Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT The **** Shack

[bdbecker]

The shelves are installed and the sort is on...

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I made a huge dent in the mess today and am dangerously close to having a wide open space. It's funny how much I just don't care about most of the junk I've been dragging around anymore. I'll probably end up needing to take more than one trip to the dump.

 

[oldironfarmer]

It's funny how much I just don't care about most of the junk I've been dragging around anymore. I'll probably end up needing to take more than one trip to the dump.

WOW! Now that is progress! I'm getting my nerve up to throw something away

 

[1/2 Cup]

bdbecker, Those shelves look a treat.

Regards

 

[bdbecker]

Not done with the sort yet, but probably 75% there. The best part is that about half of the space on the shelves is consumed by items that are going to be posted on Craigslist, donated, or are empty containers. I also need to find some new homes for stuff, but this weekend was a big step in the right direction.

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Wife came out to see the progress this evening. As we were talking she suggested that we should set some cash aside and try to get it insulated before the winter. Sweet!

Next weekend we're going to hang new shingles on the roof... a warm, dry, clean, and organized place to work in the winter? That'll be a first...

 

[oldironfarmer]

Really nice to get spousal support. Don't discount how much they like seeing some real progress, and want to reward that, IMHO

 

[bdbecker]

Got the new shingles on this weekend. Having a brother and dad that are well practiced in roofing makes projects like this go very smoothly. I was more than happy to do all the grunt work and let them work their magic.

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We had a late start on Friday because of rain, but were done by mid-morning today. Everything went off without a hitch. It was only when I decided to trim a broken branch out of a tree (since I already had the ladder out) that I ended up in urgent care because I thought I had a piece of sawdust in my eye. As it turns out, I had actually gotten the piece of sawdust flushed out at home and was only feeling the scratch on my eye, but I was happy to find out that it was nothing serious.

All in all, a great weekend with my dad and brother.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Glad you can see your way clear to make more progress.

Roof looks great!!

It is always better to go seek medical care when you don't need it than when you do! Like volunteering and not being needed. Too many people "tough it out" and wind up with a more serious issue or even permanent damage.

 

[bdbecker]

...It is always better to go seek medical care when you don't need it than when you do! Like volunteering and not being needed. Too many people "tough it out" and wind up with a more serious issue or even permanent damage.

I totally agree. Working in manufacturing, I've seen a couple of of minor, easily treatable injuries turn into major medical issues because they weren't addressed right away. Eyes are nothing to mess around with - you only get two. That's why I always wear safety glasses. Even then, you are still vulnerable if the wind blows just right.

 

[londonsteve]

Great garage and a introduction to Burlap Wolf King, excellent. Listening to him now on you tube.

 

[Pathfinders]

Great progress. Keep it coming, I will be following.

 

[bdbecker]

I meant to include a little more information on the roof when I posted the other night...

I had always guessed that the garage was built in the 1990's, but when I did a public records search, I found out that it was built in 1984. I also suspected that the shingles on the roof were the originals, sure enough, they were (stapled on, no nail holes). If you can imagine what 25 year shingles look like after 32 years... yeah, there wasn't much left of them. Tear off was kind of a bear because they just crumbled into little bits as soon as you got the shovel underneath them. It also explained the multiple leaks I had in my roof. Despite all of that, I only had to replace one corner of one piece of sheeting due to rot. The rest of the roof had a few spots that had definitely seen some water, but only the one little spot that was actually rotted. As my Dad said, we definitely got the full life out of the shingles.

We also installed a ridge vent right away even though my garage isn't insulated (yet). My brother (who has spent many hours on top of roofs) said that he had never installed a ridge vent product that went in as easily and nicely as this one. He liked it so much he took a bunch of pictures and even a few of the box itself for reference. The name of the product is "Cobra Ridge Runner" and its available at Home Depot. I rolled the dice when I decided on this product because there aren't very many reviews for it online. Right now, I can only say that installation was very straightforward and it looks very nice. I'll report back once a few good rain and snow storms come through as to how well it works.

http://www.gaf.com/roofing/residential/products/roof_vents/cobra_ridge_runner

Great garage and a introduction to Burlap Wolf King, excellent. Listening to him now on you tube.

