Don't laugh, it's small!

[70datsun]

Hi all,
The garage build plans are taking a while (can anyone relate?), so I've built a temporary mini-shop in the back yard to keep my tools stored and create a few useful work stations.

My favorite shot, because it's the inviting view I get after work, calling me to tackle a project:

Stepping inside:

Storage yet to be optimized:

Carb rebuild, 67.5 Datsun 1600 Roadster, dragged from a field after 30 years:

Second room, mostly tools and more storage, but also another small work station:

I might post a few more pics later. I have to say the small space has been really enjoyable. Easy to heat and quite inviting, with most tools within arms reach. I'm trying to make it an excercise in careful order, and hopefully it'll pay off when I build my meager 20x20 garage in a year or two. Cheers!

 

[ADSR]

hey bro. it's better than nothing! It's a good use of the space!

 

[Erampu]

I disagree. It's a LOT better than nothing. Well done!

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

NOBODY gets laughed at here.

Good on you for making a space to work despite having very little room. Looks like you are maximizing what you do have too. I say you're doing great and have got nothing to hide from us. We're ALL garage degenerates one way or another!

 

[ryan t]

Perfectly good work space. Plenty of room to complete plenty of projects.

 

[djjsr]

I dig it! You don't have to walk far to find what you want.

 

[70datsun]

Thanks for comments! It's gotten used a good amount and I keep refining every chance I get. As a guitar teacher at a local private school, I see a fair number of broken guitars, so I've fixed a few in the shop:

No room for a beer bottle collection, so I've been gradually adding caps:

Rare Abarth horn button for anyone in the know:

My first attempt at fly tying (as you can imagine, my decor has to be on a small scale!):

 

[justanengineer]

I like it! It has to beat the heck out of working outside, on an apartment balcony, or in the spare bedroom. I bet you get more done in there than some of our members do in their mcmansion garages.

 

[guss013]

As my Mother use to say "it's not what you've got, it is how you use it!"

Great space to work in, and organised, far better than the street! (and drier!)

 

[Lippyp]

Nice shiny twin SU's!

 

[Outlander]

Looks like a fun place to hang out. I have cleaned guns in spare bedrooms and used a screen porch fr a workshop. Current shed/garage is heaven. You made your spot work for you. Good show!

 

[santagary]

Cool use of your space and cooler determined mind set. I like the way you think..."It's not broken...it's just not yet repaired (fixed)."

 

[mitchtr25068]

Are those twin su's usually attached to an MG?

 

[Jdbuilder]

This is awesome. I personally have set up in a 10x8 garden shed but never thought of posting it on here. There are probably more people that need these sort of examples for utilizing space than anything else. Again cool beans.

 

[Beaumont67]

70datsun
I really like your small space, great thread...and nice job.
I am not well organized, but small shop forces useability.
- you have more workspace there, than many over cluttered/bigger garages
Also shows what can be started on a budget with some effort & planning.

I have a buddy with a one car garage (now converted to a band stage/Sat. night party room).
His workshop is a nice 10x12 ft. garden shed & second shed is more for storage.
- works out very well

 

[PECVD2]

Nice looking place neighbor and good taste in beer.
Looks like your a merlot guy as well.
I would say welcome but you've been here a year (It is about time you showed off your great place).
Keep posting them pics and don't forget to show us that Datsun.

 

[5lima30]

Great use of your space! Look at the bright side it's much easier to heat or cool a smaller space than a large space! My BIL did a complete restoration on a 68' Mustang convertible in a single car carport w/ a 6'x10' utility room!

 

[70datsun]

I had already been working on this idea before I came across Jack Olsen's garage thread, but he's my inspiration for maximizing space. He's just done amazing things with a modest garage and I hope to carry on that approach with this space and my eventual garage.

Last summer, I was also inspired by a tour of a newly-built tiny house, which is a movement of purposeful living that's gaining momentum. Talk about clever use of small space!

Are those twin su's usually attached to an MG?

