Our 6.6mx9.3m (~22'x31') attached garage/workshop in Australia

[sean Buick 76]

Cool projects! keep up the great work, it is always nice to see your updates! Any pics of Jenna's engine swap?

 

[metalhead140]

No, no pics sorry, but she's swapping the engine for a low km second hand one as her other engine has low compression in 1 and coolant in 3 & 4, and has done ~300,000km (180,000 miles). At the moment with everything out to get to the evaporator core, you can see the back seat through the engine bay... Amazing the complexity of it. All the basics are the same as an older vehicle, just that there's 1000x more parts and fasteners. I had the Midget torn down completely, bare shell rebuild, and it barely took up more than a single bay (3x6m or 10'x20') spread everywhere. Jenna's BMW, which is not a big car, would cover the whole garage I'm sure! I barely helped her at all, she made great progress to get it all pulled down over the weekend.

Plans for the workbench are a compressor cupboard in the right hand corner, then the drawers as pictured with a space underneath for jack, stands, etc. Then in the middle a space for one of the cupboards as pictured - we now plan to make the fixed tool bench (in the diagrams) from those cupboards, each being made as an individual stand on castors. By allowing the space in the main bench, each tool can be used with the main bench when working with larger materials and/or rolled out into the middle of the room or outside. Then a shorter section of bench on the left before the hoist control box. Will probably also make that section a bit shallower to allow more working room around the car on the hoist. Anyone's thoughts or suggestions about this plan will be much appreciated!

 

[anth]

Maybe instead of the engine crane you could rig up a double A-frame on wheels with overhead beam that you can attach a pulley to? That way it's wider than the lift area.

 

[metalhead140]

Maybe instead of the engine crane you could rig up a double A-frame on wheels with overhead beam that you can attach a pulley to? That way it's wider than the lift area.

Thanks, I considered that. But that might be even more of a pain to store than the engine crane, and I already own the crane... My father in law has a tripod setup similar in idea/function to that. Ideally a chain block on I beams to allow lifting anywhere would be perfect! We'll come up with something, not like it's really a major hassle anyway.

 

[metalhead140]

Got a little time in the garage last night and on Tuesday, making a little more progress on the bench:

Cool projects! keep up the great work, it is always nice to see your updates! Any pics of Jenna's engine swap?

Jenna's car as it sits as of last night. The evaporator is waiting at the post office, I think she plans to get a lot of it back together this weekend.:

 

[80WTI_55_CHEV]

Things are looking great Andrew, love the free jack, you don't get much for free these days so take it when you can mate. Lee

 

[ScottsRX]

Great idea for a bench top Andrew. I was looking at some sleepers that I've got laying around, wondering what I could do with them. Thanks for the tip

 

[metalhead140]

Things are looking great Andrew, love the free jack, you don't get much for free these days so take it when you can mate. Lee

Yeh, thanks! I've done pretty well actually, a couple of the metal cupboards / lockers, the light fittings, 2 bench grinders, and a small vise have come my way for free from friends and family over the past few months too. My father in law dropped off the 1/2" rod (even threaded one end and threw on a new nylock for me) and some angle the other night too, so I will have the jack sorted out how I want it for the grand total of $0 (well actually I did buy some hydraulic oil). Very happy with that, might even have to splurge and buy some paint for it!

Great idea for a bench top Andrew. I was looking at some sleepers that I've got laying around, wondering what I could do with them. Thanks for the tip

Thanks! They're a bit rough, but pretty straight and a big chunk of solid timber for not much $ - some of mine were part of the original bench, but I needed to buy a couple of extras, and these were 200x50x2.4 for ~$10. You could probably plane them down I suppose, but I plan to just use a sacrificial (and free!) layer of weathertex (masonite) on top, and probably a trim piece along the front.

 

[metalhead140]

Taking longer than I hoped, but the right half of the bench is getting close.

Base built for under the drawers:



I used doubled up 2x4s for the legs instead of notched 4x4s, an idea I picked up on here:



How it sits as of tonight:





Still need to bolt the legs to the wall, and the top to the legs. Then add some weathertex (masonite) to the top, and put some trim around the front, probably skirting board. Then on to building the other side, and putting some doors on the cupboards. It's taking quite a long time, but we are very happy with how it is turning out.

 

[anth]

Nice work, I can't wait to start building benches.

 

[Marvin Thighblaster]

Love the bench build!

Strange question - any reason you didn't unbolt the front-end off the BMW to make it easier getting the engine/trans out? They come apart kind of like an old Kingswood and you can walk drivetrains straight out the front

 

[metalhead140]

Nice work, I can't wait to start building benches.