Thank you. Glad you enjoy the tunes, I'm really looking forward to the new album in the works.

Great progress. Keep it coming, I will be following.

Will do... there's always seems to be another project!

 

[Lee Celtic]

=Wanna Ride;5894723]I enjoy garage builds/refurbs like this, more than the big fancy garage-mahals. I got a decent garage, but it's the result of a build I started twenty years ago. Not the kind of place you'd find a magazine photoshoot of a Lambo, but a damn-nice place to spend the day, building stuff.

Good for you. Looks like you're enjoying yourself.

Well said that Man..

= It's funny how much I just don't care about most of the junk I've been dragging around anymore. I'll probably end up needing to take more than one trip to the dump.

It's Funny because thats the stage I'm at now..Just started going through what I call "Interesting Boxes" I have about 6 of them.. they are full of bits and bobs that I find interesting or thought they might come in handy.. Truth is most of it is junk that I can do without.. though I did find a few fittings I can use for the compressor I'm building.. and a replacement strap hinge for the main door.. and the missing cover for the flywheel on an old dirt bike I've been looking for.. so maybe it's not all junk

Watching with interest.

 

[bdbecker]

I've been doing so much to my garage lately that I decided to take a day off and do something in my garage today instead.

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I built this set for my brother as a wedding gift... nearly 2 years ago. They've just been getting shuffled around the garage since then. Today I finally got around to getting them finished so he can use them this fall for tailgating. Now, in my defense, we agreed that I would hold onto the boards until he got around to fixing a set of adirondack chairs that he built for me 8 years ago but broke after a couple of seasons due to a design flaw.

As I was rubbing down the boards with danish oil, I was noticing all the issues with how I built them. A few boards don't sit quite flush, the holes aren't very circular... mistakes I wouldn't make now, but at the time was so proud of how they turned out. I considered for a moment just getting some more lumber and building a whole new set. I then thought about how you don't redraw a picture you made when you were a kid because you now are more capable now - that drawing represents a moment in time, even if it's not perfect. If I built new boards, they wouldn't be the ones I made for his wedding.

I guess I really don't have a point or moral to the story, I guess I'm just feeling a little philosophical today.

 

[bdbecker]

After shuffling things around a few (many) times I finally feel like I am getting an arrangement that feels good and is functional.

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You may notice that the bin hooks bracket things have been replaced by shelves. I used a couple of the less bent shelves and lined them with 3/4" plywood to straighten them out (thanks for the tip Andy). I also moved the fridge and stereo onto the shelves.

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I built a tall workbench along the south wall and stashed my saw and sander under it, and moved the freebie file cabinet, bandsaw, and welder next to it. Since these are mostly special project tools that I will pull out and setup when needed, its nice to keep them out of my way for day-to-day activities. I also turned the file cabinet into my flammables cabinet after a friend of mine ended up in the hospital this week with second degree burns on his face and arms. He's doing well... in a lot of pain, but is now home.

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Finally, a 1-ton engine lift followed me home this week. Works great, but they were going to toss it in the scrap bin at work. Couldn't pass up a deal like that. (Yes, I know one of the legs is on backwards).

Now I'm going to start thinking about revising my main workbench...

 

[iced98lx]

Looking good, tacking many of the same problems I have so obviously I'll be tagging along!

 

[nh_yota]

I love garage builds like this because I too suffer from analysis paralysis and perfectionism that keeps me from getting things done. Thankfully it doesn't bother me as much as it did when I was younger.

When I bought my first house seven years ago (170 year old house) I had lots of plans to spruce it up a bit and finish some of the renovation projects started by previous owners. I started working on things the first two years, then lost my job and suffered some personal setbacks. Having lots of free time but no money meant that projects were put on hold because I lacked the ability to bite things off in small chunks and work with what I had. Projects sat at 0-50% complete for years because I always felt like I had prerequisite things that needed to be done first and didn't have the money for them.

Only in the past two years did things start to get better for me and I was able to pick up on where I left off with projects a few years before. It used to stress me out when I knew I couldn't get everything I needed done at the same time and now I think about what I can accomplish in phases or within the constraints of the time and money I do have. I also figured that my house is just a starter house and I'm only stuck with it for a few more years until I sell it and move into a house big enough to raise a family.

