Third Times the Charm?
- Thread starter zjohnson1
- Start date
It's been quite a while since I've updated. Being a Dad to two kids under 2 is quite time consuming. In addition I've been taking on evening and night work as a part time fabricator/mechanic/handyman to help with finances and having extra "toy" money. As such my garage has been getting a lot of use.
I'm slowly figuring out the flow of how everything will work but I recently picked up a sandblaster and it's throwing me for a bit of a loop. I THINK I've picked the location for it next to the powder coating oven but that takes my welders home away. Would a mobile welding station/table around where the table saw is located work?
There's plenty of room when I have smaller cars in the shop, like the beetle chassis pictured, but my recently acquired super duty kind of kills the whole space. A 4 post lift will be going in that can accommodate the truck so that's basically the space I'll have to work with. Would I be better off trying to move the powder coat area elsewhere - ie the far bay that currently is my "clean space"? This bay will be fabrication for both metal and wood as well as storage since I don't think I'll be building a dedicated woodshop anytime soon. Something definitely needs to change because I'm out of wall space and it's cramped - spare motors are hiding everywhere (even 2 behind the door under the chop saw)
I'm slowly figuring out the flow of how everything will work but I recently picked up a sandblaster and it's throwing me for a bit of a loop. I THINK I've picked the location for it next to the powder coating oven but that takes my welders home away. Would a mobile welding station/table around where the table saw is located work?
There's plenty of room when I have smaller cars in the shop, like the beetle chassis pictured, but my recently acquired super duty kind of kills the whole space. A 4 post lift will be going in that can accommodate the truck so that's basically the space I'll have to work with. Would I be better off trying to move the powder coat area elsewhere - ie the far bay that currently is my "clean space"? This bay will be fabrication for both metal and wood as well as storage since I don't think I'll be building a dedicated woodshop anytime soon. Something definitely needs to change because I'm out of wall space and it's cramped - spare motors are hiding everywhere (even 2 behind the door under the chop saw)
Attachments
I'm way behind on updates so a lot will be skipped but this has been my last few weeks. I finally got a "real" air compressor. It puts out about 9CFM which is a little small for my blast cabinet but with an accessory tank I shouldn't have any issue as seldom as I really use it. Runs very smooth and quiet. I'll pour a pad behind the shop to close it in and probably never even hear it
And since the blast cabinet is operational I started to have a little fun. I've never sandblasted anything before so it was pretty addicting. I tossed dozens of little pieces in there and had a go at refinishing the calipers for my work truck
I've learned a lot powdercoating the last few weeks so my finish has been improving. I wanted these to pop since I'll probably have to actually use them on my Ford and this is probably the nicest part on the truck now! Mecanically sorting everything out then I'll move on to body work
My daughter is 2 now which means she's interested in whatever I'm working on so I let her turn the wrenches and help me put things together
Son is almost 1 and I'm getting him started even earlier
This past weekend I finally found a Stronghold cabinet for sale semi locally (about 1hr drive). Never seen this "clearview" style before and I had to have it. Worked out a deal to trade for one of my drawer cabinets but I had no idea what I was getting into... This is far larger than his photos led me to believe (not a bad thing) but I showed up with a 4x7 trailer for a 5'x6.5' cabinet. This monster is every bit of 700lbs and we had an accident with it falling right into the corner of my trailer. Amazingly the trailer was okay and the only damage to the cabinet was a minor paint scuff. ZERO metal deformation and not even a little divot where it hit the sharp corner, definitely a testament to its build quality. The drive home was interesting but she made it all the way to her new resting place. I'll have to completely reorganize the shop now but that needed to happen regardless since it's been a perpetual disaster zone with all the projects getting pumped out
And since the blast cabinet is operational I started to have a little fun. I've never sandblasted anything before so it was pretty addicting. I tossed dozens of little pieces in there and had a go at refinishing the calipers for my work truck
I've learned a lot powdercoating the last few weeks so my finish has been improving. I wanted these to pop since I'll probably have to actually use them on my Ford and this is probably the nicest part on the truck now! Mecanically sorting everything out then I'll move on to body work
My daughter is 2 now which means she's interested in whatever I'm working on so I let her turn the wrenches and help me put things together
Son is almost 1 and I'm getting him started even earlier
This past weekend I finally found a Stronghold cabinet for sale semi locally (about 1hr drive). Never seen this "clearview" style before and I had to have it. Worked out a deal to trade for one of my drawer cabinets but I had no idea what I was getting into... This is far larger than his photos led me to believe (not a bad thing) but I showed up with a 4x7 trailer for a 5'x6.5' cabinet. This monster is every bit of 700lbs and we had an accident with it falling right into the corner of my trailer. Amazingly the trailer was okay and the only damage to the cabinet was a minor paint scuff. ZERO metal deformation and not even a little divot where it hit the sharp corner, definitely a testament to its build quality. The drive home was interesting but she made it all the way to her new resting place. I'll have to completely reorganize the shop now but that needed to happen regardless since it's been a perpetual disaster zone with all the projects getting pumped out
Attachments
Been a while but I wanted to show off my newest Garage addition since it's a big one.
