Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The Scooter Workshop

[Modern Jess]

After reading this thread from the start it's confirmed.........I lack vision......great thread! I really like the mix of garage build (the suspended shelf was off the hook) and the Scooter knowledge ......very good read! Thank you for sharing.

Oh, the vision part is easy. Just read lots of threads on GJ and find ideas you like. Now sit in your space and try to imagine in your head how all the things you saw online could fit. Having your favorite adult beverage in hand while doing this helps, too.

Works for me.

 

[Wanna Ride]

But my original thread on the workbench build went off the rails when a handful of people kept telling me that I should weld it.

So at this point, suggestions to weld the frame are not being entertained, to put it mildly (and politely). I thought you were aware of that back story, so apologies if I was unnecessarily brusque.

No, I wasn't aware of that, specifically. I knew there was some animosity from others, but didn't know the all specifics. I just remembered seeing excessive, negative criticism.

And to be clear, I wasn't suggesting welding. I was only inquiring as to why that wasn't option. I realized there was a reason, I just didn't know what it was. Didn't know if you didn't have one, or knew how, etc. Really makes no difference to me, I was just curious.

 

[Modern Jess]

And to be clear, I wasn't suggesting welding. I was only inquiring as to why that wasn't option. I realized there was a reason, I just didn't know what it was. Didn't know if you didn't have one, or knew how, etc. Really makes no difference to me, I was just curious.

In truth, I'm a pretty crappy welder. Ask my friends.

There are extenuating circumstances for why I didn't weld this (I mean, besides just the fact that I'm a crappy welder) but ultimately all of those reasons are less important than the stated reason: I was interested in seeing what I could do with strut channel.

 

[Modern Jess]

While I'm waiting for more brackets to arrive (which, I'll admit, is getting repetitive and y'all are probably getting tired of hearing about it) I am making progress on other aspects of the frame -- tweaks, mostly.

In my conversation with Patrick yesterday, I was pointing out that the lower stretcher on the right-hand side wasn't oriented in the strongest plane for beam loading, due to the way the brackets had to fit together. Patrick protested that it didn't matter, that the cabinet would be an evenly distributed load, and was probably more than capable of supporting the weight of the cabinet. He demonstrated this by (and I swear I am not making this up) laying down on the strut channel and balancing there. Of course, he only weighs about 100 pounds, so that doesn't tell us anything.

I had a plan for sistering another piece of strut to it, and it involved drilling about 10 holes into the existing piece of channel. He asked why I couldn't just re-orient the channel so that the stronger plane was oriented the way I needed it to be, and I pointed out the way the bracket is designed. He pointed out that I could just drill four holes in the side of the strut, rather than ten, to which I didn't have anything to say except "derp".

So today I got busy on his (admittedly, excellent) suggestion.

Drilling some holes:

This member is now mounted to the bracket in a nonstandard fashion:

Which gives me a stronger orientation for supporting the cabinet:

The next thing on the docket was to figure out why some of the pieces of strut don't quite align right. Getting everything squared is unexpectedly fiddly with strut channel -- you'd think it would all just end up square when bolted together, right? Okay, probably not. But still, things were a bit wonky in places.

Turns out that two of the brackets weren't actually square. Fortunately, it was in a direction without gussets, and after thinking about how to bend them a bit, I came up with this:

Attached to this lever, I was able to get it approximately square. And yes, it deformed the strut channel a bit. So be it.

Finally, I've been unhappy with the one remaining U-bracket that secures one of the long stretchers. It only had a single nut/bolt holding the stretcher in place, and that acted more as a hinge than a securely-fastened attachment point. I really need that bracket there, because the cabinet would interfered with just about any other method that I can think of to attach that piece of channel to that leg.

Fortunately, though, the U-bracket has holes for securing a piece of channel in any of three orientations, and I was lucky enough to have one of the slots on the back of the strut channel line up nicely with one of the unused holes. I also had a 1/2"-13 square nut meant for just such an occasion, which I put to use.

This one little tweak was surprisingly effective at further reducing the ability for that piece of channel to hinge at that bracket. And thus, the frame got a bit better.

