kaymccampbell
Well-known member
May 26th in my lifetime baby...Damp and cold this morning, supposed to turn over to snow soon. I think someone needs to remind winter that it is actually spring.
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Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage
- Thread starter Strouty
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
Prospecter
Well-known member
Nah, it's still mud season. Three or four weeks until Spring! Good luck with the plasma table.Damp and cold this morning, supposed to turn over to snow soon. I think someone needs to remind winter that it is actually spring.
Maybe today we will get things figured out so that the workflow for the plasma table will be a bit quicker than eight hours for one piece, yup, that would be nice, maybe 7 hours...
No luck with Spring, but we finally got some answers from Swift-Cut about the divided voltage ratios, it appears the previous owner had them set wrong, once we adjusted things, the torch height controller worked flawlessly. We bent a piece of already warped aluminum sheet and watched it climb as it cut the part out. Still figuring out the feed rates and voltages, they are definitely not correct from the factory, most likely calibrated on an older model plasma cutter, it seems to be more powerful, so we need less voltage, but we are also playing with the feed rates. I think tomorrow we should have a bit of a baseline. Biggest issue is that the table design doesn't allow for enough water, so the plates are higher than I think they should be over the water, cutting aluminum is still a smoky mess. We were actually discussing making the water level adjustable, lowering the entire slats setup and trying to cut completely submerged. Not sure if that is a bad idea or a brilliant one. Doing a bit of research before making any drastic changes.
I am off to get another bunch of plastic pallets, I think after this I may have "enough".
I am off to get another bunch of plastic pallets, I think after this I may have "enough".
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Gather stuff up and move it to the SG.
With all the commotion at the SG, things are pretty plugged up. I think the goal today will be to break that log jam. I have not been able to move things outside so I can gain a bit of space to actually shuffle stuff, so that should help. I need to get the desk area fixed so I can put stuff away, there are also more things that need to go out to the storage trailers and now it is clear that I have to make a dedicated space near the plasma table for sheet stock.
Prospecter
Well-known member
I thought of you today while I was shuffling stuff about. Nice during the day for putting stuff outside, but I needed everything back under cover tonight. Your plastic pallets must be a big help as you do a similar shuffle. Easier to move palletized stuff with a fork truck than moving individual pieces of stuff.
I only used four of them today, but they will be a big help for sure. They won’t rot like the wooden ones and these are pretty rugged, so they will take abuse.
We did a few small projects that involved cutting some plywood, then reorganized some stuff, made some plans about handling the new supplies for the plasma table. Really need a couple days to get things a home, then they can actually get put away rather than just shuffled from one place to another.
We did a few small projects that involved cutting some plywood, then reorganized some stuff, made some plans about handling the new supplies for the plasma table. Really need a couple days to get things a home, then they can actually get put away rather than just shuffled from one place to another.
I am at the Hill, going to grab some more Lista drawers, then head to the Salvage Garage. I want to finish putting away a bunch of tools and supplies, it is going to be a bit of a mess as I am not sure what size drawers I need yet. I suspect I will be moving things around to try and get things situated and then I will probably hate the layout and have to move things around a bit more...
Prospecter
Well-known member
Putting stuff away so you know what you don't like and how you really want it counts as progress! Looks like today might be nicer than forecast, and warm enough to move about without the fat squirrel look.
I think things are supposed to get wet around 4 or 5, so I should be able to move a few things around. I just made a mess inside the Salvage Garage, had an entire pickup load of drawers and supplies, but I should be able to put the drawers to good use. Of course the furnace is out of heating oil, so I have to address that. I knew I was getting low, but I was hopeful that I could make it through the rest of the heating season. I have to move the tank and furnace, so I figured keep it low. Luckily I have plenty in my transfer tanks, so I can add some to keep it going. Another nice thing is the Tiger Loop system I have essentially bleeds itself, so there is almost no effort on my end, but I don't like to run things out of fuel if I can avoid it.
Had to change directions a bit, rain started a few hours earlier than anticipated, so couldn't do everything I wanted to outside. I did get to use the table saw to cut down an old sewing machine table to make a drop in shelf for one of the drawers next to the fridge and microwave so I can pull out a small counter for meal prep. I have a couple more thoughts on how to make it better, but those are future projects, for now it is done enough. I also got a small butcher block piece oiled up to use as a similar surface, but for the desk area. I am all about having extra space in a compact area. I am going to have to start addressing the wall behind the computer, it needs a lot of attention, totally wasted space, same issue on the other side where the welding table sits. I think the reason that I had never done anything with either side was because it was only "temporary" about ten years ago...
