Jenga Garage

[MercLSU]

Howdy y’all! I see a lot of references to members playing Tetris and Advanced Tetris in their garages / shops and that really rings true to me. I have a [relatively] small shop and am perpetually trying to fit ten gallons of **** into a five gallon bucket. The concept of moving one or more things to get to another is something we can all relate to. Lately I’ve been shuffling a lot of things around and often get that sinking feeling when you pull the wrong brick in Jenga. Sort of like this kid:

I’ve avoided posting my own thread here for a while due to a few reasons: (1) it seemed a little narcissistic, (2) I was too lazy, and (3) I was concerned about becoming addicted to this site. Well, (3) has apparently happened anyway, which led me to rethink (1) as being untrue. (2) is still pretty true, but 2/3 ain’t bad right?

A little background on me; I’m in software and thus behind a computer somewhere between 1 and 24 hours a day. I love what I do and it pays the bills, but at the end of the day there’s no tangible evidence of my work. I grew up working outside, using my hands, taking things apart, sometimes fixing them (okay, rarely), etc….thus my line of work can be a little frustrating in that regard. So after the wife and kid are in bed this is where I go to tinker with, fix, or break things. Just to say that I did something.

Things have gotten pretty cluttered lately due to a few large acquisitions that I need to fit into the puzzle. A lot of what is laying around is slated for a garage sale; I typically have two a year and I’m long overdue for one. Like most folks with collector / hoarding tendencies, I hate to throw things away and thus garage sales are the best means of purging for me. Weather (rain / heat) and other factors have prevented that for a few months but within the next month or so it will happen. I’ll start with some pictures of everything as it sits now.

 

[MercLSU]

More of the current State of the Union...

 

[MercLSU]

So I've got my work cut out for me. Moving forward, my twelve step plan is as follows:

1. Unload everything in crates and stacks that’s not useful in a garage sale ASAP
2. Paint South Bend lathe chip tray; move into shop along left side wall (currently occupied by welder, 2x72 belt sander, Delta band saw, and Delta sander). Reassemble lathe. I’m hoping I can fit the welder on the side of it.
3. Sell awesome / terrible camo paint job Vidmar cabinet; replace with larger Vidmar cabinet from garage. Need to add casters to it to allow for access to air compressor (hidden in a void to the left of the camo cabinet).
4. Sell both HF boxes below workbench; replace with one new HF box of similar style (but ~4” deeper)
5. Shorten existing workbench to allow for another Vidmar cabinet next to where the existing camo cabinet is (and a larger rolling cabinet will eventually be). This may cause issues with the existing window A/C unit, so I’ve toyed with trying to raise / move it vs. putting the rolling camo box there instead. I’m also questioning trading flat working area for storage, however I’m a cabinet junkie and no matter how much flat surface I have, I’ll fill it up. Maybe this will teach me to be smarter about having 234923497 ongoing projects at once.
6. Move Delta band saw, Delta sander, and 2x72 belt sander to the right of the workbench. This void is where my 12” Atlas lathe was until last week. It was sold to make room / funds for the South Bend. Will likely unload the smaller Vulcan anvil and death trap rolling stand as I found a larger anvil. Will also build a legitimate shelf above where the Delta sander will be in that void.
7. Swap out 12 drawer Vidmar cabinet for either the 16 or 17 drawer Vidmar cabinet in the garage.
8. Finish going through (we’ll call them functional restorations, i.e. moving parts and bearings) the two Rockwell 15” drill presses to the right of the mill. Keep whichever one comes out better, sell the other.
9. Move 17” Rockwell drill press from the garage next to the remaining 15” Rockwell drill press.
10. Move Delta wood band saw from the garage to where the stack of crates currently is
11. Move two remaining Vidmar cabinets from the garage into shed.
12. Return the half of the garage currently filled with cabinets and machines to my wife for parking. This will greatly improve diplomatic relations.

 

[MercLSU]

I don't really have a lot of "before" pictures, per se, because I'm constantly moving things around. At some point I'll gather what I have and post some to show how I gradually got into this mess. I personally blame GJ and mostly, Nine4GMC for telling me to join.

