Above 1200 Sq/FT The ASYLUM - Happy 40th Birthday to Me! (Est. 2005)

[taumac]

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

Holy ****..... I got a to do list now you got a lot of your stuff done. I think it would take to a week. Ill have food and beer in fridge waiting.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[Wingnut65]

Awesome list. It feels great to mark those as DONE!

It really helps me to make a list and include things that I recently finished and can mark them off right away. I think its called Instant Gratification!

I didn't see any bikes on the list...

 

[don long]

Shopnut

You and half this forum are wAAAAY to technical for me. I just know that I like dry air and it sounds like you have it.
The asylum is one sweet place!!!
Now lets see some work on that Chev of yours

 

[akdiesel]

shopnut

Nice work on reducing the list.
I guess you do need a/c down there. Does not seem to matter how fast your going even with the windows down and the temp is close triple digits.
As for the man lift ladder. Do they have a hydraulic line that could have a bleeder valve to release the pressure? Not sure how tippy those would be when outside the cage area.

 

[shopnut]

Vernmotor - A lot of Done's, YES. Enough Done's?, NO!!! No slacking off for this guy yet. The vehicles are really crying though!

taumac - Food AND cold beer? Okay, now you have my attention!!!

Wingnut65 - Funny you should mention the bikes. About 3 weeks ago, Mrs. Shopnut sold one of her bikes (a Victory Vegas) and freed up a little extra space in the city garage. That extra space re-energized me on one of my bike projects (the Yamaha RZ500). I cleaned and rearranged the garage to give me a little elbow room. The project bike is now right next to me workbench and I'm really liking it!



Here are a few kickstand parts that were freshly painted last night and now hanging in my "climate-controlled" drying room - A.K.A. the guest bathroom . Thankfully, no visitors are coming in the near future. (It was just too humid to let them dry in the garage!)



don long - Dry air is always good and as long as I'm not accused of blowing a lot of hot air, even better . The cars and bikes are begging for attention, but they've been pretty patient while the Asylum gets finished up. Thanks for stopping in.

akdiesel - Thanks and good point about manlift stability while trying to climb down. That could turn a bad situation into a worse one.

They included a manual lowering lever mounted on the side of the pump to bleed down the pressure and I'm pointing to it below. I guess a coworker on the ground could let you down in the event of a pump or power failure. But maybe I should rig up a way to pull it while up in the basket . It wouldn't help if something jams in lift mast and prevents it from coming down, but it might deal with the majority of other failures possible.

 

[shopnut]

THE BIG CLEAN-UP AND TAKING INVENTORY…

I have about 8 years of clutter built up around here and I am sick of it. I kept telling myself that I will clean up when the major construction was done. In the meantime, I've been tripping over things and searching for lost items. That ends now!

I had to go up high to see over the mountain of clutter. If it wasn't for the car lift, I wouldn't even be able to park my truck in here when I drive it out to the shop.



It's hard to believe there is a classic Corvette hidden in that mess



And so it begins. I started with walking around and noting in great detail the contents of every cabinet, and storage area. After logging in pages and pages of stuff, I'm realizing just how much disorganization there really is around here. For instance, I found spare light fixtures that I purchased over the years in about 10 different places and I haven't even logged in the loft contents yet.

The workshop wishlist that was created in MS-Excel before the shop was built served as a great basis from which to start my inventory list. Incidentally, it was interesting (and pleasing) to see about 95% of the items on my original wishlist have become reality in the current ASYLUM build. Of course there are many things I never dreamed I would have now when I created that list. I owe that mainly to the old Garage Journal, no doubt.

Once I get the inventory list completed, sorting like items will be easy. And then I will totally re-organize all the storage areas for maximum efficiency. What kicked this all off was trying to figure out what items will be stored in the soon-to-be-built South Wall Cabinet. Now I have a pretty good item and the design can begin.

THE SCAFFOLD IS A LITTLE SHORTER NOW…

With All 3 tiers on the scaffold, it's height really limits where I can push it around. So I'm starting by taking one tier off. It actually works pretty good as rolling storage shelving so I'm not ready to take the whole thing down yet.



