Above 1200 Sq/FT Re-Purposed Machine Shop
- Thread starter hoyt
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
Some re-cycled residential fans installed in the ceiling of the Red Room.
The quiet breeze is much appreciated . . . and probably won't be needed in a few weeks.
UPDATE: Just after we turned the fans on a musty odor was detectable. It turns out it is the dampness leaving the masonry. After a few weeks, the odor is gone.
The quiet breeze is much appreciated . . . and probably won't be needed in a few weeks.
UPDATE: Just after we turned the fans on a musty odor was detectable. It turns out it is the dampness leaving the masonry. After a few weeks, the odor is gone.
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Ford52PU
Well-known member
love your shop! Enjoy.
About 3 years ago we went to Williamsburg to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Our anniversary is April 26, so the 4 day weekend we picked to go just happened to be in early May and the car show was going on behind the visitors center. I enjoyed it alot and still can not convince my wife that I did not know in advance it was going to be held there.
About 3 years ago we went to Williamsburg to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Our anniversary is April 26, so the 4 day weekend we picked to go just happened to be in early May and the car show was going on behind the visitors center. I enjoyed it alot and still can not convince my wife that I did not know in advance it was going to be held there.
Here's the problem. I need to have a door on the Crafts Room so it can be heated this winter, but the door is a non-standard 77' high and is the standard width of 30". What happened?
Whoever set the lintel did it this way.
Not the dimensionally correct way like this.
Rather than cut a chunk out of the lintel, I'm just going to trim the door out and add a 2x3 frame of the correct size to mount a storm door to the face of the trim. That way, I get a door with lots of light and don't have to do a lot of extra work just to make it "look right".
I know it looks odd, but . . . door frame done.
Whoever set the lintel did it this way.
Not the dimensionally correct way like this.
Rather than cut a chunk out of the lintel, I'm just going to trim the door out and add a 2x3 frame of the correct size to mount a storm door to the face of the trim. That way, I get a door with lots of light and don't have to do a lot of extra work just to make it "look right".
I know it looks odd, but . . . door frame done.
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Next up is hanging a restroom door.
The guy who originally cut the opening left the bottom edges ragged and unusable. Today I used a diamond blade and a chisel to square the bottom of the walls up.
Now to trim out the opening and hang a door. Some people need their privacy.
The guy who originally cut the opening left the bottom edges ragged and unusable. Today I used a diamond blade and a chisel to square the bottom of the walls up.
Now to trim out the opening and hang a door. Some people need their privacy.
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Things are winding down on the Crafts Room.
The cabinet used is a sink base. Since there is not a sink, we were left with a "missing" drawer.
The solution was to build one. It's a huge drawer. Nice, heavy duty ball bearing slides.
We also cleaned up the rest of the junk in the room to make it ready for the ladies to move their stuff in. I figured they needed some investment in the effort, so they can clean it and even paint it if they want. But at this point, we're nearly done.
Added an old bookcase saved from the back of the storage unit. They have a lot of craft books, so this will be handy.
Perhaps if Browning's Alternator gets off the dime and repairs the two starters of mine they have had for two months, we can resume work on the cars.
UPDATE: on the 22nd, the Plymouth starter was repaired; still no ETA on the Desoto starter. It had to be sent out to have the solenoid re-manufactured since no replacement part is available.
UPDATE: The Desoto starter was just returned -- December 22, 2014! A four month repair job!
The cabinet used is a sink base. Since there is not a sink, we were left with a "missing" drawer.
The solution was to build one. It's a huge drawer. Nice, heavy duty ball bearing slides.
We also cleaned up the rest of the junk in the room to make it ready for the ladies to move their stuff in. I figured they needed some investment in the effort, so they can clean it and even paint it if they want. But at this point, we're nearly done.
Added an old bookcase saved from the back of the storage unit. They have a lot of craft books, so this will be handy.
Perhaps if Browning's Alternator gets off the dime and repairs the two starters of mine they have had for two months, we can resume work on the cars.
UPDATE: on the 22nd, the Plymouth starter was repaired; still no ETA on the Desoto starter. It had to be sent out to have the solenoid re-manufactured since no replacement part is available.
UPDATE: The Desoto starter was just returned -- December 22, 2014! A four month repair job!
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OK, we broke down and installed a door to the restroom. You would think that a light would be enough for the ladies, but no, they insist on a door. I've been working there over 3 years without a door or a light.
Almost done. Once the paint dries on the extra trim pieces, we'll install them tomorrow and the door will be done.
Almost done. Once the paint dries on the extra trim pieces, we'll install them tomorrow and the door will be done.
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We finished trimming out the restroom door. It's weird having a door now. There's no fan, but the restroom ceiling is "leaky" and is actually inside another room in the tenants' space, so it passively vents into their storage area.
