Looking for SMALL workspace solutions

[rick carpenter]

I hope y'all will have some pics/thoughts of tiny workspaces. I've seen a couple of threads on tiny spaces here but I'm looking for solutions on stuffing storage into creative spaces, work-arounds for tools such as rolly cart mounts, fold-up/fold-down, etc.

I've got one side wall of my garage and a 14'x18" bench mounted to the wall. Space is at a premium.

 

[akdiesel]

It may help if you can take a picture of the location.

 

[rick carpenter]

It may help if you can take a picture of the location.

OK, pics will come soon. I have a new phone so I need to get my kids to show me phone pics --> computer.

 

[Dustin Echoes]

I understand the whole small space problem. I'm using the spare room in our house, and plan to break ground for a garage within 5 years. Some of the best storage/utility ideas I've ever seen are in Jack's "12 Gauge Garage". Take a spin through his thread, that guy is a genius!

 

[Outlawmws]

I used to have two workbenches in my garage, a 10 foot X 24", and a 6 ft X 24" deep. I finally realized that flat surfaces collect junk when I'm around, and removed the 10 footer completely. So my suggestion off the bat is to reconsider having 14' devoted to a work bench unless what you like doing requires a lot of work bench length.

Bench tools eat a lot of space and the only "permanent"mount bench tool I have is my main vise on the right corner of my work bench (I'm right handed...)

The rest of my bench tools get racked/shelved, and I use a B&D Workmate 200 or 400 as the temporary base for my bench tools. Miter saws, bench grinders, arbor press, reloading press, etc. etc. all of them...

 

[rick carpenter]

OK, here's the pics so far...

I have about 28'x12' as a workspace along the wall, bench is 14'x18". Of course the car goes out when I piddle, I mean work, but you see the limitations. Underneath the foam (car door protection) in the middle of the bench is a router station. I have a chop saw base permanently mounted to a torsion box for to carry it out to a worksite and it will easily fit on the bench. In the corner next to the water heater I have a cheapo table saw. It moves out for use and was bought to be as portable as the chop saw. (I have a rusty vintage Craftsman 103 table saw that I'll make functional but it won't be nearly as mobile so I don't know if it will live here or elsewhere.) The cabinet is a standard homeowner Sandusky unit where my blow-molded case tools live, nothing special, too tall for a functional work top but I'm gonna replace the top with something semi-functional anyhow. Santy Claus is bringing me a 26" Husky chest/cabinet for tools. Right now I have a bunch of stuff in milk crates under the bench.

I can't put up cabinets above the bench due to its 18" depth but I do plan on some combo of narrow shelving and slatwall. I plan on building a little rolly service cart, the orange POS just won't cut it. I don't know what else I'll want to add in, but you can be sure there's something out there that I don't currently have that I'll absolutely need when I see it.

I hope some GJ-ers have faced the same issues as me and came up with some innovative solutions.

 

[akdiesel]

The length is a great start.
I see you have some plywood about 18" down the front of your bench, and what looks like support for it. If you add 2x4's back to the wall for support as well as in front and utilize the plywood on a hinge, then it will give you an addtional depth to your bench. This will be good for the table saw or chop saw to sit on and having the length of the bench for long wood or metal pieces.
There is a member on here that has an alcove in his garage similar to your bench set up. I cant remember who it is but he also has shelving around the walls as well.

 

[rick carpenter]

The bench is a particle wood industrial door(?) 1.75" thick with a BLO'ed mdf sacrificial surface. It is fastened with brackets in the back to a plywood strip lagged into the studs. The front "legs" are triangular pieces of plywood screwed in place with adjustable feet, with supports for the bottom of the 1x12 aprons. It is for woodworking as well, hence the deep "Nicholson" style aprons, which also stabilize the front legs.

My Craftsman Industrial router table sits on a torsion box top base with adjustable feet, securely fastened to each bench section with slotted L brackets. I'm debating on whether to build a riser for the table saw too, but so far I haven't done it. The adjustable feet are because the garage floor is uneven in places.

I wanna be able to pound on the bench when necessary, so hinged worksurfaces probably wouldn't work as well. The rolly cart will take care of a worksurface that needs to be effectively deeper than my bench by virtue of it not being attached to the wall.

 

[Jack Olsen]

You've already done some clever things, there. But I'd say you need more storage. And you say you can't put shelves up above the bench, because it's only 18" deep. But I'd say you can have deeper cabinets up there so long as their base is up above your height.

