and when I work on longer items I'll bump into it (I'm right handed). Not to bad but makes me want to place it elsewhere now and again.
Vises placement seems like a blessing and a curse when placed on a long bench along a wall. On one hand putting it in the middle of the bench allows for use with long materials hanging out either side. But on te other hand, its in the middle of the bench which is prime workbench work space. Ok, my brain is rambling outloud today. Carry on
I got this new vise pretty cheaply (well, for a Wilton), but I already had one that I've been very happy with. But I recently got some rubber soft jaws for the new one, which will save me from putting layers of duct tape on the jaws of the old one when I need soft jaws. So now I'm determined to find a place for this new vise. I'll check on the elbow clearance and how it interferes with access to the stacked toolbox. 'Try it out twice, drill once.'
Those rotating plugs, I think, are so you can have that receptacle behind some solid piece of furniture and the plug and wire is next to the wall rather than sticking out straight and creating clearance issues. Some versions I've seen are also surge protectors for computer installations.
Yeah, this has a surge protector function, too. My thinking on the rotating plugs was that they might provide a kind of basic strain relief as a cord is pulled around the shop. It might be the wrong tool ofr the job, in some ways, but it was the right size for the space.
Hey Jack congrats saw another photo of the shop in Handyman Magazine.
It's killing me that the magazine isn't on the newsstands near me. I want to see (Garage Journal member) Sundowner's shop, which won the grand prize and has those cool home-made trusses holding up the roof.
Ok, ok, I'll stop making suggestions (My fingers are crossed incidentally). I really like the small shelf. Its a nice finishing touch.
(Here's how long my ****-out commitment lasted). Is there any way you could put a receiver hitch behind the faux drawer so that you could have the vise only when you needed it? You may well WANT it there all the time, but I always liked the receiver hitch mounted approach in the past. Ok, NOW I'll stuff a sock in it!
My first thought with the blank space was to put another reel there -- but for an electrical cord. But I've got one on the ceiling pretty close to this bench already. So my backup plan is to put another power strip on it. I have a metal one which I can paint so it looks nice. And I've often wished I had a closer plug when I'm working at the steel-topped bench over to the right of this one, and the closest left-side plugs were all the way at the back of the bench.
A hitch is a good idea, but I'm thinking of converting my hitches to vertical instead of horizontal.
But then, I keep telling myself the garage is done.
PROGRESS REPORT
Very little progress made today. But I got something in the mail which I'd ordered about a week ago. Here's the back of the chair I repainted. I like everything about it except the nameplate thing, which has a cutaway which maybe was used to hold something (like a small card?) back in the day.
It just looks a little weird.
Add to that the fact that there has never been a place in my garage to hang a sign that says "Jack's Garage" or whatever. Somebody even gave me one, once. It looks like a big embossed street sign. But I just can't find the space to fit it.
So today the garage got its official sign, and at the same time I was able to get rid of the weird little chair badge. It's an understated approach to signage, but it also shows some pride:
It's from a company that makes metal name tags.
Then today I also got out some red paint to try something. I need to put in some trim/backsplash pieces so little fasteners and stuff don't roll down behind the bench. Originally, I planned on brown or the tan wall color for the pieces. But today I got it in my head to try something that's almost decorative. Sort of a watered-down version of the trim details that Red Leader does in his 1950s Craftsman-themed garage. I'm not as artistic as him, but tell me what you think of the red trim pieces I've set in place here:
Is it too much? I could also paint them the warm gray color I used for the little drawers and the back of the chair. Or I could paint them brown. I'm undecided right now.
Opinions?
For a counter-example, here's a hastily repainted version I did with PhotoShop, which gives a vague idea of what the trim would look like in gray:
Another way to look at is, the more people that read GJ the more people you have fighting over 'Jack's house' 
You are an inspiration to everyone who does it with creativity,not just dollars!
