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Garage Workshop

3K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  DanTwoLakes 
#1 ·
I have a detached, two car garage that is as wide as two single garage doors (about 18 feet) and about 12 feet deep.

My FS truck is too long, so one bay is always empty - the wife's car is in the other.

Currently have a small workshop in the basement in a corner.

Anyhow, wife and I decided that using half the garage as a workshop (that can be extended to the whole garage temporarily) is a good option. So, I have the go-ahead, as long as I don't get too extravagent.

Garage is currently bare studs.

I live in the city, so other than spraycans or brushes, I won't be doing any painting. I have a small compressor that is capable of running a touch-up gun and maybe some air tools.

Beyond mechanical stuff, I also have to do some light woodworking for home remodelling. Sometimes I just need a bunch of flat space for laying something out, stripping paint, or assembly.

What I'm planning is drywalling at least half the garage, and putting electrical quads above and below workbench height every few feet with some good lighting.

What I need, though, is to make the area as flexible as possible and, ideally, be able to fold or roll things out of the way or over to the other bay temporarily. I can't rule out the possibility of another car in the garage before we sell this place and get some more space. Wife's car is an old Altima, so there's about three feet of usable space in front of her car at all times too.

Also, I have some concern about the possibility of theft of my tools and there are two small windows on the side of the bay that will have my workshop.

Have a good-size bench grinder, table saw, router, power miter saw, drill press, vice, gasless mig and some hand tools. I'd like to get some gas torches in the near future.

So, I'm looking for ideas for benches, cabinets, etc that fold up or down, roll around, etc that can be modular and flexible and, ideally, locked down or locked up.

I've done some web searching, and have some ideas, but was hoping to benefit from the experience of some of the creative people here.

I do all my own mechanical work - usually in the driveway. It will sure be nice to have all my tools and some workspace a few steps away from whatever project I'm working on.

I'm reasonably confident I can build just about anything I need out of wood. I'd like to avoid major welding as right now, as I could use more practice.

Potentially, I could build some cabinets or workspaces that would roll right out of the garage and next to the car.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

One thing I thought of was making a worktable that had a removable section in it and then mounting occassional-use items (bench grinder, drill press, hydraulic press, vice, etc.) to standard size panels that I could slide in and fasten down. Two benches like that and I could run any two items, or put the regular panel back in for workspace.

That would also allow building something like a tray lined with linoeum, with edges for keeping small parts from rolling away, or a metal-lined tray with a drain for working on leaking stuff that could be swapped in or out.

Similarly, I thought about a roll-out table that I could swap in the table saw, router table, or power miter saw. Trying to get maximum flexibility.

With the panel mounting idea, I could build a sturdy cabinet and lock up all the power tools on shelves with a pretty small footprint.
 
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#2 ·
Sounds like you got it all planed out. I think you have some good ideas there. As for thiefs getting your tools, put them in a lockable tool chest at night or just put bars on the window. Also use a engraving tool to engrave your name into the bigger tools. The three part is a good idea, I own a bench that is kind of like that. However make sure that is surported VERY well so when you put heavy stuff on it, it doesnt break.
 
#3 ·
Carts

I have found that the 4 wheel garden carts work very well as they roll around easily and one can mount a roll away or build a toolbox to hold power tools in on one..Easy rolling is a big plus as rolling the tools out to the job makes things much easier..And one is much more likely to put the tools away neatly if the toolbox is right there as you use the tools..

For workbenches I made some by cutting a piece of ply 24'x30" 2ea and slotting them to accept a stretcher 12 x 36 so they interlock like a big sawhorse and then lay another piece of ply on the top to make a table..these store in a small area..and they will hold a heavy item like a transmission to work on it..

I would drywall and insulate the entire garage so it can be heated in the winter..Makes life a bit easier..Some shelves up high for seldom used items are good too..

