Pocket sized shipping container workshop
- Thread starter samthedog
- Start date
They are powder coated steel with glass. I know glass isn't the best option but if / when the glass is broken, I will replace it with plexiglass.
I had to go with this option as regular tool cupboards are too deep and result in a closed space at head height - making the space feel claustrophobic. This at least allowed me to remove all these tins from my cabinet drawers leaving far more room for more critical items.
Paul.
PapaG
Member
I should have known you had it worked out. lol. Some things I can not see with my minds eye anymore. Thanks for shining the light on it..
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JCQuick
Well-known member
wow what a great build My step father was from Norway and took my mother there a couple of times she loved it. My step father was an aerospace engineer and the things he would come up with blew me away
K13
Well-known member
Shop looks great. Those Ikea cabinets look kind of neat I also noticed your Ikea rolling cart in your old shop pic. I use one in my garage as well they are great for the price.
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Ainsley
Well-known member
Awesome looking, clean shop. Looks like a great workspace.
LegacyIndustrial
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Coolest shop I have seen in a while.
Mr. Ryan should post this on the site's main page!!
Mr. Ryan should post this on the site's main page!!
thunderbird61
Active member
I've been a little busy but managed to pick up some small cupboards from Ikea of all places. They are just big enough to fit my spray cans and cans in them.
Paul.
What Ikea series are those? Seem like something I could use
thunderbird61
Active member
Brompty
Active member
'I wasn't sure if people would be curious about this type of project since there are many larger and more impressive workshops and garages being built.'
For me, this is why your build is so interesting. Building a garage or workshop with almost infinite space and budget is not hard, but your container shows what can be done for little money and a lot of imagination.
Keep going with the updates, and any examples of what you make in there would be great.
For me, this is why your build is so interesting. Building a garage or workshop with almost infinite space and budget is not hard, but your container shows what can be done for little money and a lot of imagination.
Keep going with the updates, and any examples of what you make in there would be great.
Don't give me too much credit PapaG. There are plenty of things I have not worked out yet! I still have not worked out where the beer fridge will go...
Thanks JC. He didn't happen to come from Kongsberg did he? We have a weapons factory here that has a large aerospace department. I work in the same industrial park.
Thanks K13. I don't have the funds to buy dedicated workshop equipment so I scrounge and adapt what I can, like most of us I guess. I looked everywhere for cupboards in this size and nobody but Ikea had them.
Thanks for the kind words. I am still some way from being done but the rain won't let up. I have not been able to do much due to the lousy weather. I don't know how my shop compares to others that have featured since it is quite a departure from the typical garage. I have had to come up with very different solutions to things that are not normally a consideration in a larger shop.
Those small ikea cupboards look interesting. What are they called as I couldn't find them on the ikea site.... Nice setup by the way
Thanks Kitch. They are the Råskog cupboards from Ikea. The NSA nailed it before I could respond...
Råskog veggskap. Passer veldig bra til mindre verksteder.
Thanks Brompty. We need to use what little space we have since square footage is so expensive here - much like the situation in the UK. I found that when I moved over from Australia, I had to rethink the idea of a workshop somewhat. It had to be heated, well sealed and far smaller than what I was used to.
Trust the NSA to have the info on hand
Thanks for the interest guys. I'll post up some more pictures of the additional equipment I need to squeeze in.
Paul.
dcmus
Well-known member
Great job! I admire your vision.
Thanks! It has been a lot of work. I still need to fit this machine in:
It is a Clarkson Mk 1 tool and cutter grinder. I will likely take it off the plinth and have it mounted on one of the rolling cabinets.
Paul.
dcmus
Well-known member
How difficult is that to learn to use?
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Carves
Well-known member
Thats definitely a great "toybox" you have .. 
Congrats on getting it all in and making it work for you. Makes me wish I had ignored building code regs here - and gone ahead with 2 x 40footers, instead of buying a nannystate approved, kit shed.
... also very jealous of that little finger brake you scored. Its about the size and capacity that I would find useful.
Congrats on getting it all in and making it work for you. Makes me wish I had ignored building code regs here - and gone ahead with 2 x 40footers, instead of buying a nannystate approved, kit shed.
... also very jealous of that little finger brake you scored. Its about the size and capacity that I would find useful.
Apparently it's not very difficult. The Clarkson MK 1 was designed to have someone grinding endmills within a very short time with limited machining experience. I have tracked down all the other equipment for the machine as well and am on the hunt for a drill point grinder that will allow 4 facet sharpening.
Thats definitely a great "toybox" you have ..
Congrats on getting it all in and making it work for you. Makes me wish I had ignored building code regs here - and gone ahead with 2 x 40footers, instead of buying a nannystate approved, kit shed.
... also very jealous of that little finger brake you scored. Its about the size and capacity that I would find useful.
Thanks! If you consider the hassle of doing things by the book, it works out cheaper if you can side-step the rules. My neighbors didn't mind the container so the council couldn't say a thing about it. This saved me both time and money and most importantly, gave me a shop that will move with me. Every time you need to move machines, you risk damage and there is always cosmetic damage, no matter how careful you are. This is now eliminated because the whole shop will be moved, rather than trying to handle individual machines.
The finger brake was a complete score. I have been looking for one in this size for ages so having stumbled onto this one was a stroke of luck. It's just the right size since cabinets normally won't exceed 600 mm so this will fold drawers, brackets and boxes that are most commonly found in our type of shops and projects. The only thing is that it weighs about 100 kg, despite it's small size. It's a complete ****** to sneak past other machines.
Paul.
