2nd Annual Shop Clean-Up and Improvement Week

Frank Pellow

Member
Messages
2,332
Location
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
I don’t use my shop much in the period from early May to early November. During that time I am mostly on a trip, at Pellow’s Camp, or working on outdoor projects. Last year, when I moved back into the shop in autumn, I took a whole week to do some housekeeping as well has some small improvements. Upon reflection, that seems to be a good thing to do each year.

So, this was the week. The big clean-up job was to repaint the floor. With a shop as crowded as mine, this requires a lot of equipment moves, so I painted the place in 5 distinct phases over 5 consecutive days. The photo below shows a bunch of machines crowed into one corner so that I can do some sanding. I buffed the floor with 120 grit paper on my Festool Rotex sander before painting.

Crowding machines into a corner so that the floor can be sanded and painted -small.JPG

As is obvious in the following photo, the floor was in bad need of painting. I used CIL Dulux Urethane Floor and Porch Enamel (oil based). Its good stuff and only one coat was needed.

The floor before and after painting -small.JPG

On two of the days this week, I had help. My granddaughter Isla (six and a half) had to stay home from school because she was contagious (but not sick). We hung out together in the nearby park, in the kitchen (where we made waffles for breakfast and made pumpkin cookies –both from scratch including a real pumpkin), but mostly in the shop. Isla spent a lot of time in the shop drawing, doing math problems that I set for her, and playing games; but she also helped (and I mean really helped) with some tasks. Here she is taking a break from our marble game to eat some apple sauce.

Isla playing marbles -1 -small.JPG

Here she is about to turn a cartwheel:

Isla pretending to do a cartwheel -small.JPG

Turning now to the shop improvements.

First, three shelves were added to the top of the bookcase –making it now 10 feet high.

Extended Bookcase -small.JPG

Second, I now have a much needed cut-off bin. It is made of G1S 12 millimetre Fir plywood with butt joints held together with glue and 1.25 inch drywall screws. Here are a couple of pictures of the bin under construction:

Cut-off bins under construction -1 -small.JPG Cut-off bins under construction -2 -small.JPG

And here it is in position and in use:

Cut-off bin in place -small.JPG

And last of all, I built a set of open shelves (again out of G1S Fir plywood –the sides and top 19 mm and the rest 12 mm).

New shelves -small.JPG

The day that the shelves and the dividers were put into the unit was one of the days that I had Isla’s assistance. She really enjoyed the fact that we could put them anywhere that we chose to do so and I let her make some of the decisions.

When I took the above picture around noon today, there was still wet paint on the shelves, so they are empty. By noon tomorrow, I am sure they will be full.
 
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Looks like you been busy there Frank.

I need more shelves, etc. But I'm out of wall space
 
hey frank, do ya feel like comming to the sticks to help organize my mess?:D ....your floor looked like it had been worked on! just the way a shop floor should....something i discovered about parts storage bins is that they collect dust.......i solved the problem by holding the sides up above the floor an inch or so to get an air hose in .....tod
 
hey frank, do ya feel like comming to the sticks to help organize my mess?:D ....
I would love to Tod. Maybe someday I will organize a shop tour of a different sort for myself to the south. If I do, your shop will be high on my list.

your floor looked like it had been worked on! just the way a shop floor should....
And, I expect that mine will start to look that way again in a year or so.

something i discovered about parts storage bins is that they collect dust.......i solved the problem by holding the sides up above the floor an inch or so to get an air hose in .....tod
Good idea, but about four days too late for me. My bins are jammed into place.
 
Looks good, Frank.

So, why did you buy that Bosch stereo? I'm just struck by the fact that it is intended as a portable work-site radio and you've got it in a shop. At first glance it seems like overkill. Or did you get a sweet price on it?

Lovely job on the floor.

I wonder how many guys keep a library in their shop? I don't. I keep all my books upstairs, as that is where I tend to sit and read. Yet I've seen many other guys who keep their magazines (at least and maybe more) in their shop.

best,
...art
 
Looks good, Frank.
Thanks.

So, why did you buy that Bosch stereo? I'm just struck by the fact that it is intended as a portable work-site radio and you've got it in a shop. At first glance it seems like overkill. Or did you get a sweet price on it?
During the course of year I spend about half my time working outside and/or away from home and half the time in my shop. So the Bosch makes sense for me. Also, I did get it at a reasonable price.

Lovely job on the floor.
Thanks again, Art. The sanding and painting was easy. It figuring out how to move stuff around so that I still do the other work that was hard.

I wonder how many guys keep a library in their shop? I don't. I keep all my books upstairs, as that is where I tend to sit and read. Yet I've seen many other guys who keep their magazines (at least and maybe more) in their shop.

best,
...art
Art, the best place for me to read is in the corner of Shed 2 where my bookcase, stove, and stereo are located. There is no place in the house where I feal as comfortable.
 
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