I used the manlift to first shorten the side-mounted ladder and then take the top tier off piece by piece. Here, all that’s left are the uprights. This method worked pretty well.



I'll keep it at this 2-tier height for a while as I clean this place. It may be hard to tell from this angle, but the crane sweeps over the top of it so it is much less of a hindrance now.

 

[Vernmotor]

Hoarder ! ya are !

 

[shopnut]

Hoarder ! ya are !

Yeah, I have those little designated walk paths going through my junk and everything. But I like to think of myself as more of a packrat - it just sounds better . Plus a "rat in a maze" is exactly how I feel sometimes!

 

[shopnut]

ROLLING BULK STORAGE…

I bought this linen cart about 7 years ago to be the foundation for a rolling lathe cart (after cutting some height out of it, of course). It measures about 60" x 28" x 60" high and has 8" swivel casters at all four corners. It had a tough life in the hospital it was being used and two of the mountings for the casters were about ready to break out. Pushing it around was very difficult because of the casters not swiveling properly, so it was time to do something about it.

In this picture, you will see I had removed one of the shelves and that will be re-installed to make it more useful. The blue vinyl cover may not look that great, but it sure does a good job at hiding the junk inside.



In these pictures, you can see the bent mount plates for the casters. When the plates were removed, some of the understructure was totally broken out from fatigue.



I bought some aluminum angle years ago to rebuild the base of this thing, but opted to use wood instead. I flipped two of the aluminum channels over to reveal virgin material and this became a decent substructure for the wood.



While I had the cart upside down for the repair, I decided the space between the casters would be a great place to store my big oil drip pans. I built one tier and right after I finished, I found 3 more pans that I had forgotten about, so I built a second tier to hold a few more. Now they aren’t leaning up against the wall anymore.



The aluminum shelves were in surprisingly good shape from simply holding linen in its past life so I cut some cardboard shelf liners to protect them from scratches. This picture also shows how nicely some 12 gallon totes fit in there.



Here it is all finished up and ready to get filled up. This is one of the early steps in my big cleanup effort. I need a place to serve as a "staging area" as I sort through all my good junk. This cart swallows it up pretty good and rolls easily to where the action is.

 

[Wingnut65]

Now that is a great idea. I have so many things standing up against stuff that I never though about using the space below my HF 44"! Thanks, shopnut!

Your photos are proof of my line, 'Space Creates Vacuum'! Create some empty space and that void becomes like a block hole and attracts more stuff than you thought could fit there! And whatever size you plan to build your cabinets, it's not enough. Taking all the way up to the vinyl siding would be a start. But making it 10' high + with two doors high, would be much better. Stuff that isn't uses much can be store up there neatly and still be accessible. I have all my paint cans in the highest cabinet.

 

[Wingnut65]

By the way... I'm not sure how strong those linen shelves are for holding up that many bins full of heavy shop debris.

Consider inserting a piece of plywood from the bottom the same thickness as the aluminum edge.

Just a thought...

 

[Bob Heine]

I like your cart because you can hide the contents. I bought one of these wire racks from Costco. It comes with four casters and is about 6-feet high but I decided to make two shorter racks by adding another 4 casters.

I also wanted to use the wasted space on the bottom of the racks. A few zip ties attached some cross-members and mounting brackets to the underside of the wire racks.

One of the reasons I bought the rack is visible above. A sink overflow soaked the cardboard boxes in the garage. It shouldn't be a problem now that everything is a couple of inches above the floor.

 

[Showboy]

I like your cart because you can hide the contents. I bought one of these wire racks from Costco. It comes with four casters and is about 6-feet high but I decided to make two shorter racks by adding another 4 casters.

I bought three of the 6-foot versions (at Sam's) and they are EXCELLENT. Because they are so well designed, they only take about 15 minutes to assemble. I have them in my pantry.

They also make a shorter version that's more like a cart ---- and more like what you created. I have one of those that I use to wheel in food and drinks when I have people over for parties.