The carbs are off a Datsun 1600 Roadster, which were made throughout the 60's before the 240Z came along. They were all outfitted with dual Hitachi carbs modelled after British SUs.

 

[zenon52]

The fly, a Wolly worm bead head? Not bad for a first try.

 

[Thumper]

Looks damn good to me.

 

[Smiliesafari]

Nice.....beats the heck out of working under the shade tree. I thought I recognized a Datsun valve cover in the first photo. I was into 280's for about 10 years. Since I've retired I've been selling off all of my Datsun stuff. If there's anything I can help you with let me know. [email protected]

 

[ket-tek]

I worked out of a 6'x8' tiny shed growing up. My dad emptied it for me to use as my own space to stop from messing up his organization and loosing his good tools.. I fixed or built all kinds of random stuff in there, it had a little work bench with power and tons of stuff packed in there, it was great. Even after building my own garage many years later I still miss it.

The carbs are off a Datsun 1600 Roadster, which were made throughout the 60's before the 240Z came along. They were all outfitted with dual Hitachi carbs modelled after British SUs.

I had never seen a 1600 in person, but a friend of mine is restoring one and just recently got it running.. Cool little car.

 

[fringeofinsanity]

I see nothing wrong at all with that space. When I had to downsize garages after my divorce I built a small workshop in my basement where I could tackle smaller and inside projects. Having smaller space gets you organized and if you take what you learn when you build your garage you'll be amazed what you can do with it.

Nicely done.

 

[Scottsdale10]

i love your shop.

 

[Bib Overalls]

There are only two possible outcomes with a micro shop; a macro mess or optimized efficiency. The difference between the two is shop discipline. Jack Olsen being the guru of that around here.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Is that two sheds lined up in a row with a common opening? Sweet!

I want to add a couple of sheds to my back yard as well.

 

[mdkingsley]

Beats working outside, I dig it.

 

[70datsun]

Nice looking place neighbor and good taste in beer.
Looks like your a merlot guy as well.
I would say welcome but you've been here a year (It is about time you showed off your great place).
Keep posting them pics and don't forget to show us that Datsun.

Decent taste in beer and wine, as budget allows. I'll get some pics of the Datsun soon.

The fly, a Wolly worm bead head? Not bad for a first try.

Umm...not sure. I was just following the advice of someone with experience. I hope to do some more this summer and get better at it.

Is that two sheds lined up in a row with a common opening? Sweet!

I want to add a couple of sheds to my back yard as well.

Yeah, there was a small shed in the corner already and I knocked out a wall and added the second space.

 

[Worldpowerlabs]

I like it! I've seen a very nice shop constructed of two prefab sheds, end-to-end, with a covered entrance between them. It contained a complete metal-working shop on one side, and a woodworking shop on the other. Connected the end of the woodworking shop was a storage area that was enclosed on three sides.

This was all done in order to keep property taxes from increasing -- the sheds were not considered permanent structures, apparently.

 

[cookiemonster]

Looks great to me and its all your. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[spotco2]

I'm diggin the micro-shop! Looks like you have put a lot of thought into the layout and the use of the space that you have.

I've got a 30x38, 18x24 and just added a 10x12 in my yard right now (and looking at a 20x48). I'm so unorganized that I can not find anything and barely have any space to even walk from the front to back of any of them. I like to just blame it all on my wife for making me move my stuff out of the house. Yeah, that's it....it's HER fault!

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

This was all done in order to keep property taxes from increasing -- the sheds were not considered permanent structures, apparently.

True enough, my county only allows a 200 square foot shed to be put in place. It has to be a 'portable' or 'non-permanent' structure. That's 12x16, BTW. As long as it's on blocks or skids, it's not considered permanent.

There is nothing in that code that says you can't have *TWO* of those structures side by side and create a common opening between them. As long as they are not physically connected, they are still separate. If they are sitting side by side but separated by about 4 feet so the roof eaves don't touch, you can put in a 'tunnel' or 'bridge' between the two that sits in te openings for each shed. Don't nail it down or bolt it. Let it float. You can seal it with weatherstripping just fine. As long as it's not fastened, then the two sheds are still separate legally.