Jim_No_Garage
Well-known member
"Nothing is more permanent than a temporary fix". Confucious
Last night I came up with a decent plan, this morning, I am not as sure. I have a master list of things and when reviewing it, some of my plan would create bigger issues down the road. I am working on a new plan, one that has less ramifications later. The crappy part is that I have too many "up in the air" hurdles, still not even sure how I am going to actually fit what I want in the shop and still be able to use it. I would like to rework the trusses, but even with a rework, I still can't get the needed height for the stockroom and second floor space. So then it is a matter of replacing the trusses without getting the city involved, technically I am commercial, so it would involve many thousands of greenbacks and a bunch of new rules to follow, not interested in that. We talked about building another exterior wall on the outside of the current space, then have trusses made to new specs, then cut roof off and replace with new trusses. I think the removal and reinstallation could be done in two days with a crew and equipment. I would need to do things in stages though, with everything that is going on, I don't have the big budget to do it all at once. Plan would be to build out the stockroom end first and then deal with the other portion after the stockroom and second level office space were setup. This would be the best way forward as it would get the extra space that I need and the storage the stockroom would offer. Everything I think I can do keeps getting negative reviews from people that I talk with, some of the ideas were to pour a new frost wall (building is currently on a slab), but everyone is concerned about undermining the current foundation. Then I thought about using flowable fill to stabilize things and then use precast walls as the frost wall, no one really likes that. Now my buddy suggested digging three feet away from the current slab and put in a new frost wall, build around the existing building and just pour a new apron to match up the floor. I like this idea the best, but it will be way more obvious that something has been done than trying to keep the current footprint. I had originally wanted to just jack up my roof and add to the walls (or rebuild them), that is almost sounding like the better solution at this point. Although even that would still require reworking the trusses. I have to figure out what I am doing as it will change the stockroom and layout of the shop space quite a bit. I really want to just set things up as is, but I fear that it would make things a ***** to deal with later, maybe it just doesn't matter, it is always going to be a ***** later regardless of what I do now...
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Why are you suddenly inserting a massive renovation into your attempt to just move your stuff to one location? It's sounds like an attempt at self-sabotage. Buy another container. Plop it near the stockroom. Hell, buy two of the damned things. Done, for way less money and headache.
Kay, if I put stuff into a container like that, it will never, ever get put away.
I have been working towards this stockroom for years now and I finally have ALL the components. I have technically had them for a couple years, but the Hill took over my time. This is one of those non negotiable things that I just need to figure out. If I can get my plan for building expansion, then I don't actually need to do the expansion to create the stockroom, I just need to know where to layout everything as the stockroom isn't something that will be easy to "just shift a few feet", at least not once it is setup. The back wall of the shop is the real issue, then if I widen it, I would layout based on the future width, not the current width. It is all a real issue, but only to me.
I came up to the Hill to grab some things and take some measurements and the furnace is out, again. I hate this particular waste oil furnace, would never recommend this style to anyone, the company makes much nicer units, this one is a pain to clean out and a pain to deal with in general. The temps are going to be back into the 20s and 30s, so I have to get it running, hopefully it is something simple and I don't have to do a full cleaning.
I guess the Hill dictates a lot of what I get to do...
I have been working towards this stockroom for years now and I finally have ALL the components. I have technically had them for a couple years, but the Hill took over my time. This is one of those non negotiable things that I just need to figure out. If I can get my plan for building expansion, then I don't actually need to do the expansion to create the stockroom, I just need to know where to layout everything as the stockroom isn't something that will be easy to "just shift a few feet", at least not once it is setup. The back wall of the shop is the real issue, then if I widen it, I would layout based on the future width, not the current width. It is all a real issue, but only to me.
I came up to the Hill to grab some things and take some measurements and the furnace is out, again. I hate this particular waste oil furnace, would never recommend this style to anyone, the company makes much nicer units, this one is a pain to clean out and a pain to deal with in general. The temps are going to be back into the 20s and 30s, so I have to get it running, hopefully it is something simple and I don't have to do a full cleaning.
I guess the Hill dictates a lot of what I get to do...
