Above 1200 Sq/FT The ASYLUM - Happy 40th Birthday to Me! (Est. 2005)

shopnut · Oct 6, 2014

GETTING THE SHOP ORGANIZED (Part 2 of ?)…

1. Taking Inventory
Initially jotting down everything I have in the shop didn’t take as long as I thought, despite having a lot of stuff. Here a sample of the little diagrams I made. I also took pictures to help remind me of the items because I wasn’t going to be in the shop when I logged it in the computer. Using a tablet or something as you're walking around might increase the speed and accuracy of this process.

Once I had the list, I chose to use the old tried and proven MS-Excel to handle the database. It can handle all the future sorting duties that will be needed and pull down menus can be utilized to reduce the amount of typing and guarantee consistent data entry. It also allows for "filtering" that can be useful for a lot of things, like checking to see how many things I assigned to be stuffed in one little cabinet, for instance.

Here’s a sample snip from the file. So far I have over 350 items logged in it and I haven't even started with any of the storage lofts yet.

shopnut · Oct 6, 2014

mdbeck1 said:
Then it's settled! We're all going to show up at Shopnut's place next weekend and "help" him clean it out! ...and NOTHING goes into the trash.

I'll bring my truck and trailer.

LOL. Sounds like I better get my drive-on scale up and running - I need to weigh you guys and your vehicles coming and going! Each of you should be only up by a 6-pack or so! And maybe a burger or two.

taumac · Oct 7, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

LOL, come on Shopnut. We have special instructions from the wife and she holds the shock collar remote..... LOL

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shopnut · Oct 8, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

taumac said:
LOL, come on Shopnut. We have special instructions from the wife and she holds the shock collar remote..... LOL

I really need to figure out how to remove the batteries from this darn collar! :shocking:

shopnut · Oct 8, 2014

GETTING THE SHOP ORGANIZED (Part 3 of ?)…

2. Categorizing and Defining Storage/Usage Needs of Each Item
Categorizing is probably where I struggled the most. Looking at some of the existing homeowner’s inventory software out there, categories included furniture, jewelry, and the like, so I had to come up with my own for a garage setting.

I started a list of my own, but turned to some of the online stores that sold similar shop items for help. Here are the category lists from McMaster Supply, Northern Tool, and Home Depot.

Here are the Categories I settled on. I included a brief description to remind myself what each contained.

After assigning a category to everything, I noticed 4 of them weren’t even used (yet!) and those are the ones highlighted in yellow in the list above. Tool Accessories was since deleted because it's just a subcategory of the other tool categories. The other three (Projects, Repair, and Sort) were kept because I need to allow room for these types of things somewhere.

I never work on just one Project at once, and I doubt any of you do neither. Parts need a spot to collect until you gather what you need to start and (eventually) finish the project. Repair - Most of us consider ourselves pretty handy and there's always something to fix, right? I need some type of temporary spot for those items too. Sort - That bag of stuff I just bought or things that arrive in the mail, things people give me, or maybe hand-me-down items from the house need a temporary spot until I can figure out where they belong. I think rolling carts will work best for most of these items. Without a dedicated spot, all these things end up on the workbench or on the floor. Or at least that’s my experience.

Next, I defined the Storage Type Needed. This is really more of a preferred storage type than a needed type.

Then came Usage Frequency. This was used to determine how easily the part or tool can be retrieved. Commonly used items should be close at hand for easy access. Other less frequently used items may be stored up high or in an attic.

Usage Location – Where the item is used. The majority were defined as “jobsite” like a cordless drill that gets used just about anywhere. But there are some like a bench grinder that needs to be mounted on a sturdy workbench.

I included a column for the Mess generated by using a tool. Although I have a decent exhaust fan that will rid the shop of fumes, I don’t have a dust collection system. Plus, the weather is generally favorable to do the really dirty work outside. My miter saw, for instance, can easily be rolled outside where the sawdust doesn’t collect on all the stuff inside the shop. My intention is to have these items close to the exterior doors.

One that I've included, but haven’t filled out yet is Largest Dimension. The intention is to be able to sort and group the long or similar-sized items so they can be stored in oversized cabinets. This may or may not prove useful.

I also have columns for the following:
Mounting Style – Permanent or Portable mounting for a tool.
Status – Whether I have it now or if it is a future need

These last two were remnants of a shop wish list I created years ago so I left them in there. I don’t see them being extremely helpful in this latest organizational effort however.

