OP
Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The 12-Gauge Garage
- Thread starter Jack Olsen
- Start date
Workspaces sized between 265 and 485 squarefeet.
PAToyota
Well-known member
Now you have to jump up and down in it! 
I've been following this for some time, but never posted. Now that I have, I have to say that this is one of my favorite spaces - ranking up there with Nimrod's, Old Car Guy's, The Asylum, and Chaz's work to round out the top five!
I've been following this for some time, but never posted. Now that I have, I have to say that this is one of my favorite spaces - ranking up there with Nimrod's, Old Car Guy's, The Asylum, and Chaz's work to round out the top five!
fergus
Well-known member
Nice Jack. Hey you know...if you've got too much time on your hands I've got a few things around here I could use a hand with...
OP
What's funny is how busy a day it was. In-laws in town. Got my hair cut. Two work calls. Changes to an outline. Had to get the car ready for a track day tomorrow, which included putting on all its aero stuff. Then a dinner with the in-laws, interrupted by the two-year-old getting bored.
Maybe because there was a Martini involved in the dinner, it occurred to me to test that drawer while the kid watched some Thomas the Train.
Glad the drawer didn't collapse. I didn't do any kind of test before the video was rolling.
But it turns out the drawers are spec'd for 400# each.
But yeah, I'm standing in a drawer in my garage and videotaping it.
Maybe because there was a Martini involved in the dinner, it occurred to me to test that drawer while the kid watched some Thomas the Train.
Glad the drawer didn't collapse. I didn't do any kind of test before the video was rolling.
But it turns out the drawers are spec'd for 400# each.
But yeah, I'm standing in a drawer in my garage and videotaping it.
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marty_p
Well-known member
Loved the video, Jack. And as always, you are a Jedi Master when it comes to fabrication, dealing, and inspiring. Just awaiting your next magazine appearance at the moment...
KEEP IT UP, BOSS!!!
KEEP IT UP, BOSS!!!
Mike B26
Well-known member
But yeah, I'm standing in a drawer in my garage and videotaping it.
When can we expect to see you on Tosh.0?
APEowner
Well-known member
I watched the video with the sound turned off and I was thinking that had I had the sound on the first thing I would have heard was "hold my beer and watch this"
Hemihead2
ALLIANCE MEMBER
You said a martini was involved and for me, it's usually Jack Daniels. 400#, huh, that's impressive.
Krokodil
Well-known member
Nice test there Jack!
Hey Jack I have 5 Vidmar boxes and love them also, some of my drawers probably have close to #300 in them and with the roller bearing slides you can open them with one finger. The best thing about mine is they were free, a factory near me threw them out and bought new ones. I packed them home and spent 3 days cleaning, sanding, straitening and painting.
OP
I'm jealous. That's a real score.
The nice thing about getting this heavier stuff second-hand is that it's not just durable, it's also repairable. I just got another Strong Hold cabinet, and it's one that dates back to before they were called Strong Hold and before they were made in Wisconsin. I've got no idea how old it is, but it's got a 1987 calendar stuck inside it -- so that's 23 years since anyone checked to see what day it was.
I got it cheap because someone had backed into it with a forklift, probably pressing it against a wall, judging by the 1-1/4" indentation into one of the doors.
It didn't close at all. But fixing it was pretty straightforward -- I just sandwiched it between two thicker pieces of steel and used clamps to press it flat.
(Check out those gnarly hinge welds -- I don't want to knock anybody, but the welds got a lot better looking when Strong Hold moved up to where there were union welders.)
I could have used heat, or spent some more time on it to get it looking perfect, but I'm going to be chopping this cabinet horizontally and shortening it to work as a base for a sink (odd as that sounds).
But these heavier cabinets are strong enough that they can be used as structural pieces, not just storage.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
That's going to make you cut out 1/2 to 2/3's of the cabinet, isn't it? Is there any way you can use the remaining part as an overhead cabinet or something? I know it'll be REAL heavy to hang it, but it seems wasteful to just toss it. Re-useable in some other way?
thencamebronson
Member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2006
- Messages
- 22
You should have titled the video,
"Jack in the Box"
"Jack in the Box"
magnusk750
Well-known member
Wanna know what I think? Jack Olsen is a brand! Anyone seen him IRL? Nope! Soon there will be Jack Olsen franchises over the world, sellling green reused shelves, green paint and Jack Olsen dolls. All Made in China of course. That fiction writers thing is just a gimmick to attract intellectual townies. Real men already buys garage stuff, now it's time for the meaks to start. If wanna get rich search the empty space. If in trouble the Jack Olsen Garage Styling Service will come to help. 