My goal is to do it in an orderly fashion, the extension will allow me until December of 2026 and that is a better exit strategy than the alternative. So I am leaving, just not as rapidly. I was trying to get some things fixed and setup at the Salvage Garage so that I will have space to bring the majority of the tools and supplies from the Hill to the SG without creating a nightmare. The goal will be to take advantage of the Hill's shop space for dismantling the Burbs and trucks/equipment that is up there, this way I only save the parts and don't haul the carcasses anywhere but to the scrap yard. By thinking this way, I can keep a minimal amount of tools and supplies at the Hill, transferring the majority of things to the SG but still keep working from both locations as needed. Eventually I am going to need the office space (probably figure it more like a clean room to do tasks that can't get dusty/dirty) and that is why I am trying to figure out the expansion at the Salvage Garage. I am not stopping the move, I am just trying to make it so that I don't jam everything into a storage box and never see it again. The QR codes are going to help with that, but I still need to have decent access to the stuff. I would prefer to clear out one of my current shipping containers and use that as the landing space for the stuff that isn't going in the Salvage Garage immediately. All my sidetracking has been mostly in the right direction, so I can't say I haven't made progress. I think the next week will be a lot better overall as the layout albeit temporary is shaping up.
I can understand my post must be frustrating to some, don't think I am ignoring any advice, some of it just won't work for me in the current situation. Trying to balance everything is a touch overwhelming for me, there is a lot more going on than what is seen on these pages. On top of that, my situation is just plain old weird, I am not currently using any of the stuff I have to make a living. I want to use it for that in the future, but I have a ways to go and there is a lot to trip me up. Having help has been great, but this particular person is more suited for the CNC/CAD and electronics/wiring type stuff, still helpful overall, but I have been trying to concentrate on that type of stuff more than anything. So far we have setup the CNC plasma table and got it functional, to me that was a hurdle that I wasn't sure was going to happen anytime soon. Of course that has opened up side quests, I am now trying to make space to store sheet stock and have access to it relatively easy. I have consistently been pulling things from the Hill, but I am lagging in homes for it at the Salvage Garage, I am sure some people could manage, but I am at the point where if something doesn't have a home, it just lives everywhere and I can never find what I am looking for. The next few weeks are going to be dedicated to finding homes for things, the stuff that doesn't need to live in the SG will be put into storage or go away. I almost have the computer/office space figured out so I can put away several boxes of things that I have been tripping over, we have also been working on hardware storage and milling tools and supplies. I expect to be able to see progress soon, kind of ten steps back two steps froward, frustrating to me and the drama police...
I am doing the finishing touches on the QR codes, I want to have a structure to play with so I can see if I need to modify anything before I print things out. The plan is to make an actual map of all the locations, then setup different folders based on the map, once again I have to commit to naming things, I want the QR code and the location name to be on each tote that I use, this should limit mixing up a tote when putting it away, it also dictates where it needs to go. The drawers and shelves need to be named as well, so it is going to take a fair amount of effort to get things figured out. Some of the shelves and cabinets will be easy since they have a fixed amount of drawers, but the Lista cabinets/storage wall could in theory have significantly more drawers if I reconfigure things later, in this case I think I am going to build the system the way an electrical panel is, I will have numbers for each possible drawer, not just the ones that are there now. So the first drawer could be labeled 1 and then the second drawer could be labeled 3 because the first drawer took up two spots in the system. I have to do a few scenarios to see if this will work like I think, the drawers have a minimum size, but they increase in approximately 1" increments, might be that every inch needs a number (I hope not). The little bit of time now will save a lot of time later, especially when I adjust the shelves around and I know I will. Also thought about just skipping numbers so there are extras available, or I could just do drawer 1A and 1B if I replace one with two.
bimmer1980
Well-known member
We won't be able to solve your problems, but we sure can dish out ideas for you!! Lol
Either get rid of stuff (who are we kidding??) Or add more floor space.
I'll just leave this link here for ideas:
thecontainerguy.ca
This method may have some merit... maybe even both sides of the container and **** it up against a door of the shop.
Regardless, I think your method of finding a home for things as you bring it over to the salvage garage is a good plan. I get your perspective of not just bringing everything over and having a bigger mess.
In all seriousness, finding your focus and letting a few more things go to auction or Facebook marketplace may ease your burden.....
Either get rid of stuff (who are we kidding??) Or add more floor space.
I'll just leave this link here for ideas:
DOUBLE WIDE KIT - 40 FT - Locally Owned | HQ in Saskatoon, SK
This double wide container will be used as a storage warehouse, but you can use a double wide sea container for many purposes. You can convert this sea can building...
thecontainerguy.ca
This method may have some merit... maybe even both sides of the container and **** it up against a door of the shop.
Regardless, I think your method of finding a home for things as you bring it over to the salvage garage is a good plan. I get your perspective of not just bringing everything over and having a bigger mess.
