CLEANEST shop?

[zmotorsports]

I think another one the OP should look at is Pat's, aka @4 FN 27 . His is an amazing home-based shop, very clean and organized.

 

[Craig Balzer]

About two years ago, (2023-24) I took a couple of photos of my shops.
Imported them into PowerPoint.
Added Text Boxes.
Then made a video of the 8-10 slides - looks pretty much the same today:

 

[steed]

I think another one the OP should look at is Pat's, aka @4 FN 27 . His is an amazing home-based shop, very clean and organized.

Checked em out. Looks big and neat. That's a tough combo. Not a lot for pics in the shop thread, but enough to get the idea.

Im trying to see the common denominators for the clean ones, the clues are there!

 

[Dagny]

I think it is related to how busy you are. My customers would get pretty upset if I was cleaning the shop when they have no heat or were unable to feed their cows.

 

[dscheidt]

I would dispute that. I ran a speed shop out of my last home shop for 20 years and kept it clean and organized, and it was much smaller than my current shop.

I worked in a shop where the owner was a neat freak. It was glorious, could always find shop equipment, the hardware and parts we stocked. Everything got put away, weren't allowed to leave stuff on the benches overnight (there were exceptions for stuff that had to wait until tomorrow), and we had a couple high school aged kids who came in at closing to clean (if they had any inclination, we'd put them to work on other things, but cleaning was their main job). Washed the floor every night, and we had a rotation for deeper cleaning of everything. One bay got done every week, everything came out, got cleaned, wall washed, lift detailed, then stuff put back. The snap-on guy came by one evening, delivering a tire machine. He was flabbergasted by the kid waxing the lift, and figured we were having him on.

 

[no704]

Cleanest metal shop i have visited is by far Penn States Reactor facility. Totally spotless. But they are mostly x Navy guys.

 

[LeeG]

Not a lot of unused floor space to get dirty.

Take a look at my shop thread or website in my sig for more photos.

Lee

 

[racecougar]

I make it a priority to put everything away and sweep/clean up at the end of every day. That said, it is very much a working shop, not a showroom. Just take a look at the filters on the air scrubber in the top left corner here. I do a lot of metalwork.

 

[rsparks64]

Honestly, if you don't do any metal fabrication, woodworking, or have toys that are used in the dirt (I see a couple mountain bikes there - those are easy enough to keep clean), then I don't see why a clean shop like that isn't attainable. My garage is nowhere near that level (I try and fall short by a long shot), but I have metal/wood dust, big tools (plasma table, stomp shear, table saw...), so it makes it a bit more of a challenge. If my garage was just being used for toy storage/basic maintenance, I could probably get it to look something like that lol.

(All this to say that, yes, I'm extremely jealous and in love with his garage)

I hear you, but he is second level. Granted, he does not really do a lot of woodwork or metal fab, but he does a lot of mechanical work and those cabinets are full. When you open those cabinet doors the tools look like they are part of a display. He uses those dirt bikes a lot and has his own big property with a lot of trails. They are cleaned before going back in the garage. Another example is when he borrowed my walk behind mower once. He brought it back the same day clean as a whistle. He had thoroughly washed it and had even changed the oil. That’s the kind of neighbor you don’t mind lending things too.

 

[zmotorsports]

I make it a priority to put everything away and sweep/clean up at the end of every day. That said, it is very much a working shop, not a showroom.

Out of curiosity, what size is your shop?

 

[racecougar]

Out of curiosity, what size is your shop?

That one is 30'x60'x13'.

 

[zmotorsports]

That one is 30'x60'x13'.

Nice size. Thank you.

 

[tarbellb]

@4 FN 27 and @zmotorsports def came to mind, especially when you see how much work they are producing

 

[turbowoodworker]

I just found this thread and promptly put it on "Ignore"!

 

[finn]

I've found my shop cleanliness goes in waves. Pre-project=clean, mid-project(s)=chaos and pandemonium, post-project=clean again

Mine’s the same, except I never finish projects because I get bored easily.

That means I rarely get to the post project phase.

