Forever upgrading and refining

[Hybridss]

I have been slowly refining my shop for the last 5 years adding capabilities along the way. I have added welding (mig), plasma, some light woodworking among other things. I recently sold a large Craftsman Radial Arm saw and shelved the Makita abrasive metal chop saw and bought an Evolution Rage 3 saw to take care of both. I also pulled the plug on my larger Porter Cable compressor in exchange for the new version of the California Air tools 2 HP compressor, which is much smaller.

Now I am putting in slatwall on the backwall. I went from floor to ceiling and end to end. I want to use this space to make more room on the floor for actual working. I put up the slatwall myself with the help of a hastily thrown together lift rig made of wood on my trusty Harbor Freight 1000lb hyd lift table. It worked out great.


Before


Moving stuff around


What a mess!!



Lift table










And the little CAT compressor. Its pretty quiet and has decent output. Happy with it so far. I have needed less and less air power over the years as I have actually been using more and more lithium battery powered stuff.



Once its all back in place and hopefully more organized I will post the after pictures.

 

[mheinz]

I really like the look of the slat wall. The way it is laid off gives a really professional looking appeal to it. I also really like the lift table. Its a genius idea that I really wish I thought of a while ago to use in my garage.

 

[Hybridss]

Holes have been drilled in the top of the little orange hydraulic lift table so that wood can be added to make different things. I have used that table as a ****** jack, engine cradle, rear end lift, hot tub mover, slatwall lift and a million more things. Its been a lifesaver. Hard to store though.

 

[Hybridss]

Still in progress.

 

[Spdstr280Z]

Looks good ! I had never even thought about a lift table until I was in HF a few months ago buying a tool box. I found them then, and probably played with it for 20 minutes. Now I keep finding situations i could use one in. Looks like yours is serving you well.

Jason

 

[bczygan]

I like a working shop space.

You seem to have many of the needed tools.

I spy a Craftsman "block" grinder! And some Miller blue! Which ones are they?

Shop fan is a useful tool too. Where are you located? Please put your location in your profile.

Bill

 

[ilovevocs]

It looks really good.

Be very careful with the shelving brackets. I overloaded a shelf and had it rip out of the slat wall; it didn't take a tone of weight either. I had the brackets spaced 2' o.c. when it tore out. I now use brackets spaced every 1' oc if I'm going to put anything of substance on them and have not had another failure since.

 

[maxpower_hd]

I looked at your saw on line. I can't see your photos. But I have used my Bosch for both too at times. It works pretty well but the steel can get hot and there are a lot of sparks using an abrasive blade. I think their combo blade is the secret to metal cutting. The ad on line says there is no heat or sparks. I would be curious to know how well the blade works. I may just get the blade for my Bosch.

 

[Hybridss]

I have updated my location and profile. Thanks for the tip.

I actually have three 1/2 HP block grinders at the moment but have settled on using 2 of them. One will get the standard arrangement of hard grinding wheels for steel. The other has a wire wheel and soft wheel for clean up.

The Miller is a 211 Autoset MVP. I just upgraded from th big box store Lincoln 140. Although the little Lincoln was fine...the Miller is AMAZING and a world of difference.

The Fan is a ~1940 Hunter Zephair G30. I had to do some basic repairs on the wiring and I am in the middle of resto but it runs all day in this hot Florida shop. On high its like a tornado. Amazing old fan made of aluminum, brass, copper and cast iron.

The shop is still going through some fine tuning and I will post more pics when done. Over the last 2 weeks I have thrown out tons of excess hardware, given away or nearly given away certain items that have become unneeded. Last night I sold one of the new Craftsman storage lockers for $60 (retail is 289) just to get it OUT. It was sold and gone within 1 hour of posting it.

I am determined to make this space as usable as I can. I am tired of moving things around when projects change and I will no longer store things inside it such as the little John Deere 318 tractor or the Waverunners. I want to set this up as almost a production shop so the final positions of each item may still change a bit from what you see currently. On the right side with the Snap-On KRA 400, bench top drill press, block grinder on stand, bench sander and band saw will not stay that way. The tool box will likely go in favor of either all floor standing equipment or one bench with each of those mounted to the bench.

Any input in this area would be appreciated. The right side of the shop from the welding table/Metal chop saw over will be reserved for the area that will need cleaning. Chop saw, band saw debris, drill shavings and saw dust etc. I am supposing all floor standing items would be better for clean up?

FYI...this is my first decent "home" workspace so any and all advice is welcome.

 

[Hybridss]

It looks really good.

Be very careful with the shelving brackets. I overloaded a shelf and had it rip out of the slat wall; it didn't take a tone of weight either. I had the brackets spaced 2' o.c. when it tore out. I now use brackets spaced every 1' oc if I'm going to put anything of substance on them and have not had another failure since.

LOL...I have been pondering this exact question since I put up the slatwall. I will heed your advice and likely put in the extra brackets I have. I have about 8 left over. No reason not to put them in place I suppose. Thanks for the warning.

 

[Hybridss]

Looks good ! I had never even thought about a lift table until I was in HF a few months ago buying a tool box. I found them then, and probably played with it for 20 minutes. Now I keep finding situations i could use one in. Looks like yours is serving you well.

Jason

That lift table has been amazing. I will never be without one. From unloading heavy things off the truck to dropping transmissions it has not let me down.

 

[Hybridss]

I looked at your saw on line. I can't see your photos. But I have used my Bosch for both too at times. It works pretty well but the steel can get hot and there are a lot of sparks using an abrasive blade. I think their combo blade is the secret to metal cutting. The ad on line says there is no heat or sparks. I would be curious to know how well the blade works. I may just get the blade for my Bosch.