Feedback / comments / questions / concerns / sarcasm / insults / friendly banter are all welcome here.

 

[scubadoober]

What is in all the cabinets?

 

[alinc100]

I dunno man, I can still see floor in most of those pics. It's not too crowded yet.

 

[nine4gmc]

Checking in!

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

 

[Bill Ramsey]

Nice hat.

 

[MayerMR]

I want that mill...

Also, have the exact same problem as you. I sold a bunch of stuff this weekend and I feel better - more space - it's great.

I also have an office job and a young child and go into my shop at night like you. Really described me to a tee!

Also, did I mention? I want that mill...

 

[Bill Ramsey]

Suggest you focus on a workbench first. Postpone decisions about altering it, just get it set up in a good spot. Make it your daily routine to keep it clear. Keep a brush and a trash can nearby. This isn't easy, FSD is hard to fight, but the rewards are many. So much of what you'll work on as you complete the rest of the plan depends on having an immediately-accessible work surface. When all else is chaos, this is your happy place.

 

[MayerMR]

Suggest you focus on a workbench first. Postpone decisions about altering it, just get it set up in a good spot. Make it your daily routine to keep it clear. Keep a brush and a trash can nearby. This isn't easy, FSD is hard to fight, but the rewards are many. So much of what you'll work on as you complete the rest of the plan depends on having an immediately-accessible work surface. When all else is chaos, this is your happy place.

I'm going to chalk it up to being really tired...but even with the context of a messy workshop...I'm at a loss for what "FSD" stands for. I'm certain after you tell me I'll slap my head, but dammit if I'm not curious...

 

[bczygan]

Your problem is too many nice tools and storage devices.

Send some of them to me and your problems will be solved.

Mine will be worse....but isn't that what friends are for?

Bill

 

[MercLSU]

What is in all the cabinets?

That's a question I could spend a few days answering. I save just about anything I can, because you never know when you'll need it, right? I'll do my best to detail what each cabinet mostly contains and snag a picture of a random drawer of each.

Picture 1: Two HF 44" (more like 42") boxes below my primary work bench. These holds hand tools that are most commonly used. Drive tools, sockets, pliers, cutters, vise grips, crescent wrenches, bit drivers, screwdrivers, electrical tools, etc. If I do indeed reduce the size of this bench and keep just one 44" HF box, I will certainly offload the 12 point sockets to a different box / cabinet as they just don't get used.

Picture 2: White-ish Vidmar cabinet. Holds tooling for lathe, mill, drill presses, and one drawer for my largest wrenches that I will probably never use but when nobody is looking I open it and feel like a real man.

Picture 3: HF side cabinet between white-ish Vidmar cabinet and lathe. Holds snap ring pliers, scrapers, long reach pliers, DOE wrenches, tappet wrenches, crow foot wrenches, etc.

Picture 4: Ugly looking Lista (I think) cabinet underneath the shelf holding the mini fridge. Holds bearings and welding accessories.

Picture 5: HF side cabinet between welding cart and Delta wood / metal band saw. Holds abrasives mostly...wire wheels, buffing accessories, sanding belts, and Knipex pliers wrenches.

Picture 6: Camo painted Vidmar cabinet. Holds impact sockets, Dremel / Foredom / accessories, air tools, Milwaukee cordless tools.

Picture 7: Six drawer card file that used to sit along side my Atlas lathe in the void between the primary work bench and the white-ish Vidmar cabinet. This is on the chopping block but holds AC electric motor items...switches, capacitors, plugs, wire, etc.

 

[MercLSU]

Moving outside of the shop and into the garage, I have cabinets along the back wall. From left to right there is:

Picture 1: 11 drawer card file; each drawer has two removable trays. Easily one of my favorite cabinets. Holds pulleys, Delta / Rockwell band saw, drill press, and sander parts. Also several hundred pounds of new hardware that Nine gave me when he left Baton Rouge. To the right of that are two Vidmar cabinets I bought at the LA state auction a few months back. On top there's an empty five drawer hardware cabinet and a red / black 18 drawer hardware cabinet. I bought it when I responded to a CL ad that Nine4GMC posted; that was when I first met him and I was sent down this crazy GJ dirt road...