 

[rattle_snake]

Coming along nicely, should feel good to walk in and see all your progress.

 

[y'sguy]

"Speaking of cars... A goal that I set for myself is to have the shelves up and all my stuff sorted and organized in the next two weeks. My Dad and Brother are going to help me hang some new shingles on the 13th. Then, I'll finally be able to drag my '64 F100 project out of storage and work on her this winter - its been in mothballs since we moved back to Iowa four years ago. I think a 52 year old truck will look just about right sitting in my garage. Besides, Lambos are overrated according to David Freiburger."

OK!, now you have my attention for sure. Also have a Ford 1964 Longbed. The redo on your garage is right in my wheelhouse as well. Make it functional on a decent budget. I have my share of OCD activity and fight it off the best I can. This is a good way to do it.

 

[sean Buick 76]

I really like how you are saving stuff that would be getting tossed into the trash and making good use of it!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Looking great..

Regards

 

[bdbecker]

...It used to stress me out when I knew I couldn't get everything I needed done at the same time and now I think about what I can accomplish in phases or within the constraints of the time and money I do have. I also figured that my house is just a starter house and I'm only stuck with it for a few more years until I sell it and move into a house big enough to raise a family.

I totally understand where you are coming from. I learned this the hard way on my first house as well... I had a lot of projects started and it was a mad dash to finish all of them so we could list the house. I never really got to enjoy any of my hard work because I was still finishing projects after we had moved out.

Now I have a list of all the things I want to get done around the house with estimated costs, wife and I prioritize what should be done first, set aside cash when its available, and then knock out projects here and there that help move towards the end goal. Yeah, its not as dramatic to have it all done at once, but at the same time, I can walk around my house at the end of the day and not see a half-dozen incomplete projects, which is a lot less stressful for me.

Coming along nicely, should feel good to walk in and see all your progress.

Thank you! Yes, it is a great feeling to not be instantly bombarded by a mess when I walk in the door.

...OK!, now you have my attention for sure. Also have a Ford 1964 Longbed. The redo on your garage is right in my wheelhouse as well. Make it functional on a decent budget. I have my share of OCD activity and fight it off the best I can. This is a good way to do it.

Mines just an old farm truck, but it's pretty cool in my eyes. I don't intend on making it a show truck or getting real crazy with it. I plan on keeping the 223 I6 engine, maybe a little bigger wheel/tire combination, have it sit just a little lower and more level, and spray it with a satin-clear to preserve the patina. The goal is have it be something that is cool and classy, but that can still be used as a truck.

I really like how you are saving stuff that would be getting tossed into the trash and making good use of it!

Thanks! Not counting the roof (or money spent on beer) I think I've got maybe $100 into everything so far, the rest is just sweat and time. I am starting to run low on lumber scraps and junk to throw away, so I'll probably have to start spending money at some point. Right now I'm hashing out a workbench design and will probably end up buying new materials so that I can have a little more freedom with the design.

Looking great..

Regards

Thank you! Now that I've finally made my way through the entire 12-Gauge Garage thread, yours is up next on the reading list (after I take a little break).


Speaking of breaks... this weekend I will not be in the garage. My brother and I are heading to eastern Colorado tonight to go dove and prairie dog hunting. We'll be running around a 10k+ acre ranch that one of my uncles used to manage. I'll try to take some pics and post them here when we get back.

 

[-Brent-]

Looking great!

 

[bdbecker]

What a whirlwind weekend... my brother and I hit the road 5:30pm on Friday afternoon and after a couple of stops for coffee and fuel, made it to my uncle's house in eastern Colorado ~9.5 hours later. After a few hours' of sleep we went to town, got our licenses, and hit the range.

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As it turns out, there is not much to photograph when it comes to prairie dog hunting. So here are a few pics of my uncle's place. The first is the view from his front yard, the second is from his back pasture right after a little rainstorm.

