Something just clicked…..

[Strouty]

Try rotating the lathe so the headstock is toward the middle of the room and the tailstock is 3-4' from the wall.

Next time you have the urge to look at Craigslist or go to an auction, turn your time to loading up a rig for the dump or recycle. This is advise from someone who has been there. It will free you.

lg
no neat sig line

I don't want to be free (shut up you fool, yes you do). The worst part about that lathe is it is junk right now. I bought it for $150 after the guy loading it dumped it on its face. I need to spend some time and money to get it working, but when it is done, it will be better than before. It needs about $1000 worth of parts, but the original asking price was $2500 so I am still ahead of the game!

My lathe, a sad story

 

[Strouty]

As promised to myself and all you guys, here is the latest and maybe tomorrow it will look better.

 

[Strouty]

On top of all the moving, I remembered one of my future projects. This is the plate for my combination 5th wheel/gooseneck for my truck. It is 1" thick and weighs a little over 200 pounds!

 

[Kev442]

These seem like a waste of space to me. We all love mobile work tables, but you have a bunch of them already.

 

[Strouty]

These seem like a waste of space to me. We all love mobile work tables, but you have a bunch of them already.

The rotabin is awesome, it is only 34" in diameter and can hold tons of items. It is nice since you do not have to dig anything out from behind another item, just spin the shelf.

 

[Kev442]

And yet it sits empty.

 

[Zeke]

You obviously don't pass up many opportunities to latch onto shelves and cabinets. But that seems to me to be the root of the problem. I would first unify all the shelving to bigger and taller units and then look for any bare walls which you have many. If you put a lathe or a roll away tool box against a wall, put it under shelving starting at head height. You should look into a crowded shop like that and see the top shelf running completely around the top of the shop save for the roll up doors.

And if there's room above those, more shelving. You have a forklift so having things put away up high is not a problem. I think I see a couple of shelve units at right angles to the wall. Not a bad idea but run the wall shelves first and then place some at right angles to make some short aisles that you can run the lift into.

That's what I'm doing, moving what I can up and outward.

 

[Strouty]

And yet it sits empty.

It is new to the shop, I just assembled it last week and it is a hell of a lot easier to move when it is empty, once I figure out where it is going, it will be full.

You obviously don't pass up many opportunities to latch onto shelves and cabinets. But that seems to me to be the root of the problem. I would first unify all the shelving to bigger and taller units and then look for any bare walls which you have many. If you put a lathe or a roll away tool box against a wall, put it under shelving starting at head height. You should look into a crowded shop like that and see the top shelf running completely around the top of the shop save for the roll up doors.

And if there's room above those, more shelving. You have a forklift so having things put away up high is not a problem. I think I see a couple of shelve units at right angles to the wall. Not a bad idea but run the wall shelves first and then place some at right angles to make some short aisles that you can run the lift into.

That's what I'm doing, moving what I can up and outward.

The shop is really too small to set up an area that has aisles for the forklift. I have started to make an overhead shelf along the back wall, once the snow melts I will be able to get the rest of the pieces unearthed.

I can't go crazy with the shelves yet, I have a bridge crane that I will hopefully be installing this year. Once the bridge crane is installed, it will cover the entire fab shop area.

Then the other side has the mohawk lift which will be essentially centered.

The forklift is small, but at some point it will become too big for the space. I would store it outside, except it is electric and the batteries will not do well in the cold.

 

[Strouty]

I did not go into much detail about the stockroom area, but this is what it looks like. Essentially it is 4 "U" shaped areas. I did lose a little space along the back wall where the cabinets meet. I decided it was worth it so they would not overlap.

 

[A_Pmech]

It's interesting to finally see the place I hear about every time we talk.

From what I can see you have two problems which you're addressing now:

1) Too much stuff.
2) Too much wasted storage.

I see a lot of "**** space" in the shop and not much "work space," which is why you're not getting anything done. You're right! It can quickly turn into a disorganized warehouse instead of a shop. I've been there. Multiple times!

Once you get the shop organized and put everything in it's place, you need to have the discipline to PUT IT AWAY after you've used it. For me, that meant a change in how I work. Normally, I will work on a project until I'm too tired to continue. That doesn't leave any time for cleanup! Now, I stop an hour or so before quitting time to clean, put away, straighten, etc.

As an aside, I'll be a hell of a pal and drive all night to pick up that ironworker in the morning. You won't owe me a thing, I'll even drag it on the trailer myself so I don't disturb your work. You'll gain at least 20 square feet that way.