I do try to do a fairly rigorous reorganization and freshening in October, though.

 

[kwb]

I think a big part of this is being willing to invest in storage/organization solutions. It is easy to justify a tool you need to do a job.
I am in the midst of a decluttering crisis in my shop of 20yrs.

It was pretty easy to keep clean when I moved into it from the 2car garage attached to the house. Over time I added tons of tools for all sorts of kinds of work. Metal Fab, Woodworking, Boats, Snowmobiles, General Construction from Concrete to Drywall, Electrical. Built basic shelves, added pallet racks so stuff kinda had a place but it wasn't dedicated.

In the past couple months I have added 2 tool chests mostly for things that were hung off a nail on a wall somewhere, turned a few pallets into more dedicated "crates", bought I don't know how many HDX bins for infrequently used tools or supplies. Tons of hours and probably past $1000 in organization/storage at this point. I still have a long way to go but shifting the mindset to spend on storage instead of more tools is helping make the space a lot more usable and with a bit of luck I can find stuff when I need it instead of buying another copy of something I know I have.... somewhere.

 

[kabinenroller]

I have a working shop, although I am the only person working I do tend to make a mess. Cleaning up after myself and picking up tools is a routine, I hate working in a mess and not being able to locate a tool. There is a separate room for machines and welding but the dirt seems to find itself in other parts of the shop, I do not do bodywork or paint but everything else related to building or restoring a car is done in house. I also store all of my specialty vehicles in my shop and try to keep them from being exposed to the dust and dirt from the work being done, that can be a challenge.
Anyway, here is a short tour of the place….

 

[rharman]

If you run a business out of your shop it just isn't going to happen.

I would dispute that. I ran a speed shop out of my last home shop for 20 years and kept it clean and organized, and it was much smaller than my current shop.

I worked in a shop where the owner was a neat freak. It was glorious, could always find shop equipment, the hardware and parts we stocked. Everything got put away, weren't allowed to leave stuff on the benches overnight (there were exceptions for stuff that had to wait until tomorrow), and we had a couple high school aged kids who came in at closing to clean (if they had any inclination, we'd put them to work on other things, but cleaning was their main job). Washed the floor every night, and we had a rotation for deeper cleaning of everything. One bay got done every week, everything came out, got cleaned, wall washed, lift detailed, then stuff put back. The snap-on guy came by one evening, delivering a tire machine. He was flabbergasted by the kid waxing the lift, and figured we were having him on.

Not a home shop but the guy I go to for smog checks has a very nice clean shop. Pretty much every time I've been there I see someone sweeping or mopping an area or stall. In fact, I mentioned it to the owner the first time I went there about how clean it was. He said he insisted on keeping a clean shop and his guys knew it. I was impressed. It's a full service shop and he's been around quite some time.

At one of the HD dealers I worked at in the 70's & 80's, we hired a high school kid to sweep and clean up. One day, I look out and he's just casually pushing the broom along one-handed. I jokingly said "Hey, you might want to use two hands on that broom". His response was to hold up the other hand that had a cigarette in it and say "Well, if I did that, how would I carry the ****?" He didn't last long but I'm sure he went on to become very successful... <sarcasm>

 

[steed]

I have a working shop, although I am the only person working I do tend to make a mess. Cleaning up after myself and picking up tools is a routine, I hate working in a mess and not being able to locate a tool. There is a separate room for machines and welding but the dirt seems to find itself in other parts of the shop, I do not do bodywork or paint but everything else related to building or restoring a car is done in house. I also store all of my specialty vehicles in my shop and try to keep them from being exposed to the dust and dirt from the work being done, that can be a challenge.
Anyway, here is a short tour of the place….

I love the worlds tiniest roll up door!!