All these little tweaks, taken together, have resulted in a frame that is really very, very rigid. I can certainly flex it in certain places, but it now takes some effort. I could almost just put the torsion box top on and call it a day.

Almost.

 

[dhubbard422]

...
There are many obvious ways that my workbench differs from a lotus 7. My workbench will be much sexier, for instance. But the most relevant and objective way they differ is that weight is a disadvantage for a lotus 7, and an advantage for my workbench. Thus, I'm not concerned about adding more metal to the frame. It's not very expensive, in the grand scheme of things, and the added mass will improve the bench. Or, at least, until the casters fail.

**** is in the eye of the beholder... but, I'm pretty sure the workbench frame will not be as quick as a 7!

Your latest mods to the strut mounting are very nice. I can imagine that they are a big improvement! At first I thought that your storage would be accessible from only 1 side, but based on your comments, is it correct that you plan on accessibility to storage from both sides? If you do not plan to store stuff that is longer (roughly) than half the width of the table, tying the storage boxes to a unistrut trellis down the (near) middle should make it uber strong.

I'm guessing that using the end (or ends) of the storage box(es) to skin the ends of the frame might also help.

Again, nice (and interesting) improvements!

 

[Seagoon]

The Chickens are in the coop.
Hah! Some of us learn more from the written word than pictures. I am constantly surprised when people comment on things they have seen in a photo that was posted to illustrate something entirely different . I only see what the OP intended me to see.
And I must remember to reply more often. Unfortunately I was brought up in the "only speak when you have something useful to say" school and most of you guys know so much more than me that I rarely have anything to add.

 

[bj383ss]

Love that grade 8 hardware even though its hard on the wallet.

Bret

 

[sakurama]

So here's another rambling brain dump: I work in an engineering field, and I like to say (and remind people, even) that engineering is the art of compromise.

I've concluded, very recently, that the unstated factor that I optimize for the most is interest. I am optimizing my projects by what I am interested in learning or doing or seeing. This is a hobby shop, after all. It's not a business. I don't have to answer to the boss. There are no customers, and no accountants, and no "bottom line" that has to be in the black.

So I will not apologize to anyone...

Perhaps the hardest lesson I've had to learn and one that I still struggle with in my career is that of not listening to other peoples opinions. I want to listen to advice and I want to learn but in the end the only way to be good at what I do is to ignore it all and follow my instinct. I don't read photography magazines and probably can't name three current photographers - that's by design.

What I love about you and your thread is that you do things your way. Not my way or anyone else's way and that is what makes it interesting because it's true.

2) Photography Matters

Gregor and Jack have both mastered this. Actually, Gregor has more than mastered this, as he is an accomplished professional photographer when he's not pretending to be (and largely succeeding at) being a master carpenter and machinist. (Hi, Gregor!)

3) Process Matters

People love following a process. I am never going to pour an entire house out of concrete, but I really loved watching all the details of LLWillysfan's thread (as an example). Showing a whole process from start to finish in a fairly close-spaced series of posts often makes for a really compelling read. Spooning it out in dribs and drabs (as I mostly have here) seems to be less compelling, until people stumble on it when it's all done and read the thread from start to finish (as you've just done).

Yes, I have an advantage in this regard but I also have been lucky in that people really took to my thread. I think for me a lot of that is that I try to make my posts instructional - as I learn something new I then like to give it back in my own way. I enjoy teaching and the format suits me.

Also, and this is a big one, once you get out there people tend to either like what you're doing or are critical. How you proceed sort of sets the tone. In the beginning I was pretty clueless and when I framed my garage window I got a lot of criticism for it being "wrong" - that could have been a turning point.

Anything great I've done in my life has always been preceded by people telling me I shouldn't do it. Often times only you can see the end from the beginning and in the end it's only you that matters.

If you get enough momentum haters can't turn the tide. Or at least it's much harder. But in the end the key is the ignore the voices that aren't being helpful and appreciate the ones that are.

Yours is voice that is very valuable here because it's unique so keep after it!

Gregor

PS Something about chicken poop...

 

[Modern Jess]

**** is in the eye of the beholder... but, I'm pretty sure the workbench frame will not be as quick as a 7!

How about if I hitch it to a 7 and drag it down the highway? That would be, by definition, exactly as fast as a 7.