From what I understand the Evolution saw spins at a slower rpm than standard saw. This saw was $199 and so far I am liking it a ton. I have chopped a steel piece one minute and then cut wood with it the next without issue. We will see how long it lasts. But so far so good.

Cutting steel with it is a bit counter intuitive IMO. You just hear the sound of steel on steel and in my mind that sound spells disaster. But sure enough...cuts like butter.

 

[bczygan]

I have updated my location and profile. Thanks for the tip.

I actually have three 1/2 HP block grinders at the moment but have settled on using 2 of them. One will get the standard arrangement of hard grinding wheels for steel. The other has a wire wheel and soft wheel for clean up.

The Miller is a 211 Autoset MVP. I just upgraded from th big box store Lincoln 140. Although the little Lincoln was fine...the Miller is AMAZING and a world of difference.

The Fan is a ~1940 Hunter Zephair G30. I had to do some basic repairs on the wiring and I am in the middle of resto but it runs all day in this hot Florida shop. On high its like a tornado. Amazing old fan made of aluminum, brass, copper and cast iron.

The shop is still going through some fine tuning and I will post more pics when done. Over the last 2 weeks I have thrown out tons of excess hardware, nearly given away certain items that have become unneeded. Last night I sold one of the new Craftsman storage lockers for $60 (retail is 289) just to get it OUT.

I am determined to make this space as usable as I can. I am tired of moving things around when projects change and I will no longer store things inside it such as the little 318 tractor or the Waverunners. I want to set this up as almost a production shop so the final positions of each item may still change a bit. On the right side with the Sanp On KRA 400, bench top drill press, block grinder on stand, bench sander and band saw will not stay that way. Tool box will likely go in favor of either all floor standing items or one bench with each of those mounted to the bench.

Any input in this area would be appreciated. The right side of the shop from the welding table/Metal chop saw over will be reserved for the area that will need cleaning. Chop saw, band saw debris, drill shavings and saw dust etc. I am supposing all floor standing items would be better for clean up?

FYI...this is my first decent "home" workspace so any and all advice is welcome.

You're gonna need that third block grinder to set up as a buffer....

It's coming together well. Very smart to kick storage out and make it a work space. Do you have a big shed for storage?

Bill

 

[Hybridss]

LOL...I havent done much buffing since I stopped Hot Rodding cars. But Ill hold on to the extra grinder just in case.

I do have a shed, here is a pic of it. Its actually the best plastic shed I could find and does well. I keep the zero turn, wood chipper and many other yard tools in there. But it too is out of space.

 

[Hybridss]

More progress today. Got most of the mess on opposing side of the garage cleaned up. Still have a small amount to go but it was good enough to take pics of the entire set up.








Facing the other direction








The shower in the bathroom...lol. And before anyone says anything...I have been here 6 years and never used the shower. So it gets a shelf!
I will not tear it out though because it was permitted when this stand alone garage was built. It was done this way so it could be converted to a mother in law unit or separate rental easy. Plus of course it adds value because the home is now a 3/3. FYI there is still another 520 sq/ft garage that is attached to the house. I use that to store the Wave-runners and Golf Cart. Cars now stay outside.





Up coming project. Old Tanker Desk and chair for resto.

 

[Hybridss]

And as for the slatwall....so far I love it. It is so easy to reach for a tool quickly when needed...and just as easy to put back (which may be more important). Everything I use regularly is on that wall or on one of the smaller peg boards. Very happy on how it turned out. i just Hope it holds up.

 

[MagicMarker]

Where did you buy all that slat wall?

 

[56vette461]

I'm on vacation and for the first time in a long while I have time to browse through some new to me sites. Then I come across this site that obviously belongs to a very sick and demented person. A place for everything and Everything in its place!! Really!!

Actually I'm glad to see the uses you have for the wall boards. I have a gladiator system in several locations in my garage and I have found they are so much more convenient and useful in storing the tools I need on a regular basis. My wife had me use a couple of short cut off pieces to fit in the garden shed to hold her cutters and potting supplies. can't say enough good stuff for the concept. Thanks for sharing your shop.

 

[Hybridss]

Lowes near me carries it. Not all do but some do. It was like $50 for a 4x8 sheet

 

[Hybridss]

I'm on vacation and for the first time in a long while I have time to browse through some new to me sites. Then I come across this site that obviously belongs to a very sick and demented person. A place for everything and Everything in its place!! Really!!

Actually I'm glad to see the uses you have for the wall boards. I have a gladiator system in several locations in my garage and I have found they are so much more convenient and useful in storing the tools I need on a regular basis. My wife had me use a couple of short cut off pieces to fit in the garden shed to hold her cutters and potting supplies. can't say enough good stuff for the concept. Thanks for sharing your shop.

I have been very pleased with it so far. It so quick to reach for a tool and then put it back. Its always been the "put it back" part that gets me...lol.

FYI...I have been on vacation for 11 days. Most of those days were spent on this upgrade.

 

[rpenterics]

Good looking work space. Does the PVC above the garage door serve a storage purpose or is it just up there to get out of the way?

 

[Hybridss]

Good looking work space. Does the PVC above the garage door serve a storage purpose or is it just up there to get out of the way?

LOL..nothing gets past you guys. Its actually up there to be out of the way. Its for another project I have for a drainage issue. But now that you bring it up that may be a good way to store small quantities of long steel tubing or rod.

I wonder what the weight capacity of the hangers are?

 

[Pwaley]

Good work so far!

 

[TTA89]

I have been very pleased with it so far. It so quick to reach for a tool and then put it back. Its always been the "put it back" part that gets me...lol.

FYI...I have been on vacation for 11 days. Most of those days were spent on this upgrade.

My memory ***** and having everything hidden in drawers and cabinets often leads me to forget I even own something. This is brilliant... I have loads of wall space..