Picture 2: Five drawer filing cabinet on casters gifted to me by Nine4GMC. Holds fluids, spray paint, funnels, etc. To the right of that is a 90 drawer Durham cabinet. Not super heavy duty but holds a ton of misc. items. I've had dry erase magnetic tape in my Amazon cart for two years to label the drawers, but I've been too cheap to pull the trigger for some reason. It's funny how some thing are harder to spend money on than others. This holds a little bit of everything. I try not to overload it with things that are terribly heavy but it serves a great purpose and is the perfect depth to allow the garage entry door to swing in.

Picture 3: Random things in 90 drawer Durham cabinet

Picture 4: Fluids / spray paint in five drawer filing cabinet

Picture 5: Garage, left side, Vidmar #1: Holds hammers, automotive tools, pullers, knives, knife sharpening equipment, etc.

Picture 6: Garage, left side, Vidmar #2: Holds plumbing tools, stock for lathe / mill, and a variety of other random things.

Picture 7: 11 drawer card file, pulley drawer #1

 

[MercLSU]

I dunno man, I can still see floor in most of those pics. It's not too crowded yet.

It's been better but it's also been much worse. Challenge accepted

Nice hat.

I had to go back through to look...are you referring to the Cam Motion hat on top of the buffer or the hat on top of the band saw? I wear them both proudly and probably not in the proper situation...

I want that mill...

Also, have the exact same problem as you. I sold a bunch of stuff this weekend and I feel better - more space - it's great.

I also have an office job and a young child and go into my shop at night like you. Really described me to a tee!

Also, did I mention? I want that mill...

Kindred spirits Where abouts are you located? If I can find one of these this far South, I bet you can.

Suggest you focus on a workbench first. Postpone decisions about altering it, just get it set up in a good spot. Make it your daily routine to keep it clear. Keep a brush and a trash can nearby. This isn't easy, FSD is hard to fight, but the rewards are many. So much of what you'll work on as you complete the rest of the plan depends on having an immediately-accessible work surface. When all else is chaos, this is your happy place.

I hear you and that's great advice. Right now it's cluttered with Atlas lathe parts that I need to sell. That still left a few feet of room but for some reason it randomly occurred to me that I should test the Delta scroll saw motors / starters that I have when I was shutting down for the night. No real need to at that time as they were on the top shelf out of the way but I'm that PITA that always tries to fit one more thing in before leaving, knowing full well that it will make us <= 15 minutes late. Drives the wife crazy, but I am who I am. I do keep a hand broom and trash can handy. I stupidly didn't build my work bench with a lip / overhang so it makes it a bit more difficult to brush things into a trash can or other container. That will be part of the rework for sure. The top is made from cubicle material tossed out when we built our new office...that Formica is really tough.

I'm going to chalk it up to being really tired...but even with the context of a messy workshop...I'm at a loss for what "FSD" stands for. I'm certain after you tell me I'll slap my head, but dammit if I'm not curious...

FSD = Flat Surface Disease. I admit, I had to look it up too. But now it all makes sense...I have a disease and thus it's not my fault?

Your problem is too many nice tools and storage devices.

Send some of them to me and your problems will be solved.

Mine will be worse....but isn't that what friends are for?

Bill

Bill, I've read your thread(s) often and to an extent you're my spirit animal. I get the struggle. I'm not that guy that will hoard old newspapers and cat food containers (okay, a few of those) but since we live in a throwaway society, it's hard to drive down the road without finding something useful on the curb. Hell, just in the past couple of months I can think of >=$500 of items I've picked up / sold that were thrown out for the trash. Now that's great and all, but that doesn't account for the other 923492347 items I've picked up that are situationally useful, take up space, and aren't outright sellable beyond a garage sale...which I desperately need to have.

 

[MercLSU]

Checking in!

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

It's a ghost! BRB, getting my PKE meter...now which @#&)%(@^#$ cabinet did I put it in?

 

[Stooge]

Geeze, and I thought I was crowded! but on the plus side, it may be crowded in your shop, but it really doesn't look messy, just a whole lot of stuff. I might have to steal the paint storage filing cabinet idea, I have a large steel 2 door cabinet that's basically just filled with paints, reducers, etc, and it just takes up too much space, and we're always throwing away filing cabinets at work.