(But seriously, my statement was in jest -- the 7 is certainly sexier than my workbench. Well, a bit).

is it correct that you plan on accessibility to storage from both sides?

Storage on both sides, yes. But not all the way through. The current cabinet design has a center plywood panel that stiffens and strengthens the structure. It should have about 15" of depth on one side and 24"-ish on the other side.

 

[Modern Jess]

The Chickens are in the coop.

Excellent!

Hah! Some of us learn more from the written word than pictures. I am constantly surprised when people comment on things they have seen in a photo that was posted to illustrate something entirely different . I only see what the OP intended me to see.

I generally only see the intended part as well. Some people do tend to pick up on lots of background details, and I've never been able to figure out if it's just a conscious skill or some innate ability that certain people possess.

And I must remember to reply more often. Unfortunately I was brought up in the "only speak when you have something useful to say" school and most of you guys know so much more than me that I rarely have anything to add.

Yep. I get it. And there are some people that might not care either way. But I'd bet that the majority of people who post in the Garage Gallery section would appreciate knowing that people are following along.

So thanks for speaking up!

 

[Modern Jess]

Love that grade 8 hardware even though its hard on the wallet.

Heh. Yeah. It is almost certainly overkill for this application. There's nothing in this workbench that a normal 1/2"-13 bolt couldn't handle. But I had the hardware, so decided to use it up.

I'm ever so slightly surprised that anyone noticed.

 

[Modern Jess]

Perhaps the hardest lesson I've had to learn and one that I still struggle with in my career is that of not listening to other peoples opinions. I want to listen to advice and I want to learn but in the end the only way to be good at what I do is to ignore it all and follow my instinct. I don't read photography magazines and probably can't name three current photographers - that's by design.

What I love about you and your thread is that you do things your way. Not my way or anyone else's way and that is what makes it interesting because it's true.

The irony here is that, in this case, I am going to listen to your advice about not listening to advice. Perhaps it is because I was already in that mode, without really realizing it. I think I had just ascribed it to being thick-skulled and ornery, but "following my own instinct" sounds much more appealing while actually describing approximately the same thing.

Yes, I have an advantage in this regard but I also have been lucky in that people really took to my thread.

Oh, the quality of the photos you post is but one of the many, many things that are attractive about your thread. I don't want to sell you short by suggesting that it is only the photos. But those certainly don't hurt.

Also, and this is a big one, once you get out there people tend to either like what you're doing or are critical. How you proceed sort of sets the tone. In the beginning I was pretty clueless and when I framed my garage window I got a lot of criticism for it being "wrong" - that could have been a turning point.

Sage advice. Thanks.

Anything great I've done in my life has always been preceded by people telling me I shouldn't do it.

Wait, are we related?

If you get enough momentum haters can't turn the tide. Or at least it's much harder. But in the end the key is the ignore the voices that aren't being helpful and appreciate the ones that are.

Yours is voice that is very valuable here because it's unique so keep after it!

Gregor, you've made my day. Thanks much for this bit of thoughtfulness. Sincerely.

 

[Redboy]

...I'd bet that the majority of people who post in the Garage Gallery section would appreciate knowing that people are following along.



So thanks for speaking up!

I just found your thread a few days ago and have been reading it through in my "spare" time. I'm definitely following along, and have really enjoyed your efforts thus far.



I get the forum burnout thing - I'm here on a little "vacation" from my main hobbies and haunts - but I do hope you continue sharing with us. I'm just getting into this stuff and I like your style. I'd much rather watch you create, improvise and invent as you go than see Yet Another installation of red and black floor tiles - not that there's anything wrong with that...



Keep up the good work!



Oh, and something about chikkinz.

 

[bj383ss]

Heh. Yeah. It is almost certainly overkill for this application. There's nothing in this workbench that a normal 1/2"-13 bolt couldn't handle. But I had the hardware, so decided to use it up.

I'm ever so slightly surprised that anyone noticed.

I am slightly obsessed with it. I used it on just about everything on my 64' frame.