914forme
Well-known member
Jack, is the band saw for metal or wood? And if it is metal cutting who made it, looks like a tidy setup. I was glad to see you replaced that cabinet with drawer unit, I love all my Lyons drawer units. I find them great for parts storage, when dealing with 30-40 year old cars, parts storage becomes a plus.
BTW, thanks for the door details on your upper cabinets, plan on doing some this weekend, clean the place up a little.
BTW, thanks for the door details on your upper cabinets, plan on doing some this weekend, clean the place up a little.
Ran D
Member
Well......having seen how tidy Jacks workshop is.......I'm going to start over and repurpose my own small shop, not so sure about the green scene, but of all the garage spaces posted ......this feels good .
Love that arched work table out front .......that's what hooked me from just lurking to joining the GJ ......thanks for the inspiration and sharing your great place .
I've looked for something similar in looks to Strong Hold, but I don't want the weight to deal with......to each his own I guess .
Love that arched work table out front .......that's what hooked me from just lurking to joining the GJ ......thanks for the inspiration and sharing your great place .
I've looked for something similar in looks to Strong Hold, but I don't want the weight to deal with......to each his own I guess
.jimmie jam
Well-known member
TOTALLY UNREAL........
Tjc
Well-known member
Jack, I was wondering if you could post pictures of whats in the tool boxes because i havent found the pictures if you have put them up
Mark H
Well-known member
Fantastic garage Jack!Great use of space and clever storage solutions.
I'm really taken with the bench with the curved front.That's given me some ideas for the bench going into my new garage.Thanks!
I'm really taken with the bench with the curved front.That's given me some ideas for the bench going into my new garage.Thanks!
914tom
Member
thank you Wayne,
your garage will be a nice inspiration for my vintage garage projekt here in germany.
as soon as my teener gets paintet my 3 car garage will receive a redo.
TOM
your garage will be a nice inspiration for my vintage garage projekt here in germany.
as soon as my teener gets paintet my 3 car garage will receive a redo.
TOM
OP
It is wasteful. I've got plans to use the rest of the steel -- part of it is going to be the new countertop -- but I'd be happier if I could have found a 3' tall cabinet for this. But sometimes the price is right and that decision charts your course.
You're welcome. The band saw is only for wood. I keep meaning to go through it. I got a new motor and new blades -- it's just a matter of confirming that the shoes are all right. One of these days...
I haven't. It's pretty much what you'd expect, although I'm planning on going through it all soon to work out which drawers make the most sense for which tools. I also recently got a label printer, which I hope will nudge me along. I'll take pictures when I do it.
Thanks, Tom. I'm guessing by 'Wayne,' you mean me?
In an case, thanks for the nice words.
I just wrapped up a project that ate up an afternoon and -- while it looks fine in the pictures -- I decided to un-do the whole thing when it was done. I have an office chair that I like, but don't have room for. When I had a drafting-style table in the garage, it made sense -- but it's too low to work with my benches, now. But the wife and I were at Costco the other day, and I picked up one of their $39 work stools. When I brought it back, I got the bright idea to put the nicer seat on the taller bench.
The bases weren't identical, but with some drilling and some spacers, I figured they'd work.
And it did, kind of. The base allowed the seat to both rotate and also be raised and lowered. But it turned out the base wasn't perfectly level. And the chair part was also heavy enough so that I worried about it falling over (probably on my kid) at some point in the future. It looks okay in the picture -- but was disappointing in actual use.
Sometimes stuff doesn't work out like you think it will.
'On to the next,' as they say.
So today's project was a lot easier. A fellow Garage Journaler recently got some Strong Hold cabinets, but didn't get the kind with the rails on the inside of the doors to hold bins. I had two cabinets with the bin holders, and I only used one for holding fasteners -- so we swapped door sets. The only trick was that his came with some decal letters on the face.
I tried peeling them off with a razor blade, but it was going to be slow going. So in the spirit of quick-and-dirty garage work, I hit the decals with a wire brush on an angle grinder. It took care of things very quickly.
A quick scuff, then a wipe with acetone -- then two coats of paint. You'd never know anything had changed.