You can use the space between the sheds it creates for more storage options. From the inside you just have a short 4' long hallway between the rooms.

I SO want to do this.

 

[wdrumheller]

I think that ANY space is good space, especially how you have it organized.

There are times in life for different sized buildings.

For a few years I had a townhouse with a one-car garage and I made that tiny space ROCK. Wish I had pictures.

It's all about what you DO with the space.

Keep going and keep posting!

 

[bczygan]

One of my favorite garages! Love to see it evolve. Can you bump it out or add a lean to or shed roof off the side?
My brother built a shed that size but made it 2 story.
I built a number of sheds that were 4' deep by different lengths. The idea was you could stand in 2 feet of depth, in front of a 2' deep bench and work. Doors would swing open to open almost the entire length of one long side. Good for working in the summer.

 

[trythis]

I had a shop in a 10 x 12 space on the back of the house with a powermatic floor drill press, 10in metal lathe (motor hung out the window), 14in delta bandsaw, 10in cast iron table saw (small table), mig welder, bench grinder, 1in x 6in belt/disc sander, 6x48x12 belt/ disc sander, work bench, stool, and a small area to stand and work. It was very efficient and I loved it and made some of my best work there. I had a pallet rack out back with only one shelf at 8ft that made a back porch for noisy, dirty work. The driveway was for metal casting. I have a 48x 44 shop now and lots more tools, but I am nostalgic for that small space.

 

[NUTTSGT]

You are making do with what you have. Not a damn thing wrong with that. Some of the smallest garages around here are what impress me the most. We all have to start somewhere, before we bought our house and my garage, I had no garage.


The only advice I will add is the door hinges. Are they screwed on ? If they are, the screws are exposed and can be taken out and a low life can gain entry quite easily. I'd suggest swapping the screws for carriage or regular bolts.

 

[70datsun]

Thanks for all the comments. They're helping to keep me motivated to see what I can do with the space.

One of my favorite garages! Love to see it evolve. Can you bump it out or add a lean to or shed roof off the side?

I've thought about that, and it may happen. But since the plan is still to build a detached garage, the cool little shop will have to torn down when it's time, so I don't want to take it too far.

The only advice I will add is the door hinges. Are they screwed on ? If they are, the screws are exposed and can be taken out and a low life can gain entry quite easily. I'd suggest swapping the screws for carriage or regular bolts.

Good point, I hadn't thought of that. I'll come up something that makes it more secure, since I won't be able to rely on my loving Boston Terrier to keep the bad guys away.

A few more pics for the hell of it:

Old stereo above the door:

iPod hookup:

Nice woodworkers vise. I try not to use it for car stuff too much, but it's convenient:

Cleaning, polishing "station":

Small stuff storage:

 

[NUTTSGT]

One of the best things about having a small space is that it makes you creatively organize things to get the most use out of the space available.

 

[70datsun]

It's been a while since I added anything to my little shop thread, so here's a few photos of a recent project. I've been dragging around an old workbench that I built for years now and I decided to upcycle some materials I had laying around and panel it and add some doors. It's kind of funky, but I like the way it came out.

OSB on the back and sides and old cedar pickets for the doors.

Pardon my crooked doors!

Jacks and jack stands out of weather.

Just that much more stuff contained, and still a useful work space.

 

[70datsun]

Another recent project was converting my side yard walk-through gate into double gates that I can pull a car through. I had to get rid of an old metal shed, tear down a cinder block retaining wall, rip up a small elevated slab, then finally take out the existing wall and gate. But I'm feeling happy with the results.

View from the front driveway:

Stepping through one of the gates:

My 67.5 Datsun 1600 Roadster around the corner, along with a hefty pile of rubble:

From inside the back yard. Six foot gates help privacy:

Looking out from the shop:

With some cleanup, I'll finally be able to get a car close to the little shop, so things are steadily improving!