 

[Strouty]

As an aside, I'll be a hell of a pal and drive all night to pick up that ironworker in the morning. You won't owe me a thing, I'll even drag it on the trailer myself so I don't disturb your work. You'll gain at least 20 square feet that way.

Not fair, that isn't even in the shop yet. Of course it is another "I don't even know if it works" deals. I figured for the hefty sum of FREE I am going to hold onto it until I get a chance to try it out.

I agree a lot of wasted space, way too much stuff. The thing that I need to overcome the most is the fact that I know this is not the final layout of the shop. Part of me (the strong mental part) doesn't want to start anything until the shop is the way I see it in my visions. I guess I am going to have to compartmentalize things and just figure I can change it as I go.

By next week I will have the two spaces "separated" so that it will look like a fab shop, next to an automotive shop. Hopefully this year will be the the year a lot of things get done.

First order of business is the lift, I have to cut a trench in the floor to run the underground lines, that should be an event on its own. I have a very long list and I am pretty sure I will not be able to finish the list this year.

 

[Trey T]

How tall is your ceiling? Can you find shelves or cabinet system that goes that high?

Are those USPS boxes you got stacked on the jointed 12' wide shelves?

 

[ChevyEFI]

Are those USPS boxes you got stacked on the jointed 12' wide shelves?

Looks like it.

Toss those. Keep 2 of each size.
When you get down to 1, order 5 more (some have to be ordered in quantity.)
USPS delivers them free in many cases, so you might as well have a "just in time" stocking method for those. If you have some wild instance where you need 6 medium flat rate boxes all of a sudden, drive to the USPS and get them.

Work some other, similar logic to your other stuff, stock-wise.

And fix one lathe / mill / whatever and then move onto the next. Restoring two things at once means they both take longer.

Why am I jumping into the fray with criticism? 'Cause I need some of it myself.

Maybe a master full-height set of shelves with a lateral ladder for your large items. Use every bit of space to the ceiling. Then leave other walls clear. It'll look better.

Cool shop. And thread.

 

[Strouty]

How tall is your ceiling? Can you find shelves or cabinet system that goes that high?

Are those USPS boxes you got stacked on the jointed 12' wide shelves?

Ceiling is 12'6" tall. I have two upper storage areas, but they are awkward since I can't stand up straight.

The boxes are mostly flat rate, all different sizes, I do ebay and I do use them (sporadically). They are up out of the way and they are light so I can use a simple step ladder to get them down.

I know I could go higher with shelving, but the plan for that area is to add a second floor for my office. I am afraid if I concentrate on making the shelving the second floor will never be realized. I have an engineer that is going to redesign the existing trusses so that I can fit a full height second floor, it will gain me about 22' by 15'

Looks like it.

Toss those. Keep 2 of each size.
When you get down to 1, order 5 more (some have to be ordered in quantity.)
USPS delivers them free in many cases, so you might as well have a "just in time" stocking method for those. If you have some wild instance where you need 6 medium flat rate boxes all of a sudden, drive to the USPS and get them.

Work some other, similar logic to your other stuff, stock-wise.

And fix one lathe / mill / whatever and then move onto the next. Restoring two things at once means they both take longer.

Why am I jumping into the fray with criticism? 'Cause I need some of it myself.

Maybe a master full-height set of shelves with a lateral ladder for your large items. Use every bit of space to the ceiling. Then leave other walls clear. It'll look better.

Cool shop. And thread.

I would get rid of the boxes, but I do use them. It took three weeks to get some of those and my local post office did not have them. Everything else is just too heavy to put up there and easily take down when needed.

I always plan on one project at a time, but then I get hung up, money, time, abilities, you name it and it happens. I have been trying to do complete projects start to finish, it is tough. I have a short attention span and having a couple projects going at the same time keeps me from getting bored too quickly.

The criticism is why I posted, I wasn't looking for glory.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Well it looks like you have made great progress on the shop, Just remember to pick an area and work on it, if you look at he entire garage you will get over whelmed. I spent 1 hour a night after work, working and cleaning my garage to get it cleaned up, then I would go sit in my recliner and watch tv and think about what I wanted to get done the next night...it works....Rich

 

[Strouty]

Well it looks like you have made great progress on the shop, Just remember to pick an area and work on it, if you look at he entire garage you will get over whelmed. I spent 1 hour a night after work, working and cleaning my garage to get it cleaned up, then I would go sit in my recliner and watch tv and think about what I wanted to get done the next night...it works....Rich

I am trying to figure out how much time I can spend on it before I feel burnt out. I think today I was motivated, but I feel physically drained now. I will try to limit it tomorrow.