 

[shopnut]

Wingnut65 - You're welcome. Use every cubic inch of space you can. I would have gone lower with that hanging drip pan rack, but I wanted to make sure my robot vacuum can cruise underneath it and the vac is about 5" tall.

Yep, Space creates vacuum. You nailed it! Sad but true, and I deal with the repercussions every day . Anything below 10' is considered my "easy access storage" because my little stepladder helps me reach it.

Thanks for the suggestion on the linen cart shelves. I reinforced the bottom shelf with the mods I just did, so that's where the really heavy stuff is going (I think I already placed about 200 lbs on it with all of my spare cord reels ). But the upper shelves have their limits and I will have to be careful unless I make a plywood run.

Bob Heine - I know you like your casters. And so do I! Eventually I want to have "project carts" with supplies on them for current projects that I can roll anywhere the shop. It looks like that’s what yours may be serving as too. I added casters to 3 poly shelving units that currently hold a hodge-podge of stuff and they've proven how useful they can be. I like the 360 access they offer. I need to replace them with sturdier upgrades someday.



Way to use those otherwise wasted cubic feet available in your garage! Keeping stuff off the floor is paramount.

Showboy - Nice to know there are some good products out there and thanks for chiming in about it. Nothing beats a review from someone who has used it. I was just looking for a small (maybe 24x30") rolling cart to store parts on my project bike in my other garage. I might have to check out the local warehouse clubs for their offerings. Thanks.

 

[taumac]

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

Great minds think alike shopnut. I had these drawers.

I had a plan to use under my HF 44s but for for time being I'm using them on my homemade cart. They under not as wide as I like but I'm sure I'm come across something to use as drawers under my 44's

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[Bob Heine]

The Costco wire rack storage unit is 18"Dx48"Lx72"H. For its size it is a pretty impressive storage unit(s). Each shelf is capable of supporting an evenly distributed 800 lbs (362kg). With leveling feet the six shelves can support 4,800 lbs (2,177kg). Once you put casters on, the shelf unit(s) only holds 800lbs (362kg). I suspect lawyers were involved in that decision.

Once I had the racks filled with "stuff" I noticed there was room to mount a major PIA item in the garage. I bought a roll of 3M masking film and it has been moved a couple of dozen times. I usually just unrolled the film on the floor and cut off what I needed. The cardboard tube is about 38" long with an inside diameter of 3". A hole saw made plugs for the ends of the tubes (with a 1/4" hole in the center. A 48" and two 24" 1/4" pieces of allthread and two angle steel scraps made a holder that mounts on one of the racks. It's a whole lot easier to just pull off the masking film I need.

If I get to the point that I don't need the film, the roll mount can be removed with no permanent changes to the rack.

 

[shopnut]

taumac - Nice. I'm still looking for the perfect set of drawers to work with my nesting workbench system. Or at least that's my excuse why it's not built yet

Bob Heine - My roll of film is still in a drawer, and it’s a PITA every time I need to cut a length off of it. Nice job!

I always wanted to build a quick and simple version of a masking paper dispenser like this:



But I really like your idea of hanging something off of an existing cart so there isn't another cart taking up floor space. I might just have to use that someday . Thanks.

 

[shopnut]

A POOR MAN’S RIVET FAN…

What the heck is a “rivet fan” you ask? I didn’t know either until I saw it over in Machine_Punk’s build thread some time ago. It’s an expanding measuring device that lets you easily mark hole center locations with equal spacing. My OCD often times forces me to measure out screw locations, even on the simplest of projects, so I thought I might benefit from having one.

Here’s what they look like: Northern Tool Link

But rather than spending about $35 on a stainless steel version, I found a cheap alternative to start out with. If I find myself actually using it, I’ll buy the nice SS version someday. So for now, I found this $13 version, a Car Window Pet Gate.



The dogs got all excited when they saw it because they thought they were going for a ride . Sorry guys!

All that needed to be done was to add some holes. Of course, care needed to be taken with this or every set marked with it will be off.



I don’t know if this will help or not, but I added some colored tape to indicate whether the set contained an even or odd set of holes.



