Redoing my garage.... again (organization thread pic heavy)

[spsullivan82]

I have a 24x24 attached 2 car garage with some attic and some angled ceiling, but everything is 8-12ish feet tall.

When I first moved in, nothing had a place and it was terrible. I added some stuff along the way to get more function, but I'm currently in a "tear out all down and start from almost scratch" phase.

24x24 is a decent size shop for any one of the different ... disciplines i dabble in. The problem is that I do several things and the space isn't big enough for all of them without thinking things through or wrestling everything into position for types of work.

I'm looking for some advice and ideas on how to blend the various work flows. I have a mostly complete automotive tool set, various welding grinding metal fab type tools, a 5x10 router based cnc, 4x8 table saw bench and assorted woodworking equipment (taking bigger stuff like a planer and a jointer), anvil forge blacksmith type stuff, and lots and lots of construction/home repair tools.

The easiest fix was the construction stuff. I have a hand full of portable tool boxes. I set one up for each trade. Plumbing has a tool box. Electrical has one. Mud and drywall.... you get the point. They all are labeled and go in the shed instead of staying in my shop. Easy access, but out of the way completely until I need it. The rest is not so easy.

I used to work as a mechanic and when you're on the line, every tool needs to be in your box. But in a home a shop, having some of the things you would need as a mechanic in your toolbox doesn't quite make sense. Prime example is taps and dyes. They now should be in a drilling milling machining metal work type of location.

Then there are some tools that belong in almost every section, pliers drill bits and clamps could fit this list.

My garage is a complete disaster right now as i am trying to make sense of it all abs move things around, but i got injured and have to take a few days off. Figured it might a good chance to think things through before moving too much forward.

Here is a video i posted... viewer warning, it's not the pretty YouTube shop you're used to seeing.

 

[spsullivan82]

This a dirty cad of my layout. First one is labels, but the second one shows my intended zones.

Metal in purple stays in its own section keeping the dirty away.

woodworking being so much more space consuming, makes a c shape around the left. That position gives me the garage door (if open) to extend outfeed from the table saw. It gives me the back man door to pass longer material onto the miter saw station. And the dust collector is outside just in the other side of the miter saw station.

Cnc is mostly for wood, so it continues the wood stuff and the sheet good storage at the top is easily accessible to bring new material in, throw a sheet on the cnc or move it to the table saw.

Auto is off to the side giving me room to pull a car in if i need to.... anything not on the walls has wheels.

electronics aren't listed but... auto has low voltage electrical work as does working on the cnc, so they kinda blend in that area. It also would include other things i tinker with like my 3d printer. Printer lives in the office, but if I'm doing any wiring or soldering I do it in my garage.

Auto also sometimes needs metal tools, so having them close makes sense to me.



Now the little things can move with intent.

Metal drill bits go in the metal section and wood ones go in the wood section. The catch here is that my drill press pulls double duty. Though it's more rare for me to use it with wood than metal. Taps dies reamers etc get moved to metal with the drill stuff.

Electrical stuff can hang out in the smaller top tool box in the auto section. It's right next to the cnc and it's the perfect "machinist" type box. So I can have my cnc bits and tools electrical tools, things like power supplies and linear motion stuff all in that smaller box.

Pliers can go back into the auto toolbox instead of just being in whatever drawer had room for them

Metal type clamps would live on the metal section while more woodworking type clamps stay on the mobile clamp rack.

General tools like measuring marking and ppe aren't really specific except for a few things like welding gloves and mask. So they will probably end up in the miter saw station simply because that's where the most drawer space is. I may add little spots at each station for a few of those things, but the bulk will be in the drawer.


Currently my low speed sharpening wheel is on the miter saw station. I'm torn on this one. It's for sharpening woodworking tools... but it's sharpening metal. Low speed and wet stone mean it's not really throwing sparks though.

The deeper I get into the various tools, the more I think I need to just start moving things and see what I end up with for space. Then over time I can refine as I go.

 

[kaymccampbell]

You've got a bad case of flat surface disease, as do we all. I fight mine most every day. The other thing you have is a lack of containment. In my shop every bench has at least one shelf under it. I also have overheads for storage as well. It's taken me a long time to get to the point I'm at. I use Rubbermaid roughneck tubs as drawers for many things. I find that used office furniture works well for some things. Even my dog's crate has a use as a laser burner bench and PC desk. The latest shots, if it'll be any help.

 

[OccupantRJ]

My method is basically point of use layout. I have a main room and a machining room. If I stand at a vise (7), I place most things I will need around that area so only a couple of steps are needed to get the item. Example is my welding/work table. It really helps if a friend comes over to hang out in the shop while we work on projects as they know to stand where they are and look close by for what they may need. They love the method and things tend to get put back properly.
Here is some of the machine room and the corner in the main room with the large work/weld table.

 

[spsullivan82]

The other thing you have is a lack of containment. In my shop every bench has at least one shelf under it. I also have overheads for storage as well.