This is very tidy, I like how it feels to clean up after a long exhausting day. Feels like I EARNED something. It’s just me in my shop, too. So if someone makes a mess, they have to clean it up

 

[racecougar]

I have a working shop, although I am the only person working I do tend to make a mess. Cleaning up after myself and picking up tools is a routine, I hate working in a mess and not being able to locate a tool. There is a separate room for machines and welding but the dirt seems to find itself in other parts of the shop, I do not do bodywork or paint but everything else related to building or restoring a car is done in house. I also store all of my specialty vehicles in my shop and try to keep them from being exposed to the dust and dirt from the work being done, that can be a challenge.
Anyway, here is a short tour of the place….

I like the race deck entry way. I may have to steal that idea just to slow folks down a bit at entry and get their shoes dry to avoid slips and falls.

Why the roll-up door instead of a normal entry door for the machine room? Is it wider than a typical 36" man door? I'm purely curious here.

 

[zmotorsports]

I think a big part of this is being willing to invest in storage/organization solutions. It is easy to justify a tool you need to do a job.
I am in the midst of a decluttering crisis in my shop of 20yrs.

It was pretty easy to keep clean when I moved into it from the 2car garage attached to the house. Over time I added tons of tools for all sorts of kinds of work. Metal Fab, Woodworking, Boats, Snowmobiles, General Construction from Concrete to Drywall, Electrical. Built basic shelves, added pallet racks so stuff kinda had a place but it wasn't dedicated.

In the past couple months I have added 2 tool chests mostly for things that were hung off a nail on a wall somewhere, turned a few pallets into more dedicated "crates", bought I don't know how many HDX bins for infrequently used tools or supplies. Tons of hours and probably past $1000 in organization/storage at this point. I still have a long way to go but shifting the mindset to spend on storage instead of more tools is helping make the space a lot more usable and with a bit of luck I can find stuff when I need it instead of buying another copy of something I know I have.... somewhere.

In my last shop, it was quite small and got even smaller as I acquired more and more shop equipment so I had to routinely perform 5S events to keep only pertinent tools and equipment within easy reach. I then built an upper shelf over my machining area in which to put lesser used items on. That was game changer to open up some space. I found if I didn't perform these 5S events at least a couple times a year it would get away from me and start to feel cluttered and cramped.

 

[kabinenroller]

I like the race deck entry way. I may have to steal that idea just to slow folks down a bit at entry and get their shoes dry to avoid slips and falls.

Why the roll-up door instead of a normal entry door for the machine room? Is it wider than a typical 36" man door? I'm purely curious here.

Thanks,
The Racedeck is great, I replaced the VCT tile that was originally in place. I used the free flow style because the floor is heated and I did not want to restrict the heat.
As for the roll up door, the opening is 36” but I did not want to have a swing door because of the swing interfering with space either side of the opening. The roll up door is actually wider than the opening because I found it used for little money, when I installed it I let it over hang the opening on one side to make it work with the existing opening width. It serves the purpose well.

 

[racecougar]

Thanks,
The Racedeck is great, I replaced the VCT tile that was originally in place. I used the free flow style because the floor is heated and I did not want to restrict the heat.
As for the roll up door, the opening is 36” but I did not want to have a swing door because of the swing interfering with space either side of the opening. The roll up door is actually wider than the opening because I found it used for little money, when I installed it I let it over hang the opening on one side to make it work with the existing opening width. It serves the purpose well.

Makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Smedley]

Love the Dale plaque and the collage of Junebug pics above it. I have a bunch of NASCAR memorabilia, especially of Dale, that I need to get up in my shop one day here soon.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Not a home shop but the guy I go to for smog checks has a very nice clean shop. Pretty much every time I've been there I see someone sweeping or mopping an area or stall. In fact, I mentioned it to the owner the first time I went there about how clean it was. He said he insisted on keeping a clean shop and his guys knew it. I was impressed. It's a full service shop and he's been around quite some time.