SouperGrover
Well-known member
Not sure if you mentioned it but what kind of power did you run to the container to support all of your gear? I am thinking of putting some machining tools in my shop for my son to use (he is taking machine shop in school this year) and power is a big concern for me. we only have a 20 amp 12v circuit and can't add any more
I have 16 amp, 230 volt single phase supply running to a rotary phase converter to produce 230 volt 3 phase. I also have a 2.5 kVA transformer to convert the 3 phase to 400 volt 3 phase for one of my machines.
In total I have about 3800 watts of power at my disposal at any one time. Since I use about 800 watts between the lights and heating, this means I have to run the machines individually if I expect heavy loads as most of my machines have 2.2 kilowatt motors.
This was one of the reasons I went with the rotary phase converter for my 3 phase supply rather than an inverter or variable frequency drive. A VFD of 1.5 kilowatts requires 17 amps, which would trip my fuses if used for any length of time. Even though I have C type thermal circuit breakers, the VFD and utilities would overrun the supply in no time.
Paul.
A bit of a development, it turns out getting the tool grinder would be quite a logistical challenge so I have found one in Sweden that is a later model, and a beefier type. It is a Clarkson MK II and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I have just enough room to squeeze it in. Anyway, here is the picture:
I'll be picking it up this Friday.
Paul.
I'll be picking it up this Friday.
Paul.
code4pay
Well-known member
Lol suspicion confirmed, lives in Australia
I picked up the tool grinder and have it now safely positioned in the workshop. It was in remarkable condition and had a single owner from new who was self employed running a tool and die-maker business. He was the only one who used the machine and kept it clean and dry. The hand scraping is still visible on all the precision surfaces:
It came with all the accessories I need to sharpen all my HSS endmills. I will also be making some new wheels for the belts so I can sharpen carbide.
I am now on the search for a toughbook laptop to use in the workshop.
Paul.
It came with all the accessories I need to sharpen all my HSS endmills. I will also be making some new wheels for the belts so I can sharpen carbide.
I am now on the search for a toughbook laptop to use in the workshop.
Paul.
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metalhead140
Well-known member
Awesome! We have a 40 foot container on my father in laws property that we bought to store our garage contents in while we moved. I considered trying to setup some workshop space in it but it is completely full and we were able to move somewhere with a decent garage so I didn't look into it further. It has 2 cars in it though, and a mezzanine/shelf above them filling about 3/4 of the space with just a narrow walkway down one side. We went the container for much the same reasons; cheap, quick, easy, transportable, and no council approval. You've made a really nice shop in yours, great work!
panthersteve
Well-known member
Awesome work !!!
Wow, so many Aussies I'm starting to get homesick. Thanks for the kind words gents. It is still pouring rain here so not much work getting done on the container. I still have some small things to sort out with the insulation so I don't spend too much keeping it warm in winter where we hit -30 degrees celcius.
I also have to get the crane built when it dries up a little. We have been experiencing flooding here since it has been raining for about 3 weeks straight now.
Paul.
I also have to get the crane built when it dries up a little. We have been experiencing flooding here since it has been raining for about 3 weeks straight now.
Paul.
I've been out of action for a while due to a herniated disk and severe sciatica. I did manage to get some more tool boards mounted today for the lathe and the mill. Pictures to follow tomorrow when I manage to get brackets and tools in place.
I have not been well enough to lift the heavy H beam for the crane since I need to cut it down to size with the metal bandsaw and that is a bit much for me at the moment.
Paul.
I have not been well enough to lift the heavy H beam for the crane since I need to cut it down to size with the metal bandsaw and that is a bit much for me at the moment.
Paul.
Bronson
Well-known member
Very well done, I like it!
jimgood
Well-known member
Paul, what you've done is amazing. Do you happen to know any details about those Ikea cabinets above your lathe? I tried to find some on their website but they're not showing up.
Edit: I just found them: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70213866/
Edit: I just found them: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70213866/
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smsteve
Well-known member
Love the shop and wanted to let you know that I was able to select either 720 or 1080HD and enjoy your setup in full HD!
Keep the updates coming, please.
Keep the updates coming, please.
rubberrodder
Well-known member
Enjoyed the video very much.
As others have said, having a huge shop and plenty of space is easy. Having such limited space and still building an extremely versatile shop is tuff. VERY creative and VERY cool.
As others have said, having a huge shop and plenty of space is easy. Having such limited space and still building an extremely versatile shop is tuff. VERY creative and VERY cool.
Thanks for the kind words guys. I'll shoot some more videos to explaining what I feel to be important tools for small shops. It's taken me years to get to this point so I think I have a fairly good idea of what general tools and machines are handy for a small hobby / job shop.
If you want some more info or details about anything in particular let me know. I am practicing putting short videos together for work so I will be shooting short youtube vids anyway.
Paul.
If you want some more info or details about anything in particular let me know. I am practicing putting short videos together for work so I will be shooting short youtube vids anyway.
Paul.
vegar
Well-known member
What a great little workshop. Unfortenatly my wife would newer allow me to put one of those in the garden 
Thanks for the kind words gents. I have been out of action again due to my prolapsed disk acting up. I will be posting some more youtube videos featuring the technology solutions in my shop and also how to select the right machines for a metal shop.
I am in Poland at the moment but stay tuned for some youtube vids next week.
Paul.
I am in Poland at the moment but stay tuned for some youtube vids next week.
Paul.
I forgot to mention...Lets see some pictures of some of the things you are making in your shop with all that fine equipment
I usually work alone so there is nobody to take pictures but today I had someone to help.
I drugged up with pain-killers and helped a friend out in building some equipment for a brewery. It was a simple jup of drilling some large pots and plumbing some thermometers and taps. Involved a hole saw, die grinder and a bit of drill-press work enlargeing the ID of some washers.
Paul.
smsteve
Well-known member
Hopefully you will be "paid" for your services in BEER!!! 