In this example, I could be marking 2” screw spacings.



Full reach is around 40”.



The plastic construction flexes enough to bend around some curved object if needed.

 

[taumac]

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

Interesting.... That reminds me of idea I saw on This Old House or Ask This Old House. Tom took a elastic strip and marked out every inch or so and when pulled he could make all his railings same spacing depending on spacing he wanted. I thought it was neat trick.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[shopnut]

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

Interesting.... That reminds me of idea I saw on This Old House or Ask This Old House. Tom took a elastic strip and marked out every inch or so and when pulled he could make all his railings same spacing depending on spacing he wanted. I thought it was neat trick.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

That is pretty cool. May have to make one of those too! Like mine, it's probably not super accurate, but most things don't need to be. Thanks.

 

[Wingnut65]

It is funny how many tools created for the aviation industry have become common place. Clecos have now become standard in many auto body shops, but they were invented for holding planes together while the rivets were installed.

Your idea for the rivet fan makes perfect sense. I'm not sure I would have thought about pulling mine out of the drawer to use for non-aluminum stuff when my calculator and measuring tape are on top of the workbench. But that elastic idea has potential!

 

[shopnut]

It is funny how many tools created for the aviation industry have become common place. Clecos have now become standard in many auto body shops, but they were invented for holding planes together while the rivets were installed.

Your idea for the rivet fan makes perfect sense. I'm not sure I would have thought about pulling mine out of the drawer to use for non-aluminum stuff when my calculator and measuring tape are on top of the workbench. But that elastic idea has potential!

Time will tell if the fan will actually be used. I think it may come in handy for the sliding doors I'm getting ready to build. If not, it won't be the first $13 that has gone down the drain around here.

Ohhh - never mind about the drain, this one will likely be "going to the dogs" if it doesn't pan out

 

[Vernmotor]

Ohhh - never mind about the drain, this one will likely be "going to the dogs" if it doesn't pan out

LOL I see what you done there !

 

[akdiesel]

shopnut

We used the equal spacing dividers for our fluid shots on wells. They are one of those tools that can be very useful when needed.

 

[shopnut]

Vernmotor - No worries about me quitting my day job and becoming a comedian! I would starve!!

akdiesel - Good to know someone is successfully using them. Maybe I didn't waste my time.

 

[shopnut]

GETTING THE SHOP ORGANIZED (Part 1 of ?)…

I’m sure there are volumes of books written on getting organized. Unfortunately, I didn’t read a single one of them. But luckily, I tend to be an organized person in general and I figured I would just wing it and see what happens. Sometimes you can spend hours reading about different methods only to find out none of them suit your specific needs. I know what I want to do here so I’m just diving in.

These are the basic steps I’m taking and I will explain later what I'm doing in detail:
1. Taking Inventory
2. Categorizing and Defining Storage/Usage Needs of Each Item
3. Sorting and Grouping Similar Items
4. Identifying All Potential Storage Areas
5. Assigning New Storage Spots

I did, however, search for ways to inventory my possessions. What I found on the GJ search were several ways to inventory tools specifically, but that’s not really what I’m after. I’m trying to inventory EVERYTHING in my shop including tools, equipment, raw materials, parts, consumables, etc. A general internet search popped up many types of software to inventory the contents of a house, mainly for insurance purposes. Most of these are geared towards the monetary worth of your possessions, something I don’t really care about at this stage, although I suppose my inventory list would come in handy in the event of a fire or something. Many were picture based, but pictures themselves can’t be sorted.

What I’m really seeking right now is a way to categorize and sort all the logged items so like items can be grouped together stored close to each other for maximum efficiency and best use of space. Commonly used items will be close at hand while seldom used ones may take a ladder or manlift to reach. Their placement in the shop is important and I believe that is where I need to give this effort the most thought.

This will be quite a bit of work because the re-organization will include a deep cleaning of the entire place. Looking at my current inventory list, it looks like just about everything is going to get moved to a new spot. I'm sure I'll suffer a bit at first since I've gotten used to the current placement of everything. But in the long run, I'm sure it will pay off.