My shop is not anywhere near my house, so it makes it a little harder to justify spending an hour there. It takes me 35 minutes to get there, so I spend a little over an hour commuting. I try and go there when I can spend a block of time. Once I get the second floor office done, there will be an area to chill out. Right now, I don't have a good space to do that.

 

[rockinacummins]

FWIW

I have that exact same Milwaukee radio and that exact same 60" Rigid pipe wrench in my shop. As far as the space issue, I can relate... good luck!

 

[jfish]

I'm a person that also hates to see things go to waste. I love to give stuff new life, re-purpose used stuff or junk. And ill never pass on FREE.

HOWEVER

Over the past year, I'm done. I've been putting the junk on eBay and craigslist and getting my workspace back.

I said all the same stuff. "I'll use that somewhere." "this will come in handy on a side job." "I'll fix it and save a bundle."

My boss taught me "time is money" and what I finally realized was all the time I was waisting trying to save a buck with all my junk. There was some initial remorse but when the junk stopped getting the way of everything else, that was the real savings.

Make a plan. Write it down. Put it somewhere you will see it everyday. A goal without a plan is only a dream.

 

[Strouty]

FWIW

I have that exact same Milwaukee radio and that exact same 60" Rigid pipe wrench in my shop. As far as the space issue, I can relate... good luck!

Your pipe wrench is bigger than mine! Mine is a 48" rigid.

I'm a person that also hates to see things go to waste. I love to give stuff new life, re-purpose used stuff or junk. And ill never pass on FREE.

HOWEVER

Over the past year, I'm done. I've been putting the junk on eBay and craigslist and getting my workspace back.

I said all the same stuff. "I'll use that somewhere." "this will come in handy on a side job." "I'll fix it and save a bundle."

My boss taught me "time is money" and what I finally realized was all the time I was waisting trying to save a buck with all my junk. There was some initial remorse but when the junk stopped getting the way of everything else, that was the real savings.

Make a plan. Write it down. Put it somewhere you will see it everyday. A goal without a plan is only a dream.

I am working on a sketchup design to scale, I feel this will help in the long run. I know I have a problem, my goal is to start to turn my problems into money. I have a way of finding good deals, so I am hopeful that I can start flipping them and be able to make a living.

 

[Strouty]

I always dreamed of having lockers. I had smaller ones a couple of years ago, then I got these from a fire station surplus auction. I have tried so hard to work them into my design, but they waste so much space. I am going to move them out of the shop today. Here is a before and after shot of the locker area.

BEFORE:



AFTER:

 

[Strouty]

Both base cabinets need to have the legs extended. I used to store my trailer hitches and wheel chocks under there. That may be the first project once I get the shop cleaned up a little more.

 

[Strouty]

First task of the day completed, I just set the clocks forward!

 

[Strouty]

As I said before, this is my toughest area. I really would like to tear the stair out completely. I do not need daily access to the upper loft. I have had an idea of building an elevator for a while now. If I rip out the stairs I can temporarily use the forklift as an elevator and just use my ladder to get up to it.

Stairs that take up way too much room.


I have a little storage under the stairs, but it is not that useful.


This is the little loft area, it is well organized for things that I would like to keep from freezing or cooking. I have been putting full length steel pieces up there as well. My steel rack is only 16' long.


I figured while I was up there, I might as well take some more overall shots.


Another view.

 

[Strouty]

Man I think I hit a wall, my head is spinning and I can't figure out the next step. I am pretty sure the stairs need to go, but now I have been trying to figure out what needs to go up in the loft and what should come down before removing the stairs.

I think I may need to change directions and work on my office for a bit.

 

[bczygan]

It's time for some positive reinforcement.

To me, the reality is that you have a wonderful space, ready to use.

Think about it. Except for a few things out of place in the middle of the floor, you have a wide open space, with plenty of clear floor, ready for the next project.

You have plenty of storage cabinets of every kind. Things could be better organized, and labeled, but you have a very usable space.

I would allow myself the pleasure of getting on with one of my already begun projects.

You can still take breaks to work on various parts of the shop. It's an ongoing thing anyway. You will always be redoing it.

