My daughter told me the neatest tool in my shop is the car hoist. I do use it whenever possible.
Would love to have one, but not enough height to use a normal two post lift and the trusses can't be re-configured for it.
You mentioned yard tools. I assume they are in the garage? If so, the BEST tool you can add is a shed. Doesn't need to be a huge shed, just big enough to get the lawn equipment and related equipment out of your work space.
The only yard tools in the garage would be the pole-saw, weedeater, and leaf blower which are all hung on the wall and well out of the way. I have a 5x7 shed that houses all the other **** - mower, hose reel, power washer, hand yard tools, yard chemicals, etc. The pole-saw, weedeater, and leaf blower are a bit large to keep in the shed without taking up a lot of valuable space. I'd build a bigger shed but I'd need to pour a new slab for it and to be honest, that's a lot of work to store a couple more items in the shed.
I didn't see a jack, jack stands, ramps, lift, drill press, cherry picker .............listed.
Just how big of a list do you want?
3 ton aluminum/steel jack, 4 12-ton jack stands. I hate ramps. Space isn't tall enough for a lift. I'd like a drill press but it's a tool I wouldn't use much and my father-in-law 8 blocks away has a very nice one. Would rather save the space for a nice vice and grinder on a floor mount. I've considered a cherry picker, but honestly, I stay away from engine/transmission work for the most part. It's too easy to get hurt doing it, and the big work doesn't pay as well as a bunch of the small stuff.
As far as heat goes I would look for a used home furnace. A non-high-efficiency. That's what I have and it works awesome.
Looking into that as well, thanks.
Welcome to the forum.
Since your trusses won't take the load, maybe a mobile adjustable gantry crane? By hoist, do you mean car lift?
Without a location and size of your shop, it's hard to make any recommendations heaters. Consider adding your location.
What type of work do you like or want to do in your shop? Brake work? Engine / transmission rebuilds? Light maintenance?
Give the folks a little insight and you'll find them a helpful and creative group.
Again, welcome aboard!
Jim
Yes, by hoist I mean car lift, like a 2-post. Shop is 15x27 approximately, located in central IA. Work consists of basically everything except engine R&R, transmission R&R (unless FWD), exhaust, and fabrication work. Diagnosis, brakes, suspension, maintenance, etc. That's why I haven't gotten a cherry picker or crane, I just don't need it for what I do and I stay plenty busy without doing major overhaul. Thanks for the welcome!
I have two items in my garage that make pulling engines a piece of cake:
A beam across the width of the garage 8' from the back wall. The beam is against the ceiling and adequately supported by posts within the wall cavity. Hang a chain fall from it to pull motors, and unload heavy things from the truck.
Also have a 2" receiver hitch bolted to the garage floor. Bought a 2"x12" receiver hitch from Harbor Freight and welded it to a piece of 12"x12"x1/4" plate. Drilled holes in the corners of the plate and bolted it to the slab. I also have an electric winch that slips into the receiver hitch. Works great for winching dead cars up the driveway into the garage.
When it is time to install a motor - Hang the motor with trans from the fall, hook the winch to the car, drop the motor in as you winch the car in. I dropped the 350 SBC w/ TH350 into my 79 Camaro and had the bolts in the mounts in 10 minutes.
Those are some really great ideas! Fortunately I don't have an issue with dead cars coming in. My garage is downhill from the street, so I can easily roll cars into it. If I need to pull them out I just pull them out with my F-150, but I've only had to do that twice in 5 years. The chainfall and beam is a good idea for sure, and I'd much rather do that than try and squeeze a cherry picker around everything if I do get into engine rebuilding and replacement. For now though, I have no want to R&R engines. It just eats up a lot of time.
Need an idea of the size of your space. And the "not tall enough" is well, maybe maybe not. You might consider my ceiling too low for a lift, but I still have one.
I have to large HF vise on my bench and it's been fine. It's not a high buck Made in USA piece but it's a workhorse. Northern Tool has a good selection of grinders and such. For heat, I use a Dayton 5000 watt heater that keeps my space nice. You can run through the link in my sig to see whats in my space, maybe get you some ideas.
15x27x8. I could put a two post in it between the trusses, but I'd only be able to lift the car about 4 feet to them. I'd probably be better off served with a scissor lift. I'm leaning heavily towards just getting a HF or Northern setup for the grinder and vice as their equipment has always served me well. I was going to pick up a 7500 watt electric heater at Menards for 250 bucks that has a remote and such, but I'm open to other options.
