Calgary double garage

[dubcanuck1]

So, the house didn't sell. And I needed to do work in the garage until I try again to sell the house in the summer. So, here's a few posts of the stuff I've been up to:

Corner workbench (repurposed futon frame and gas pipe leftover from compressor build)

 

[dubcanuck1]

Big workbenches (built to work on stuff in the rental). I repurposed some industrial shelving supports and mounted some lighting and power bars. They're technically portable, but dismantling them is the best way to move them without a flatbed.

 

[dubcanuck1]

Shop lighting: I finally got around to putting up some LEDs and built some beams out of some recycled 2x6 that my neighbor didn't need any longer.

 

[dubcanuck1]

Under-stairs big drawer:
This one was my first foray into sheet metal bending. I learned a lot; like don't expect 16-gauge sheet metal to be easy to bend.

Inserts: recycled server rack sides and rails

The pan: recycled bed-frame angle iron

assembly

Test fitting:

My brake only does 3" (2.75 safely), so I had to make the bottom tray and then extend the sides to the 5-6" it needed to be. If I had to do it again, I'd just create the floor and sides separately.

How it sits now. I need to put a facing on it with a handle, but I've been a bit busy for that lately. It holds tools. Dimensions are 33"x26"

 

[dubcanuck1]

Miscellaneous:

Made some under-shelf storage using some OSB and 2x4s I had lying around

Repurposed a big upright parts sorter into some under-shelf cubby storage:

Liked the cubby idea so much, I modified my other wall to be similar.

Tired of spending 30 mins looking in drawers for tools, I made some socket caddies to help stay organized working on cars. Love these.

 

[lilredex]

16 ga. is easier to bend if you first cut some interrupted slits on your fold line.

And, here is the jig to easily do just that:

 

[dubcanuck1]

Yeah. I've seen a few people who made jigs for heavy stuff like 10 gauge. I'm more inclined to reinforce the swing-arm on my Kraftex (Grizzly) 48" brake to prevent deflection. I've got some 3/8/" square tubing I might cut up to brace it or just get some heavy gauge angle iron to replace the existing piece. The bends on the edges were crisp, but the middle area had a bigger radius on it. If I was bending something less than 24", it wasn't so much of a problem.

 

[dubcanuck1]

OK. So, after painting a car in my garage and dealing with the ridiculousness of clear coat, I decided it was time for some proper shop air cleaning. My garage is almost always dusty and I hate being a subscriber to the black booger club.

So, with a furnace blower that a friend got me a few years ago (for this purpose), I set about getting it wired up. It's a 4-speed fan, but I chose to only use 3 speeds. I'm not heart-set on this setup and may just do a beefy variable switch for the "high" speed as my electrician buddy thinks startups will burn this 20A (15A max per pole) out. Time will tell.

Once I got the electrical working, I set about to starting on the box. a Sheet of 1/2" plywood and a bunch of scraps to the rescue.

Fitting the blower inside the box

I realized that my original design had dimensions of 18"x24", which there are no panel filters on the market for, so I modified the filter end to accept 16x24" panels.

Shots of the finished box

Now, normally, I'd just have a cold-air return grate attached to the outside of the box when it's acting as an air cleaner/circulator. But, I tried painting a car in the garage, which left a lot of fumes and particulate in the air; especially with clear coat, and I think I gave myself a bit of black lung from the floaties last time, so I wanted to be able to duct this to the outside as well. To do that, I picked up a bunch of 5" ducting and will punch a hole in an outside wall. I also started on an adapter to take the 5" and connect it up

Valved bit taped on to help keep alignment for stapling the duct to the board.

Stapled in securely. I'll be adding silver ducting tape to seal this all up.

Annnnnd mounted over the exhaust side of the cleaner.