All of the choices were included on drop down menus (to save some typing and force consistent data entry)

Bob Heine · Oct 9, 2014

Because I've been retired or semi-retired for 20 years this is outdated info. I built a spreadsheet something like yours in Lotus 123 but found it hard to do the data entry (hit the Tab key six times instead of five and enter the word or number in the wrong field). There was a pretty straight-forward conversion from the Lotus spreadsheet to the Lotus Approach database software. The database allowed me to make data entry forms that were much easier to fill out (a field definition prevented me from entering a word in a numeric field and allowed lots of other options). Reports were much easier to customize and database searches seemed to go faster as well. It's real easy to generate reports by location or usage.

In the last two decades I have adopted MS Office (Home and Business) but I couldn't bring myself to spend another hundred bucks for a copy of Microsoft Access.

taumac · Oct 9, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

Shopnut
That's one hell of a plan and hope it works out. If I went THAT detailed I might end up in a ASYLUM. LOL.

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shopnut · Oct 9, 2014

Bob Heine – Lotus 123 was my first introduction to the vast power of spreadsheets. I don’t know where I would be in my career without them.

We first used it on a Value Engineering project where we tore apart 7 of our competitors lift trucks to analyze the cost associated with making each individual part (10’s of 1000’s!). The work was tedious, but we all still had a ball because the company had just hired a bunch of young engineers for the project and there were always plenty of coworkers looking for fun things to do afterhours or on the weekends. I guess I’m lucky to have survived those times. Thanks for reminding me of the old days.

My data will be entered in the spreadsheet and remain there. I shouldn’t need any fancy reports (at least none that I can think of now). Data sorts will be simple and all I’ve done so far is sort on the categories so that I could go around the shop and gather up the like items that were scattered all about.

What kind of kicked the whole inventory thing off was design/planning for the new south wall cabinet. I was having a difficult time determining what all needed to be stored in it. Now I can filter on anything assigned to go in “ and see how much stuff will be crammed in there. It will also help determine how to divide the area up.

As an example, here is a screen shot with a “Cabinet, South Wall Locker (Apt)” filter applied. This is a tall locker cabinet that will be located right by the door leading to the apartment. It will serve as a spot for apartment overflow items.

Someday after I get through this organizational effort, I think the spreadsheet will be handy for finding that certain widget I stashed “somewhere”. A quick electronic search should pinpoint its location.

taumac - Thanks. The cleanup is long overdue - by about 5 years! I guess I picked the right name for the place, didn't I. Truthfully, the computer part of it was the easy part. It's the execution that is now threatening to put me in a straightjacket

shopnut · Oct 9, 2014

GETTING THE SHOP ORGANIZED (Part 4 of ?)…

3. Sorting and Grouping Similar Items
Step three was first done on the computer and then in the shop. I had stuff scattered everywhere. A big part of this job was getting like items stored next to each other. I'm probably a 1/4 of the way through as of today.

Here is a shot of my east wall cabinets and random things where stuffed everywhere.

The first thing I did was empty every cabinet out and cleaned them.

While I was emptying, I was sorting and grouping items. This takes some “staging” room so have temporary boxes or bins handy and places to store them for a little while. For me, I used the shelf on my scaffold to store, for instance, all my “Electrical” items which will eventual be stored on the other side of the room. Now is a good time to throw out any unneeded items that you run across (happily, I found quite a few). I think it helps to group like items within each category too. Several bins were used to create separate sub-groups of electrical wall boxes, wire, receptacles, wall plates, etc.

I even rolled out all the base cabinets for a good floor cleaning.

Here it is with the all the cabinets cleaned out and ready to accept the new organization.

taumac · Oct 10, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

Looking great. It truly is a lot of work. Good part about taking everything out and sorting it allow you to toss unneeded stuff. I know myself I'm sort of a cheap SOB and also like repurposing things. I can always see a use in something. Ill get a project in my head and ill start looking for parts to make this or that. Takes a few months usually. I see so much stuff tossed out and say ok it can't be used for original purpose but I can use parts for this or that for future projects. Anyway, in my place this leads to tons of stuff. Once a year I do a clean out. I go through attic, bins, everything and sort it. OMG the **** I collect. I call it organized hoarding. I have a lot of stuff which isnt house worthy but its garage worthy like old switches, lights, etc. Hell I thing I might beat wingnut in the lighting department onz day cause everytime I see a remodel I usually see light fixtures tossed. Its not house worthy but definitely garage worthy. LOL!!!