At one of the HD dealers I worked at in the 70's & 80's, we hired a high school kid to sweep and clean up. One day, I look out and he's just casually pushing the broom along one-handed. I jokingly said "Hey, you might want to use two hands on that broom". His response was to hold up the other hand that had a cigarette in it and say "Well, if I did that, how would I carry the ****?" He didn't last long but I'm sure he went on to become very successful... <sarcasm>

I watch YouTube videos from KC's Paint Shop in Texas. They mostly build very high end pickup truck restomods. He has one guy who's only job is cleaning the shop, all day every day. They have one of those walk behind industrial floor scrubbers, one of his tasks is to run it through the whole place multiple times daily, and then he's also sweeping and vacuuming everywhere. For a body shop the cleanliness is pretty impressive, but I imagine for the amount of money his customers are paying they kind of expect it.

 

[Skellyii]

I have a working shop, although I am the only person working I do tend to make a mess. Cleaning up after myself and picking up tools is a routine, I hate working in a mess and not being able to locate a tool. There is a separate room for machines and welding but the dirt seems to find itself in other parts of the shop, I do not do bodywork or paint but everything else related to building or restoring a car is done in house. I also store all of my specialty vehicles in my shop and try to keep them from being exposed to the dust and dirt from the work being done, that can be a challenge.
Anyway, here is a short tour of the place….

Great shop, and I LOVE those Messerschmitts!

However, I do see a problem.

Even though you have it covered, I noticed that FoMoCo product that seems out of place.
As a fellow GJ member, I would be more than happy to help you out by coming by with my trailer, and removing that unsightly FoMoCo product from your otherwise perfect shop.

You don't have to thank me, I'm just offering to help a fellow GJ member in need.

 

[kabinenroller]

Great shop, and I LOVE those Messerschmitts!

However, I do see a problem.

Even though you have it covered, I noticed that FoMoCo product that seems out of place.
As a fellow GJ member, I would be more than happy to help you out by coming by with my trailer, and removing that unsightly FoMoCo product from your otherwise perfect shop.

You don't have to thank me, I'm just offering to help a fellow GJ member in need.

Thanks for the offer but that ‘64 Comet Cyclone has been with me for 58 years and will never leave. The red Messerschmitt has been in the family since 1959, again it will never leave. I appreciate the compliments.

 

[no704]

What do you do if you drop a small fastener on a race deck floor?

 

[kabinenroller]

What do you do if you drop a small fastener on a race deck floor?

Racedeck free flow is not ideal for a work area because of that reason, they offer solid tiles for an area where small items may fall on the floor. The area I have Free Flow is an entry way and display area, no work is done in those areas.

 

[kwb]

In my last shop, it was quite small and got even smaller as I acquired more and more shop equipment so I had to routinely perform 5S events to keep only pertinent tools and equipment within easy reach. I then built an upper shelf over my machining area in which to put lesser used items on. That was game changer to open up some space. I found if I didn't perform these 5S events at least a couple times a year it would get away from me and start to feel cluttered and cramped.

It is funny you mention 5S to my response. I did a lot of work training a lot of people on it in our plant. It made perfect sense when you are doing the same basic job on a consistent takt time, it really does make a productivity difference. We also saved a ton of money on not ending up with so many duplicates of things.

The hard part is having the right tool in the right place when the "right tool" changes so much depending on what you are working on in a home shop setting. I have settled into mostly metal fabrication over the last couple of years. This latest effort really is putting that stuff in the "highest value spots" and other stuff is going off to the loft or pallet racks. If I do this all right I should be able to bring back in the shop a lot of my stocked steel that currently is living out in a shed and is a royal PITA to get or restock. I will just need to build or buy some cantilever racks.

 

[Mike65]

Nope not here. I have an ongoing project my 69 Mustang. The part of the project I am working on I leave the tools needed on the workbench, so I do not have to take them out of the toolbox each time I go to the garage to work on the car. Between the Mustang & my wife's two motorcycles it is a little crowed. It is a working garage/shop not a showroom.

 

[kwb]

Body and paint work, or my case fiberglass bring a lot of other challenges with the mountains of pretty lightweight dust that goes everywhere. I did a big job on a bright yellow boat 18yrs ago. I still find a yellow dust from time to time.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Thanks for the offer but that ‘64 Comet Cyclone has been with me for 58 years and will never leave. The red Messerschmitt has been in the family since 1959, again it will never leave. I appreciate the compliments.

