New from Ireland

[jipps]

Hi there, new to this excellent site - and from what I've seen so far I find it very friendly, helpful and informative.

By way of background, we moved to our current (hopefully our forever) house a couple of years ago and, after a very lengthy resto on the house, I'm finally in a position to give some proper thought to both my tools and my garage.

Tools

I have 3 types of tool requirements:

1. Homeowner/diy: I have lots, amassed over the last decade or so since I bought my first place. Many of these, especially the ones I bought early on when money was tight, are low quality but generally fit-for-purpose, and I plan on a rolling replacement to higher quality as these fail, wear-out or a particularly big task arises. The more recent tools are better quality, Makita power tools etc. I have the blow-molded cases & a couple of entry-level Stanley plastic boxes for all this gear at present; theses overflowing & I can never find anything, so proper storage is big on the agenda.

2. Mechanic tools: I have a limited number of mechanic tools at present, but this is the area I guess I'm most actively growing, buying the best quality I can afford. We tend to have late(ish) model BMWs, and there are some Italian and Japanese bikes in my life too.... And these tools are lumped in with the DIY tools, so - again - some proper storage for these is big on the agenda.

3. Garden tools: Our place is about an acre, with some trees like Macrocarpa Cyprus etc at +60ft and a good range of hedging and smaller trees that need kept in check, not to mention the grass. Garden tools is where I know the least. Currently I have a Husqvarna tractor, Ryobi multi-tool cutter/strimmer, McCullough (Husqvarna) chainsaw, Makita cutter, and misc scarifier, tractor trailer, etc etc. These tools have a few service tools that go with them, sitting in a couple of plastic boxes, and it seems I have to do 10 runs of stuff to every place I'm working in the garden. I think some proper storage for these is also on the agenda - something whereby I can get the saw, fuel/lube/spanners/stumpvice etc all to the work in one carry.

Garage(s)

We have a cavity built single brick garage attached to the house. But having put the megaflow, washer, dryer and heating boiler in there, together with a weights station and set of shelves for the DIY and mechanic tools, I have no space. For two years, my workbench has been the kitchen table....
One thing I did in the summer of '13 was put up a 12x14 metal shed. This holds the garden stuff, including nasty chemicals.
So my medium-term project now is to think about getting a proper garage built...

---

I'm sure there'll be threads on most of this asking for your help and advice as time goes by....

For now, "hi"

 

[doctordirt]

Welcome and good luck on the future build.

 

[drivesitfar]

Jipps: awesome introduction. sounds like you have a great place. post lots of pictures if you can it's sort of the "golden rule" to post pictures. and if you need help to do so just ask. you can now post and ask questions or give answers to the ones you know and even start a few threads. in all the posts I've made i probably have less than 10 threads that I've started.

if you can't find your answers about vises, grinders and other old tools you can PM me (Private message is Garage Journal's internal messaging sort of like email between members only).

or if you need a little help. i had some help when i first joined from a few of the old members and i'm still learning how this place works and having a great time learning and talking with guys and gals all over the world.

cheers and welcome

 

[1/2 Cup]

Hi and welcome to the GJ from downunder and as always, enjoy..

 

[wrnchtwstr]

Hello from Oklahoma. Welcome aboard, look forward to some project pics.

 

[the gypsy]

Hi jipps, welcome to the forum. GJ is very informative but also demanding. We ask of you, many pics of your projects.

 

[jipps]

Thanks all. Yep, I'll get the camera cracked out for future posts

 

[udderlyoffroad]

Although I’ve only posted about 3 times on here myself, welcome!

Sounds like you’ve got yourself a decent space, and we’ll get a garage build thread soon?