And I look forward to seeing what you build! I'm happy with the progress, it's coming along well (if slowly) and should end up pretty nice I think, particularly given the small $ outlay.

Love the bench build!

Strange question - any reason you didn't unbolt the front-end off the BMW to make it easier getting the engine/trans out? They come apart kind of like an old Kingswood and you can walk drivetrains straight out the front

Thanks!

Well as I said, it's my wife working on her car, and I really have had nothing to do with it except offering an additional pair of hands when needed, so I can't really answer your question. Not sure if she knows that the front panels are easily removed or not, but to be honest it's not at all difficult to pluck the engine out with the engine crane with the panels still on, so it probably would have just been extra work. She split the engine and box and only pulled the engine, saved messing with the shifter linkage and draining the box, we had the box out only a couple of years ago to replace the clutch. Actually, we were reflecting on that the other day, very different doing this job now with the garage and hoist, compared to that job where we were lying underneath the car on jack stands outside in the driveway! Worlds apart, it's so much nicer working on stuff here.

 

[Marvin Thighblaster]

Fair enough, mate. The little M42/M43s are easy enough to get out without pulling the front just thought I'd mention it if in case it made life easier.

I hear you on working on cars in garages. I used to have to work on an open loose blue stone gravel driveway. It was a mission just to jack a car up!

 

[metalhead140]

Been there too! Working on cars here can barely be called work at all...

Thanks for the tip on the BMW too, I'll mention it to Jenna, it's certainly worth keeping in mind. Yeh, it's running an M44, so plenty of space in there, relatively speaking. We did discuss the possibility of a 6 cylinder swap, but Jenna decided she'd prefer to keep things simple, and save the time and effort for working on her 260z project (still in storage at the moment).

 

[metalhead140]

A little more progress on the bench this afternoon.

Legs/frame dynabolted to the walls and floor and the timbers for the top attached:





And the sacrificial/replaceable weathertex top attached:





So that's this half of the bench done other than some cupboard doors and some trim around the front face of the bench. Probably do the trim tomorrow, then move onto the other half of the bench, and leave the doors until the end (partly because I don't have hinges yet). I need to run some additional power also at some point.

I also picked up a vintage UK Record No3 4" vice at the local markets today. In really good condition functionally, no play in the mechanism at all, closes straight and true, even the jaws are in remarkably good condition. But it's had a fairly rough repaint at some point, so I think I'll be doing a refresh on it. I also don't like blue! I think it'll be going on this bench, just right of the drawers.

 

[madoc1]

nice work on the bench. love the drawer set up.

jim

 

[1/2 Cup]

As above, the bench and draws look fantastic, well done.

Regards

 

[Marvin Thighblaster]

That bench is great. Nice and heavy, solid and dependable

 

[sreno]

Great space and surrounding area, MetalHead!

Do you mind if I crash there and hide from the crappy winter that's bearing down on us, here?

Shawn

 

[metalhead140]

nice work on the bench. love the drawer set up.

jim

As above, the bench and draws look fantastic, well done.

Regards

That bench is great. Nice and heavy, solid and dependable

Thanks guys!

Great space and surrounding area, MetalHead!

Do you mind if I crash there and hide from the crappy winter that's bearing down on us, here?

Shawn

Thanks! No worries, come on by... It's 34 degrees C (93 degrees F) here today, I'm just taking a drink break inside out of the heat. Working on the built in wardrobes for the house at the moment, so no further progress on the bench yet.

 

[Lbcwanabe]

I like that work bench

 

[metalhead140]

Most of the day spent on the cupboards rather than in the garage, but we did get some trim on to finish the front of the bench a bit nicer:



Note the new-to-me Record vice on top. Going to have to do something about that paint job! I think I might paint it the same grey as the bench (yes, heresy, I know!).



This part of the bench is 2.25m long and 87cm deep (I notice it seems to look smaller to me in the photos). When we complete the other side of this bench it will be about 4.2m in total length from memory. The other side of the bench will include a woodworking face vice, and a shallower section to fit the tool carts we plan to build (this is why the end of this section cuts in as it does). To the right of the drawers in this section that we've built will be a compressor enclosure, and underneath the drawers will be used for trolley jack and stand storage.

I like that work bench

Thanks!

 

[metalhead140]

Well, I picked up another vice (vise for you Americans) last night... Not as nice condition as the Record, and needs a new pair of jaws, but a 6" Dawn engineering vice for $40? Couldn't pass that up! Vice apparently came from BHP when it shut down and has clearly had a hard life, but the screw and castings are still good, very confident I can bring it back to be a very nice vice.