Life goes on and I've been busy with the 9-5, side jobs, plus my newest "gig" managing 5 rental doors. One is a single family home from 1913 downtown 1 city over - ended up being a fully gut and reno that I tacked solo. The others are 2 duplexes just off the square in my town. Old but turn-key-ish. Hack jobs fixed any problems that came up over the past 50yrs so I've been putting in a lot of time to make them "right." There wasn't a single matching cabinet, appliance, light swich, fooring, etc. but they're almost to a point where I can be proud of them. Functionally good and I planned out everything with my first unit so flooring, fixtures, etc are easy decisions now. Tenants dictate when things get done because rent will increase and currently they're happy with what I've done and don't want to pay more. Goal is 10 doors by 40yrs old to offset my 9-5 income but interest rates are killing me right now (7.6% on all 3 properties)
Garage has been neglected but it's helped me finish quite a few projects and pay down a lot of debt. Flipped a car recently into cash so I figured I'd pull the trigger on something I've wanted for a while now. 32yrs old and the back isn't what it used to be so a lift makes sense. With prices going up almost monthly if I don't do it now then when? Model I chose is the Katool KT-4H110 which is an 11klb XLT so I can store a vehicle up high out of the way and fit my truck on or under it (kind of). 78" under the runways so at 6' I can easily clear without banging my head. Made a day trip with my grandfather, father, and son to pick her up at the port in Savannah which saved the $1200 shipping and brought my total to $3200 otd. Haven't had this long but can't recommend the company or product highly enough. Has all the safety features you'd want and fit/finish is top notch
Of course it ended up being a project in and of itself... I had to enlist a neighbor with a tractor to help get the runways into the garage but after that it was smooth sailing and I was able to fully assemble solo over a few evenings (maybe 3-4hrs total work).
Little man gave it a test run using his truck first
Went with 110V but still ended up needing to rewire for 30amp
Should have just started with 220 but live and learn. Future proofed it with 10ga. Removable wall panels came in clutch.
Despite going with the XLT it still BARELY fit the Raptor. But it'll work for oil changes and basic underside maintenance
Life goes on and I've been busy with the 9-5, side jobs, plus my newest "gig" managing 5 rental doors. One is a single family home from 1913 downtown 1 city over - ended up being a fully gut and reno that I tacked solo. The others are 2 duplexes just off the square in my town. Old but turn-key-ish. Hack jobs fixed any problems that came up over the past 50yrs so I've been putting in a lot of time to make them "right." There wasn't a single matching cabinet, appliance, light swich, fooring, etc. but they're almost to a point where I can be proud of them. Functionally good and I planned out everything with my first unit so flooring, fixtures, etc are easy decisions now. Tenants dictate when things get done because rent will increase and currently they're happy with what I've done and don't want to pay more. Goal is 10 doors by 40yrs old to offset my 9-5 income but interest rates are killing me right now (7.6% on all 3 properties)
Garage has been neglected but it's helped me finish quite a few projects and pay down a lot of debt. Flipped a car recently into cash so I figured I'd pull the trigger on something I've wanted for a while now. 32yrs old and the back isn't what it used to be so a lift makes sense. With prices going up almost monthly if I don't do it now then when? Model I chose is the Katool KT-4H110 which is an 11klb XLT so I can store a vehicle up high out of the way and fit my truck on or under it (kind of). 78" under the runways so at 6' I can easily clear without banging my head. Made a day trip with my grandfather, father, and son to pick her up at the port in Savannah which saved the $1200 shipping and brought my total to $3200 otd. Haven't had this long but can't recommend the company or product highly enough. Has all the safety features you'd want and fit/finish is top notch
Of course it ended up being a project in and of itself... I had to enlist a neighbor with a tractor to help get the runways into the garage but after that it was smooth sailing and I was able to fully assemble solo over a few evenings (maybe 3-4hrs total work).
Little man gave it a test run using his truck first
Went with 110V but still ended up needing to rewire for 30amp
Should have just started with 220 but live and learn. Future proofed it with 10ga. Removable wall panels came in clutch.Despite going with the XLT it still BARELY fit the Raptor. But it'll work for oil changes and basic underside maintenance
Last edited:
Motoman1100
Well-known member
Glad to hear from you, I was wondering about you recently, cheers!
Darby9
Well-known member
Resurrecting this post--now that you've had the lift for a while, how do you like it? My father's considering getting one, and I think this is the only Katool four post I've seen on this forum...