Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Couch's Corner

[couch67]

Well even if Don Cherry's long standing show Coach's Corner was still running on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday nights, I'm sure no one would kick up a fuss about me using a play on the name . I've been meaning to get around to posting my own garage thread for some time. After reading so many great journals on this site, and with some downtime during the holidays, I figured what better time than now?

To paint the 'Before' picture, rewinding a bit to 2001 or so. We had just finished a large renovation on our small home in the country. We had removed a delapitated attached garage and replaced with a new entry, garage, and upstairs living space. In all about 1000 sqft of new space, to add to the original 800 sqft. I could fill many pages of just the addition build, which took a few years since my wife and I tackled pretty much on our own while both holding full time jobs (and I travelled 50% of the time), and with help of friends and neighbours at times.

Most of these first photos were from around 2004. The garage space is about 15' x 30. Not ideal for parking cars but was alway intended to be a shop. Unless you are working on them, cars (daily drivers) belong outside in my book.

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We heated with oil, and the tank was set up in the garage. I have no idea why the hell I decided to put it in there - guess I didn't want it outside, nor in the basement either. I ended up building some storage around it for lumber and plywood, which made better use of the space but took up a lot of precious real estate!

 

[couch67]

The shop became home base for many years as we completely renovated the original house. This involved the basement, bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen. Each reno involved a gut-out to the studs and subfloor, new wiring/ plumbing, insulation and in some cases, structural changes to open up walls and such. In retrospect, it would have been quicker to build new somewhere else, but then you would still have to live somewhere...

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Over time, left-over cabinets and built-ins were added to the garage, as they were removed from the house during renovations. They were handy and served a useful second life in the garage. Definitely function over form!

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One of the cabinets I built early on was a 3 door organizer. I don't remember where I saw the original plans, it was either Family Handyman or Wood magazine. In the bottom there is plenty of space for garbage cans and recycle bins. In each door, there are deep shelves and peg-board storage. It organizes automotive aerosols/fluids, paints, and other miscellaneous stuff. There is storage on top for lesser used items as well. These are current photos, a reminder for me that these could use a cleanout!

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[couch67]

The shop was a great spot for woodworking or other projects, but wasn't laid out with much thought - it kind of just evolved over time. It wasn't very efficient for prepping material through a jointer / planer, and ripping down 4x8 sheets was a pain. At times it felt like it took longer to move stuff and set up than it did for the job!

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Well that is a quick 'before' snapshot of Couch's Corner. Once the home reno's were over, there was more time (and money!) to dedicate to organizing the shop. I had a long list of ideas and dreams, too many to tackle all at once.

To be continued with some of the shop upgrades....

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Great. Looks fun. I’m following to see all of the updates.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[couch67]

Here's a few more before shots I found, panning the garage. This was just after we had converted from oil to propane heat. You can see the oil tank is gone, but the massive plywood/lumber rack is still there. The spot where the tank was became a catch all for junk.


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[couch67]

One of my first shop projects was to build a mobile cabinet for the table saw. The intent was to provide storage, accommodate a larger fence, and provide more stability when ripping full sheets of plywood.

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As I got more into woodworking, I decided to incorporate a router table into the right side of the table. It houses a Makita 3 hp plunge router, a real workhorse. I added a switch and an outlet to plug the router into, which is fed from a JB and power cord on the rear of the mobile cabinet.

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[captain14]

Set nice set up for the table saw. Most shops evolve over time
As the operator moves through different tools or upgrades.

With the large work surface for the table saw, how is it to handle full sheets of plywood by yourself?

 

[couch67]

Captain, yes its easier but still have the pain of getting thicker sheets to the infeed. I usually use adjustable roller stands on the infeed side, and another table as the outfeed.

While 1/2" p.w. and smaller isn't a problem with full sheets, I'm finding more and more that rough cutting thicker sheets down with a skil saw and then final cuts on the table saw are easier on the back, and safer overall.

 

[couch67]

With size, comes weight. While the cabinet is stable, its damn heavy. Moving this beast around is an exercise in frustration, mainly due to the casters. I learned that cheap casters are a cruel joke that the shop gods must have bestowed on us. In my ignorance (remember this was one of my first shop projects, 15+ years ago), I had simply screwed 6 swivel casters to the bottom of the cabinet, and called it a day. As you would expect with 2 1/2" swivel casters with no bearings, they kind of turn when they feel like it.