DSCN8354 by bjohnson388, on Flickr


Bret

 

[Jason Lister]

Chickens...coop..some other things and a great thread. Thanks so much for the effort to post your journeys! It took me three nights to get to the end...

 

[jon_beer]

Jess I just sat and read your thread in one sitting tonight. Fantastic! I really enjoyed watching you build your shop out and learn along the way. Thank you for sharing you successes and failures and letting us in along the way to learn with you. It's why I joined GJ in the first place!

I've just finished the bulk of building my woodworking shop out in the last month. It was on hold for two years while I renovated my rental properties and got them up and running. I'm really excited to use the things Ive taken from your thread in my own space. You talked about making things that interest you...I think that's a great way to think about how you design and make your workspace.

Anyway I'm super impressed by your skills and the way you take on new things. If you want to see some woodworking stop by my thread - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Cheers

Jon

 

[Modern Jess]

I just found your thread a few days ago and have been reading it through in my "spare" time. I'm definitely following along, and have really enjoyed your efforts thus far.

Thanks very much!

I get the forum burnout thing - I'm here on a little "vacation" from my main hobbies and haunts - but I do hope you continue sharing with us.

Well, the shop isn't going away. What I work on in the shop might change, but the shop remains constant.

I'd much rather watch you create, improvise and invent as you go than see Yet Another installation of red and black floor tiles - not that there's anything wrong with that...

Hah!

Oh, and something about chikkinz.

Most excellent.

I am slightly obsessed with it. I used it on just about everything on my 64' frame.

Oh, very nice! And maybe a better use of it than on my low-speed workbench.

Chickens...coop..some other things and a great thread. Thanks so much for the effort to post your journeys! It took me three nights to get to the end...

Excellent, and thanks!

 

[Modern Jess]

I just sat and read your thread in one sitting tonight.

One sitting?!? You, sir, get the reader of the week award.

Fantastic! I really enjoyed watching you build your shop out and learn along the way. Thank you for sharing you successes and failures and letting us in along the way to learn with you. It's why I joined GJ in the first place!

I can relate to that. I stumbled on this site the way many of us do -- googling for things while I was putting my garage together. Years later, I'm still here, still fascinated to see how people solve problems, what tools they use, and the process of building and fixing things.

I've just finished the bulk of building my woodworking shop out in the last month. It was on hold for two years while I renovated my rental properties and got them up and running. I'm really excited to use the things Ive taken from your thread in my own space. You talked about making things that interest you...I think that's a great way to think about how you design and make your workspace.

Anyway I'm super impressed by your skills and the way you take on new things. If you want to see some woodworking stop by my thread - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I will add it to my reading list. I have a couple-a-three threads that I really want to get through, and you are now officially on the list.

Thanks for the kind words, and thanks stopping by!

 

[e36jon]

Greetings Jess

Just a belated and overly general 'attaboy' for being here and being so generous with your time. I have benefited from your knowledge (You identified and chased off a troll in my lighting post. Thanks!) and have been inspired by your shop build. Please do keep coming back and sharing.

I think your plan for the center blade-o-plywood will indeed stiffen your bench up measurably. The analog there is the thin press-board backs of a lot of kitchen cabinets and other case-goods. It's incredibly strong in-plane. As long as you can successfully tie it into your steel frame you should be good.

I also can confirm that them chickenz be cooped.

Cheers,

Jon

 

[Modern Jess]

These monsters finally arrived. I'm not super happy with the galvanized coating on these, but they will no doubt improve the rigidity of the frame well past the point of anything reasonable.

Which brings me to my next topic. As the frame has become more rigid, I've become increasingly aware of the fact that my brilliant idea for mounting the casters is not cutting it. The culprit is the tube-end inserts:

They're not really made for strut channel, but they fit. And if this was a shelf with leveling feet, completely stationary, with only column loading to worry about, they'd probably be fine. Casters, however, are neither stationary nor strictly column-like, since they have an offset to allow them to swivel properly. This results in some undesirable effects in strut channel that would probably be no big deal in square tube -- the force can make the ends of the channel deform a bit, which allows the threaded insert to wiggle, which allows the caster to angle a bit more, which just exacerbates the problem. It's a vicious cycle, and I can see where the cycle ends.