Bill

 

[Strouty]

I did get some more done, not nearly as much as I would have liked to. I am headed home for the night. This is where I left it:

The fab shop side is starting to look better. I now need to figure out what doesn't belong and get it out of there. I am pretty sure almost all the cabinets are automotive supplies.


I brought the locker outside and then I moved the 1" thick plate outside, that sucker was heavy, must have been all of 200 lbs. I think I feel that the most!


There is a little more material I need to move, then I can hang up my coveralls again.


I have decided that these two cabinets will be used on my welding cart/table. They are very heavy duty ball bearing slides.

 

[sctattooer]

Instead of getting rid of those stairs, install drawer glides to the stringers and snap together some drawers between each tread. That'd be awesome storage thats completely accessable

 

[ahab]

Would your compressor fit under the stairs?

Wasted space under the stairs is now breathing room to keep it cool.

I've thought about putting my SS3L3 up on a riser / shelf but that is going to be a no fun project if I ever go through with it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I see some progress in your pictures and happy for you.

What I believe your problem is the amount of storage that you have. It's like you have a large portion of your place filled with cabinet, bins, lockers and what not. It seems like you try to fill all the storage areas with more stuff and then the need to get more storage. It would take me a lifetime to fill half of your storage containers.

I'd start clearing out some of the lockers/ cabinets or whatever, fill them with the stuff you actually use or need and reclaim some more floor/work space.

 

[Strouty]

Instead of getting rid of those stairs, install drawer glides to the stringers and snap together some drawers between each tread. That'd be awesome storage thats completely accessable

That is a cool idea, but I feel it would be a lot of work for a little space. I had thought about making the bottom half flip up to reveal a storage area.

Would your compressor fit under the stairs?

Wasted space under the stairs is now breathing room to keep it cool.

I've thought about putting my SS3L3 up on a riser / shelf but that is going to be a no fun project if I ever go through with it.

The compressor is too big. I have the capability of lifting my compressor fairly easily. I need to do some research on elevating it. I don't think it would be too hard to keep it from shaking or vibrating.

One thing I remembered was my Dad's shop used to have a staircase that was on a hinge and you could lift them up and out of the way. I remember playing around with them as a kid. He had a cable with a pulley and counter weight to help lift them.

 

[Strouty]

I see some progress in your pictures and happy for you.

What I believe your problem is the amount of storage that you have. It's like you have a large portion of your place filled with cabinet, bins, lockers and what not. It seems like you try to fill all the storage areas with more stuff and then the need to get more storage. It would take me a lifetime to fill half of your storage containers.

I'd start clearing out some of the lockers/ cabinets or whatever, fill them with the stuff you actually use or need and reclaim some more floor/work space.

Thanks for the kind words. I actually started making a list of the things that I wanted in the shop. I figured that anything that was getting in the way of my dream shop could either get sold, go out to another storage area, or go to the auction.

 

[Strouty]

I have so many cabinets and shelves and almost all of them have things in them. I don't even know what some of the things are, I just know they are "valuable" so I keep them. I have a few cabinets that make me want to scream whenever I open them (they have no drawer slides), I have others that I love, and then there are the ones that seem to have no good way to organize them. I try different bins and boxes, if I find something that works better, I will adopt it until I find the next thing that works better than the last.

The funny part of all this is that if this was someone else's shop I would be able to organize it without a hitch. I get emotionally attached to things way too easily. Today I had a real hard time taking the lockers outside, rather than moving them. I think part of it is that I paid good money for them, part of it is the idea that they would "make" my shop cool. The cabinets that I used to replace them have much more useable space, so it ended up being a good thing, but getting there was really hard.

 

[Strouty]

Here as some of the cabinets I use and a view inside them.

This one came with a bunch of sandpaper, I would like to add grinding wheels and some other "abrasives" to it.


Inside view, has just a few things in it.



This one was a microfiche storage cabinet, or something like that.

I store my remote control car parts in here, one of my hobbies that has been put off for a long time.

These are old index card holders, they are very heavy duty.


The divider bins are from those stanley boxes for storing hardware, they fit in snug and I can still use them with the original boxes too.

These are the ones that have no drawer slides.



Not all of them have plastic dividers, so are just wide open, but I have tried to keep them separated, just not labeled.