I had to go back through to look...are you referring to the Cam Motion hat on top of the buffer or the hat on top of the band saw? I wear them both proudly and probably not in the proper situation...

I like the one on top of the bandsaw!

 

[MayerMR]

Kindred spirits Where abouts are you located? If I can find one of these this far South, I bet you can.

I'm in Dallas. They are around for sure, but I just don't have the space in my garage right now. My next place with have a real shop though.

FSD = Flat Surface Disease. I admit, I had to look it up too. But now it all makes sense...I have a disease and thus it's not my fault?

Ah...yes, I think have the affliction as well.

 

[Bill Ramsey]

I had to go back through to look...are you referring to the Cam Motion hat on top of the buffer or the hat on top of the band saw? I wear them both proudly and probably not in the proper situation...



FSD = Flat Surface Disease. I admit, I had to look it up too. But now it all makes sense...I have a disease and thus it's not my fault?

The hat on the band saw. Living in the south, it tells me you're a practical person. It also says you're probably hoarding a bunch of lawn care equipment too.

Yes, to you and MayerMR, I meant Flat Surface Disease...that destructive tendency to unburden our arms onto the nearest available flat surface. Also known as Nearest Horizontal Surface Syndrome.

 

[MercLSU]

Geeze, and I thought I was crowded! but on the plus side, it may be crowded in your shop, but it really doesn't look messy, just a whole lot of stuff. I might have to steal the paint storage filing cabinet idea, I have a large steel 2 door cabinet that's basically just filled with paints, reducers, etc, and it just takes up too much space, and we're always throwing away filing cabinets at work.

I like the one on top of the bandsaw!

I got that filing cabinet from Nine, though I'm not sure if I stole the idea from him or not. It's great, just so long as the drawer is full and they don't fall over.

As for the hat...It's was stolen from my mother years back when unloading dirt to fill in a pool my father dug that became a mosquito problem. 12 hours in direct sunlight moving that much dirt and it was a life saver. I've gotten a multitude of comments from my 197 year old neighbor though...

I'm in Dallas. They are around for sure, but I just don't have the space in my garage right now. My next place with have a real shop though.

That's what we all say! You should look up Nine4GMC...he relocated to Dallas and has a mill in storage...

The hat on the band saw. Living in the south, it tells me you're a practical person. It also says you're probably hoarding a bunch of lawn care equipment too.

Yes, to you and MayerMR, I meant Flat Surface Disease...that destructive tendency to unburden our arms onto the nearest available flat surface. Also known as Nearest Horizontal Surface Syndrome.

Lawn equipment is one thing I'm actually pretty good on. I have a bad habit of picking up lawn tractors, push mowers, and smaller two stroke items. I stopped picking up the latter unless it was a Stihl. But people will pay good money for non-running lawn equipment around here so I cleaned up that hoard a couple of years ago. Now if I pick something up and don't do anything with it in 30 days, I put it on Facebook marketplace and it's gone in a day. Crazy....

Too true on the FSD. I moved the lathe stand in the shop and immediately marveled at what I could fit on it (aside the lathe).

 

[MercLSU]

Moved the Delta sander, Delta wood-metal bandsaw, and 2x72 belt grinder to the right of the workbench where the Atlas lathe (sold last week), 6 drawer card file cabinet (will be selling next week) and anvil / stand (sold today) were. Moved the South Bend stand where they were. I initially chose the right side of that void because the welding cart stuck out too far for the camo cabinet to open (or its eventual taller replacement).

After talking to Nine I've now thought better and will be either be centering it on that wall or "left justifying" it. Until I get a larger shop the welding cart is just about useless. Right now I can't weld in a small confined space like that or in the garage in close proximity to my Mustang. Besides, the Multimatic 200 was designed to be portable anyway, so I'll put it on a shelf or to either side of the lathe, offload its contents to a larger cabinet, and sell the welding cart.

Will be on vacation until early to mid next week. Hopefully I'll find something interesting for sale along the way...

 

[Strouty]

I like all the cabinets, but I love the bandsaw's hat!