My little shed/ shop

[Dmoen]

Hey guys, been reading for a while, first post. Anyways little background. I'm a mechanic, GM tech. Rent a nice little house, no garage. When's work on stuff I always have to go to my dads place.

Landlord said I can build a shed. In this town, a "shed" is anything 120 sqft, and does not need a building permit. So I'm building an 8x14. Yes this is to real big and huge like a lot of guys on here, but this will serve well for the small engine work I frequently do.Motorcycles, Lawn mowers, dirt bikes, quads. Just small side jobs for some extra bucks.

Got the framing all up last weekend, didn't get to work on it at all this weekend, and next weekend I will be out of town. Weekend after that it should be all complete.

8 foot ceiling, 36" steel walk in door, and a 6 for aluminum roll up door. Windows on the north, east and south. Will insulate,and heat with small heater.
Going to wire for 110, and one 220

It has a 3/4 inch plywood floor, and 2 foot on center floor joists. Thinking about laying 1inch plywood over the 3/4 for extra support, not that it's necessary, but don't want a sagging floor in a few years, or less.

Now for some questions,
#1 what to paint the floor with? Want something durable and WHITE, will just some concrete garage floor paint work? Or will it just soak up? What if I lay down a layer or wood primer thick?

#2 as stated I do small engine work on the side, seems I always need to resurface a cylinder head, and rather than paying another guy 20 bucks to do them, I'd like to buy the machines. I have resurfaced many vintage John Deere heads, as I worked part time at a machine sop specializing in jd's. He had a huge sunnen I believe. Haha no room for that! Looking for something small. How are the small " belt sander" Tyler I frequently hear about? I know how long it takes to properly get a large cylinder level and trued up before making any cuts with the planer, so I can't be to positive how accurate a friggin belt sander would be just laying a head down on it! But I won't knock it till I know. Maybe it's fine if everyone else is using it. The thing I "like" about it is it would be small and able to be stored out of the way in my tiny little shop. Maybe just a small milling machine? But idk how small they can get? I have no room for a big bridge port.

#3 A lathe has always been of large interest to me. I like to tinker on motorcycles quite a bit, mainly that's what I have been doing for the last year. Always have some real cool ideas on stuff to turn, but alas no lathe to work on. I can't imagine ever needing to turn anything over 3" around. MAXIMUM. Haha and the longest would probably only be a foot or so long, maybe up to 18 inches, but nothing longer. Never really used a lathe, I have run manny brake lathes, and used an actual machinist lathe one time at the machine shop. Must have been a 15 foot south bend. He said it was from the 50's. it was in mint condition, and he had a big dro computer on it, as well as the same thing on all his bridge ports. He does a lot of work for the local noodle factory, so he has multiple equipment to save on set up time. Off topic again sorry haha. Anyways, I need a small lathe to mount on the bench top. Will be 3/8 ths steel bench top. Any ideas on a decent lathe? I would rather have something older, I hear bad reviews on the newer Chinese stuff, and don't want to spend a lot. I found locally a 78 JET 1024p, but think that will be slightly over kill. It's too large to take off the base I think and mount on the bench. He claims its 700 lbs. has lots of tooling and multiple chucks and faceplates.. Has steady, and follower rests. Claims NO play in any bearings, and pictures show it's clean. Not perfect paint, but not full on engine grease and build up like some I've seen. He makes guns for a hobby. So it has to be pretty preside right? He upgraded to Cnc. Wants $1000. I think he is right on with price, but what do I know. But maybe over kill. I'm only really looking to spend about 500 though. I could get it, but would rather not. Anyone got any advice? Or maybe have something of interest?

 

[kenfain]

Sorry I don't have much to offer, except on the flooring. 2 foot center will be a little springy, won't it? And if you paint, you'll have to keep on painting. A place that small, you'll be all over it. Never seen floor paint that was worth a damn. But at that size, you could put down anything, or nothing. All I know is bare plywood looks better n worn out paint. Just my 2¢

 

[Dmoen]

so far the 2 foot centers are not springs, but to prevent it, is why i said a possible nother 1" layer. and then when the top layer wears out, becomes bamaged, i can just pull it up and replace. cant replace the og 3/4". its under the walls.

we get some pretty bad winters here, lots of snow, so i think the painted floor would help bead off the water, and help prevent sag. plus, have you ever tried sweeping plywood? haha painted would really help with keeping clean too. and with white paint, would make it feel a little brighter in there

and if i have to roll down a layer of quick paint every few months, it wont bother me.

 

[judsontractor]

I'd paint the floor with that restore stuff you buy at the hardware store for decks and what not, its tough stuff, kinda like a pickup box liner sort of

 

[Dmoen]

I'd paint the floor with that restore stuff you buy at the hardware store for decks and what not, its tough stuff, kinda like a pickup box liner sort of

ok awesome idea! thats what i was thinking, not going to have really anything heavy going in or out like a car, largest will be a quad now or then. mainly dirt bikes and motorcycles. then spring time, lots of lawn mowers and weedwackers. BUT my problem with that idea, is will it stand up to chemicals? carb spray, brake cleaner, gasoline? thats my biggest problem.

 

[kbs2244]

Instead of paint go with some cheap vinyl kitchen sheet goods.
It will be water proof and if you don't glue it down it is pretty easy to remove and replace when it gets beat up.
It will come 12 feet wide, so you will need a seam somewhere.
Think about where the traffic is going to be the least.

 

[Dmoen]

Instead of paint go with some cheap vinyl kitchen sheet goods.
It will be water proof and if you don't glue it down it is pretty easy to remove and replace when it gets beat up.
It will come 12 feet wide, so you will need a seam somewhere.
Think about where the traffic is going to be the least.

is this resistant to fuel and chemicals though?

 

[kenfain]

How bout roll on bed liner? LOL. Really tho, what I was thinkin bout was them snap together squares, or a garage mat, or even scrap carpet maybe

 

[Dmoen]

snap together squares are way too much for what this is!! its a freakin shed! haha, no way on the carpet, it would burd down day one with me.... i have problems with fire for some reason. sooms like whenever i work on something, something comes inflamed! think ill just try the deck paint first and see how that goes.

 

[Thruxton]

I think your machine choices will be limited by your floor. A small Chinese mill-drill might be worth looking at, and a lathe around 7 X 19 will be about the heaviest things you can use, couple of hundred pounds each. The lathe's accuracy will be hampered some by vibration in that setup, which might or might not be important to you. But good things can be done in small spaces, just requires a lot of thinking-through and compromise. Good luck!

 

[kbs2244]

Originally Posted by kbs2244
Instead of paint go with some cheap vinyl kitchen sheet goods.
It will be water proof and if you don't glue it down it is pretty easy to remove and replace when it gets beat up.
It will come 12 feet wide, so you will need a seam somewhere.
Think about where the traffic is going to be the least.

is this resistant to fuel and chemicals though?

Yes, I have even used it as a workbench topping.

 

[Dmoen]

Originally Posted by kbs2244
Instead of paint go with some cheap vinyl kitchen sheet goods.
It will be water proof and if you don't glue it down it is pretty easy to remove and replace when it gets beat up.
It will come 12 feet wide, so you will need a seam somewhere.
Think about where the traffic is going to be the least.

is this resistant to fuel and chemicals though?

Yes, I have even used it as a workbench topping.

thanks for the confirmation!!! looks like i found what ill be using now!

back to the lath reference a few posts up. any links to a decent one? not too sure what to look for really.