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I do understand that the subject of prairie dog hunting is controversial. To that, I will just say this... I am a hunter, but first and foremost, I am a conservationist. Like it or not, populations of wild animals need to be managed. It is the world we created through urban sprawl and agricultural activities. If you intend to pass judgement on me, I would ask you to first look in the mirror - if you live on this earth and eat food (vegetarian or not) you have displaced a species from its natural habitat.

 

[bdbecker]

More work "in" the garage instead of "on" the garage this weekend... My work is having our annual picnic this week and are doing a "smoke-off" between the employees. I fired up the Amana water heater smoker around 7:30am and ran that sucker until 12:30am smoking ~40lbs of boston **** pork roast.

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Wife has a big employee appreciation thing at work she's planning and asked if I could make a few things for her. The first thing I had to build was stand for a Watto prop. Watto is a Star Wars character from the series reboot and Pepsi (wife's employer) had in-store displays that used these props. Apparently this thing has been rolling in the office storage closet for the last 15 years and is kind of a running joke. Over that time, a lot of people have asked if they could have or buy him, while others have tried to throw him away because they're sick of him, so this year he's getting raffled off. The years had not been kind to Watto because when he showed up at my garage, he had two broken legs and no stand. I worked on gluing his legs on during the week, and Saturday I made the stand out of a 2' diameter table blank from Home Depot, a chunk of 4x4, and a 1" dowel. Not bad for less than $15... now the only thing I'm worried about is wife winning the raffle and being stuck with this ugly SOB in my house.

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The other item wife wanted is a dart board that they are going to use during the company party to hand out door prizes. Okay, okay... I will admit, the dart board didn't have to be round, it didn't have to be 4' diameter, and it didn't have to spin. I just tend to take things a little further than necessary sometimes. Even though it's pretty solid as it sits, I'm going to re-do the legs/feet a little just to be sure it can handle a whole day of darts being thrown and pulled out of it. Thankfully, she said she would paint it.

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All in all, I had a lot of fun Saturday. I got to spend most of the day smoking meat and tinkering around the garage. We did have to go do family photos for my daughter's first birthday, but the wife is happy because I knocked out a few projects for her. Heck, I even managed to do a little work on the Sportster that night when Wife went to get groceries and the kid was down for a nap. Every time I do projects like this I am just really happy that I finally dug into the garage and made it a working space instead of a storage space.

 

[bdbecker]

My birthday gift showed up yesterday! Its an Evolution Rage 3 miter saw. http://www.evolutionpowertools.com/us/build/rage3.php

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Someone here on GJ mentioned this saw in a thread and after researching it, I knew I wanted one. If you haven't heard of this saw, the neat thing about it is that it was designed to cut a variety of materials like wood and metal with the same blade. Since I didn't own a miter saw (yeah, I know) it was the natural choice when wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year. I didn't get a ton of time with it last night, but I did get it setup and made a few cuts.

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One of the selling features was that it could handle a 2x12.

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And no problems cutting through exhaust tube with the same blade. I'll admit, that was kind of a weird feeling. Just a few sparks and a lot of noise, but other than that, not much different than cutting through wood.

Overall, I am very pleased with how well made this saw seems to be. It will need a little fine tuning to get everything square and true, but not bad right out of the box. As I read in several reviews, if you were a finish carpenter, you would probably want to look at a different saw. I would probably agree with that as there seems to be a little bit of play in the miter indents - easily addressed by checking with a combination square before cutting. For a hobbyist like me who is going to do a little bit of everything, I think this is going to be a great saw, especially at the sub-$200 price tag. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030M2TCC/?tag=atomicindus08-20)

Also, a pleasant surprise... one of the common complaints I read in the reviews is that the saw uses a 1" arbor with a 10" blade, which is not a very common combination. However, when I was setting the saw up, I learned that the arbor is reversible and you can in fact run either a 1" or 5/8" arbor blade. Sweet! I guess it pays to actually read the manual! I will probably end up buying a wood specific finish blade for most of my woodworking and keep the all purpose blade for cutting metal.

 

[imgoingforit]

Long time lurker here. I read your thread last night, Love seeing the progress. Hopefully, I will be able to purchase a home in the next year and have a garage again.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Happy birthday, and I love your saw!

 

[bdbecker]

Long time lurker here. I read your thread last night, Love seeing the progress. Hopefully, I will be able to purchase a home in the next year and have a garage again.