Couple of bits of (unsolicited) advice from me. You’re probably aware of it all already, judging by all the building work you’ve done, but nevertheless:

Garage: Don’t know what the situation is like over in NI (or even south of the border), but in England you can sometimes get lucky and find a concrete sectional garage that someone is practically giving away. All you need is access to a flatbed Transit and a couple of mates to haul it away. These things are generally pug-ugly, but can usually be improved by application of some paint. If you buy second hand, they’re not that expensive and go up very quickly, and can be expanded! My personal choice would be a wooden building, followed by concrete/brick/etc and lastly metal. Metal comes low down due to condensation causing rust on your expensive tools+toys.

Don’t “cheap out” on the electrics. My single garage had some electrics, installed badly, with low-quality hardware. They are metal clad sockets, but half of them were damaged. Am currently replacing them and adding more circuits with a proper 8-way, IP-rated ‘garage’ consumer unit (sub panel on the other side of the pond). All of it contained properly in conduit. Not a job I wanted to be doing, but it will be worth it in the end.

DIY stuff: I’ve been to a couple of people’s places now, where they have solved the issue of organising DIY tools and supplies, by storing them in job-specific stacking crates, e.g. ‘Plumbing fittings 15 mm’, plumbing fittings 22 mm’, ‘plumbing fittings waste pipe’, ‘tiling tools’ and so on. That way, you can take what you need to a job in your house/at a mate’s place and minimise the possibility of forgetting something. I have some ex-post office plastic crates that are ideal for this, but the -ahem- supply appears to have dried up. ‘Eurobox’ crates are ideal, and available from many sources, but are not cheap.

Mechanic's tools: As far as mechanic’s tool organisation goes: don’t go too big+heavy! I bought a Halfords topchest when I was a student, then later a Clarke base unit. They fit and work together but: the whole assembly is big and top-heavy. It hasn’t moved from its corner of the garage in 4 years. Eventually, I’ll build those units into some kind of ‘hutch’ assembly for stuff that doesn’t need to be mobile. I’d like to get a smaller mobile cart/chest, with drawers on a latch. This can then be wheeled to the job/vehicle with all the essential spanners/sockets/hammers and save umpteen trips backwards and forwards. I’ll put a plywood top on it, and possibly a small vice/vise. These kinds of units aren’t cheap. But, they are used in the various manufacturers/workshops I visit for work, as they seem to be the best compromise between mobility and storage. What’s good enough for the goose, etc… something like this



Matt

 

[kered]

Just to add my welcome to GJ jipps

Great to see another member from these shores :thumb up:

 

[drivesitfar]

Jipps: i'm not sure if there is an easier way to take and post pictures, but this works for me if i don't have my camera handy. do you have internet access from your phone? if you do you can take pictures from your phone and email them to yourself. then pull up the email and save the pictures to your computer.

once pictures are on your computer you can attach pictures to your posts by clicking on the paperclip just above where you are writing your posts. you can only post 1 picture at a time and 7 pictures per posts and if you want to post more pictures then make another post.

if you don't have internet access on your phone then just get pictures to your computer with a USB or a method you have used before. good luck and again welcome.

Udderly: Nice post and welcome to the forum. with those kind of posts you will be a great addition to Garage Journal too.

 

[Jay Sco]

Welcome to the site Jipps, love the Fozzy avatar (wacka wacka).

 

[jipps]

Thanks all for the kind words of welcome.

And Matt, I'm very much liking your thinking, as it mirrors what's rattling around in my own head at the mo:

you can sometimes get lucky and find a concrete sectional garage that someone is practically giving away

I think this is the main reason that I'm spending more time on gumtree than on sketchup. We're in a pretty agricultural area, and who knows, the right thing might be out there.... We'll see how it goes

As far as mechanic’s tool organisation goes: don’t go too big+heavy! I bought a Halfords topchest when I was a student, then later a Clarke base unit. They fit and work together but: the whole assembly is big and top-heavy. It hasn’t moved from its corner of the garage in 4 years. Eventually, I’ll build those units into some kind of ‘hutch’ assembly for stuff that doesn’t need to be mobile. I’d like to get a smaller mobile cart/chest, with drawers on a latch. This can then be wheeled to the job/vehicle with all the essential spanners/sockets/hammers and save umpteen trips backwards and forwards. I’ll put a plywood top on it, and possibly a small vice/vise. These kinds of units aren’t cheap.

