Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The Jungle

[Krang]

I’m going to edit this once I get to a computer, but here we go.

I like to work on cars and am generally curious about everything. Have been my entire life. This has lead me many interesting places, but I always come back to a garage it seems. Once I had the opportunity to make my own space, I used what I could at the time and here it is.

2 - 40’ shipping containers (one is a shop, one is storage) spaced 14’ apart at one end and 18’ apart at the other (I have an interesting space available, and wanted to make the most of it)

Simple roof between them built with some friends, and I’ve got myself a “garage”!

I built up a grade with surge rock and gravel, leveled it out and compacted / steamrolled.

First container placed


Both containers placed and positioned


Starting to clean and paint




Building shelving inside the containers, and a lockable back room / humidity controlled room




Cross beams for eventual lighting and to secure the shelving without bolting through the container


Roof! Because they are not parallel, this was a lot of geometric fun.... not.








No sooner had the roof been completed and we had a storm. A tree fell right on it, thankfully the roof won.


Bringing over the tools, my family was happy to get this stuff out of their garage!


I was in dire need of storage... a local office was selling a bunch of metal filing cabinets and shelving for dirt cheap (the big 4 drawer cabinets were $10!) I figured I could make that work.



To make the drawers more useful I used the filing system supports to make dividers



Decided I wanted to learn how to weld tig


Made a cart that stores easily under my workbench / shelving




Wanted more headroom at my workbench, so I raised the shelf above it


Also repurposed some random cabinet scraps for power tool and clamp storage (they just so happened to be the same color, I didn’t destroy a perfectly good cabinet I promise)


Took lots of stuff out and am in the process of reorganizing now


Found 200 pieces of 3/4” stainless tube dimensioned to 18” at a local recycler, figures I could make better use of it...


Practicing some detail stuff, made a clock






I’ve been needing a heavy duty work surface, found this brute on Craigslist, cams with a Yost 202 Vise! Weighs 250lbs easy without the drawers. Should do the trick. However, it was destroyed. So, weekend project is to clean it up!


Old school ingenuity here... the drawers are not on slides so they can just pop out when moving the bench. This grate was built in, pulls out of the top under bench area and latches on the bottom to hold the drawers in!




Vise was done first..


The bench is disassembled, wire wheeled, sanded, treated with phosphorus etch-and-prep, rinsed, and drying now. Should have things back together in a few days. It’s missing some drawers so I will probably try and make some. Thinking 2 - 3/4” sheets of hardwood ply and a piece of Masonite on top. Capped with a stainless steel sheet. Should be stout enough to take some pounding if needed.

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[95riosnake]

Very cool project, that roof really set off the whole structure nicely. Those overhangs give you a lot of covered area on the sides also. Definitely subscribing!

 

[Unruh]

Interesting build. Using the storage containers has me thinking.

 

[tooltwister]

Very nice set up. I am having a hard time finding containers under $6000 and I am only 150 miles from Albuquerque, NM. I would like to do something similar.

Why the wood and shingle roof instead of coraggeted? It looks great, but expensive as well.

Looks great. Be safe.

 

[Krang]

These were used, and had a few dings but they were minor (and easily repaired). $3500 each, so not bad! The biggest improvement I made was installing zerk grease fittings on the door hinges.

I live in a semi-residential area and the roof needed to look decent and match the surroundings. Also, it needed to be quite strong as we receive lots of rain and heavy winds regularly. Finally, I knew how to build it and had never done a corrugated roof.

The wing walls are sheeted with roughsawn plywood with batons in the event I ever want to enclose the barn.


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[Krang]

Interesting build. Using the storage containers has me thinking.

If you have access to a plasma cutter or the like you can easily cut doors in the sides too. Hard to beat the bang/buck for a container for sqft and security. I couldn’t have built a comparable framed structure for $3500, so it was a no brainer.

 

[Krang]

Progress today! All shelves and panels were stripped, sanded, and rust neutralized. Then painted as close to the original color that I could get. Reassembled with stainless hardware.








For the drawers I have some UHMW tape to help them slide easier and lined the insides with toolbox liner:









Also, finished the vise a few days ago, ended up needing to clean the handles down to bare metal straighten them out, polish, and oil them. Should be all set.



Finished:

 

[Mikkeli]

That is something really different, clever use of containers. Also really nice work with the workbench and the Yost vise.

 

[LXCam]

That turned out incredibly cool. And I know you said you like unique spaces but was there any other reason to build a structure that difficult to construct and wasteful with material. Don't get me wrong, I luv it and dig what you're doing with it as I basically did something very similar for my shop. Mine is 18ft clear and as it is, it's loaded. I just can't imagine utilizing that space effectively unless it's just a dry parking area. Don't mean to come across as a Debbie downer, but my OCD required me to ask

 

[Krang]

Really, it’s the space I had to work with, and I wasn’t looking at a permanent structure at the time. The roof is constructed entirely with screws, save for the shingles. It was always meant to come apart easily should I want to move it.