I tell you this that getting organized isn't as hard as staying organized. Once you put all stuff away nice and neat you find more stuff and more stuff and once find room for that oops more stuff. Its like universe knows you got free space. LOL. You clean off a bench and take a look back and say wow a cluttered clean bench. Then you find a beautiful vise you always wanted begging you. LOL, I speak from experience but in my case its craftsman tool boxes and vises. DOUBLE WAMIE. I honestly spent few hours each week just cleaning and putting stuff away without doing anything in garage as a project.

Shop is looking great I'm jealous of the space.

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shopnut · Oct 10, 2014

I like the "organized hoarding" term taumac. That pretty much sums it up right there. I need to get on that once-a-year cleanup schedule of yours. I have been putting this off because I've been in this perpetual construction mode for so many years now.

But I just can't take it anymore. The last straw was when I had some friends over recently to see the place. The lady didn't even realize I had a Corvette because it was buried in a mound of clutter. That's just not right. I'm not using the construction as an excuse anymore for not cleaning.

I'm trying to plan some "growing room" in the cabinets so newly acquired stuff has a place to reside along other similar items and not over in some obscure corner by itself. I obtain things that I intend to scavenge parts off of, but it takes time to disassembly the item to get to those "good" parts, so they need a lace to store for awhile.

Thanks for the encouragement and letting me know I'm not the only one with this "disorder"

sean Buick 76 · Oct 10, 2014

You have an amazing shop, and lots of cool tools, equipment, etc.... It is tough to have a balance between obtaining materials and supplies for our projects, and ending up with so much stuff it gets in the way of projects... I admire the way you are attacking this, i agree 100% that emptying an area and then re-organizing it is the way to go...

I know for myself being organized does not come naturally, so I have to work at it but it gets easier in time.

Keep up the good work!

Vernmotor · Oct 10, 2014

I am one of them guys That I think everything has a place. So when I pick something up and need to put it away. I think where would I look for this ? If I needed it? That is where I put it ! LOL

shopnut · Oct 12, 2014

sean Buick 76 - Thanks for the kind words. I had such a mess. I'm 3 weeks into the cleanup effort and still feel like I'm just hitting the tip of the iceberg. But I also feel like a big weight is being lifted, so I will keep trudging along with it. Plus, it's really nice to see things clean again.

My biggest fear at this point is getting down to the last area to fill and finding out I have twice as much stuff left over than it will hold. I'm trying to keep an eye on it as I go, but it's tough to gauge in the beginning.

Vernmotor - You know, there have been way too many times when I have looked for something forever. Was it in the first place I looked? - No. Was it in the second, third, or fourth? - No! That was the first sign that my old arrangement sucked. With some things in their new spots, I think the new arrangement is going to be much more intuitive. All the automotive tools in one spot, all the woodworking stuff in another. Tools on one wall, parts on another. Time will tell if it's going to work out, but so far so good.

shopnut · Oct 13, 2014

GETTING THE SHOP ORGANIZED (Part 5 of ?)…

Another wall of cabinets was cleared out and totally cleaned up. These will be used to house all the various supplies I like to keep on hand (i.e. electrical, plumbing, hardware, etc.)

I even can see the shelf in my window nook again. I might turn this into my electronics/soldering station since there is really a nice scenic view out the window (unfortunately, it was dark out when I took the picture).

taumac · Oct 14, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

I do have to ask why you got those compressors stored there? I figuired nice chair or stool there.

Gerard
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E12-535iTurbo · Oct 15, 2014

You're just going way to fast for me. I'm still ploughing away at my compressor/cooler cabinet. Although it is slowly taking shape.

Wingnut65 · Oct 15, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

taumac said:
...
I tell you this that getting organized isn't as hard as staying organized. Once you put all stuff away nice and neat you find more stuff and more stuff and once find room for that oops more stuff. Its like universe knows you got free space. LOL. You clean off a bench and take a look back and say wow a cluttered clean bench. Then you find a beautiful vise you always wanted begging you.

That's the ol' "Space Creates Vacuum" theory! That clear spot is like a Black Hole with such a strong gravitational pull that something gets pulled in and fills that space.

