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We noticed several weeks ago that the casters, specifically the rubber wheels, on the Proto roll cabinets we use for shop supplies had begun to disintegrate. One in fact had fallen apart completely. This was of course a precarious condition, as the cabinet might tip over.

My mother passed away in 1991 when she was 82. A few years before she died, she gave me two, large adjustable wrenches, carefully wrapped in waxed brown paper. She said the plumber borrowed money from her and left the wrenches. My mother wasn’t a moneylender, but some times poor folk would...

In the 1980s, I bought several Halon fire extinguishers for my cars then. I now have some cars with no fire extinguishers and thought of using them. They have no gauges, but are still quite heavy. One can feel the fluid sloshing around inside. They were made by Chubb, a good manufacturer...

Sparked by, but not wishing to hi-jack, the new thread on barn finds, I started this one so I may post this photo of a car we found in an old warehouse in a suburb of Manila. Covered with decades of dust and with most parts in boxes, but missing its badge, it had these odd doors. Andres

Now, if they had space for tool cabinets and a two-post lift ...

A damp sailbag was left on my old Black and Decker Workmate, and the top boards bloated and warped beyond salvation. Black and Decker call these wood boards "vise jaws." I don't want to buy a new Workmate as this one has been with me for decades, and I am thinking of making my own vise jaws...

My Maxjax 2-post lift is a 220V model, but arrived without an electrical plug. The wires inside the power cable are red, white, and black. Which is neutral, live, and ground? Any advice will be appreciated. Many thanks. Andy

At a very late age, I decided to pick up an electric guitar to play 1960s instrumental pieces by the Shadows and the Ventures. If you’re not over 60, you probably have never heard of them, but when I was a teenager, the Shadows and the Ventures were at the top of the charts. So I have a drum...

The first part shows Chris Evan's garage. Not a "real man cave," but I may just put up with it. Lovely cars. Andy

I read a vintage car restoration book in the 70s that recommended replacing the serrated jaws of a vise with smooth jaws, so as to avoid marring the surface of the piece being held. That made good sense to me, but I never got around to doing it. Here is someone who did...

What is the ideal position for mounting a vise on a bench? Many thanks in advance, Andy

I am planning to install open-rack industrial shelves for long-term storage, but want to put doors to keep things from spilling out (I live in earthquake country) and also to hide the clutter. A great idea, visually appealing to me, is seen in the background of some photos here...

Now I can have several working copies of my favorite tools. If this has been posted before, my apologies, but I just discovered this now. This will drive Snap-On, Proto, etc., out of business. Incredible. Andy

My friend Minoru flies over yearly to Manila from Japan to judge car shows here. He knows vintage automobiles but is very up to date on "tuner" cars also. But his keenest interest is in vintage and antique motorcycles, and he and his father have quite a few - Velocettes and others whose names I...

Some of you may have seen this before, but I just saw it today, of all places in a site for Shadows (that 1960s British guitar band) music.

I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a thread to the Black & Decker Workmate, that folding, versatile bench and vise that has helped many a do-it-yourselfer around the world, including me. It has helped me immensely the odd times I have had to work with wood and sometimes even with the...

Here is the garage of a friend, Ben, put together by him over many years on a shoestring. Ben's life has revolved around old English cars, as is perhaps evident in these photographs, which show no demarcation between home and garage. The garage is quite small, considering that Ben lives...

Spotted this US garage at a car forum I usually visit. The house reminds me of Van der Rohe's Farnsworth house. The garage obviously is not set up for heavy mechanical work, but it would be pleasant to work there. Or just sit and look at that 300SL or Dino.

Living in the tropics, my problem is a little different - humidity, which exceeds 80%. I keep a floor dehumidifier that reduces relative humidity to about 55%, which inhibits corrosion. Sometimes I need to run two of dehumidifiers because the garage is a bit long. The garage is airconditioned...

The separate garage is a a simple shoebox, about 7 meters deep and 20 meters wide, built to fit the terrain and the constraints of a built house. The rear consists of glass windows that look out into a small pond and a hill.