keeping work areas clean

[Kevin54]

I try to do any dirty work in the middle of the garage, or in an open space so stuff doesn't get splattered on the walls. If I have to do something up against a wall, I'll put a piece of cardboard, OSB, or something like that against the wall to keep it clean. And like others, my favorite cleaning tool is my leaf blower. I probably use it on a weekly basis to blow dust and dirt out of the garage. I also have a real wide fine bristle push broom to sweep the floors along with a decent corn broom for the corners and such. And when doing a project, I try to put the tools away at the end of the day, if not right away. If it's a big project, I may leave the tools out, but they will all be in one place at the end of the day and not scattered about. Once a person gets into the habit of cleaning things up, it becomes easier each time.

When I was young, I remember the times that I would help my dad clean up his garage. It was always a two or three day ordeal. We would do that every two years. Dad was the type that never tossed anything, except when we cleaned. He'd always say "I don't know why I kept that", but at the time, he'd always tell me....."Don't throw that away because I can always use it later"

 

[sberry]

2 important things for me when I built this building were being able to paint and a place to thaw and drain cars. I am glad I waited a bit and come up with a better design for the paint. I was swamped at the time and didn't order the building, waited for a deadline and by that time had really sat down to deliberately figure the floor plan and doors.
I really got all that right and it made a huge difference.

 

[sberry]

I am not pristine and need to refinish the floors as it is. I really didn't do good enough job when I did it, I had intended on some coating and was going to shot blast but it fell apart.
I have a lot of cracks but they are only really visual and due to having poured over an old floor, knew it was going to happen and again could be repaired with some finish.
The main reason is to make cleaning easier.
I spot clean floor as I go , there is a lot of dust and it gets blown in but its really not much of a production problem. I spent a couple months so far this winter working out bugs long neglected and some way back to moving in, just **** I had needed, don't need, was put in place for lack of better options at the time and finally just got rid of the last of it.
Building another storage is what really allowed the clearing of the shop. I had some but it was too old and too small. I worked around a lot of items that I really couldn't leave out side but really limited the potential when it was used for parking.

 

[Cypherian]

Hey,

I got trained to clean..ok not really just enhanced my cleanliness. I spent 23 yrs working on aircraft for the USAF you have to they are kind of funny about not having loose stuff laying around. I do clean up after the job is done or I will not use the tool etc any more for the project. I like most here do a little bit of everything so having metal dust laying around when working on electrical / electronic stuff is bad juju . I do mainly metal work some wood work which as you might imagine throws saw dust every where again saw dust and sparks from metal working makes saw dust bad juju. As has been said shop vac plugged in all the time, air blowers , bench brush, broom and dust pan, trash can etc are always close at hand. I do have two shops the smaller one is a single car attached to the house no vehicle ever goes in it never has since I have owned the house. The bigger 28' x 32' is where I do park but it is also where most of the really messy stuff happens. Add in a little CDO :} IE OCD because I hate not being able to find a tool or not have a place to set a project I keep it that way.

I do plan on putting something on the floor in the small shop as it doesn't see liquids that will fall on the floor, the big shop lol I think I might pressure wash it this spring and seal it from oil etc but that is it no reason to do anything else as it will get torn up but steel, jacks, jack stands etc being dragged across it etc. I am not sure anyone who works with wood or metal can really keep a shop / machines totally dust free if so they do really have to much time on their hands. :}:} If so stop by you can give me a hand cleaning:}

Cypher

 

[sberry]

I try to make it as easy to put away as to drop it. Try to replace anything not needed immediately for reassembly away as most things one is done with and realty doesn't use "later"
If I am cutting off 100 boards I cut them over the trash box, I know people will drop all 100 next to it and then spend the next 1/2 hour scooping it up. Lots of jobs we are nearly clean by the time we are finished or only a few minutes of putting blocks back etc.

 

[revkev6]

I try to make it as easy to put away as to drop it. Try to replace anything not needed immediately for reassembly away as most things one is done with and realty doesn't use "later"
If I am cutting off 100 boards I cut them over the trash box, I know people will drop all 100 next to it and then spend the next 1/2 hour scooping it up. Lots of jobs we are nearly clean by the time we are finished or only a few minutes of putting blocks back etc.

this is going to be something i work on when figuring my "new" layout. things I will add include peg boards to hang commonly used tools, hooks for things that I have historically piled up under my work bench. like electric tools. they get coiled up and tossed in a pile. digging through them to find the tool you want results in cords coming loose and a mess. cabinets instead of shelves to reduce the visual impact of the mess. just seeing things sitting on a shelf adds to a cluttered look. closing them off will give a clean appearance and make me more likely to keep it that way. (I hope)

 

[sberry]

I like some closed, I have shelves mostly and the only electric corded tool I use some is a grinder, battery charger and spot lights. I use air for cut off rotary file and wire wheel as well as sanding and have the under the bench toss back method Its something I could look at but its a minor problem,,, you are correct it multiplies with every tool, worth going to a cabinet to get it.
A hutch for shoes idea might fly and a sub shelf concept I havnt worked out or made a proto.