 

[Strouty]

Over the next few weeks I am planning on trying to put like things with like things. I am trying to come up with certain areas for certain things. I have a section that is suppose to be for safety supplies. I would like to set up one or two shelves for each of my vehicles, that way I can store any spare parts, filters, or specialty items in a place that I can find them easily. I have an overflow of office supplies that I would like to get out of the stockroom. I just need to figure out where to put them. Tomorrow I am moving some cabinets around because I need one out in the fab shop.

 

[R-132 Fan]

Looks good! I have been watching this thread and you have made some really good progress in the past few days.
The area where you have the lathe, milling machine and the big table with the chop saw looks like it's a great ready to go to work area.

 

[Strouty]

Looks good! I have been watching this thread and you have made some really good progress in the past few days.
The area where you have the lathe, milling machine and the big table with the chop saw looks like it's a great ready to go to work area.

Thank you very much.

I still need to hook up the phase converter, I am trying to make sure that is where they will be staying. I am going to have to wire in a new outlet for the welders at the front of the shop. Since I moved the air compressor I will use its old outlet for the phase converter. Then the old welder outlet will be for the air compressor (at least I think so). That means I either share an outlet or run extension cords everywhere. If I end up using the plasma cutter I need two outlets anyways.

See how one thought turns into a mess of new projects!

 

[Strouty]

The project for this morning is to make a base for these cabinets. I bought them from my local restore, they seem to be high quality , they are made of metal, but the base was not available. I need to get them up off the floor a little so I can open the doors without hitting the floor. I am going to eventually add some countertops, but for now I am just using plywood.


I have all ready installed the upper cabinets, my Father helped me with that about a month ago.





The lower cabinets need to be raised up so the doors don't drag on the floor. It will also make the top height more workable.



This one is upside down, I am trying to figure out the best way to add the wood base. I have some pressure treated wood that I will be using.

 

[GarageWarrior]

I feel like a whiner, my problem was 100% self created. but this size shop is a curse 50% of the time. The dimensions are 32' deep by 60' wide with 12' 6" to the bottom chord of the trusses. I need to get it squared away this spring so I can make some money this year. I have soooo many projects that now I have started giving up on some. I either don't have the skills or I don't have the money to get them completed. That is the most frustrating part, having a tool that needs work before I can even use it, yet I have to trip over it to work on anything else. Here is a prime example:

My lathe, a sad story

Just read through the whole thread, but still don't understand - what's the PURPOSE of all this stuff? Is it for a hobby or for an actual business?

Universally TIME is MONEY, but also SPACE is MONEY. You are paying for the cost of space and heat and electric in a place that can effectively employ several people, but it's only you working and only doing one thing at a time.

You have a bunch of work trucks - are they running jobs and making money or just sitting and deteriorating?

How much machining work do you do to make having a tool room worthwhile? What's your time worth? Can you effectively compete with a professional machinist turning parts?

Do you really need fab room or can you take your work to guys that can do things faster and cheaper?

If you have broken projects and unsorted junk taking a lot of of your shop space - sell it or scrap it , put a partition and start making $$$ renting out space and collecting a paycheck instead of paying to heat and light the space and doing unproductive work.

Sorry if it sounded harsh, but I went through something similar... found myself with too much stuff that I've been holding on to for way to long - about a year ago I SORTED and SOLD/SCRAPPED a whole lot, and still have ways to go, but hopefully will be done by the end of the summer. The kick is - out of all the of things I've sold/scrapped (and it was A LOT of stuff), I really haven't missed a single thing, not at all. Now I actually have an efficient shop to work in that I can bring projects in and out, instead of a disorganized mess where I had to move 10 things out of the way before even starting on a new project.

 

[Strouty]

My shop is really for personal use right now. My long term plan is to rebuild medium duty trucks.

The answer to most of your questions is trucks are deteriorating but do get used, I don't want to compete with a machinist, I enjoy fabrication and I do a lot of my own repairs.

Your response is not too harsh, I have a strange situation that allows me to keep the shop with very little overhead. I could rent out space, but that is not my goal. I grew up fixing things and building custom work trucks.

None of my projects will win any prizes, but they have the satisfaction that I did exactly what I wanted to do. I used to have employees for my business, but that probably won't happen again any time soon. My main goals are to get healthy again and get the shop so I can do any project that I would like to. I am a typical jack of all trades, master of none.

 

[Mazdaspeed]

Way too much stuff...like honestly, how does any one person amass that much? If you haven't touched it in 10+ years or don't knowingly need it in the next 2+ years, get rid of it.