After one too many attempts pushing this behemoth and leaving a trail of burned rubber on the shop floor, I decided it was time to upgrade. The base is made of 3" angle, and supports at the ends (also made of 3" angle) that allow larger casters to be mounted, and keep the base as low to the floor as possible. I went with 3" angle since its a pretty good span, and I wanted to use fixed casters on one end and swivels on the other. The casters are much better quality, and are 4" (compared to the 2 1/2" of the originals). On the quality scale (****, good, better, best), I'd say the new casters are a 'better'.

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Moving the cabinet around now is a dream - a night and day difference. I painted it black, and gave the cabinet a few coats of Tremclad black as well.

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[Robey5]

“ I learned that cheap casters are a cruel joke that the shop gods must have bestowed on us”

I am going to agree here. I guess in the world of “caster engineering” you get what you pay for. Then again, I still like the table saw cabinet nevertheless.

Regarding the play on Don Cherry’s old show —- I miss it, and I really liked his crazy suits and antics. Do you skate?

 

[couch67]

Hey Robey, yep I'm a fellow beer leaguer, usually on the ice a few times a week (before covid, at least!). I also miss Cherry - he spoke his mind which was refreshing in this current culture. Liked how he and Ron Maclean played off each other. A few too many times over the line caught up to him.

Just caught up on your garage thread. How is your outdoor table holding up? That thing is a beast!

 

[Robey5]

You actually read my thread? That’s super cool! Thank you.

“...that thing is a beast”

Yes, it is. I am not sure if I put the name we gave it in my little thread, but my wife and I call that “the last supper table”.

The table is holding up well, and has served us well over the last couple years. I have a couple things that I would have done differently, because well: with lengths of wood like that, I did not account for the fact that wood dries in a manner that made it so that there is a little bit of a dip in the middle. Most don’t notice it, but ... I do, and if I would have done it differently, I would have used some angle steel so that the wood would not have anywhere to go when attempting to fight the elements. In addition, I will have to hit it with a belt sander every other year and give it a coat of spar varnish if I would like to keep it in service.

This year is the first time in 35 years that I have not played hockey on a team over the winter; thanks a lot, COVID. I am usually beer-leaguing it 2+ times a week until I can play ball, not this year.

 

[couch67]

The single access door was on the side of the garage, and we had been planning to build a gazebo on the rear of the garage. This was the main reason to decide to move the access door to the back of the garage.

Back door was put in first -
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Then the side door was closed in -
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This was major surgery in and out, so it wasn't a lightly made decision. Looking back I'm glad we did it, makes the inside garage layout better and more efficient to get to the back yard.

 

[couch67]

Cabinet Re-do
I had mentioned earlier that my shop cabinets were cobbled together from castaway built-ins from the house, as we renovated. They did the trick over the years but it was time to upgrade. The trigger was getting two of these base cabinets on sale from HD. I had also scored a bunch of solid maple table tops from work, as we were moving locations.

I was also lucky enough to get 5 sheets of 3/4" G1S maple plywood on Kijii for $30 a sheet. The guy had 10 sheets but had already promised 5 to someone else - I would have taken all 10 at that price.

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Some of the table tops were in rough shape. I decided to rip them down into 12 inch widths, so they could be passed through the planer. This also allowed the finished pieces to be staggered and joined together to make one solid 12 foot length for the main bench. They got a couple of coats of boiled linseed oil for a finish.

View media item 109401The bases and uppers are made from the 3/4" ply. The bases have a solid birch face frame, and the uppers are frameless. All doors are 3/4" ply, with no edge treatment, and use 35mm european hinges. The exterior of the cabinets got two coats of Tremclad glossy black to match the Husky cabs, and the interior and doors received 3 coats of polyurethane finish.

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I also incorporated a spot for the beverage fridge, and the end of the bench got a 7" woodworking vise. For some task lighting, some LED strips were added to the underside of the upper cabinets. These are 5000k, and 120 LED's per metre. Sorry for the darker shots, I had turned off the main lights when these were taken. The task lighting works well but not for photo taking apparently!

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[bj383ss]

Shop is looking good. The new cabinet redo came out great.

Bret

 

[couch67]

Miter Saw and Lumber Rack
I had posted some updates on my lumber rack about a year ago when it was built, so I'll leave it to a few photos. So after removing the plywood and lumber rack where the old oil tank was, It really opened up the long wall of the shop!