 

[savethatclassic]

The bench grinder is the biggest culprit of making a mess, I made a movable workstation for my two (2 grinding stones, wire wheel and buffing wheel) and my drill press, this way I can move it outside or at least middle of the shop so it can be blown off easily for cleaning. Got clean and sweep on constant basis, hardest thing to drill in my head.

 

[duwem]

Its amazing how much metal dust you can sweep up into a dust pan after a few hours of grinding and cutting.

My last setup I had an attached garage and a detached. Attached was for cars, detached for tractors, tools, projects etc.

Rarely I would pull the car in to do say exhaust work or something (after pulling out a bunch of stuff to make room). Once I was grinding on something for the car not far from the car. Few weeks later I saw a whole bunch of tiny rust flakes on the back bumper, imbedded into the paint...

Next shop I plan to have a metal working area, a wood working area, a paint area and a car storage/maintance area, with walls in between all of them for no cross contamination.

 

[vartz04]

Few things that really help me -

Cabinets instead of shelves. Looks cleaner and keeps dust off of things

Put a big jar on the bench for misc hardware. Once in a while sort it out. Keeps you from tossing random bolts screws ect on the bench

Have organized parts storage.

Build a scrap bin for cut offs of metal/wood. Keeps it organized so you don't buy stuff you don't need and you don't end up with pieces laying all over the garage.

Duct tape a furnace filter to a box fan. Hang it from the ceiling when you are doing dusty work. It grabs a ridiculous amount of dust and helps keep it from settling on everything in the garage.

 

[jimgood]

I don't have the OCD bug when it comes to my shop.

• I clean when I feel like cleaning
• I usually put away tools when I'm done with them and I wipe them off if they're really greasy
• I sweep small areas at a time very gently so as to kick up as little fine dust as possible. Then I vacuum up the piles.
• If I get sick of looking at some dusty toolbox or other surface, I give it a wipe
• If the weather is nice, I do dusty stuff outside. When I'm done for the day, I vacuum up the leavings. If I absolutely have to do dusty stuff inside, I hook up the shop vac to the dust collector on the tool (if it has one).

 

[jimgood]

Duct tape a furnace filter to a box fan. Hang it from the ceiling when you are doing dusty work. It grabs a ridiculous amount of dust and helps keep it from settling on everything in the garage.

I love this idea!

 

[shortykorte]

I don't get anywhere near as much "shop time" as I'd like so usually what happens to me is I just get the project finished when I have to go into the house. basically drop the tools and go. I will then take a seperate portion of time to clean, usually smaller or while doing something else... fire up the grill, put some tools away. finish the lawn, sweep... that kind of thing. I've been looking that the 12 gage garage thread though and see how changing my layout of the shop would make cleaning and working both easier.

another thing, I currently have NO cabinets. all storage is free standing shelves. this is hard to get to, collects dust and adds to the appearance of clutter. I'm in the process of doing drywall so once that's done I will be putting in some reclaimed kitchen cabinets. of course they are white and very clean.

You hit a big nail on the head with this observation. 12 Gauge uses a very functional layout both for the project at hand and clean up. Once everything has a place and grouped by use, clean up is easy. I've employed some of Jack's concepts and they do work.

 

[kabinenroller]

I spent 25 years in a hobby shop with two friends, we always got along great
(and still do) but those guys were slobs! Tools and stuff laying around all over, clutter on the floor and they never cleaned up. Three years ago I built my own shop and moved out of the hobby shop, everyone who visits my place asks how I keep it so clean. Well it's not easy, my shop is a working shop. I fabricate, weld, and restore cars. In good weather all the dirty jobs are moved outdoors, but in the winter it very difficult to work in the cold and snow.
I have a separate room for all my machine tools, just recently I installed a roll up door to separate that room from the main work area it helps keep the mess isolated. I do clean up after my self constantly, picking up tools and putting everything back where it belongs is part of each project.
I have an area that is used to display a couple of my cars and some automobilia
that area seems to get dusty even though I very seldom even walk near the cars.
Sometimes I spend a hour or two after dinner sweeping and wet mopping the floor, it sounds crazy but the next morning when I turn on the lights seeing a clean shop gives me a certian amount of satisfaction.
In the future when I decide that it is time to slow down and put the tools away I may convert the shop to a show room for my toys but at this point that is a long way off, I have too many projects to complete.

 

[dwysywd]

I never had any examples. Everything I have learned I've either learned by trial and fear! LoL! Or by learning from someone I've asked. That being said, while no one has taught me this, I've started working on picking up my projects when I'm done. Now, this is not easy. And I've not mastered it. But I'm trying. I'm a slob at heart. And this has been very difficult. And with building my barn I've decided to start working on this new skill, and it is one I can teach myself.


Regards,
Jeff

Sent from my bag phone...

 

[nadogail]

I blow everything off onto the floor with the air hose, then sweep the floor.

Every two weeks the floor gets mopped.