That is 100% true and something I'm working on. But I'm in a delicate balance between parking spots and storage. Because of the overpopulation issue, I put wheels under things that are too big to lift every time I use them. Those items need a parking spot and that takes up space that would otherwise be perfect for storage. That leads me to move up the wall for small item storage, which is great for easy access to common use items, but not so great for categories of tools. Imagine trying to hang sockets on a peg board lol. I think upper cabinets are 90% bad idea and 10% the only answer possible. It's very easy to lose things until the abyss of an upper cabinet, never to be found again. I use shallow shelf units instead.

My method is basically point of use layout.

That is kinda where I'm trying to get to. My biggest struggle is a lack of homes for everything. Everything needs a home or it wanders the shop for eternity.... which is almost as long as it takes to find that item when you need it.

Smashing my finger and Thanksgiving created a down time for me to think through this entire problem and work out actual solutions. I'm fighting the struggle, but as one part of the battle gets done, it cascades towards the overall victory.


I have 3 big areas that I can for sure make more storage in, but i need to be smart about it and plan it out.

My table saw bench was designed with storage, I just haven't finished it. It was also designed to have a router lift built in which means I don't need my separate router table taking up space. So if I dusky finish that whole project, it will store all the table saw blades, fixtures and such as well as all my router stuff while eliminating the need to store a router table. Those are huge steps forward.

My cnc machine is on a steel base I specifically built around closing off to have it's own dust collection, vaccum table, and tool storage. But the reality is that storage is not easy access for tools on the fly and maybe it needs to hold something else that lives in that general area of the shop. Maybe extra dust collection fittings and hoses and such would be a better example of the kind of storage I should be looking at for that.

And my big 32x96 HD bench as I call it. That thing is built with 4x4 construction and tied directly into the wall with excessive bracing. It's a beast of a bench, but maybe i need to cut it back to a more usable 24" depth and add cabinets under it. That is would be a good place to keep electrical stuff, more design heavy layout and measuring tools.

So yeah... those three sections can carry a lot of storage burden if I think it through enough.

 

[spsullivan82]

Got my table saw assembly bench back together and back in it's home. And started moving tools to the right zone even if there isn't any storage for them yet. Just getting them in the right zone let's me see and know what i need to make storage for. Once i know that i can build out a specific storage unit for those items like the ones I did for woodworking and auto which have worked so well that even when they are completely out of sorts, still stay organized. And the see something, grab something is definitely the best way to store tools imo. I think it's called first order of accessibility or something like that.



In some cases I have set up temporary storage for the new zones or tools that have been living elsewhere. That even helps me learn what will and won't work. For example i put a rod up for my metal working clamps, and tried hanging my angle grinder on it. It was not happy on the free spinning rod so I know i need to find a more stationary mount. The squeeze clamps on the other hand prefer being able to move a little to balance themselves out.


I'm also starting to see where zone locations in respect to each other comes in. Metal section needs lubes and oils. So does automotive. I've already built out a chemicals and aerosols section for automotive, so it makes sense that the auto and metal be next to each other and share that chemical section



Hopefully when I build out the electrical section it will make as much sense between auto and cnc as the chemical do.

 

[The Metric System]

That is kinda where I'm trying to get to. My biggest struggle is a lack of homes for everything. Everything needs a home or it wanders the shop for eternity.... which is almost as long as it takes to find that item when you need it.

I suggest that in a personal shop that is used widely varied things it is not practical to have a designated "home" for every single object. The work changes over time, material comes and goes, etc. Flexibility is just part of the application.

My solution is to acknowledge this reality and have a dedicated "junk drawer" (complete with label) to catch all the small things that don't have a place to go. The drawer isn't very big, so to look through it and find what I'm looking for only takes a short time. If I find myself pulling the same thing out of it repeatedly then that thing gets a more formal designated storage spot.

 

[racecougar]

Metal drill bits go in the metal section and wood ones go in the wood section. The catch here is that my drill press pulls double duty. Though it's more rare for me to use it with wood than metal. Taps dies reamers etc get moved to metal with the drill stuff.

All of that stuff can go in a toolbox next to the drill press. Different drawers for wood, masonry, metal, tap & die, reamers, hole saws, etc.

 

[spsullivan82]

Been busy doing life things, but i did get my ppe hooks worked out.


First attempts left a bunch to be desired.


But once i got the right shape, I hammered out 2 more. Quick pass over the belt grinder have me a nice flat section to go against the wall. Then a couple holes and screws and boom.

 

[TheClaw]

This is a early draft of my new shop, 16 by 32. Already I'm thinking of making changes. Number being a drop down attic stairs. That will need a footprint that means a bench or bike can go underneath it. Currently thinking of combining what is now two workbenches into a single 12ft unit.

 

[spsullivan82]

This is a early draft of my new shop, 16 by 32. Already I'm thinking of making changes. Number being a drop down attic stairs. That will need a footprint that means a bench or bike can go underneath it. Currently thinking of combining what is now two workbenches into a single 12ft unit.

I've always gone by that adage "get the biggest bench you can"