So let's call the tube-end inserts a failure. Or a learning experience. Moving on.

While I have in fact entertained a more radical redesign using almost all the same parts in a different configuration, I think I'm going to try to keep it simple for a change. The simplest fix for this that I can think of is to shorten the legs and mount another piece of strut back-to-back below the existing short stretchers. This gives me the spacing I need to mount the casters I already have, using some standard strut channel hardware. Everything else remains exactly the same.

Here's what that looks like:

This still leaves the ends of the channel -- where the casters mount -- slightly vulnerable. The channel nut that will hold the caster stem in place will also tend to hold the sides of the channel together, reducing the tendency of the channel to flare out right at the bottom corner. Still, I'd like to make sure that there's plenty of reinforcement there, so rather than the thin, flat plate that is shown in the design above, I'll probably use some of these, bolted along the length of that new piece of strut channel:

I'll put the caster stem through one of the holes and then bolt all the others to the channel. I think that will do it.

Oh, and some good news: I have almost everything I need to do this new modified design. The only pieces I don't have I can get from McMaster, which will be shipping them this morning.

 

[Modern Jess]

Just a belated and overly general 'attaboy' for being here and being so generous with your time. I have benefited from your knowledge (You identified and chased off a troll in my lighting post. Thanks!) and have been inspired by your shop build. Please do keep coming back and sharing.

Hah. I do remember that. Thanks for the kind words, too.

I think your plan for the center blade-o-plywood will indeed stiffen your bench up measurably. The analog there is the thin press-board backs of a lot of kitchen cabinets and other case-goods. It's incredibly strong in-plane. As long as you can successfully tie it into your steel frame you should be good.

I hope it won't even be necessary. My goal is to have the frame be so rigid that the cabinet is just a separate component. We'll see.

I also can confirm that them chickenz be cooped.

Excellent! Thanks for that.

 

[Prometheus]

Jess,

If I understand you correctly, the issue with the inserts is that they deform the shape of the channel, and that leads to poor fit, correct? Could you either make/find/buy some square collars that would fit around the strut? This would prevent the deformation of the open side of the strut and almost make it more like a square tube.

-Adrian

 

[Modern Jess]

If I understand you correctly, the issue with the inserts is that they deform the shape of the channel, and that leads to poor fit, correct?

That's correct.

Could you either make/find/buy some square collars that would fit around the strut? This would prevent the deformation of the open side of the strut and almost make it more like a square tube.

I considered it. Fastening the collar to the strut becomes the main problem there. The insert itself prevents any standard channel nut from being used. If I had longer leg protrusions below the bottom rails, I could fasten a collar up higher that would wrap around the leg, but that would interfere with the bottom rails, which have to be in that fixed location due to all the other clearances and design requirements of the frame.

I also considered having my machinist buddy mill some custom inserts out of steel that would allow for that collar to be fastened there. I think this additional-channel approach is simpler, though, and ultimately more robust. I will add a couple pieces of channel (that I already have) and cut down the legs a bit. A few more pieces of hardware are required, but nothing exotic.

Simples.

There's one other reason to go with off-the-shelf components, rather than a custom insert. This isn't just about me building a workbench. I'd like this project to demonstrate to others the utility of strut channel for unusual applications, such as a workbench. If I have to use a custom part to make it work, I can't really present this, in good faith, as a working solution for others to base their projects on.

 

[Modern Jess]

Hmmm. Maybe I spoke too soon. I've been thinking about it all day, and there might be a way to reinforce the feet on the existing design after all. I'll have to do some experimentation this evening, and possibly some creative modification of the threaded inserts.

I'll get back to you on that.

 

[eastbaysubaru]

1) The GJ software kind of *****.

It does many things well, but keeping track of which threads you've read and which ones you haven't isn't one of those things. As soon as you go away for a while and then come back, the forum marks everything you didn't read in your previous visit as "already read". I hate that. It means that you end up missing updates until the next time it happens to be on the first page right when you visit. Also, the index pages -- where it lists all the threads -- have only a very small number of threads per page, so stuff falls off the first page often.