Hi Jack, theres a guy on ebay that sells misc. parts for Vidmar boxes. I bought the plastic end caps for the drawer pulls for mine and I emailed him about the paper and clear plastic inserts that go in the slot in the pulls. Since I bought the end caps he sent them to me for free. Makes it nice for labeling whats in the drawers, but I wanted them to keep **** out of the opening in the pull.
GarageEnvy
Well-known member
First of all, Jack thanks again for the swap on those doors. For everyone else, Jack swapped these doors out for me and wouldn't accept a dime in payment. It was a complete benefit to me and an inconvenience to him. Furthermore, a magazine was coming out to do a photo shoot on the garage and he had to postpone the shoot because of the mismatched doors. On top of that I took the guy away from his work for an hour while we swapped doors around. Now, if I wasn't feeling bad enough already I here about the difficulties with the stickers. Jack, I owe you big! Hopefully someday I'll be able to repay you.
Also, the 12 gauge garage is just as amazing in person. Super effiicient use of space. Great ideas are everywhere. There isn't a person on this board who wouldn't enjoy spending a day in there just looking at how well everything is done. The best part is that it really isn't a high-dollar deal.
Jack, thank you, thank you thank you. Once for the doors. Once for the privilege of meeting you and once for the treat of seeing the 12 gauge garage in person.
Also, the 12 gauge garage is just as amazing in person. Super effiicient use of space. Great ideas are everywhere. There isn't a person on this board who wouldn't enjoy spending a day in there just looking at how well everything is done. The best part is that it really isn't a high-dollar deal.
Jack, thank you, thank you thank you. Once for the doors. Once for the privilege of meeting you and once for the treat of seeing the 12 gauge garage in person.
AndrewBigA
Well-known member
how was his porsche? was it freshly waxed & glowing? lol
that would complete your garage jack! too bad im on the east coast. id love to get my hands on her.
that would complete your garage jack! too bad im on the east coast. id love to get my hands on her.
Boosted1
Well-known member
Jack,
Here is a thought on your chair project. Instead on giving up and given your apparent skill, you could still use the swivel and Telescope section of the stool and add or modify the legs to have a larger footprint. The footprint of the original chair would give the stability you desire.
Having said that, I would have to give up, but I don't have the means you do. Just some encouragement because I think the idea is a great one (end product).
Regarding your new strong hold door, Looks like it may have been in an Automotive Seat facility. Interesting. I had a chance to see dozens of Strong hold cabinets earlier this week in a new plant lined up waiting for final placement. Thought about your garage.
Here is a thought on your chair project. Instead on giving up and given your apparent skill, you could still use the swivel and Telescope section of the stool and add or modify the legs to have a larger footprint. The footprint of the original chair would give the stability you desire.
Having said that, I would have to give up, but I don't have the means you do. Just some encouragement because I think the idea is a great one (end product).
Regarding your new strong hold door, Looks like it may have been in an Automotive Seat facility. Interesting. I had a chance to see dozens of Strong hold cabinets earlier this week in a new plant lined up waiting for final placement. Thought about your garage.
GarageEnvy
Well-known member
Let's just say that in a pinch I think you could do surgery in there and I think the risk of infection would be pretty low. It is a working garage and definitely not a showroom. The amazing thing is that all those little projects that are running around in our minds and on our to-do list are all done here. The level or organization and efficient use of space is amazing. I was already feeling plenty guilty for creating an inconvenience or I wouldn't have fought back the temptation to say "give me the tour" so hard.
I didn't spend a whole lot of time looking a the Porsche other than very nervously walking those heavy metal doors by it. I believe I noticed a lexan window in the rear and he mentioned fiberglass fenders on the front so I'm thinking it's more race car than show car. However, since Jack has been so gracious to me about trading things of equal size I will just mention that I have a 1995 Toyota Camry that would fit the space the Porsche is in almost perfectly. I'm even willing to throw in a Jack Olsen green paint job.
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OP
GarageEnvy, thanks for the very kind words. It was nice meeting a fellow Garage Journal-er and also nice to meet your father in law. The garage was cleaned up because it had to be ready to have a picture taken of it. But I do try to keep it close to that level of order -- knowing that, with me at least, if I let it slip too far things go downhill in a hurry.
Andrew, you'd be mad at me if you saw the paint on my car up close. It goes to the track about ten times a year, and I've given up on trying to mitigate the chips.
It's more of a work dog than a show dog, as they say.