Just look at how many garages on here are too small. When they were built or new, they were empty, but that vacuum just keep pulling in stuff. Now, being an 'Organized Horder', does that mean that you still have space to get a car in the garage?? A Horder would have stuff piles so high that you have to walk sideways to get through the garage. I guess there is a difference!

Great work on the planning and attack, shopnut! I use Vernmotor's idea of where would I look first, or possibly second as to where I put something. But you are turning your whole shop upside down. You will have everything organized, categorized, alphabetized, and probably even labeled, but you will need to keep the spreadsheet close by for a while till you forget where things were and remember where they are now, or should be if they were put back correctly! BTW, what is a Tropod, Camera?

This reminds me that next year is time for me to do my Annual Shop Cleaning. Gotta do it every five years whether it needs it or not!

mdbeck1 · Oct 15, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

Wingnut65 said:
That's the ol' "Space Creates Vacuum" theory! That clear spot is like a Black Hole with such a strong gravitational pull that something gets pulled in and fills that space.

Just look at how many garages on here are too small. When they were built or new, they were empty, but that vacuum just keep pulling in stuff. Now, being an 'Organized Horder', does that mean that you still have space to get a car in the garage?? A Horder would have stuff piles so high that you have to walk sideways to get through the garage. I guess there is a difference!

Great work on the planning and attack, shopnut! I use Vernmotor's idea of where would I look first, or possibly second as to where I put something. But you are turning your whole shop upside down. You will have everything organized, categorized, alphabetized, and probably even labeled, but you will need to keep the spreadsheet close by for a while till you forget where things were and remember where they are now, or should be if they were put back correctly! BTW, what is a Tropod, Camera?

This reminds me that next year is time for me to do my Annual Shop Cleaning. Gotta do it every five years whether it needs it or not!

About every five years the office goes through another version of 5S (don't ask me to spell out the acronym). Basically go through your stuff, get rid of the trash, index everything, and make is so everyone else can find your stuff.

Anyway... we found it very useful to tape a 8.5" X 11" plastic sheet protectors on each of our cabinets with the inventory of what is inside the cabinet. It sure helps when you looking for something. Of course we update them every month or two.

shopnut · Oct 15, 2014

taumac - Who's got time to sit!!!

Eventually, those compressors (actually one is just a tank) are getting moved. A stool would be nice there, but I never really find myself sitting while working in the shop. I have a rolling stool, but never seem to use it. Maybe someday I will slow down enough to set my **** on something beside the can.

E12-535iTurbo - Sorry buddy. I know no other way. At this point, I just want this place done. It's killing me with this cleanup job going on right now, because it doesn't seem that any progress is being made. But I know deep down, it's a necessary step and I'm forcing myself to do it.

Wingnut65 - I need a black hole to form in the middle of the shop right now and **** up some of this space-filling stuff! It might put me out of my misery.

I think you are right, I will struggle with the new arrangement for quite some time, I bet. Oops, tripod - I guess the spell checker isn't working so well - luckily I have you!!! Whether it needs a cleaning or not? You're not having fun unless it needs it every year or two!

mdbeck1 - 5S? Yeah, I know all about that. Our company is just going through it and adapting to the whole lean manufacturing mentality right now. Definitely going through some growing pains with it, but the factory is looking better than it has in my 22 years there. Honestly, it's what kind of got me thinking about doing it in my own shop - at least in some small way. The spiders really don't like much, LOL.

JCQuick · Oct 15, 2014

Shopnut remember some times you have to direct your engineering mind back to motor head mode and work on some car's Tizz the season here..

taumac · Oct 15, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

I get time to sit but its usually with a beer mentally planning next move. Now, I'm trying to combat "Space creates vaccum theory and working on thinning my hoard. LOL

Gerard
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shopnut · Oct 16, 2014

JCQuick – Yes, the season is here and I must say, waking up to temps in the low 60’s this morning was refreshing (and much welcomed!). I’ve been frantically getting the bikes ready for the riding season too. Two of them just got new tires, one got a new chain. I’m also trying to get the RZ500 back on the road again this winter.

taumac – I get a lot of beer drinking in while planning the next project as well. But usually it involves looking at the subject from about 20 different angles so I can try to picture it. And by “subject”, I mean that soon-to-be-built wall cabinet or soon-to-be-upgraded workbench.