Thanks!
I have two buildings with Reznor hanging furnaces. The work very well, and take up zero floor space.
I agree with the suggestion about oxygen-acetylene torches. You can heat or cut fasteners and heat steel to bend it. There is some up front cost, but I bought mine used 25 years ago with the tanks. I use it occasionally and swap tanks for full ones every couple of years.
I have a lift, but you either have room or not. It is worth every penny. If no lift, a few good floor jacks and jack stands are in order.
I also like having a big plastic tub to drain stuff into.
And good lights, lots of light.
Yea, I want to do hanging furnance or wall mount for sure. Either would work well and I have a spot for it already. I may invest into the oxy/acetylene torch next year. I've burnt up most of the tool budget this year between the compressor/hose reel setup, engine brace, press, and some hand tools. Next year I think I'll do the vice, grinder, and torch setup. I don't have the room for the lift unless it's a scissor one. I've got damn good floor stands and jack as well. I've got the drain tub and pans covered as well. For light I've got 5 3000 Lumen LED overhead lights and then 2 5000 Lumen LED tripod lights along with some very bright magnetic LED lights too.
Drill Press, Parts Washer, Blast Cabinet
Mentioned the drill press above. Blast cabinet would be cool if I was doing more fab or painting work, but for everything I've done a wire wheel or brush has been serving me perfectly. Parts washer would be nice too, and I am thinking of getting one. Gets a bit old using brake cleaner and a drain pan.
Check.
Low- or mid-rise lift. Mine lifts to about 40 inches or so. Perfect for tire or brake work. Mine is installed "backwards", so I have access for oil changes but the hydraulic cylinder is in the way for trans service or differential lube service.
and a good-sounding stereo.
Automotive Oscilloscope. Indispensable for diagnosing electric fuel pumps and various ignition misfires. I started with a Counselor II from Snap-On. It's still cream-of-the-crop for ignition work. Now I also have a Matco/OTC handheld job for electric accessories and sensors.
Scan tool suitable for the newest vehicles you'd work on. Better to have a used "professional-grade" unit than a new "consumer-grade" tool.
I have various welders which have proven handy for bolt removal. The MIG was used to build-up the shanks, and weld nuts to the broken exhaust bolts on my Trailblazer.
I've been thinking of doing the scissor style lift for a while now, just haven't looked at them closely. One would be nice for most suspension and brake work for sure. I've got a good bluetooth stereo as well. I have been looking into diagnostic equipment as well. Just haven't settled on something. I've used everything from factory scan tools to Snap On setups to Autel setups. I like the Autel because it's much cheaper and the updates are cheap too. Snap On charges an arm and a leg for their updates. I'm just not good enough at welding to make use of it. I also stay away mostly from exhaust work since there's a place near me that does extremely good work for a very decent price so I just farm it out.
If space is tight, something like a QuickJack maybe?
I bought a torpedo heater for like 50 bucks at a yard sale and that thing will run you out after 5 minutes on low. After a few on/off cycles, everything in the shop is warm and cozy.
AC unit or high power fan.
I've also found that an old electric leaf blower is very handy. Screw brooms.
Yea, it's decent in there with the kerosene torpedo heater but I'd like something that doesn't create stink and can maintain temp easily. I've got a 12,000 BTU A/C unit, but will be upgrading to a larger one next year. This one did pretty good, but I could use a bit more. I use the leaf blower to clean the shop as well.
Lift...seriously, the minimum height you need to make a lift useful is only like 8 feet. My garage is 9 feet and I put in a flush mount mid-rise scissor lift and it makes working on vehicles amazing. So much easier than jacks/jack stands/creeper.
I'll have to look into that! Thanks!
Thanks!
i'm a poor welder but have found a lot of uses for the welding table I built. Sometimes a clean metal surface is invaluable. Used it to refurbish the carburetor, mounted a vice on one end, a pipe vice on the other, and drill press on the other.
One day I want to do what my dad did and mount the vice or maybe even the drill on a steel piece of huge pipe to a semi truck wheel so it sits by itself out of the way.
That's what I'm gonna do with my wire wheel and vice for sure. Makes them portable as well and you can move them out of the way when not in use.