Sam
 
#4 ·
When I was doing my workshop, I had a bunch of wall cabinets given to me, along with a large base cabinet about 6 feet long and 32" wide. I hung up the wall cabinets and was about to throw away the big base cabinet when I had a brainstorm. I had 4 3 wheeled casters which I mounted on the bottom of the base cabinet so I could roll it around. I then put a plywood top on it with a pine 1 1/2" board laid flat around the perimeter on two short sides and the long front side. Then I hinged a 30" piece of plywood on the back side of the cabinet. This also has a 1 1/2" pine board attached flat on 3 sides. When I swing up the piece that is hinged, it makes a flat worktop 62" wide and 72" long. When I'm not using it, it is folded down and I roll it over next to the wall out of the way. It only sticks out about 34".
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the advice.

I decided to take a step back. I still have some nice weather ahead of me before it turns cold and there are some things I have to take care of on the cars for winter.

Rather than spending the remainder of the fall working on the workshop, I'm going to concentrate on getting up walls, insulation, electrical and lighting. I have some waist-height shelving in my current workshop that I use as workspace - I'll just move that in for now. I can knock that out pretty quickly.

I am going to build a sturdy large table that I can knock down if necessary, and also work on getting the compressor quieter (see my other thread). Between that, and just organizing junk as I move it into my new space, I'll have plenty to do.

I figure I can build all sorts of cabinets, shelving, etc and such in the winter and that will be far easier if I already have the workshop up and useable, even if it isn't exactly what I need. It'll be a work in progress for awhile, but it will still be better than what I have now.
 
#10 ·
For a temporary bench I use a folding Black&Decker Workmate with a 4'X4'X1" plywood top that has a 4"X4" block screwed to the bottom and along the edges so it can be clamped in the Workmate.

The block is grooved so it hooks in the workmate jaws and not slip. Its sturdy enough for a bench grinder or working on a set of heads. I've had 400 pds on mine on occasion.

You can't really hammer on it but it gives a good open workspace that is easily portable, folded up, it fits tight against the wall.

Try and find a older Workmate as they had heavy duty steel stampings, I seen a modern one the other day and they look cheesy and flimsy. One good double wide rolling toolbox might be all you need for everything else.

Much nicer having open spaces to work on things rather than filling it up with benches.
 
#11 ·
A thought or two before you put up wall covering.
I have two rather inviting windows on my garage, framed by 2x4's. I drilled holes top and bottom of the sills and on either side. I then cut some rebar leftover from concrete work and slid them through the holes. This made a steel X across the window. The idea being to make it obvious that "No, you aren't going to break this window and simply climb through.
Though it's not too attractive, I didn't paint the bars either. To make it obvious that they are in fact steel.
A rollaround toolbox will immediately draw the eye of any thief. Realisticly, I don't actually roll mine around, it has a spot it stays in. I drilled a hole through the 2x4 upright behind it. I then put an old leaf spring U-bolt through it. I also drilled to holes in the back of my lower toolbox. I backed the box up tight to the wall and trimmed the U-bolt ends to fit. Then I could in essence bolt my box to the wall. Actually the box didn't go flush, I drilled two holes in a spacer piece of wood. The top box is bolted to the middle box, which is bolted to the bottom box. The drawers have come out to accomplish all the bolting and unbolting, so as long as the drawers stay locked it would be a job and a half to steal.
Later I unbolted it so I could put up wallboard.
Simple stuff you can do with variations on other equipment to secure. If doing something along these lines appeals to you you'll want to get it done BEFORE your wallboard goes up.
Also workbenches are easy to make nicely secure to open studs. Likewise if you think to add a couple more handy electrical outlets.
I actually only use wallboard on the parts of my walls that are too high to comfortably reach. The rest is all pegboard.
 
#12 ·
I don't know if you've run your electrical wires yet, but if you haven't, consider running all your wires in metal conduit. Then if you want a circuit some place you didn't think of ahead of time, it's a simple addition. Also, you can put up your wallboard without worrying about where the wires are in the wall.
 
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