 

[metalhead140]

Ok, so not a huge amount of progress this week. Spent a bit of time out there during the week and on Sunday, Saturday we were away doing family stuff. Put some estapol on the benchtop during the week, which has made a great improvement, but forgot to grab some pictures. Vices... Well, I now suspect the 4" Record is a Chinese model, but not to worry, still seems a pretty good vice in great condition bar the paint, and I only paid about 25% of new, so I'm still happy with that. The 6" Dawn is very rough and definitely needs some work and new jaws, but closes square and tight, I think with some new jaws and tidyup/paint it's a keeper. Big beast of a thing. Here's some pictures of them:







I also got some work done on the gearbox jack, only to find that I'm out of welding wire when I went to weld it up last night.

And the main reason you're not seeing more garage progress this week is because we've been busy doing this:

This is the right hand cupboard in the music room:



This is the left hand side. This side has a desk where the recording gear will be set up, and may also serve as my study if I end up studying again next year. We wanted to be able to set up a desk that didn't impede on space in the room, and which you could close a door on to hide the mess...!:



Not 100% finished yet, but very happy with how it's coming along, particularly given we haven't done anything like this before. The shelves aren't bent/bowed by the way, camera lens has distorted them for some reason. They're all reinforced underneath (needed for shelves this long), the taller ones intended for books more heavily than the others. We still have to do the same in another room and then start fitting out our walk in wardrobe. The next one will be a lot quicker and will have several improvements learnt from this one. Always the way I suppose.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Your vises should come up well, you can still get new Dawn jaws, replace them and a little TLC and you will get another 50 years out of them.

The Record looks not bad well.

You have done a great job on the cupboards you can never have enough storage space in a home, be warned if you don't the overburden generally ends up in the garage so a little time spent on what you are doing can have long term benefits.

Regards

 

[metalhead140]

Thanks 1/2 cup. Yeh, you can actually buy every single part of the dawn vice as a spare, which is pretty cool, they don't miss you for them though... Definitely getting a genuine pair to replace them, I've got a lead on a pair new in bag for roughly half the cheapest price I can find them for.

Appreciate your support on the cupboards! They're nothing amazing (certainly after reading sakuramas thread!), but I'm happy with them, didn't cost much, look good, and will serve our needs very well. Not bad for our first cupboard build I reckon.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Great progress, I like the idea of the easily replaceable top on the bench and the trim looks great!

I really like that well used Vice!

I am super impressed by Jenna doing all that work on her cars, you are a lucky man!

 

[metalhead140]

Got a few minutes out in the garage tonight, got the gearbox jack reassembled and ready for use. I bought some wire (for my SIP gasless MIG) earlier in the week and then spent several hours fiddling with it because I couldn't get it to feed. Probably really should get a new liner, must have put over 100 rolls of wire through the welder in the 7 or 8 years I've had it, and it's still all original parts bar a few tips. Anyway, I'd eventually got it to feed late that night, and being determined to get it done, had welded it when I was quite tired and really shouldn't have. It's not neat, but it's strong. Anyway, I had left it welded but not cleaned up and reassembled, so I did that tonight:



Deserves a coat of paint now I think:



I do still want to build some brackets for the sides to make it easier to lift awkward stuff on. Maybe over the weekend.

Also, here's the workbench top now it's got some finish on it. Again, not the nicest, but has sealed it up, will make it easier to clean, and made the surface a bit harder. I do still need to touch up/put another coat on the trim and frame. We've bought an old woodworking vice, so will start work on the other side of the bench soon.:

Great progress, I like the idea of the easily replaceable top on the bench and the trim looks great!

I really like that well used Vice!

I am super impressed by Jenna doing all that work on her cars, you are a lucky man!

Thanks mate, I think it's going to be a very useful bench. I like the vice too! Though it might get some paint. I have ordered new jaws for it.

Yep, I am extremely lucky! She finally got all the parts this week, and is hoping to get the car back together this weekend. That will be good, because the clutch release bearing in the f250 has gone bad, and blowed if I'm pulling the box out of it without using the hoist! Yup, spoilt already...

 

[vortex]

Great stuff in this thread! That's a hell of an attached garage, I dream of having that much room!

 

[metalhead140]

Great stuff in this thread! That's a hell of an attached garage, I dream of having that much room!