This is interesting, because it's where I'm coming round to. Having got thoroughly sick of doing loads of carries of tools everywhere, I decided I was going to grab a big roll cab and have been scouting around. But I think it was during that process that I found this forum, and the small toolbox thread has been quite inspirational. Hopefully I have a little(ish) parcel en route from eBay that will be the subject of its own thread in the near future as I work out if I can get everything I need into a single box. (Or not!)

Thanks again for all the good advice

 

[rburke65]

Welcome jipps from Ohio!

 

[udderlyoffroad]

Udderly: Nice post and welcome to the forum. with those kind of posts you will be a great addition to Garage Journal too.

Thanks, will post up my own thread soon, just need to clear up the mess that is my small shop so I can take a picture or two. Don't wanna break the first rule of Garage Journal club now do I? (You do not post without pictures!)

Hopefully I have a little(ish) parcel en route from eBay that will be the subject of its own thread in the near future as I work out if I can get everything I need into a single box. (Or not!)

I spent a summer working as a mobile boat mechanic - got my toolbox down to a fine art - as lugging any extra weight on and off boats gets old very quickly. But sadly those tools and box were purchased on student money, so not many have survived or made the cut, now I have a few more pounds to spend. Looking forward to seeing what you've purchased...

Matt

 

[jipps]

I spent a summer working as a mobile boat mechanic - got my toolbox down to a fine art - as lugging any extra weight on and off boats gets old very quickly. But sadly those tools and box were purchased on student money, so not many have survived or made the cut, now I have a few more pounds to spend. Looking forward to seeing what you've purchased...

Sounds like we're in similar boats (if you'll excuse the rather weak pun) in terms of moving from iffy tools to better ones. D'ya know, though, a few of my cheaper tools actually I've grown to not mind or even actually respect - they get abuse and keep coming back for more.

Then there's the category of tool where I know it's a bit useless, but it doesn't really get the use and it'll do okay until it dies and then I'lol get something better - a good example is my B&Q 'dremel': not great, but it spins true and gets the job now, for now at least.

The weirdest category for me is where I've got a patently stupid item that I've never stopped to think about. Like my no-brand 'stanley' knife. What amazes me isn't just that it was so poor, but that I put up with it for so long. The slide mechanism was so knackered it was really dangerous as the blade would slip unexpectedly. For about 6 YEARS I just used it unthinkingly. Did everything with it. Then I nearly cut two fingers off, this is just a week or two ago I'm talking about, and the scales just fell from my eyes. WTF was I doing? If ever there was a case for tool investment, this was it. I mean, you can get the absolute pinnacle of this tool, the ne plus ultra of utility knives, for £5!!! (Stanley 99E, natch) What am I doing using this rubbish every day of my life and nearly taking some fingers off? It's got me thinking more about what to re-evaluate tools wise.

But I'm digressing from my 'hi' in this thread, so I better save all this until (a) I start a proper thread on my tools, and (b) I stick some pics up of the stuff I'm talking about

(On which point, drivesitfar I meant to say thank you for your kind instructions & advice. Appreciate it!)

 

[regguy1]

Welcome,
You might consider making yourself a garage gallery page where you can document your progress and keep things in one place.

Here's mine:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140674&highlight=26'+30'+Garage+photos+videos

 

[drivesitfar]

Jipps: you are welcome. you have great posts and will be a great addition to the forum.

Udderly: you also make great posts and welcome to our group in case i haven't done so already.

i'll try to keep a lookout for both of your garage gallery threads with your garage builds. or just start posting on the threads you like. ask questions if you think of good ones that will help the threads or maybe keep another member from doing something when there is an easier or safer way.