We added a shelf for the microwave and hung a picture that was lying around the shop. A little class is good.
Oh -- we did fix those holes in the ceiling. Nothing pretty (the ceiling was a little warped), but it's functional.
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Now that the room is done, we can get back to working on cars.
Matt is learning to do some metal bumping by working out a dent in the front fender. There are several small dings all around the car that have accumulated over the past 10 years and 30,000 miles. Since I'm selling the car, I'll just repair the dings and prime, but not re-spray the car that gorgeous PPG Copper Perl since it costs $200 a quart. New owners never seem to like the old colors anyway.
Matt is learning to do some metal bumping by working out a dent in the front fender. There are several small dings all around the car that have accumulated over the past 10 years and 30,000 miles. Since I'm selling the car, I'll just repair the dings and prime, but not re-spray the car that gorgeous PPG Copper Perl since it costs $200 a quart. New owners never seem to like the old colors anyway.
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I'm working on a 12x20 room in my shop that will become my office. It will be a home for all my books. magazines and toys (computers, game consoles, etc). There are a few hurdles to overcome. The first is installing some doors.
There are two doorway openings into the room; both lack doors. Since the room will be a conditioned space and will be insulated (the shop will not), I'm thinking that I should use exterior doors.
The first door opening is roughed in for a 32" door. I plan on using a half-lite since the room does not have exterior windows. The wall uses only 4" block, so a pre-hung door should fit without any modification.
The other door used to have metal exterior doors hung in the opening, long since vanished. Inside from hinge to hinge measures 60". My thinking here is to use two 30" half-lite doors and hang them as French doors. This seems better than using a pre-hung French door because the wall is 8" block and the metal frame is already there.
I would use full lite doors all around since the room lacks windows at the moment, but they are more expensive and might be easily damaged when things are moved around in the shop. I do have all winter to get this done, so plenty of time to plan and reflect.
There are two doorway openings into the room; both lack doors. Since the room will be a conditioned space and will be insulated (the shop will not), I'm thinking that I should use exterior doors.
The first door opening is roughed in for a 32" door. I plan on using a half-lite since the room does not have exterior windows. The wall uses only 4" block, so a pre-hung door should fit without any modification.
The other door used to have metal exterior doors hung in the opening, long since vanished. Inside from hinge to hinge measures 60". My thinking here is to use two 30" half-lite doors and hang them as French doors. This seems better than using a pre-hung French door because the wall is 8" block and the metal frame is already there.
I would use full lite doors all around since the room lacks windows at the moment, but they are more expensive and might be easily damaged when things are moved around in the shop. I do have all winter to get this done, so plenty of time to plan and reflect.
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Finally got the Crafts Room finished.
Here's the sink. We fabricated a stainless pan that drains into the sink.
And the cabinets. Plenty of storage . . . well, maybe never enough.
We also finally finished painting the colored stripes in each room.
The stripes break up the plain white walls, add some color and also make it convenient to identify a location, i.e. "It's in the cabinet in the red room."
Here's the sink. We fabricated a stainless pan that drains into the sink.
And the cabinets. Plenty of storage . . . well, maybe never enough.
We also finally finished painting the colored stripes in each room.
The stripes break up the plain white walls, add some color and also make it convenient to identify a location, i.e. "It's in the cabinet in the red room."
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sean Buick 76
Well-known member
Nice work!!
We started work on the shop office today.
It's a 12x20 windowless room with 32" and a 60" door openings.
There are two voids in the floor where the knee-walls of a long-forgotten Quonset hut used to exist. Those were all the rage post-WW2.
There was a lip on the old concrete, so we chipped and ground it away. That was a good excuse to purchase a 7" Makita angle grinder. We filled most of the hole with sand and rubble.
Here's the end result.
Next up is to cut the concrete block for the three windows. Or, we might install some doors if I can find some I like on Craigslist.
It's a 12x20 windowless room with 32" and a 60" door openings.
There are two voids in the floor where the knee-walls of a long-forgotten Quonset hut used to exist. Those were all the rage post-WW2.
There was a lip on the old concrete, so we chipped and ground it away. That was a good excuse to purchase a 7" Makita angle grinder. We filled most of the hole with sand and rubble.
Here's the end result.
Next up is to cut the concrete block for the three windows. Or, we might install some doors if I can find some I like on Craigslist.
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millwight.mike
Well-known member
That is a great space. And I think copper is a great color for that car. Keep up the posts.
stoffels
Active member
what a space, impressed by your progress, keep up the goodwork
It's been three years since I moved in. I remember what a dump it was back then. It has taken a tremendous amount of work and been a tremendous amount of fun.