It's possible to make a very stout bench that folds down (or up), but I'm not sure what that would get you on the wall you're showing. If there's a wall on the other side, then a fold-down bench (or two) could give you more space to work when the car is out.

The biggest thing I see is that all along the ceiling line is un-utilized space. My cabinets up at that height are deeper than my workbenches. I can store a lot of stuff up there and free up space down below.

There's a long thread about my garage in the Gallery section. But you can get a more-concise look at some of the things I came up with on my web site, www.12-gaugegarage.com .

 

[RVDan]

As Jack says, storage cabinets up against the ceiling over 6' high don't hurt your workspace or parking space, unless you or your vehicle is over 6' tall.

I recomend workbenches that hinge down when not being used, a bench folded up could accidentally be knocked down and cause a bunch of damage to a car parked nearby, a bench folded down can't be knocked down. Just make sure you've got a good system to hold it up while you're working on it.

I worked out of an 8'x8' shed for about a year while rebuilding my workshop and garage. A narrow workbench down each side, hinged with gate hinges to drop down when I needed more room to work around something. Held them up with pieces of 2x4 screwed in place, I could have made a more complicated system, but it only takes a minute with a drill to remove the screws. Pegboard on the back wall with the common tools, I despise pegboard for tool storage but its the only thing space effective. Powersaws etc, bulky tools on a shelf 6' high on the back wall. Bicycles on bicycle hoists raised up to the roof peak. Lawnmower, pressure washer, generator, engine hoist, and jacks are the worst things to store, they all got moved in and out a lot depending on what I was working on.

 

[chief ben]

this is my 12 X 16 machine shop, with heat and air, and my dog Jerry Lea loves it too.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Looking at your pics you attached, I'd guess your garage ceiling is about 9' tall. Like Jack said, area above is not being used. A shelf hung out about 6.5'-7' off the floor and out 24 inches will give you some great storage room.

The shelf height will depend on your personal height and add a flourescent strip light underneath. A strip light can be mounted right to the bottom of the shelf and has no reflector like a shop light, gaining you more clearance. All you need to do is add some white paint to the bottom of the shelf and be good to go.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I might also add, you'll probably need a short step-ladder to reach the shelf. If you don't have one, you should get a 6', every homeowner should atleast have a decent step-ladder. Buy a decent one it'll last your entire life if taken care of. It'll stow away on a wall bracket and be within easy reach. If you have to pull the car out to work, then grabbing the ladder to reach the shelf shouldn't be more more that a "step in the process."

 

[smithcarloso]

Right now I have a bunch of stuff in milk crates under the bench.

 

[rick carpenter]

Thanks y'all. I thought about no cabinets above the bench because that would block ceiling-mounted light, but that unused space bothered me... so I could do the real simple thing and put lights under a shelf. Next step was lighting anyhow. I like the shelf idea because it could be wood storage as well as stuff storage, and it's cheap (like me).

 

[Raze]

Check out my 'puny garage' in my sig, I had to go vertical as much as possible to minimize footprint...

 

[bczygan]

Analyze the type of jobs that you do and the tasks contained within them. Make a list of the tools used and write down the frequency with which they are used. Also note the difficulty of setting up and taking down each tool as if it is to be stored.
Then it is a simple matter to determine which tools will be permanently mounted and which are to be stored and brought out for each use.

Next, consider which operations are seldom done and could be located elsewhere.
Also consider how you could add to or increase the size of your space, or even add separate space for storage.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Thanks y'all. I thought about no cabinets above the bench because that would block ceiling-mounted light, but that unused space bothered me... so I could do the real simple thing and put lights under a shelf. Next step was lighting anyhow. I like the shelf idea because it could be wood storage as well as stuff storage, and it's cheap (like me).

I picked up my T8 strip lights at Menard's, they are an 8' 4 bulb fixture (2 bulbs end to end). They were 40 bucks but they did create some radio interference so I moved it to the other side of the garage. Some have had better luck with more expensive fixtures. Since you have 14 feet of bench, two 8 footers would be fine and give you plenty of light.

 

[CCMullen]

this is my 12 X 16 machine shop, with heat and air, and my dog Jerry Lea loves it too.

Nice looking shop. I'd like to see more!

 

[chief ben]

 

[silentpoet]

I have seen various tools mounted so they can swing out from under a bench. Don't forget something like the receiver hitch for mounting vices and other important pieces of equipment, then you can stow it when you are done. I am putting a little shop press in the side of my welding table. It will also serve as a vice for some things. And effectively it takes up no extra floor space when not in use since it is between two of the table legs.