Welcome to GJ! I feel your pain about not having a garage. When we moved back to Iowa, I went from a 24x30 to no garage for a couple of years - that was no fun. Improvements will probably be on pause for a few weeks because of family events and vacation (finally...) but I'm still working out a new workbench design.

Happy birthday, and I love your saw!

Thanks Andy! I've been watching updates on your thread, you are really rocking it!

 

[bdbecker]

Now that I have this fancy new saw, I figured I should put it to use. I started picking through the lumber pile and came up with enough 1x pine to make this baby/pet gate. I even had the hinges in "inventory" and knew exactly where to find them now that I'm somewhat organized. I'm more of a "wood butcher" than a "fine woodworker" but that's okay - wife prefers the rustic look anyway.

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I just need to get a latch installed and it'll be good to go. Little stinker is going to be one tomorrow and it'll be nice to let her roam around without having to worry about her taking a tumble down the steps.

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That's about all I had time for today. Had to help clean and decorate the house today for the party tomorrow. Heading to an international food festival tonight which is always a lot of fun.

 

[Outlander]

fun thread! Thanks for sharing

 

[oldironfarmer]

Nice gate for a wood butcher!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Wood Butcher, I don't think so.

Well done

Regards

 

[bdbecker]

Well it's been awhile since I've posted here... it's been a little hectic but things are starting to settle down again. I believe I finally have my workbench concept sorted out, now I just need to hammer out the fine details.

For now, I figured I'd post this lamp I made today. I used a chunk of reclaimed hardwood (oak I think) for the base with a reddish-chestnut stain. The tubes are scrap bin finds. First I hit them with a wire brush, then buffed them with steel wool, and then used gun blue to darken them up, and finally antiqued them with steel wool to give a bit of a worn look. I then topped them off with some fancy LED Edison bulbs that are all the rage these days.

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The funny thing is about this lamp is that I actually picked up a set of old cast iron bases that I intended to use, but I hit a creative wall and put them into the white box of many things for future use. First attempt at building a lamp. Fairly happy with how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[bdbecker]

No going back now...

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Took out the old workbench to make room for the new one. It was kind of strange to think about how I used the old workbench to build parts for its replacement. Hope to get it installed tomorrow. Pics to follow...

Side note... if a ring forms around an insect bite that you've had for a few days, there's a good chance that it's Lyme disease. Get it taken care of right away, it is nothing to mess around with.

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Antibiotics for the next few weeks should take care of it. The first few days were brutal because the meds made me itch all over, but all is well now.

 

[hewey]

That lamp looks great, nice work.

 

[bdbecker]

Getting there...

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[snedboy]

Great thread mate. The workbench is looking good. I've seen stuff about Home Depot on the web before. It seems to be an amazing place. I didn't even know you could get a garage door seal much less nip down to a local store and buy one!

 

[oldironfarmer]

Wow! Bench frame looks great! What are you going with for the top?

 

[MichaelBikel]

Really digging this thread. After reading the "winded" intro I expected the place to be much different looking than pictured, but it would seem you have a really great space. Your analysis paralysis situation is one that I am very familiar with, a ton of us on here definitely have big time OCD. Keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing more!

 

[bdbecker]

Well, 22 2x4's and 2 sheets of 23/32" CDX plywood later, I've more than doubled my garage's workbench square footage. As it currently sits, the dimensions are 16' long, 31" deep, and 39" tall. Finishing touches will include a more durable work surface over top of the ply, staining or painting the frame, adding a backsplash, enclosing the ends, and installing doors to cover the storage space below.

Speaking of the storage space below, the current plan is to build job specific carts that can be rolled out when needed. Some of these carts may also double as auxiliary work surfaces, similar to this:
http://www.startwoodworking.com/post/roll-away-workshop

The bench is very stout, which was the goal. When I walk across it and do the scientific "wiggle-wiggle-jump-jump" test, I was surprised at how little it flexed and moved (I'm 6'3", 285lbs to put it in perspective). All in right now, I've got right around $100 in materials into it. I'll probably spend another $100 or so to finish it out. Not bad considering it's size.

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