Family drama has kept me away, but everybody is doing well now. It has been a great benefit to have my son-in-law helping out. He now works in the family business which is seasonal, so we'll have lots of time over the winter to finish the shop itself and make some progress on several car projects.
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More Storage
I scored these lateral file cabinets off of Craigslist to use as power tool storage. I'll line the drawers with that anti-corrosion drawer liner from Lowe's since it is always so damp here.
I scored these lateral file cabinets off of Craigslist to use as power tool storage. I'll line the drawers with that anti-corrosion drawer liner from Lowe's since it is always so damp here.
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rubberrodder
Well-known member
SWEET! I got one of them. The guy I got it from put casters under it. Easy to move around and makes a nice portable work surface too!
We put the file drawers in place after we cut some 1/4" plywood to fit in the bottom since those thin metal panels will not support heavy power tools.
BONUS!
One of the drawers was jammed and would not open, so we turned the cabinet upside down. It turned out that it was a length of metal that supported the file folders, but this also popped out. A full box of black Sharpies. None are dried out.
I really like these. At $50 each, I might get a few more lateral file cabinets.
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Really great thread! Nice transformation of the space.
Three questions: Did you ever do the compressor silencer? Do you have video of it? I'm really intrigued in this mod. And lastly, what's the family business. I began to wonder after a few mentions. It's neat seeing what all different members of the forum do.
Three questions: Did you ever do the compressor silencer? Do you have video of it? I'm really intrigued in this mod. And lastly, what's the family business. I began to wonder after a few mentions. It's neat seeing what all different members of the forum do.
Not much going on at the shop lately that is about the shop. Matt and I have spent most of the time getting the '37 and '39 Plymouths running well. The '39 has not been on the road in 5 years. We go for a test drive tomorrow to have lunch with Cousin Daniel (who helped with the shop lights last year) at his new job, about a 25-mile round trip across town.
Now that they are in good shape, the next few weeks will be spent better organizing things and tuning up all the tools and machines to prepare for the next project: assembling a 1961 Triumph TR-3. We brought the boxes of parts over last week; the car itself is sitting in my mother's garage.
Now that they are in good shape, the next few weeks will be spent better organizing things and tuning up all the tools and machines to prepare for the next project: assembling a 1961 Triumph TR-3. We brought the boxes of parts over last week; the car itself is sitting in my mother's garage.
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sean Buick 76
Well-known member
Thanks for the updates!!! I am still super envious of all the space you have!!
How are the craft ladies enjoying their space?
How are the craft ladies enjoying their space?
The business just closed for the season. They're now preparing for the big family Thanksgiving dinner, then the big family Christmas dinner. We have about 40 people show up for Thanksgiving, 20 for Christmas (we used to get around 60 and have had as many as 90).
I'll be well fed and they will start working on crafts in January and probably do those through April. We re-open for the season on May 1st.
They make those wreaths out of vines to sell in the summer for $15-20. That's their "walking around" money.
So no activity yet, but they're excited to have a space after a few year's absence.
UPDATE: Cousin Betty fell the night before Thanksgiving and broke her femur just above the knee, so there will be not as much crafting and more rehabbing this winter.
UPDATE: After 6 months, Betty thought she was good to go, but it appears that the plate they put in her leg was defective, so that had to come out and she had another 6 months of rehab.
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My second cousin Daniel, who has helped me around the shop, just started a new job as a lube technician at a Chevy dealership. Son-in-law Matt (on the right) and I took him out to lunch and had a road test for the '39 at the same time. We all survived the trip.
I'm just trying to bring some new blood into the hobby.
I'm just trying to bring some new blood into the hobby.
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Next Car Project - 1961 Triumph TR3
The next car project scheduled is a 1961 Triumph TR3 that currently resides in my mom's garage.
My neighbor Ivan retired and began restoring cars and had a 4-car garage in his backyard. He did some beautiful work. One of his projects, a Jaguar XK-120, wound up in the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, VA, . He even built the special luggage that is shaped to fit the boot (a.k.a. the trunk in American English).
Health problems led him to sell almost all his cars and move to The Villages in Florida. This TR3 I bought from him was his daily driver which he had wrecked and was in the process of restoring. Everything is new including the chrome wire wheels. All I have to do is purchase 5 new tires and bolt everything together.
Until now, it's just been a matter of finding the time and the space, so with the shop itself mostly sorted and a helper at hand, it looks like Matt and I can get this done starting in January 2015.
The next car project scheduled is a 1961 Triumph TR3 that currently resides in my mom's garage.
My neighbor Ivan retired and began restoring cars and had a 4-car garage in his backyard. He did some beautiful work. One of his projects, a Jaguar XK-120, wound up in the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, VA, . He even built the special luggage that is shaped to fit the boot (a.k.a. the trunk in American English).