This means that threads that get updated a lot -- either because the author is really, really good about posting fresh content on a regular basis, or because it has a very large following who post to it regularly -- are easy to follow. They're always on the first page. And yes, this is a bit of a catch-22.

This. I completely forgot about this thread until it was an "unread" thread in the forum, somewhere near the top. I'm pretty sure I've subscribed to it but again, not a very elegant solution.

Thanks for sharing, it appears I have some catching up to do.

-Brian

 

[Modern Jess]

This. I completely forgot about this thread until it was an "unread" thread in the forum, somewhere near the top. I'm pretty sure I've subscribed to it but again, not a very elegant solution.

And I didn't even manage to see that my own thread was updated. Shame on me.

Nice chickens!

 

[Modern Jess]

Lest you all think that I overthink everything in my shop, some of my solutions are actually very simple.

As an example, let's look at a staple of any workshop: hardware organization. Sure, I have a fancy Sortimo system, but that's good for sets of stuff. I have many bits of hardware that defy categorization, and together they make up a couple of drawers in one of my salvaged card file cabinets.

Okay, I might have overdone it a bit with the drop-in label. It's actually a vinyl ID card, and I have a printer that prints them. Actually, it prints CDs, but I spent some time searching and found a replacement tray that lets you print vinyl ID cards instead. Okay, it wasn't actually for my model of printer. Nobody made that at the time. So I modified it. Just had to weld a bit of plastic with my plastic welder, and add some reflective markers that the printer reads to know where the tray is positioned.

But never mind all that, this is the drawer I'm talking about:

Inside, it's just an ordinary drawer full of recycled bins with lots of bits and bobs:

I use these, which happen to fit perfectly side-by-side in a 5" wide drawer.

They're the bottom half of a bottle of Pure Leaf tea:

To get them consistently cut, I made this jig. Hmmm. Maybe I'm not making a very good case for myself.

You just put the bottle in -- it's a snug fit -- and then use a utility knife to cut along the slots:

Voila:

Nice, consistently cut bins that fit perfectly in a properly-labeled and immaculately organized drawer. What could be simpler?

Okay, you guys might have a point. Maybe I'm prone to overdoing things after all. Is there a support group for this disorder?

 

[Bob Heine]

Jess, sometimes I have to keep eating or drinking stuff I no longer like so I can add to the empty jar collection. The less I like something, the longer it takes to empty the jar and ****, they change the design and dimensions of the the damn thing. Let the twitching begin....

I think it's more like a secret society than a support group. We meet under a bridge and gather around a 55-gallon drum fire. It's every 7th Tuesday unless it falls on the first or the sixth of the month. Then it's the Monday before the first or the Wednesday after the sixth (just to keep it simple).

 

[Modern Jess]

Jess, sometimes I have to keep eating or drinking stuff I no longer like so I can add to the empty jar collection. The less I like something, the longer it takes to empty the jar and ****, they change the design and dimensions of the the damn thing. Let the twitching begin....

YES! This, exactly!

I think it's more like a secret society than a support group. We meet under a bridge and gather around a 55-gallon drum fire. It's every 7th Tuesday unless it falls on the first or the sixth of the month. Then it's the Monday before the first or the Wednesday after the sixth (just to keep it simple).

Hahahaha!

I think I could make that schedule "simpler", if you know what I mean.

 

[Modern Jess]

And let's not even talk about this drawer:

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Beware the unsorted rabble bottles do not rise up and sent you to your own guillotine!
Rip their heads off and drink of their juices at the first sign of upittyness.

 

[bj383ss]

What a perfect idea on the tea bottle Jess. I drink those now I will have to save them.

Bret

 

[Rockcam]

Yes, you definitely have an issue Jess. One I actually wish I had to a greater degree....

How do you label those drawers? I use a low rent version of your Sortimo system, but find myself putting "miscellaneous" on so many bins I can't find anything without looking through several of them.

Great work as usual - thanks for documenting in your usual way. I know many of us enjoy seeing it.

 

[Bob Heine]

Jess, so many of us are just heartless bastards but you are obviously kind and caring. You put the 10-24 SS Small Nuts in front. Those of us with Small Nuts really appreciate that.