On the next paint job, I'm going to have to make a decision to go one way or the other. Either it's going to get the clear 3M film, or the paint job itself is going to be done by the owner. If I get the professional job, I'll try to protect it. If I get the amateur version, I'll just know that I can keep touching it up as needed. But I'm afraid it's never going to be as pretty as the cars you do your magic on.
On the chair, my other idea was to simply extend the stalk of the four-legged base that originally came with the chair. But I'm still up in the air about whether there's really room for it in the garage. I've also thought about putting a drafting table in my office, and it might be better used there. We'll see.
Andrew, you'd be mad at me if you saw the paint on my car up close. It goes to the track about ten times a year, and I've given up on trying to mitigate the chips.
It's more of a work dog than a show dog, as they say.
On the next paint job, I'm going to have to make a decision to go one way or the other. Either it's going to get the clear 3M film, or the paint job itself is going to be done by the owner. If I get the professional job, I'll try to protect it. If I get the amateur version, I'll just know that I can keep touching it up as needed. But I'm afraid it's never going to be as pretty as the cars you do your magic on.
I think that GarageEnvy's cabinets came from a Toyota plant out here.
On the chair, my other idea was to simply extend the stalk of the four-legged base that originally came with the chair. But I'm still up in the air about whether there's really room for it in the garage. I've also thought about putting a drafting table in my office, and it might be better used there. We'll see.
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OP
I got a small project done today and started a bigger one.
The small one was combining an old retractable extension cord with a new trouble light. Pretty simple, really -- but I won't have to wind a cord when I use the trouble light now, and it will always be in easy reach.
You can see the adhesive around the stress reliever part.
The bigger project is the base for a new sink. I took a 72" tall Strong Hold cabinet that I got for $70 and started chopping it up. Believe it or not, the hardest part was setting the big cabinet down and then turning it over to make the cuts. It weighs a lot more than I'm able to lift.
The Freud Diablo circular saw blade went through the stuff pretty easily.
This is the new bottom section cut out.
The cabinet I'm making is only going to be 18" deep (instead of 24"). I want to save the large section of the back of the old cabinet to make the counter top. I should have 1/2" to spare. Here's the larger section cut out.
And here are the two pieces fitted together. Lots more to do, but at least I got a start on it.
The small one was combining an old retractable extension cord with a new trouble light. Pretty simple, really -- but I won't have to wind a cord when I use the trouble light now, and it will always be in easy reach.
You can see the adhesive around the stress reliever part.
The bigger project is the base for a new sink. I took a 72" tall Strong Hold cabinet that I got for $70 and started chopping it up. Believe it or not, the hardest part was setting the big cabinet down and then turning it over to make the cuts. It weighs a lot more than I'm able to lift.
The Freud Diablo circular saw blade went through the stuff pretty easily.
This is the new bottom section cut out.
The cabinet I'm making is only going to be 18" deep (instead of 24"). I want to save the large section of the back of the old cabinet to make the counter top. I should have 1/2" to spare. Here's the larger section cut out.
And here are the two pieces fitted together. Lots more to do, but at least I got a start on it.
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Zengineer
Well-known member
Jack, you're practically making me cry... not about the cutting it up, it's the $70 for the cabinet. Just sick to my stomach hearing that. (I think my price + shipping ended up being about 10 times that per cabinet)
Glad you are addressing the sink area, seems like the last holdout you have to address in your garage. Keep the pics coming!
Glad you are addressing the sink area, seems like the last holdout you have to address in your garage. Keep the pics coming!
OP
This one was cheaper, in part, because it was from before Fabricated Metals was making 'Strong Hold' cabinets. It's the same company and the same basic construction -- the doors from one will go onto the other. And it's the same thickness of steel. But the welds aren't as nice on this older one as on the Wisconsin-made Strong Holds, and -- more importantly -- there aren't adjustable tracks for the shelves. The shelves are just welded into place. You can see it when the cabinet is cut up. It doesn't matter on this one, but it's not as good a product as the Strong Hold labeled ones are from when the company moved north.
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993James993
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2008
- Messages
- 524
Hey Jack,
I just ordered a Steve Wong chip. Your review and recommendation helped me make up my mind and finally take the leap.
Thank you!
Jim
I just ordered a Steve Wong chip. Your review and recommendation helped me make up my mind and finally take the leap.
Thank you!
Jim
Nighttrain
Well-known member
Hey Jack awesome progress. Looking at the garage I noticed a big safety item. Don't take this wrong at all, I know how meticulous and safety conscious you are. Someone on here actually noticed a safety item in one of my pictures and sent it to me. I had some Dewalt battery chargers that had a re-call and did not know it. I was glad they did because those chargers were known to catch on fire.