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The plan for this side was to build a miter saw cutting table, and overhead lumber storage. The miter saw table will be high enough to slide a few tools under like the table saw, and jointer.

All of the tubing is 1 1/2" 0.100" thickness, and mig welded. They are fastened to the studs with 4" timberlock fasteners.

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To make an adjustable saw base, I used 1/2" threaded rod welded to the underside of the frame. I was going to slot the top pieces that connect to the saw to allow it to be moved forward or backward, but maybe another time down the road.

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Recently I put together a mobile table that will serve as an assembly spot, and doubles as an outfeed table for the table saw. The maple table top is 28" x 54", and the height is adjustable via the castors that are threaded into each leg. When not in use, it nests under the right side of the table, with the jointer.

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Here is my old table that will get retired to the shed for now. Its seen a lot of use!

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[Robey5]

I love the mobile table set up that you created. Looks like you can weld, too? I’ve always wanted to learn how, but I have put that on the back burner while I have been busy doing and re-doing other things around the house. Also: that new man-door and cabinet placement looks really nice!!
What was the source on the table tops?

 

[Dynames]

Nice job! Those tables look great!

 

[couch67]

I love the mobile table set up that you created. Looks like you can weld, too? I’ve always wanted to learn how, but I have put that on the back burner while I have been busy doing and re-doing other things around the house. Also: that new man-door and cabinet placement looks really nice!!
What was the source on the table tops?

Thanks Robey, yes I won't be building trailers anytime soon but with a bit of practice I was able to put the shelving and tables together. I had bought a mig welder a year or so ago, which did help a lot.

The source for the table tops - our manufacturing group was changing over their workbenches when we moved sites. I was at the right place at the right time and got 5 of them for free! I couldn't pick them up quick enough, just in case anyone complained or changed their mind lol. I think there were 12 or so to be had. They went quickly once others caught wind they were up for grabs.

Before I had cut them down, I checked them for metal with a wand. A few tables had broken studs in the bottom, and a few drill bits stuck in the top. The tables were 30" x 72", and all of the metal in the tops were close to the edges, so I was able to salvage 24" or more width in all of the pieces, which is what I needed for my benches.

 

[couch67]

When I built the garage, I hadn't given lighting too much thought. Slapped a handful of receptacles in the ceiling for 100w bulbs, and called it done. In total there were 7 bulbs in the ceiling - 6 on one switch, and 1 on a three-way that is used for in and out trips.

These fixtures initially had 100 watt incandescents, which also doubled to heat the shop! At some point we then moved to flourescent bulbs, which were about the worst light for a shop - flickering, bad starting in the cold... Then a few years ago upgraded to 100w equivalent LED bulbs. These were on the expensive side but solved the flickering and low temp problems. But there seemed to be more shadows in the shop than ever.

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This summer I took advantage of extra shop time to install new light fixtures. I picked up a 10 pack of Sunco lights from Amazon. Link: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0748YTDMK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The first task was to remove the old lamp fixtures, and replace them with receptacles since the new fixtures are plug ins. The lamps chain together, so I could blank out a few of the existing lamp fixtures.

The only octagon receptacle covers I could find were non decorative, and did not cover the drywall opening. I'm not happy with how I finished these off
- they need extension rings and a better cover. Have to fix this properly, soon. The blank covers are solid and extend past the drywall.

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I ran 5 strips down one side of the garage, 4 down the other, and 1 in the center that is on a separate switch. What a difference in light! Overall I'm happy with the new light level in the shop - light in every corner and no shadows!

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[couch67]

Its been more than a few years since I posted here, kind of lost track of this thread. I recently decided to put in new bearings in my Delta 17" drill press to tighten up the slop in the quill. I also bought a 1 1/2 hp 3ph motor, and a VFD to install on it as well. While I wait for the motor to ship, I tore down the drill press to replace the bearings.

All went well, except for the bearing nut at the bottom of the quill. It was really on there! I ended up rigging up a piece of flat bar, ground it down to fit in the slots, then welded some threaded rod so the bar would stay put in the slots while I loosened with a pipe wrench. It popped right off with a bit of persuasion.




While I have it apart, I'm probably going to try and fix the two broken teeth shown in the above pic. They have been like that since I've owned it, and there is still enough tooth left that the quill moves up and down smoothly through that section. Not sure if building that up with a weld and grinding it to shape will work. Was going to give that a try, going slowly so I dont over heat and warp something.

 

[couch67]

Ah, its cast. Better leave it alone.