For me, the space between the containers is plenty. I can fit three cars in there with the roof overhang, or two with plenty of room to work on them. It may not seem like it yet but that is my main reason for having a shop, space to work on my cars.

Someday I will break this all down, and either move it or RE-use the lumber and containers in some way.


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[Pluribus]

Yup, this is a thread I will follow! You're doing some really cool stuff.

I have a shipping container and love it. Mine is mainly tractor & implement storage, but you are getting really creative with yours.

 

[TurtleValley]

Awesome build. Love the use of containers and the roof overhang. Lots of rain over there and that looks like good protection.

Mind me asking which island?

 

[Krang]

Oahu, I live in Kaneohe


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[metalhead212121]

subscribing..

 

[rharman]

That's a really interesting build. Any thought of a man door on the inside sides of the containers for easier access from the carport section?

 

[1/2 Cup]

Krang way to cool..

 

[Krang]

So I found a deal.... for me its a significant deal, and gives me the opportunity to do something really cool.

I found a tattoo shop going out of business, and they had been using some gladiator cabinets and toolboxes for working area cabinets. They were selling 5 x Gladiator 1 Drawer + Cabinet, 1 x Craftsman 5-Drawer Toolbox, and 1 x Random 2 - Drawer Toolbox (ignore this one for now) - got everything for $500 and of course they are all in like-new condition more or less, stoked!


I already had, and use 1 x Gladiator 1 Drawer + Cabinet & 1 x Craftsman 5-Drawer Toolbox. So, my totals are as follows:

6 - Gladiator 1 Drawer + Cabinet
2 - Craftsman 5-Drawer


I want storage, a solid work surface for my benchtop bandsaw, belt sander, and plentiful workspace. So I made a plan...

Looks something like this:


I have enough boxes to make two of these, a tad less than 20' of workbench. Combined with my restoration project in the previous post, I think I will be in good shape for whatever I want to do now.

This is what I hope to do for the worktop... I have a bunch of the tabbed plastic hardware boxes, so you can see how I plan to implement the usage of those within the backsplash. I wanted a high backsplash because once these are in place, getting behind them to clean is not going to be easy.. need to keep the mess on the surfaces. I don't have a brake nearly large enough so I'm going to have a local shop bend this up. I have two pieces of mirrored, 4x10' stainless steel that were BURIED on my property when I purchased it, going to use those for the final layer of the work worktops, with 1 layer of 3/4 birch marine ply and 1 layer of 3/4 MDF sandwiched underneath. I'm hoping that gives some good absorption and solidity.




The way they're designed is actually quite efficient, my local metal supplier sells 20' lengths. For one bench the cut list looks like this:

2 - 20' (2 @ 54", 2 @ 56")
2 - 20' (3 @ 41", 6 @ 16")

Each bench leaves 1" cutoff waste, I can live with that. Still at the planning stages obviously, but I'm liking the way this will turn out so far.

 

[Krang]

Picked up the metal today, going to clean it up and prep this weekend, might tack it together


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[Richard Cranium]

What a great start, keep posting please

 

[Krang]

Step 1: clean... I’ve had a few projects lately and friends coming over to do some stuff also.. the place was an absolute mess. Spent about 5 hours just cleaning and reorganizing. Ended up redoing my toolbox layout, I like this better.. before the wrenches and measuring tools were more piled on each other.

- it’s a kobalt chest.. had it for about 7 years, held up okay so far. Eventually will need to be painted though.














Step 2: brace my upper 2x4 shelves so I can remove the outer support leg.

This should work! I feel as though I should get a MIG for this mild steel work... only having a tig process machine makes this quite slow.





One is completely welded, I just tacked the others, needed a break.








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[Krang]

I had planned to paint these Grey... but I might just throw some clear on them. I like how the coloring is so even.




Also, yes, my work is getting way too hot. I’m limited to about 95 amps.... I don’t have a 220 outlet up here and I should be running about 130 amps for this 1/8” wall mild steel


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[Krang]

While I let my work cook a bit... here are all the cut pieces for the workbenches...



And about 100’ of 1x1” x 5’ remnants that were at the metal shop looking for a home.. probably will end up as a MiG cart and long stock storage shelves, but who knows!



Will clean these all today and start making the plates that the leveling feet will screw into.

For that, I have these flange nuts and these feet.. they’re rated for 650lbs per foot. The next size up from these that I could find got VERY expensive. If they don’t work I will make my own.





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[Krang]

Going to make up some caps for the ends. I thought about leaving the long side open so I could put something in it at some point, but it just looks weird with the open end.




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[Krang]

Yay mag tabs



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[Strouty]

Nice setup, how do the containers do with the humidity? Also more info on the mag tabs please.

 

[Krang]

Shelf hangars all done, made the end tab wrap around the shelf a bit to hold anything in.