In all seriousness, finding your focus and letting a few more things go to auction or Facebook marketplace may ease your burden.....
OK, I think I have the solution. Lista cabinets/storage wall, or any adjustable shelving will get a row location only, this way there is no specifically numbered location tied to the QR codes so they can stay with the drawers or shelves if I move them. I will ultimately have additional labeling denoting what is in drawers like 3/8" hardware, 1/4" hardware, battery terminals, heat shrink, and so on. These extra descriptions will not be referenced on the QR code labels, but they will be available for searching within the contents. After I have had some time with the system and I have a good handle on the drawer sizes and locations, I think I could actually number the drawers, but I don't want to do it first as there is a very high probability that I am going to want to change things. I was trying to think of a good way to make the physical location broader, but no matter what I do, it just turns into a mess if I remove one drawer to put in two or remove two drawers to put in one (or any other combination). It is the same reason I am never going to try and put all my movies into alphabetical order, add one and have to move entire rows to keep that order, no thank you.
The fixed drawer cabinets and the one off cabinets can be numbered right from the start. I am not going to add QR codes to the individual bins inside a drawer, at least not yet. For right now it is more about the overall picture not the super specifics. If I want to make a full inventory management system then I can get into the barcode aspects. This system should get me into the ballpark area rather than my current setup of randomly opening ten totes to find one thing.
The fixed drawer cabinets and the one off cabinets can be numbered right from the start. I am not going to add QR codes to the individual bins inside a drawer, at least not yet. For right now it is more about the overall picture not the super specifics. If I want to make a full inventory management system then I can get into the barcode aspects. This system should get me into the ballpark area rather than my current setup of randomly opening ten totes to find one thing.
Johanfpa
Well-known member
Not sure how you store you movies and might already have a good solution.
I have a big book collection which I tried to store alphabetically by author but that involved a lot of shuffling them around as you already found out. So I decided to now just keep them alphabetically within the year I bought them. I now ended up with shelves which are alphabetically correct from when I did a big shuffle last time and "year" shelves. I also have them all listed in a spreadsheet by author listing which year I bought them so finding books/keeping track of the ones I already have works easily.
Hope this makes sense and this is just a way of doing it.
The thing with advice from others is that you need to evaluate/see what works for you as we can never really know every factor in the decision process you know.
I agree with you that the best way is organise the stuff when it arrives at the Salvage Garage rather than just dumping it in containers and spend the next years trying to organise everything so sorting out your stockroom setup would be my priority as well.
I have a big book collection which I tried to store alphabetically by author but that involved a lot of shuffling them around as you already found out. So I decided to now just keep them alphabetically within the year I bought them. I now ended up with shelves which are alphabetically correct from when I did a big shuffle last time and "year" shelves. I also have them all listed in a spreadsheet by author listing which year I bought them so finding books/keeping track of the ones I already have works easily.
Hope this makes sense and this is just a way of doing it.
The thing with advice from others is that you need to evaluate/see what works for you as we can never really know every factor in the decision process you know.
I agree with you that the best way is organise the stuff when it arrives at the Salvage Garage rather than just dumping it in containers and spend the next years trying to organise everything so sorting out your stockroom setup would be my priority as well.
The color code is a great idea for different storage areas.
Johanfpa, that is an interesting way to handle the books, unfortunately for me and my movies I don’t have a handle on when they were purchased, I haven’t figured out how I am going to sort them yet. For now they are going to generally get sorted by title but within that group of A or B I won’t alphabetically sort them.
I am going to create a scenario with the drawers and then try and change things, just to see how bad it would be. So far no matter what I have thought falls flat when it comes to reconfiguration.
Johanfpa, that is an interesting way to handle the books, unfortunately for me and my movies I don’t have a handle on when they were purchased, I haven’t figured out how I am going to sort them yet. For now they are going to generally get sorted by title but within that group of A or B I won’t alphabetically sort them.
I am going to create a scenario with the drawers and then try and change things, just to see how bad it would be. So far no matter what I have thought falls flat when it comes to reconfiguration.
Maybe it is as simple as, just effing print new labels when I change the drawers? I guess the other aspect is that I don’t have to use the QR codes on the Lista drawers right from the start, I can label them as contents for the time being, live with it for a while, then do the QR codes once I have things where I want them. The QR codes were more for deep storage type stuff anyways, so I wasn’t wasting space and didn’t need to have dedicated areas for specific items. Kind of mix and match scenario, you put away things as you need to, in theory space available.