What I see is the open belt on your band saw. I know you have a little one running around there and I am sure you keep eyes on him but if he is like my boy he want's to be next to you even when your not aware. His little fingers would not last long up there if he was reaching up to “help“.
I figured with your skills you can make a great guard for that belt. Plus I want to see what you make for it because I just got an air compressor that is missing a belt guard and need ideas!
Looking forward to the sink cabinet.
What I see is the open belt on your band saw. I know you have a little one running around there and I am sure you keep eyes on him but if he is like my boy he want's to be next to you even when your not aware. His little fingers would not last long up there if he was reaching up to “help“.
I figured with your skills you can make a great guard for that belt. Plus I want to see what you make for it because I just got an air compressor that is missing a belt guard and need ideas!
Looking forward to the sink cabinet.
OP
You're going to like it a lot, Jim. Steve Wong (who's brainchild the chip is) is a very smart guy, who's as devoted to keeping your engine in great condition as he is in wringing out the last bit of HP. Make sure you tell him all the mods on the car (like the flywheel) so he can send you the right chip. And don't be afraid to talk to him if you have any issues. He'll go the extra mile. PM me if you've got any extra questions during the process.
You're absolutely right. But that's because I haven't started putting the band saw together, yet. I got a motor and the right size pulleys, but I still want to go through the inside of the thing to make sure the shoes are all right, then build a base to hold the motor and the saw. At that point, I plan to fabricate a guard for it.
People think the ceramic tiles must be like the ones they see in bathrooms. These were very inexpensive, but are rated for code in public spaces like malls. So where it's easy to imagine dropping a wrench in someone's powder room leading to a broken tile, it's harder to imagine that happening in a car dealership or the tool department at Sears. I jack the car up on the tile all the time. I drop stuff. I do a lot of work in the shop. I've chipped a couple of tiles, but I haven't damaged one enough where it merits dropping in a new one yet.
I got a little more time to do some work on the small cabinet, today. As is usually the case, it's the little things that eat up the time. In this case, moving the handle and locking mechanism from the old door to the new, shorter one.
I cut the bottoms and the tops off of the full size doors. Then I double checked that they would fit.
I made sure they were square when I positioned them on the heavy bench. Having the thick steel also allows me to clamp with enough force to undo a more of the forklift damage from one of the doors.
I had to drill a hole for the handle and grind off the mechanism that holds it in place. I also needed to shorten the bars that lock the cabinet above and below.
Here you can see the shorter rods in place:
Of course, it isn't very pretty still. But this shows the welded doors and the welded in latching mechanism. I still need to weld the cabinet sections themselves together.
And here it is with all the welding finished and a quick hit of primer on the parts where the metal was exposed. It ain't pretty, but it's on its way.
Here's the original cabinet. I just went back and looked at the listing. I paid $78.50, and it had taken a pretty hard hit on the lower left.
Former owner Boyd Humphrey would not recongnize how this thing is going to end up.
Next up is the countertop.
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OP
I'm going to have to put it in place to see if the curve I came up with will look good or terrible. Cutting this stuff with a jigsaw is agonizingly slow.
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Curve? What curve?
OP
Here's the curve.
It's still just about impossible to imagine what the end result will look like -- the counter top will be raised up and there will be a 3" piece of aluminum trim along the face of the curve.
I think.
Here's the new sink, set on top to get an idea of proportion.
Here are the leftovers, which I'm going to use for a shallow and narrow cabinet that will fill out the space under the counter.
Like I say, though -- it's hard even for me to get a good idea of what I'm thinking about yet.
And I might change my mind still.
It's still just about impossible to imagine what the end result will look like -- the counter top will be raised up and there will be a 3" piece of aluminum trim along the face of the curve.
I think.
Here's the new sink, set on top to get an idea of proportion.
Here are the leftovers, which I'm going to use for a shallow and narrow cabinet that will fill out the space under the counter.
Like I say, though -- it's hard even for me to get a good idea of what I'm thinking about yet.
And I might change my mind still.
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I like the idea. I don't have the placement of everything in your garage to memory, but I do believe you had little counter space and no storage under the current sink? I'm not sure I'm crazy about the curve, but once you get the counter trimmed and in place I think it will be pretty wicked.
I like watching you put stuff together, gives me tons of ideas!
I like watching you put stuff together, gives me tons of ideas!