Edit: So sorry, I should not have "even talk[ed] about this drawer:"

 

[Modern Jess]

Jess, so many of us are just heartless bastards but you are obviously kind and caring. You put the 10-24 SS Small Nuts in front. Those of us with Small Nuts really appreciate that.

Well, they would be more properly labeled as jam nuts. But somehow that doesn't sound appealing.

 

[Modern Jess]

Beware the unsorted rabble bottles do not rise up and sent you to your own guillotine!
Rip their heads off and drink of their juices at the first sign of upittyness.

Wow. Just... wow.

What a perfect idea on the tea bottle Jess. I drink those now I will have to save them.

When I was trying to find bins that would fit nicely in the card file drawers, I went to the grocery store looking at lots of bottles that I might have to force myself to develop an interest in. Then I found the Pure Leaf tea, which I already liked and in fact had some at home. So win/win!

Yes, you definitely have an issue Jess. One I actually wish I had to a greater degree....

It's selective. I swing wildly from immaculately organized all the way to a giant pile of useful stuff mixed in with trash in a heap on the floor. There's nothing in between for me.

How do you label those drawers? I use a low rent version of your Sortimo system, but find myself putting "miscellaneous" on so many bins I can't find anything without looking through several of them.

How, as in how do I print the labels? Or how, as in how do I think up what to write on the labels? The categorization is one of the reasons I swing wildly from one extreme to another -- in order to organize something, I first have to decide how to group it with other things. "Misc" is inevitable -- you will always have random stuff that defies categorization. But I also have sections like construction screws, drywall screws, plumbing fixtures, and so on.

Here's one way to solve the "Misc" problem: if you have one of something, and you can't figure out how to group it, buy a set of all the other things like it and tell yourself you're "stocking up".

 

[Modern Jess]

Workbench Update

All the parts I was waiting for finally arrived, and we're in the middle of a long weekend. So time to do some workbench rebuilding! Of course, I needed to completely disassemble the frame in order to cut the vertical legs down to the correct size.

Here's an action shot of two legs, bolted back to back, on my handy Roll-In bandsaw:

I assembled the short sides first, since they're a little easier to handle and move around:

Then it was just a matter of connecting the two sides:

The casters are bolted to the channel through this long black U-shaped piece which fits around the channel very snugly. I also moved the caster inboard by one hole, as the end of the channel is the weakest point. The U-bracket is also bolted to the channel in two spots, in addition to the caster stem itself. I think this is now sufficiently strong:

These corner brackets -- with gussets in three planes -- are really, really beefy, and there's just no way the frame is going to parallelogram now:

I then managed to convince my wife to help me lift the torsion box -- all 260 pounds of it -- onto the frame. And here we have, at last, a mobile workbench:

So, final thoughts on this. The frame is now ridiculously rigid. It does not flex. You can, in fact, build something like this out of strut channel. Even though strut channel can twist, once you bolt something together like this in a square, the ability of the channel to twist is completely nullified.

There is one flaw, though. And it has nothing to do with the frame. Having eliminated all other sources of wibbly-wobbly in this bench, I am left with one bit of shakiness, and it's from the casters themselves. The swivels on these casters are sloppy, and there's a good deal of play in them as I shake the bench back and forth. Sigh.

I'm going to try to remedy the problem with a step-down floor lock (which, USPS willing, will arrive today). Not sure how I'll mount it to the channel yet.

And if that doesn't work, I'll have to source some better casters with stronger / tighter bearings. Which will mean rebuilding the frame again to account for the inevitably different mounting height of the casters.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

 

[Modern Jess]

The floor lock that I ordered late last night on Amazon miraculously arrived this morning at about 10:00am. No, seriously.

It is quite a bit bigger than I imagined it to be, though. I ordered based on mount height, and didn't really look at the other dimensions. Wow, the thing is a monster.

That's probably for the better. The nice big foot should stabilize the table nicely.

 

[NOZZLEMAN]

Nice build Jess, I'm working back from page 32 - LOL

Cheers from San Antonio, TX !!

 

[Modern Jess]

Nice build Jess, I'm working back from page 32

Thanks! But I got to tell you, it only gets worse in that direction.