 

[taumac]

I only found few videos about the elastic band trick. Thought I would share anyway.

Tom Silva TOH one

Other other one I found

 

[shopnut]

I only found few videos about the elastic band trick. Thought I would share anyway.

Tom Silva TOH one

Other other one I found

Thanks. It looks promising, but I'm still trying to figure out how I will get the first hole exactly where I want it.

I most often start maybe 2" in from the near and far edge of a panel and then space things evenly 6 to 8" between them. I guess I would have to clamp the elastic right where the first tick mark hits my 2" point and stretch it from there. Or maybe stretch it out to the desired spacing and clamp it to something else and then reposition the workpiece underneath it to line up my first point.

I guess I need to give it a try. I have a bunch of 4' x 8' sliding doors that I need to make soon.

 

[Wingnut65]

Getting Organized To-Do List... Not once was the word 'discard' used in the plan. Do you even think there is anything that can be tossed or handed down?

 

[shopnut]

Discarding stuff should be a big part of any cleanup. But the packrat in me just won't let me do it!!!

Seriously, it showed up in my process when I selected the new storage spots. "Dispose/Donate" is one of the menu choices. But when I filter my 7-page inventory list on that menu choice, I unfortunately see only 11 items with that selection.

I guess I'm one of those guys that keep stuff until better junk comes along forcing me to toss something. (Do I hear the Sanford and Son theme song playing?!? )

 

[taumac]

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

 

[shopnut]

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

Perfect!

Every time I stuff something in the cabinet that I know should just be tossed in the garbage, that darn theme song plays in my head

You got to admit, it's a catchy tune.

 

[taumac]

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

LMAO.... That song is going to haunt you now. Ill agree its pretty catching. Maybe, we can put your shop on live stream and when your doing your Sanford and son routine someone can press a button and have that song play. LMAO.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[shopnut]

For the live stream, maybe I should wear a shock collar instead so you guys can push a button and finally break me of that nasty habit!!!

 

[mdbeck1]

For the live stream, maybe I should wear a shock collar instead so you guys can push a button and finally break me of that nasty habit!!!

Nah, We'll just watch you on your interior cameras and when you start doing the packrat thing we will queue up the music on your shop computer.

 

[56vette461]

A sadistic bunch with a Sanford and Son audio switch watching over your shoulder. OUCH

Oh, and happy 40th. What date in October. Mine was 69 on the 4th

 

[taumac]

For the live stream, maybe I should wear a shock collar instead so you guys can push a button and finally break me of that nasty habit!!!

Nahhhhhh. I wouldn't do that . I would leave that to Mrs. Shotnut. LOL

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[Vernmotor]

My father in law is just like you ! I tell him I come over and clean his shop for him..All I get is NO and Hell No !!

 

[shopnut]

mdbeck1 - Somehow I think I would be hearing that music far too often. And who the heck has hacked into my computer to be able to mess with my tunes?!?! The security software salesperson threw out references like Target and Home Depot - I thought it was secure!!!

56vette461 – I chose this thread title many years ago when I was a wee lad. Man, how time flies. The title still holds true to this day, and it’s a present that keeps on giving!

Happy 69th to you!!!! Sounds like you have a big one coming up next year. My B-day was actually a couple months ago. My 40th birthday was spent with the biggest smile on my face as I drove my old Chevelle from Wisconsin to its new home in Florida, the Asylum. After 15 years in storage, she didn't miss a beat on the trip.

taumac – OMG, I would have been dead years ago if she had just a button to push!

Vernmotor – I, on the other hand, would be just fine with someone coming to clean this place. Just don't be surprised, however, when I pull something back out of the garbage that you just threw out .

 

[mdbeck1]

Vernmotor – I, on the other hand, would be just fine with someone coming to clean this place. Just don't be surprised, however, when I pull something back out of the garbage that you just threw out .

Then it's settled! We're all going to show up at Shopnut's place next weekend and "help" him clean it out! ...and NOTHING goes into the trash.

I'll bring my truck and trailer.