Again, with colors you could help get you in the ballpark. Organize the Lista drawers bottom to top in a rainbow order. ROGYBV. Red is the bottom few, orange the next few, etc. You may still have to open up a few drawers to find the exact one but opening up a couple of drawers might be easier than reprinting all the QR codes for a whole bank of drawers because you switched a 4" drawer for two 2" ones.
The colors gave me an idea, so I tested out a few more things. I now know for sure that I can change the name of the dropbox folder without messing up the QR code, I can also change the "title" saved by YOURLS without messing up the QR code. From this info and the color code, I can just say that trailer 1 is the Green area, then all the QR codes would have a link that says ....green0001, green0002, green0003, etc. These numbers just generalize that it is storage bin number 1 through 9999 in the green area, when I do the title, I can make it fit the more specific location, but I am not going to describe what it is in, at least not in the usual way. Green Area (trailer 1) has a left and a right side and one cross shelf at the end of the trailer, guess you could also call out the space by the door as I do tend to set things there for a while, so lets say I have four "Rows" left and right will always be Row 1 (left) Row 2 (right), Row 3 could be the cross shelf and Row 4 could be the floor space by the door. Then the Bays would be (from left to right) 1 through 50, these would be based on whatever I run into first, as an example it would be a bay of shelves, this would be Bay 1 and then you would have a Level, this would start at the floor (Level 1) or lowest shelf and go up from there. Then you would have Bin locations if one big drawer, just Bin 1, if the drawer has dividers, bin 1, bin2, etc. If it is totes, each tote would be a bin location. With the Lista cabinets or adjustable shelving units, I can have magnetic labels (assuming they are metal) with numbers on them, so if I reorganize, I just move the magnets to fit the new system and the updated title and folder name would keep the location updated. The only time I would actually have to relabel is if I swap the "Bin" to a different "Area" that would change the color and I would have to recreate the link and QR code.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Maybe follow the blockbuster plan? Genre /Alphabetical? Action section listed alphabetically, Comedy alphabetically, Drama alphabetically. ETC ETC.
I think it will be weirder than that, I hate to separate franchises, so those would be clustered together and then by release dates. I think I would probably end up by theme/genre anyways. My current shelves at home only hold 30 movies per shelf, so I can cluster them by genre on a shelf and just leave some open space.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Franchises would naturally fall into the same genre, and most would use the same main name[John Wick 123456789] so alphabetically they would remain in step.
A lot of them do, but there are a lot that don’t, Harry Potter is one that always made me mad, I wasn’t enough of a fan that I knew the order, so I skipped around accidentally when I first watched them all. Some of the box sets actually added “Year One” and so on to show an order. Then you have Batman, that has parallel movies, then Marvel (until it went off the rails).
I think the colors for areas is going to be the ticket, only issue is that I am going to run out of colors that have normal names. I guess I could do two colors and have the QR codes half one color, half the other color. Basic colors that everyone understands are:
Red
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange
Purple
Gray
Black
Brown
Pink
These are also common but not as easy
Silver
Gold
White (print using a black background)
Other colors could be neons.
This would give me ten areas to start with and then get into the non standard colors. I have to list all my spaces, ten might handle it if I go really broad, would be nice to have the shop space broken into multiple areas by color.
Red
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange
Purple
Gray
Black
Brown
Pink
These are also common but not as easy
Silver
Gold
White (print using a black background)
Other colors could be neons.
This would give me ten areas to start with and then get into the non standard colors. I have to list all my spaces, ten might handle it if I go really broad, would be nice to have the shop space broken into multiple areas by color.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Again, don't let the pursuit of perfection paralyze you. I bet once you had them in their respective areas, they would be close enough. Or you would eventually sort them within their area.
I think this is more about thinking of the future, I eventually want to house lots of inventory and be able to find it easily, so setting things up so it is expandable is the goal. I was thinking that I could even use one color for all the trailers and conex boxes, just number each trailer/ box as row 1-2 row 3-4, etc that way you have the prime organizing breakdown on the inside of the shop, then the deeper storage out in the boxes/trailers could be considered one "Area". I will have to see how many colors I will use in the Salvage Garage itself, once the stockroom is setup, it can have its own color. Probably for the time being it would be smarter to have everything inside the SG one color, then as I setup the stockroom if there ends up being areas on the shop floor that have a decent supply of things, I can use another color for those things. Otherwise I would have to relabel a lot of drawers and selves when I setup the stockroom. I am going to bounce things off my buddy tomorrow and see what his input is as well.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
I was specifically referencing the movie collection.