SG's Garage

[SouperGrover]

SG

Thanks for the quick response on the photos. It clearly shows the set up and I am familiar as I lived in a very close match to that when I was stationed at Fort Sill, OK.
The good news is that every place that has a roof is a potential woodworking shop.
Be it hand or power tools, wood dust can be made in it. From all I can see, the only thing may be something on the electrical power shortage, but most everyone only uses one power tool at a time anyway. The space looks good.
I don't know if your renting, leasing, or buying, but possibly you can get a little upgraded power somehow in there. Otherwise, I think your good to go on a shop, and unless someone complains about the "music" made by your tools, it should all be good. Just tell them "I love the scream of a Router in the morning" LOL.
Thanks again for the photos.

Best Regards
Herb

I'm banking on the fact that I will only need one at a time. And, you're right. Anything with a roof can generate sawdust. Hell, if I have to do it Nenaderthal style with no power I'm up for that too, as I love doing things the traditional way every once in a while. I've seen some amazing stuff done with no power. And in the beginning, I'll just be making very boxy stuff or curvy things cut on a jigsaw/bandsaw. Be a good opportunity to develop my Popeye sized forearms again

As for the noise, I hope to offer some small gifts to the natives to appease their anger

 

[SouperGrover]

It's been a while since my last update but I've been hiding out in the garage whenever I can to keep things moving. This single shining light may not look like much, but this is very symbolic to me. Every change I've made up to this point is really just getting rid of stuff and moving things around. This is the first thing I have really added to the garage. This light took me 3 weekends, a few trips to the hardware store, all new conduit/plugs/wiring, many many many lessons in electricity, a couple broken bulbs and a flipped, hidden GFI circuit. But, as of last night, I have constant light in the garage!

It really is true when they say it's not the end result that is important, but he journey you take to get there.

Hoping to have the next light up this weekend.

 

[jimgood]

I respect you for doing this yourself. I'm nearly on hold waiting for an electrician to get freed up to come redo my lighting. I'm askeerd of electricity!

 

[SouperGrover]

I respect you for doing this yourself. I'm nearly on hold waiting for an electrician to get freed up to come redo my lighting. I'm askeerd of electricity!

I am blessed to have an Electrical Engineer as a neighbor and good friend. I would have never attempted something like this without him. He's also great because he is very patient and wants to teach me how everything is done. I think I'll be able to wire up the rest of the outlets by myself now.

I are also askeerd of electricity. A little less now than a few weeks ago, but still a little more timid than I need to be probably.

 

[HSpencer]

Good to have you posting more of your work. Did you work out anything on the electrical supply to your garage? It would be nice if the whole 20 amps was yours alone.
Hang in there and you will have what you need with the space. From what I saw it is a nice size and you can do a lot with it!

Best Regards
Herb

 

[SouperGrover]

Good to have you posting more of your work. Did you work out anything on the electrical supply to your garage? It would be nice if the whole 20 amps was yours alone.
Hang in there and you will have what you need with the space. From what I saw it is a nice size and you can do a lot with it!

Best Regards
Herb

Thanks, Herb!

Funny story. And one of those "journey moments" I spoke about. I had the light plugged into one of the always on outlets on the wall and it worked like a champ. Took the bulbs out, hung the light, plugged it into the ceiling (which is tied to a switch) and... nothing. I fiddled with the bulbs for 20 minutes with no luck. Plugged it back into the wall outlet and...nothing. Uh oh. Noticed the freezer was off as well. Thought for sure I had flipped the breaker for our garages. With a STINKIN LIGHT! I called the HOA president and he encouraged me to go over to the breaker box myself and have a look. Which I did. Definitely 20 AMP circuit. So now I know more about the wiring. Just don't know exactly who else is on my circuit. Turns out the wall plug/switch I was using had a GFI in it I didn't notice and there was a problem with the wiring. Every time I would flip the switch it would flip the GFI. My buddy came over and helped get it right and the light works correctly now.

One thing I have noticed is that almost no one around me ever goes into their garage except to park or pull out their cars. So, for the most part, the 20 will be all mine I think. And I don't see anyone else with fridges or freezers hooked up either.

Seeing so many great garages and workshops and project ideas makes it hard to remain patient. But, as long as things are getting done in the garage - no matter how small 0 it makes me feel like its getting done.

I plan on making the first sawdust in the shop this or next weekend. First project - saw horses

 

[SouperGrover]

Made some more progress this weekend. Was able to free up this from the back corner of the garage. It's been here since we moved in over 15 years ago and been buried under stuff just as long. It measures about 8' long x 20" deep x 42" high. There are shelves in the cabinets and I was able to fit my entire meager shop in it (for now ). I even got to use it as a workbench for a little bit. I'm going to build real workbenches to meet my needs in the near future but for now, this will work.

 

[taumac]

As of noon today the car is IN the GARAGE! A full day and a half ahead of the goal. The 5'x5' section of stuff in the front left is all donate, too. So come Monday there will be even MORE space. The wife is VERY happy. And the happier she is, the more I get to put in here My son and I celebrated by going to one of the local big box stores and checking out power tools

Congrats o getting one car in. That's a big step. I'm trying to understand your layout. It's a row of garages (one for each unit ) with 3 walls a door and a roof? If this is the case I would keep all family activities in unit and just use garage for 2 cars and projects. I say that cause distance away from house. I'm just going off pics I've seen but garage seems a good distance away to have it a play room for kids also.

