Garage workshop setup

Here is a rendering of the first 2 holders I have made: the top one is to hold my pencil and tape measure, the lower one is for the quick change bits for my drill/driver. They all have 1/4" shafts, so a 5/16" hole holds them all ...



Here is another holder the guy who wrote the article has ... this one for allen wrenches (he uses plywood for everything):

The drawer I am going to make ... can you tell I am at work and don't have much to do?


you can hang it on the wall, or put it in a little chest of drawers

I like the setup your going with looks nice. Im not sure its for me though. To much wood in a mechanics area lol.


EDIT: Of course I do everything ina driveway. with Irish drinking songs blasting to bug the neighbors.

thanks!

my garage is not, and probably will never be, wholly dedicated to automobile related stuff. it if was, it is big enough that it would be mostly empty.

this whole project is getting me interested in woodworking and carpentry. the options are only limited by your imagination.

but i do plan on moving the lawn stuff out to a shed.

i am also probably going to paint the stuff in the charcoal/silver colors of the floor.

I started in earnest a few days ago. I only have few hours in the evenings becasue the bedroom where my wife sleeps is directly above the garage, so I have to stop when my wife goes to bed.

That, and the fact that I am new to this type of carpentry stuff, I tend to over-engineer things, I work slowly anyway, and am my own worst enemy, is making for some slow progress.

I have been taking pics along the way. I'll post them before long.

Ok, I promise to stop with the Google Sketchup stuff ... last drawing until I have real pics to post.

Here is what a little cabinet with 3 drawers would be like:

before



the cleat



some bricks were sticking out


the base



it is very strong


a few hangers




those home depot yardsticks happen to be just the right size for lots of things, and they are very cheap!





i am always using my 7/16 and 10mm wrenches

that is coming along awesomely. how many hours do you have into it roughly?

thanks! yes, it has been alot of work. i'm probably at 20 hours i bet. but i work slowly, and at least a few were from changing course and going to this hook and slat setup.

some more pics of stuff ...

pass 3... i moved my bench off the wall and made it the same height as both the table saw and the craftsman chests


of course, it has hangers too ...





let's see you people hang this on your pegboards!

Still thrashing around in the garage ...

Since you folks are the people who can appreciate a DIY project, I thought I would document my latest project, a drop in top for my workbench that holds and lets me raise and lower my new router. This is (naturally) the least expensive router I could find, and 95% of the parts were in among the clutter already in the garage.

the holder for the router ...








it will slide on 4 tracks. that should keep it firmly in place ...









here it is mocked up on the table top into which it is going


A pretty getto insert huh?

That looks awesome. That's some attention to detail.

Kurt

Here is a video of the lift in action:

now that's some james bond shibby if i ever saw it. now make the work bench shoot poisonous darts if someone disturbs you!

on a more serious note, how are do you turn it on? you could wire in a simple wall switch to the leg of the work bench.

Thanks! Yes, that is exactly the plan. I already have the switch wired up to a multi-plug extension cord, now I just need to attach the switch to the table.

Haha, you are very creative! Excellent work Chris!

I decided to change my bench top. It is now 2 pieces of 1/2" plywood, has a 4 1/2" open space underneath for tool storage, and 5/8" holes spaced 4" apart for holddown support:

OK, so it's still a work in progress.
The holes are just big enough for the bar of the cheap quick clamps they sell at Harbor Freight. With this approach, I will be able to secure anything anywhere on the bench:





It turns out that my vise has holes 4" apart, so it bolts up directly:



And it also just so happens that the $2 light I got at the thrift store fits underneath:

Of course, the cleat and hook thing is still there:


A stupid little ghetto glued up t-track. Maybe I'll attach it to my miter gauge on the table saw

just a thought but you might want to get some of those little plastic hole plugs that you can put over the holes. if your working on something and taking apart nuts/bolts on that table your going to loose them through the holes.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/Hole-Plug-1ELV5?Pid=search