I was just looking at some of the cars on the recent Mecum auction and one of them was the Sox & Martin '64 427 Comet. I always thought it had one of the best color schemes.

 

[Boogerman]

A nice clean, tidy, organized shop is a sign of a successful, financially able person that chooses to invest their time/money into organization. First, buying enough shop space to store their stuff, and to work in. Second, buying organizational system (cabinets, shelves, nice workbenches, well designed machinery) that furthers that. Third, buying the right tools and materials in the right quantity for their work. And, most importantly, can afford the TIME that it takes to clean up things, keep them organized, manage the stuff that they own.

If you aren't at the financial level to do all that, it's harder:
You buy used equipment and making do or fixing it up, you end up with extra pieces, works in progress, things to get rid of etc that cause clutter. You save extra materials because you can't afford to throw them away and rebuy for the next job. You have all your cabinets full so you can't just stuff things out of sight temporarily. You don't have the $$ or the space to just get more cabinets. You're pushed for time so you sweep up and clean every few jobs instead of after every task. You have to roll the lawn mower and the dirt bikes outside so you can move the table saw into the workspace to cut some wood. It throws sawdust over everything because you don't have the space or the $$ for a dust collection system. Etc, etc, etc.

Life is a compromise for many; some that would have the spotless, organized clean space just can't, and do the best that they can.

Of course, some just live in the mess and would't clean up even if they could.

And, there's a wide range of overlap between the two extremes.

 

[Lassen Forge]

My philosophy is this - I was told a cluttered shop is the sign of a cluttered mind.... if this is so, what does an empty shop signify?

My biggest problem is I have too many projects and jobs, and a severe lack of space. An uncluttered shop is a near impossibility for me - I think the one time was right after the new floor was poured, but that lasted all of about a day or 3. It was bad enough to deal with my hoarding affliction before we moved here (now THAT was a freaking mess!) but since being here, I throw stuff out, and sort out whats usable over what's taking up space, and it helps immensely.

All I need is about 3 more car bays of space under a roof to actually FIT my projects.

 

[Mtpisgah]

I mopped my floor two weeks ago, does that count? We park my wife’s jeep and my Audi in the garage every night. The floor gets dirty quickly.

My wood shop gets cleaned on a regular basis, but is never spotless.

 

[kabinenroller]

I was just looking at some of the cars on the recent Mecum auction and one of them was the Sox & Martin '64 427 Comet. I always thought it had one of the best color schemes.

I saw that offering also, the factory A/FX Comets (20 plus one station wagon) were Calienti’s , mine is a Cyclone. There was one of 20 near here years ago, I tried to buy it but missed out, it has since been restored and is in a private collection. I see the Mecum Comet sold for $440k including buyers fee.

 

[Blk04Snake]

I have a working shop, although I am the only person working I do tend to make a mess. Cleaning up after myself and picking up tools is a routine, I hate working in a mess and not being able to locate a tool. There is a separate room for machines and welding but the dirt seems to find itself in other parts of the shop, I do not do bodywork or paint but everything else related to building or restoring a car is done in house. I also store all of my specialty vehicles in my shop and try to keep them from being exposed to the dust and dirt from the work being done, that can be a challenge.
Anyway, here is a short tour of the place….

I like what you've done to the floor. What did you use to seal the concrete? I like the natural look instead of the fancy epoxies everyone is blowing big $$$ on.

 

[kabinenroller]

Thanks! I used this type of product because of chips, sparks and other debris that is common in a working shop. It is a simple pour on and spread with a foam applicator floor sealer, I sourced it from a local chemical company.

"Hard-Kote"

<strong>Oil Modified Urethane Concrete Sealer</strong><br /> Davies "HARD-KOTE" gives your concrete floors the tough treatment they need plus longer life. It is an outstanding hi-gloss floor sealer of extreme toughness and durability.

dwdavies.com

 

[SouthernIllinois]

I try to keep up with it.

I really want to try one of these walk-behind floor sweepers.
I have heard good things.