Maybe a powered gondola that I could sit on while circling around the shop on the library ladder rail might come in handy and help me “take a load off”!

shopnut · Oct 16, 2014

GETTING THE SHOP ORGANIZED (Part 6 of ?)…

OUTDOOR STORAGE
I have a number of things that I like to keep handy near the big shop so I don’t have to walk down to the garden shed (yeah, I’m getting lazy!). Things like pesticides, herbicides, pump-up sprayers, trimmers and blowers take up much needed shop space. I’m not worried about this type of stuff getting stolen, so two small storage lockers were purchased to sit outside on the porch.

We own a number of the Rubbermaid sheds and they do a decent job and have held up well in the FL heat over the years. A Ship-to-Store purchase from Home Depot proved to be the best deal at $150 each.

One thing I have figured out is once they are filled up, they don’t like to be moved around. And on the Asylum porch, I want to keep them mobile in case they are in the way of the manlift outriggers or something. Harbor Freight had a perfect cart to set them on. These set me back $20 each.

Although the rubber on top of the moving dolly helped some, I made a wood adapter for both to keep them in place. The 2x4’s engage the center opening in the dolly, while the 1x2’s nest up into the base of the cabinet. It didn’t need to be attached to either piece to keep the cabinet from sliding around.

It rolled around so nicely, I had to take it for a spin. I circled around with it like Fred Astaire dancing with some inanimate object (well okay, not quite, but it did roll effortlessly

)

shopnut · Oct 16, 2014

GETTING THE SHOP ORGANIZED (Part 7 of ?)…

With the slope of the front apron, the cabinets did not sit plumb, so I cut some special little wedges to chock the wheels and tilt it up a bit.

These Rubbermaid sheds don’t come with shelves (I guess because many people used them for long-handled tools), although provisions are there for them. So I had to make some and about the cheapest material I’ve found is pressure treated 6” wide fence planks. Each $1.56 plank is cut in two pieces and used to make one 12” wide shelf. The leftover piece can be cut again to make the two joining strips. The good thing about them is you don’t have to worry about something leaking and warping them.

The gas pump was moved back to the center and the two new cabinets flanked each 12’ door. I finally have my symmetry back! (I’ve been a little off balance these last few years

).

taumac · Oct 16, 2014

shopnut said:
taumac – I get a lot of beer drinking in while planning the next project as well. But usually it involves looking at the subject from about 20 different angles so I can try to picture it. And by “subject”, I mean that soon-to-be-built wall cabinet or soon-to-be-upgraded workbench.

WOW, we sound a lot alike. Maybe where separated at birth. LOL!!!

I like those cabinets. I might be replacing mine on side of my house if they are that cheap.

Gerard
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shopnut · Oct 17, 2014

taumac said:
WOW, we sound a lot alike. Maybe where separated at birth. LOL!!!

I like those cabinets. I might be replacing mine on side of my house if they are that cheap.

LOL. I probably spend a little too much time thinking about the design rather than just doing it, but I really don't like having to redo things later when I'm not satisfed with it.

There was quite a range of prices on the Rubbermaid cabinets. Home Depot used to stock them in the stores, but it seems not many places are doing it anymore. Maybe they take up to much floor space :dunno:

. So I looked to who could ship it to me the cheapest - gotta love free ship-to-store for this big stuff. We have 4 other Rubbermaid cabinets at the house (three of the bigger size) and they are doing great. They are under the eaves so I guess they are somewhat protected from the elements.

shopnut · Oct 21, 2014

GETTING THE SHOP ORGANIZED (Part 8 of ?)…

With all the cabinets cleared out, it was time to stuff them again with the new (and hopefully) organized arrangement.

The wall closest to the main workbench is now dedicated to tools. Here are a few shots looking into the few of the 12 cabinets

The other wall is assigned to supplies and components. Eventually, all the cardboard boxes and trays will be replaced with something more long term, but it's much better than it was. I used the boxes that the extra shelves came in to create some simple trays for the lightweight PVC pipe fittings.

taumac · Oct 21, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

Looks great!!! So when taking trip up my way to do mine? I have beer!!! LOL

Gerard
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ODIS · Oct 21, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

taumac said:
Looks great!!! So when taking trip up my way to do mine? I have beer!!! LOL

Gerard
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Think shopnut does not use any intoxicants. Would slow him down too much and perhaps cross contaminate his orginazational charts along with processes, but also believe he can continue with his beautiful work under any circumstance.