 

[SouperGrover]

Congrats o getting one car in. That's a big step. I'm trying to understand your layout. It's a row of garages (one for each unit ) with 3 walls a door and a roof? If this is the case I would keep all family activities in unit and just use garage for 2 cars and projects. I say that cause distance away from house. I'm just going off pics I've seen but garage seems a good distance away to have it a play room for kids also.

Thanks for your comments, taumac. You are correct on the layout. I've decided to ditch the Lego idea. Those will go into a storage loft I'm building. The only other kid related activity is my daughter's arts & crafts area. Put another way - I'm making a small finishing area for painting and staining my OWN projects but she will use it to do her thing and keep that mess out of the house.

We only have one car, so I have a bit more breathing room for work stations than someone who has to fit two cars in as well.

 

[SouperGrover]

Sorry for the lack of updates. I haven't done much in the way of layout lately. I've been doing some basic projects though, and that feels awesome.

A couple of pictures to share, though. This morning, my daughter helped me deconstruct some pallets.

The second photo shows one of the reasons I said I started out on this project in the first place. This is my daughter working on her Mom's Christmas Gift. I taught her how to hand sand, how to pick the right sand paper, how to use a vise and a few other lessons. We had a great time. Her being able to come out here and do this is a big accomplishment. This is by no means the final product. Her work area will be much different. But she was able to sit out here, paint, sand, glue - even make a bit of a mess. BUt the mess was easy to clean up out here compared to the kitchen table

 

[HSpencer]

SG

I had not seen you posting for a while and I had thought you may have given up on us!!

Seriously, I was very pleased when you logged on to my thread the other day for a post.
Hopefully you will work through your electrical shortages and be able to use some power tools in the garage, as I am sure you have thoughts and ideas for projects backlogged in your mind. Have you thought about asking the HOA if you could tap into the power panel for all the garages and run yourself at least one more 20A Circuit into your own garage? Having an electrician buddy, you could possibly tap and snake in a circuit. The sell to the HOA would be "I would not be using much" and I will buy the materials and run the circuit at no cost to the HOA" Maybe they would go for it especially if you got an inspection afterwards. Just a thought. 20A for you alone could run some power tools or a fridge.
Anyway real good to hear from you on my thread and keep on keeping on with your shop adventures. Let us know how it's going as well!!!

Best Regards
Herb

 

[SouperGrover]

Hey Herb!

Admittedly I've been on GJ a lot less lately. I've been spending most of my time trying to absorb as much as I can on the woodworking craft. Lots of reading on Lumberjocks, watching Youtube, and watching older shows like the Woodwrite's Shop, New Yankee Workshop, Woodsmith Shop, etc. Trying to figure out how to get started and all.

Not much as changed in the shop. I added a second fixture so there's more light now. I was able to use the shop to craft a handmade gift for my wife this year for Christmas. It was terrible and she loved it. So that was awesome.

On the power front, the good news is I've had our small freezer, fridge, lights and a 15 amp miter saw (my new toy I got for Christmas) all running at the same time with no issues. The only time I would be running more than that would be if I flip on the Shop Vac for dust collection. Even so, if I don't get enough power I'm totally ready to learn to use hand tools.

I know most woodshops revolve around the table saw, but right now I don't have room for one. And a miter saw will help me get the loft built. So that came first. I hope to have the loft up by the end of Feb.

Not much of a chance on me getting extra juice from the HOA. THe VP of the board and I have a love/hate relationship. As in he loves to be a d&^k and I hate when he's a d*&k.

THanks again for stopping in sir!

 

[SouperGrover]

Man. It's been over 5 years since I updated this thread about my garage. Thought of you guys yesterday after I was using my most recent project.

After many, many years of himming and hawing, after dragging my feet, I finally completed the project that brought me to this site in the first place:

The loft is up!

IN the 5 years since I started this thread, I became friends with a guy who is a civil engineer and he helped me design the loft. It's all 2x4 construction for the framing and 1/2" plywood for the flooring. Simpson brackets and screws were used to attach the supports to the deck and 4 3" screws were used to put each of the 4 supports into the rafters. He estimates that because the load is dispersed between four separate rafters and tied into the walls, the entire loft could hold well over 4000 pounds.

This was so satisfying to complete. It is that feeling you get when you check something off of your To-Do list that has been there since you moved in 20 years ago.

I went back and revisited my initial goals for this space. It's amazing how time and experience can bring clarity to a situation. When I first became excited about making this garage into a place for me to work, I wanted to cram too much in here. People in the beginning warned me of this and they were right. All the Lego is in the loft (3 massive bins of it). My daughter has outgrown her need to spraypaint everything and make a mess (although she is still painting and being crafty). And, my electronics interest is slowly on the decline. So, current goals are 1) Car parking (which is still happening) 2) controlled storage, and 3) woodshop.

There hasn't been much in the past 5 years that I have done to the garage apart from the occasional movement of one massive stack of stuff from here to there. But, I've certainly been using the garage to build a few projects. Here are some of them

I made a few different ******** board sets. The OSU one is for me and my family. The one that is stained with the decal on it was a commission for a wedding.

This is a picture of my son building a cedar planter for our patio.

And here is the latest project. This is a sign that I cut and assembled. The sign itself is simple, but I enjoyed this because it was my first foray into batching things out. We made 6 of these, so I had to figure out the most efficient use of material and time. The message on this one is pretty special both for what it says specifically and also because this is taken from a note I found in one of my Mom's purses after she passed away. This is her actual handwriting. My wife took the note, digitized it, and transferred it to one of the signs via her Cricut.

Great to be back, guys.