Music adds an essential element to the shop environment. I love music and have it on when I first walk in the shop almost before I turn on the lights. It sets a certain mood. I planned on having a sound system of some sort from the beginning.This was another case where I had to get the shop all cleaned out and then look at what it would take to install a system that not only functioned well but was user friendly and convenient. The shop is about 2,200 square feet overall and has three main work areas. They are somewhat isolated from each other as you've seen. To keep the sound levels roughly equal meant a pair of speakers for each work area would be needed.
I decided on round ceiling speakers to keep them unobtrusive. These are the pair in the fabrication ( fab ) room.
North room..........
And lift room, the second speaker is just out of frame to the right of the air hose reel. Originally I was just going to use a stereo receiver and use radio over the speakers. Two things stopped that. I could not get decent reception out there and frankly, the quality of programming on commercial radio these days is just awful. I'm not going to sugar coat it, but that's just how I feel. Satellite radio was still an unknown, whether it would survive. Also I really didn't want to have to pay a monthly fee. Here's why........
This is a sample of my more than 3,000 vinyl 33 1/3 rpm LP ( Long Playing ) record albums. I've been a rather avid record collector for a long time now. Almost any blues, early rock 'n roll, British invasion, 60's rock etc. I already own this music so I decided to make use of it out in the shop. My son records the LP's to his computer and then transfers them to CD's. Once I'm working in the shop I can be there for 8 - 10 hours or more sometimes and I don't want to have to mess with swapping out CD's so I got a 400 disc CD changer.
The changer is fairly deep at over 19" overall as I recall so these shelf brackets were fabricated to hold it. I used 1" square tubing for the two 90 degree tubes and 3/4" for the angled tube. The ends of the 1" were also covered so you wouldn't have a raw open end to look into when it was installed.( I haven't installed the stainless steel tops on the work benches yet in this picture )
Painted gloss black. I used polished, stainless steel acorn nuts and washers to fasten them to the wall and to the shelf.
A total of three were used. I had a piece of 18" wide sycamore lumber that was close enough for length and width. You can see a small portion of the CD changer feet sticking out past the self. It's weight is biased to the rear so this didn't present a problem.
The look is very utilitarian, not elegant. It was another small detail I could easily have gotten bogged down in. As it is I dressed them up somewhat, using smaller 3/4" tubing on the angled tubes, rather than the 1"on the mains for visual balance, capped the ends, polished stainless hardware etc. It's just a shelf, it's in a garage, move ahead.
Behind on the wall are some LP covers that are automotive related. The LP's were either all music or the sound track taken from drag race meets. On those you just hear the public address system at the track, the sound of the engines starting, the car staging and then running down the drag strip with the roar of the crowd in the background. Women don't get it
, guys really dig it! Starting from the left, the cover was from Detroit 1958 moving chronologically to the right, Indy 1967. A jet engine powered dragster in the middle....... just because I can!
To help balance out the sound levels I installed individual volume switches that are impedance matched for each pair of speakers. Seen above the dark small sign.
BTW the 2 oil cans on the shelf with the big red " M " are McMillan oil, honest!! My great grandfather has to be smiling over that!
You'll note the switch cover plate is a bit crooked. The size of the individual switches themselves, the way they are configured, the wire to connect everything, the small size of the box itself, all conspired against me. After more than 2 hours of shimming, prying, tightening and loosening,and saying bad words I wouldn't want my mother to hear
.............that's the best I could do. You don't know the anguish, the hurt, the anger, the frustration, the embarrassment........ you just don't know....how could you possibly know............it looks so simple, why even a pilot could do it......... At least the screw slots lined up!
The small " Mast Lighting Protection Systems " sign was put in the shop when the lighting rods on the roof were installed.
Don't know when, from the '50's, 40's
Anyone out there recognize it?
I put the system here where all three rooms join. It's the most central part of the shop. To me there is nothing more satisfying than working on cars from the 60's and having quality, period music from the 50's , 60's playing, oh ya!
Thomas
Those of us who are garage nuts will do just about anything to satisfy our love of the hobby won't we? Enjoy!