Think a better incentive might be a 3d printer, or one of those little CNC bench top mills. Or, come on up to my shop in Washington. Can give you weed here... :willy_nil

.

taumac · Oct 21, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

ODIS, Oh think the weed might slow him down more and will really screw up those charts. He has to add another fridge and cabinets for when he gets the munchies. LOL Hell, I can make a trip to Miami and get him some good stuff. He then might clean the whole shop in 3 days flat. LOL.

Gerard
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E12-535iTurbo · Oct 22, 2014

shopnut said:

Who, other then a diy store has this much piping organised in this way??!! You are completely mad and do your forum name justice ==> Shopnut.

But I'm absolutely loving it if I had the time and space I'd likely be doing the same.

shopnut · Oct 22, 2014

taumac - Let's see, I expect this cleanup of mine to take another 3-4 weeks. Then I need to find another month or so of free time to spend cleaning your… should be 2016 or 2017 sometime.

(Unless, of course, I find some way to "speed" up this whole process!)

ODIS - Yeah, I need to keep a clear head when working with those spreadsheet! Too much of the funny stuff and those rows and columns start looking like some weird psychedelic image and then everything goes to hell.

I dealt with those 3D printers at work and the possibilities are endless. Prices are coming down to. Maybe one would come in handy right now for making little custom-shaped plastic organizer trays because I never can seem to find the perfect size in the store. And the mill… that's on my list and I need to start getting serious on my search.

E12-535iTurbo - These PVC fittings are really cheap so I keep plenty on hand for those plumbing emergencies. I used to have the pipe fitting in bags and would have to dump it out to pick the fitting I needed. Now, I just leave them dumped out in the trays. It's going to be much better… unless I ever dump the tray on the ground by mistake

.

taumac · Oct 22, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

Actually, I just got sick of hearing that Sanford and Son song and started a clean up effort of my own. Although I do have my layout done and things set. My place is like a dresser and when its new its all nice and everythings neat and after few years you have new socks on top of old ones. Some drawers you cramed so much such in that your afraid to open. Some drawers you used to clean of the dressor before company came. LOL. That's my place. Take everything out go through it toss stuff and give the girl a few touch ups on the paint.

Gerard
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shopnut · Oct 23, 2014

Re: The ASYLUM - Turning a Crazy Vision into a Lakefront Gearhead Getaway: Year 6

taumac said:
Actually, I just got sick of hearing that Sanford and Son song and started a clean up effort of my own. Although I do have my layout done and things set. My place is like a dresser and when its new its all nice and everythings neat and after few years you have new socks on top of old ones. Some drawers you cramed so much such in that your afraid to open. Some drawers you used to clean of the dressor before company came. LOL. That's my place. Take everything out go through it toss stuff and give the girl a few touch ups on the paint.

Gerard
5 Stitches Garage
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Florida GJ Group
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Great analogy. And that reminds me - I need to clean/organize the house too when I'm done here

. My den is an absolute mess.

Good luck with your clean-up!

Wingnut65 · Oct 23, 2014

So we are up to cleaning off our dresser and sock drawer????? Where will this madness end?? I, I, I need to, to, to... Oh, wait, this IS the Asylum!

Nice work on the 'putting everything in its place' phase. During your inventory, did you come across things you didn't know you had? Or more of something than you thought you had? BTW, how many of those cordless drills actually do work?

And as far as the PVC fittings go, If something breaks, the time to get to the store and back is way too long. I don't know how many times my neighbor hit is PVC main supply line into his house with his weed eater and he came running to me for help. Here's my stash!

shopnut · Oct 23, 2014

Wingnut65 said:
So we are cup to cleaning off our dresser and sock drawer????? Where will this madness end?? I, I, I need to, to, to... Oh, wait, this IS the Asylum!

Nice work on the 'putting everything in its place' phase. During your inventory, did you come across things you didn't know you had? Or more of something than you thought you had? BTW, how many of those cordless drills actually do work?

And as far as the PVC fittings go, If something breaks, the time to get to the store and back is way too long. I don't know how many times my neighbor hit is PVC main supply line into his house with his weed eater and he came running to me for help. Here's my stash!

