tour of my Garage Mahal

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Location
Oliver Springs, TN
Here's a little tour of my shop. It's a 24 x 24 two car garage with 9' ceilings. The wife still parks her car on her half so I have most things on mobile bases. She is very tolerant though and I leave it in shop mode most of the time.
Since I'm finished up with Christmas projects I spent most of the day yesterday cleaning. It's usually a cluttered mess.

The first two pictures are of the lumber storage rack area. I have a triton rack for the long pieces. It's worked out very well. I put it high on the wall so I could get sheet goods and shorts underneath. I need to come up with a better way to store shorts.
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Here's a couple shots of the shop dogs. The basset is Daisy and the boxer is Joe. Joe doesn't like to have his picture taken.
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The next shot is working down the wall. I have a shelving unit used for storing small turning blanks. I got a deal a couple of years ago on small blanks. The metal cabinet is for storing adhesives and finishes. I put the planer on one of the old ridgid mobile bases. It works well. Next to the cabinet is a work table I made from a couple of recycled science lab cabinets with a reused counter top. You can also see the shop throne which was my grandmothers electric chair. Somehow I ended up "storing" it for my mom after my grandmother passed a few years ago. The batteries are shot and it's a hernia waiting to happen to lift. It is comfortable and I use it as my thinking chair. I also have a mitersaw on a ridgid base. I have a redneck dust collector attached to the saw. If I'm using it a lot I'll attach it to the DC.

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To the right of the lumber rack is a set of shop cabinets I built last year. I kept watching carigslist for used cabinets someone had taken out of their kitchen, but they always wanted WAY to much for used cabs. I built them on the cheap, I've got around 200 total including the lam top. I'll get around to painting the MDF fronts one day. Next to that is my grinding station on another metal storage cabinet. My router table usually lives next to the metal cabinet, but I have a gas heater that I use during the winter so I pull out the router table.
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I started making shaker boxes this year. This is what I came up with to try and organize all the supplies needed.

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Here's a shot of my router table and bandsaw. The router table is based on norm's plans. I put it on casters so I can move it around.
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Continued on the next post.......
 
continued

Next is the jointer and tablesaw. I have an 8" grizzly and a Delta uni. I've been pleased with both. A friend made a small modification to the end of the rail on the table saw. He was cutting a board with a circular say and didn't have enough overhang on the board. He made a nice kerf on the end of the rail.:eek:
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Finally, here's my lathe with some storage underneath. A friend gave me the small drill press next to the lathe. I use it to make oval holes. The bench next to the lathe is for my son. He stands on it when he's using the lathe. I also included a pic of my huge clamp storage area.:D
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Thanks for looking.
 
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Looks nice John! :thumb:

Do you find the floor treatment helps keep the dust down?

Cute little shop assistants too :D
 
Yep, nicely done. A little larger than mine and well laid out (though I think it will get smaller as I see there might be room for a few more tools.:D
 
:thumb::thumb::thumb:
You should have Brent over. And while he's there had him a chain saw and tell him to re-power the chair.:thumb:
 
My thinking chair is up on the hill. Two pieces of 2x10 in an x format (Bog Chair).

My new years resolution is to drag my fat but up there 5 times a week... Been doing it so far this week, and the dogs really like going for the walk. Just wish I did. Oh well, at least I usually do it at the end of the day and take a beer up with me... :thumb: :rofl:
 
Thanks for the nice comments. I don't guess a shop is ever finished. I always see things that I could do to improve the layout. Storage is a big one. I think I suffer from the condition of "paralysis by analysis" sometimes. I think I over analyze things.
 
Looking good John. I also hit the paralysis by analysis wall from time to time. I find that if I forge ahead I will sometimes have to re-do some things but, I will also realize some possibilities that I would never have thought of on paper. Let 'er rip.
 
Nice shop John.:thumb: Thanks for posting pics and sharing it. You boxer is cute with those white socks on the front legs.
I also noted that you had one of those Rigid sanders than never seem to go on sale and here are $50 more than in the US.:huh:

I remembered you posting your shaker boxes earlier and when i saw the shot of the wall i picked up the jigs.:thumb: Glad you confirmed what they were.

You must have loads of space for assemly when i see how long that wall is. Do you still park cars in there?

I think i am in your camp with the over analyze it aspect. But i agree with Glenn sometimes you just gotta go for it and it works out. I just moved a couple of things round and could not believe the space i seemed to gain.:D

Keep at it.:thumb: You got a good wood stash there dont go leaving the door ajar you might find a pirate from Maine running around in their .:D
 
Nice shop John.:thumb:


You must have loads of space for assemly when i see how long that wall is. Do you still park cars in there?:D

Thanks for all the nice comments.

Rob, My wife will still sometimes park her car in the garage. When we are expecting bad weather, I'll move everything over and make room for her. She is really great about not complaining when I have the place trashed and she get's stuck out in the cold/rain/snow. The only time my truck sees the inside is when I'm working on it.

Really the only other large tool that I'd like to have is a wide belt sander. I'm to the point of being crowded with what I've got now. If I have something large to assemble, it's a juggling act to get space for it and the tools. Well, I would like to someday upgrade my planer. I'd let the one I've got now go so that would trade some floor space.

I'd also like to build a workbench, but I don't know where I'd put it.
 
without sounding anything but sincere, Id like to suggest something.
You mention youd like a workbench and a new way to store shorts.

You have alot of high wall space. You can purchase very inexpensive standards and brackets, or make your own, and run a shelf 12 or 14 inches from the ceiling around the entire garage or as much as you want. You will have to purchase plywood to make the shelf ofcourse.
Get cheapo bins, from a dollar store, and label the bins for real short scraps, put on shelves, and lay the longer shorts on the shelves directly.
You can junk the metal shelving unit currently holding your shorts.\
Id also get my hands on a drywall cart or something similar(unless you want to build something, but used drywall carts are plentiful and Ive seen them listed for 35 bucks on CL)
Id keep all my sheet goods on a cart, so it can moved around out of the way, or like me, I push them outside when theres no precipitation, and that makes alot more wall space for you also.
Make a nice torsion box top rolling workbench, this way when weather permits you can work outside, move it where you want inside, etc.
Wall space is wasted storage space.

BTW-shelving, brackets, standards, bins, anything needed for storage is usually let go at tag sales and estate sales for peanuts.
I have tons of old standards and brackets I dont use anymore, but that kind is sufficient to hold scraps and shorts.
Ive taken a screwdriver and taken standards down in homes having tag sales.
At one sale, I got an 8 foot wall of shelves, brackets, and standards for 10 dollars.(they werent even tagged with a price, but I asked the person and she said, sure, if I take them down)
 
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