Health problems led him to sell almost all his cars and move to The Villages in Florida. This TR3 I bought from him was his daily driver which he had wrecked and was in the process of restoring. Everything is new including the chrome wire wheels. All I have to do is purchase 5 new tires and bolt everything together.
Until now, it's just been a matter of finding the time and the space, so with the shop itself mostly sorted and a helper at hand, it looks like Matt and I can get this done starting in January 2015.
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Bogdan M.
Well-known member
OMG, that's an amazing car!
'36 Auburn
I first saw an Auburn boattail speedster on the cover of Hot Rod magazine in the 80s when they did a feature on a reproduction and I have wanted one ever since.
This fiberglass Auburn is unusual in that it is factory asssembled (many from that era were kit cars), a stretched-body four-passenger model with power windows (instead of side curtains). The chassis is a '73 Impala stretched to a wheelbase of 134". The motor is a 4-bolt main Goodwrench crate motor with a Weiand 142 blower waiting for it after the re-build. I still would like to mate it to a 200-4R rather than the Turbo 350 it now has. I have a new wiring harness for it (the old one quit working reliably years ago, which is why I took it off the road). The radiator surround is warped and I have sourced a new replacement (it's difficult to unwarp fiberglass).
I'm looking forward to getting back to work on it after all these years. Just a few more interim projects to go . . .
I first saw an Auburn boattail speedster on the cover of Hot Rod magazine in the 80s when they did a feature on a reproduction and I have wanted one ever since.
This fiberglass Auburn is unusual in that it is factory asssembled (many from that era were kit cars), a stretched-body four-passenger model with power windows (instead of side curtains). The chassis is a '73 Impala stretched to a wheelbase of 134". The motor is a 4-bolt main Goodwrench crate motor with a Weiand 142 blower waiting for it after the re-build. I still would like to mate it to a 200-4R rather than the Turbo 350 it now has. I have a new wiring harness for it (the old one quit working reliably years ago, which is why I took it off the road). The radiator surround is warped and I have sourced a new replacement (it's difficult to unwarp fiberglass).
I'm looking forward to getting back to work on it after all these years. Just a few more interim projects to go . . .
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I added some undershelves to the workbenches. This one and another just like it.
The plan, of course, is to eliminate the clutter on top of the workbench, however the way these things always seem to work out is that it's just double the space for clutter which will expand to fill it all.
The plan, of course, is to eliminate the clutter on top of the workbench, however the way these things always seem to work out is that it's just double the space for clutter which will expand to fill it all.
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With the advent of cold weather, I noticed how drafty it was working in the front bay by the overhead door. There were two problems. When a replacement door was fitted several years ago, it was slightly smaller that the opening and it was poorly weatherstripped so there were big, drafty gaps. The floor is also uneven as it has been poorly patched at the threshold.
The first problem was easy enough to fix. Matt and I took the vinyl weatherstripping down and re-trimmed the opening to close the gap by adding to the existing framing a 2x4 along the top and 1x4s on the side to close up the gaps. We then re-installed the vinyl weatherstripping and there were no significant gaps. I was also considering using the Green Hinge System , but after re-trimmimg the door, it was not needed.
The floor problem requires a more involved fix. Because the floor was broken and poorly patched, the thing to do would be to come back from the threshold about a foot or so, cut the concrete and pour a new threshold that would be straight and level. That's not possible now, so another fix was needed for the winter.
I wound up installing a Snirt Stopper, a special threshold made by High Plains Industries in Fargo, ND where keeping the snow, dirt and cold drafts out of your garage is very serious business. For $90, my Snirt Stopper was delivered within a few days. Installation could not have been easier and it works exceptionally well. Now my wife wants one for the garage at home . . .
The first problem was easy enough to fix. Matt and I took the vinyl weatherstripping down and re-trimmed the opening to close the gap by adding to the existing framing a 2x4 along the top and 1x4s on the side to close up the gaps. We then re-installed the vinyl weatherstripping and there were no significant gaps. I was also considering using the Green Hinge System , but after re-trimmimg the door, it was not needed.
The floor problem requires a more involved fix. Because the floor was broken and poorly patched, the thing to do would be to come back from the threshold about a foot or so, cut the concrete and pour a new threshold that would be straight and level. That's not possible now, so another fix was needed for the winter.
I wound up installing a Snirt Stopper, a special threshold made by High Plains Industries in Fargo, ND where keeping the snow, dirt and cold drafts out of your garage is very serious business. For $90, my Snirt Stopper was delivered within a few days. Installation could not have been easier and it works exceptionally well. Now my wife wants one for the garage at home . . .
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