Believe it or not, the oldest drill is still alive and kicking. It looks like it was dragged behind a truck though with all the overmold rubber grip coming off. Every now and then I think the gearbox is stripped, but then I realize it just got bumped between low and high range. I had one of them get knocked off the top off the step ladder (no I wasn't on it) and I swear it bounced on every step on the way down. Kinda reminded me of a Slinky. Only 4 of them are actually drills though, there is a impact driver and wrench sitting in that bunch. The new impact wrench is awesome, btw.

It's very common for me to have 3 of them tooled up at once with different bits. I used to use those quick change hex drive systems, but found it quicker just have multiple drills within reach, especially when I only have one hand free. For storing them, I still want to build a rack that they all hang in (with or w/o batteries inserted), as I think that would be handiest for me.

As for "surprises" while cleaning up, unfortunately I didn't find that many long lost items. But, it's going to be like Christmas when I get around to cleaning the lofts out. That stuff has been out of sight, out of mind for quite some time. Yeah, I found quite a few duplicates of stuff, mostly from not remembering if I had it or not when I was at the store. It should be easier to remember now that things are consolidated.

Yeah, gushing water tends to get people's attention and move to the top of the priority list very quickly. It's good to know where the main shutoff is! Nice pipe stash, btw. At the city house, I found a plastic rifle case works pretty well for storing fitting and some shorter sections of pipe.

shopnut · Oct 23, 2014

GETTING THE SHOP ORGANIZED (Part 9 of ?)…

LOW PROFILE ROLLING TRAYS FOR UNDER THE CABINETS
You guys know I love to use every cubic inch of space I can find, and I saw some prime floor space going to waste. If I didn't build something dedicated to roll under there, I would just stuff random junk under there as time went on and end up with a big mess. So part of the organization push will include construction of some rolling trays to slide under the cabinets.

I have bins and boxes of small brackets that need a home. They come in handy for all sorts of custom projects so they are not getting tossed. These custom rolling trays will be used to store misc metal/aluminum brackets and raw stock cutoffs.

For the wheels, I will use some of the conveyor parts I bought a few years back for pennies (well, I think it was more like $30 for the lot

). The wheel sets slide into the aluminum channel.

Here are some scraps of lumber that will hopefully explain what I intend to build. The tray is upside down. The roller track will mount under some 2x2’s. Some 1x3’s (actually shown as 2x3’s) will span between the wheel sets and some plywood will form the tray bottom (cardboard sheet shown in place of it). I think they will be really easy to build and there will be 8 of them total when I’m done. I will add a drawer pull to make it easier to get ahold of.

Here are a couple of close-ups of the unique wheel channel. The conveyor system normally uses a continuous run of wheels for boxes to roll on, but that seems like a waste for this inverted application. So some scraps of vinyl angle will be used as spacers between the two wheel sets in each channel.

Okay, time to build some trays!

akdiesel · Oct 24, 2014

shopnut

I too have to follow your ambition to clean the shop up. The wife (boss) has asked me to get things cleaned up so I can finish my projects.
I like the roller trays you have and have tried to come up with ideas to incorporate them in my systems.
One thing that has been on my pet peave list is rolling cabinets. I know it is nice to re-locate them when needed but for the Rubbermaid cabinets on wheels seems to be a bit tippy. This was the same reason I chose to install my bench cabinets perminatly, to keep from tipping when a drawer that was heavy being opened.
The wheels can take away alot of stability and leverage the base frame has. Not to mention when you accedently roll up to a pebble or similar on the floor.

shopnut · Oct 27, 2014

The boss is telling you to finish your projects ak? I think that's good news! Well, as long as there are more projects to start in the future, that is

.

Yeah, I’ll need to be cautious if rolling the Rubbermaids around. But there’s no big worry because there’s nothing real important inside them. I have to be much more cautious when rolling my 6’ tall toolbox around. I’m sure everyone has seen the aftermath of box laid on its side – not pretty.

The drawer cabinets can sometimes be a big tipping risk due to the CG shift when a drawer is pulled out. I would imagine those Lista cabinets of yours have interlocks that prevent more than one drawer being pulled out at once, much like many file cabinets have.

Speaking of Lista, I’m considering two small drawer cabinets to flank my rolling workbench. Pricy though at about $750 each - yikes. I've wanted some Lista (or Lyon, or Rousseau, or Vidmar) cabinets for about 20 years now and kinda feel like finally treating myself to some.

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