Thanks mate! It is a good space for an attached, though my parents have just built a place with a 10.5x11m attached garage! Thanks for your comments, I feel like it's nothing special compared to most on this site, but we're enjoying working on it and seeing it progress. It's certainly by far the nicest space we've ever had to work in, and we have a lot of plans for it yet. I am very lucky having a wife who spends as much time in the garage as I do, the garage has always been a very high priority for us when house hunting.

 

[metalhead140]

Had to work this morning, and had a family dinner tonight, but did get some time working on stuff this afternoon (and Jenna spent most of the day on her car). Decided to build what I had in mind to make the gearbox jack a little more useful/useable.

Had some scrap 45mm angle that my father in law scrounged for me. Tried out the miter saw cutting steel for the first time (it's intended for cutting metals and plastics as well as timber), worked really well. :



Drilled end holes then carefully cut them into slots with a cutting disk on the angle grinder (note the Dawn vice in use already - new jaws have been ordered and are on the way):



Then cleaned up with a file and attached to the gearbox jack. These mockups will hopefully give you an idea where I'm going with this. Please excuse the mess! This is as far as I got today, hoping to finish it off tomorrow:

 

[sean Buick 76]

Nice work as usual!

 

[1/2 Cup]

The jack is coming along nicely Andrew and will be one handy bit of kit. Many a time I have sorely wished I had one in the past.

Regards

 

[metalhead140]

Thanks guys!

Didn't get it painted, and I am a bolt short, but it's functionally complete. I may weld some bar or rod to the bolt heads to make it easier to tighten/loosen them by hand:





One of the bits of steel I used was a bracket from a shelf in the garage that we dismantled a while back. I had to laugh at the stamping on it:



I was pretty happy with the materials maximisation, this was the sum total of waste material, and all was scrap or leftovers from other jobs:



Christened the new bench, no worrying now about whether it needs another coat on the top or not!:





Also started doing a fret level and crown on a neck I picked up cheap a while back that had the least flat fret install I've ever seen. Been a long time since I have done one of these, but it's coming up ok. Finished the level and crown last night (after this picture), just need to polish up the frets:

 

[BBChevro]

Nice work Andrew, good to see that bench being put to good use.

 

[metalhead140]

Nice work Andrew, good to see that bench being put to good use.

Absolutely! I might want to make things nice, but it's a workbench, not a showpiece. Damn good bench so far too if I do say so myself, certainly the best timber topped bench I've owned personally, but then that's not saying much...

 

[metalhead140]

Cleaned up a bit tonight. Some may think I'm crazy, but I was happy to see these marks:



Like the first scratches or stone chips on a freshly painted car - slightly disappointing, yet somehow liberating as now there is no concern about enjoying it for what it was built for.

 

[dr_obson]

Hi Andrew

Been following this thread for a while your username got my attention.

Can I get a few details on the mitresaw + blade if you don't mind?

Dane

 

[metalhead140]

Hi Andrew

Been following this thread for a while your username got my attention.

Can I get a few details on the mitresaw + blade if you don't mind?

Dane

Hello Dane,

Thanks for following! Just had a look at your thread, looks like you were making good progress too. This is the mitre saw:

http://www.einhell.com.au/pro_details.php?pid=8

Comes with a carbide type blade for cutting metals as well as timber. I will say it's not quite as clean a cut through timber as a good sharp dedicated timber blade (a little bit of breakout at the back of the cut), but it still does the job well, and I was impressed at it's metal cutting ability. A friend of mine (and lurker on here) noticed it, the drill press (BT-BD 801 here: http://www.einhell.com.au/index.php/component/virtuemart/stationary-power-tools/bench-drills) and some circular saws with the same carbide blade for timber/metal/plastic (TE-XC 110 http://www.einhell.com.au/index.php/component/virtuemart/handheld-power-tools/circular-saws) being clearanced at his local Bunnings in Sydney. Seemed to be a local thing, as they weren't in the stores up here, and he was kind enough to grab them for me. Was under $400 total for all 3 (the miter saw seems to be that price by itself normally)... Just couldn't pass them up at that price and have not been at all unhappy about them, the drill press is brilliant, and the miter saw is really good, the only thing not great are the side extensions, which are still plenty serviceable, just a bit flimsy (no worse that any others on low to mid priced saws). Haven't used the little circular saw much yet, but my friend has used his a lot and says it works really well for quick clean easy straight cuts in metal.

Hope that helps?

Cheers,

Andrew.

 

[dr_obson]

Re: Our 6.6mx9.3m (~22'x31') attached garage/workshop build (renovation?) in Australi

Yeah cheers I'll have a look at them for sure need to get those straight cuts happening