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[Krang]

These are the leg ends for the adjustable feet. I could only find stainless flange nuts so using stainless filler for this, and trying not to heat the work too much and warp the threads. I’m going to chase these all with a tap just to be sure, this is not high quality hardware by any means and I don’t want them to bind.



Also, four of the feet arrived after I wrapped up for the day. They are very beefy and will surely do the trick. Each bench has 6 of these.












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[Krang]

Nice setup, how do the containers do with the humidity? Also more info on the mag tabs please.

I originally saw these on weldingtipsandtricks.com and I ended up using an amazon gift card to pick one up. Had I known it would be so useful I would have done it sooner!

They are really just some small neodium magnets

Weldingtipsandtricks also has a YouTube channel, and admittedly I am self taught from YouTube for the most part, but he has all kinds of easy stuff that makes life much easier when getting into it.

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[Krang]

So now I feel like I’m falling down the rabbit hole....

All of that 1x1 stock I got from the remnant pile could easily make a shelving system like this, and save me some significant room from the wood shelving I have now.



They hang from the hooks in the ceiling and rest against the walls as part of their support. I could have the whole area be floating shelves...

Damn internets.


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[nsula_country]

This is just too cool!

My first shop was a 40' container. Still have it for storage. I'm getting many ideas.

Your TIG welding is good. Better than mine. I only have stick machines. One day would like to get a multi-process machine of about 250A. Thermal Dynamics (sp) has some good ones.

CT

 

[Krang]

Nice setup, how do the containers do with the humidity? Also more info on the mag tabs please.

Regarding the humidity, it’s something we live with. Where I’m at it rains one a day, every day. We get over 100” a year. That said, since there is minimal temperature differential, I probably don’t have near the problem others do.

I use air dryers to keep the interior of the containers reasonably dry, so far so good. Even bare metal seems to last a good long while before hazing whereas it’s a day or two tops if left outside, so they must be doing something positive.

Like this, but not this specific product.



Ironwood Pacific DryWave 1000 Air Dryer, Prevents Mold and Mildew, Ideal for Boats, RVs, Cabins, Basements https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BTAQIG/?tag=atomicindus08-20


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[Krang]

This is just too cool!

My first shop was a 40' container. Still have it for storage. I'm getting many ideas.

Your TIG welding is good. Better than mine. I only have stick machines. One day would like to get a multi-process machine of about 250A. Thermal Dynamics (sp) has some good ones.

CT

Thank you!

Ideas are good, putting everything in a journal like this helps cultivate them too, which is part of why I try and update.

I don’t know about good TIG though, I think it’s enough to get by, but I have difficulty with the thinner stuff. Hard to blow out 1/8” mild steel, lol.


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[Krang]

Yesterday, finished up the last of my adjustable leg ends, at lowest setting they will add 2” to my 41” table legs.. + 1 1/2” for the surface. 44 1/2” is a good height for me at 6’2” I think. Going to leave it as is.







Mounted one of the 2x4 shelf brackets. They work great but I’m going to do this differently. Going with a floating container-specific design I saw. Here is how it turned out though:



Since I’m going full-crazy I started moving stuff around... got the whole top shelf moved to my other container and started on the opposite side. Should finish this today.



Lastly, while running errands early yesterday I popped in to a local metal recycler I check out from time to time... found some GLENAIR Mil-Spec plugs that were useable... picked all 4 up for $40. These are easily $100+ each, new. And they’re badass.










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[Krang]

Christmas Tree setup and errands this morning:


Welded up all the bases and tops for 20’ of workbench that I’m building. I wish so much that I had something flat that I could clamp down to. That’s going to be the next project. Had to build these mostly on saw-horses shimmed to level:



For assembling the legs I decided to put them on this stainless steel restaurant prep table. It’s not flat, but since I’m building it on the side it won’t matter, just need to square up all the legs:



Did this whole build with a new toy, Hobart 140, works like a charm so far! I need to go slower than I’m used to, never used a MiG that wasn’t 220v, but it works great for what it is. I’m using MiG process with C25, .030 wire.



This is going to be the first project on the new workbenches, refurbishing this Delta drill press:





I can’t read hardly anything on this spec plate, but I’m hoping it cleans up well:




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[Krang]

Finished the workbench frame and got it painted:




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[1/2 Cup]

Krang lovely work as always

 

[Krang]

Got my 2x4 shelving deconstructed, and cleaned the area. Moved in the frame and proceeded to fit the cabinets. I used a 1/2” plywood base mostly because some of the cabinets wouldn’t be completely full and I wanted to be able to easily screw them down and be secure:



About as level as the can get them. I can shim the tops if I feel like it:







I unscrewed some of the assembly bolts for the gladiator cabs and bolted them together, so far so good. However, I somehow miscalculated on the space required for the craftsman box. I’m going to figure out a way to use that space effectively. Possibly for hardware boxes:

 

[nsula_country]

Looking great man!

CT

 

[Terranova]

Dude. Impressive.

And that clock. That was cool

 

[TiFJ]

Super cool. Can't wait to see how it progresses.