Put everything on wheels!

[Jon Matcho]

Here's a tip from me that is over a decade in the making:  Build all tables, storage cabinets, cloth cutting stations, epoxy stations, tools/saws, etc. on wheels for easy positioning around the shop.  What a difference it makes!

[Voidhawk9]

I've learned this myself. Locking wheels (at least 2 of 4) makes it easy to keep them in place, too. I've done it for one workbench and my mobile glass roll holder (for rolling glass off the roll directly onto parts, you see).

I put 2 wheels on my free-standing glass cabinet so that it can be tilted and rolled around. Unfortunately, I made the thing much too heavy, making that impractical! 

[Jon Matcho]

I haven’t built a glass/rolls cabinet yet, but am planning to use 1/4” plywood as opposed to my prior go-to of 3/4” or even 1/2” plywood.  My work tables may someday get an upgrade to wheels (or not), but for now they’re planted firmly in the middle of my shop.  In hindsight, I would have built these with a bit less wood.

The key is being able to clear a comfortable work area and for that wheeled tools and such do wonders.

[Kent Ashton]

I never had a glass cabinet.  I kept the glass in the plastic sleeve.  I had a piece of clean poly marked "this side up" that I would put on the dirty work table, roll out the glass and cut it.  

Build airplanes, not infrastructure  ?

[Voidhawk9]

Can't argue with someone who has done it, but I've found the cabinet to be invaluable, and not a big project to do.

 

But I overcomplicate things.

[Jon Matcho]

14 hours ago, Voidhawk9 said:

Can't argue with someone who has done it...

That's for sure, and I listen to Kent and others that have actually built and flown these planes, but for me personally I have found myself paralyzed when I can't move in my shop.  Sure, I might have too much "stuff" in some cases, but solving these problems is as important as others. 

22 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

I never had a glass cabinet.  I kept the glass in the plastic sleeve.

That's been working for me too, although I keep it in paper wrap and just re-tape the paper closed after use.  Still, most every time I use a roll I think of building a rack.

Do you mean to say we're not going to fly these work tables and such? 

[Kent Ashton]

1 hour ago, Jon Matcho said:

That's been working for me too, although I keep it in paper wrap and just re-tape the paper closed after use.  Still, most every time I use a roll I think of building a rack.

Hmm, just realized that I told a lie.  I had a rack made of two 2X4 uprights with some pipes where I kept two rolls of cloth.  I would reel-off glass as needed and threw poly over them to keep the rolls clean .  Something like that would be easy to build and if it had rollers, it would've been more useful.   No need to build a big bulky cabinet.

BTW, Here is my #1 top building tip:  When you finish with an epoxy brush, squeegee out the excess, put it on a paper towel on top of a piece of poly.  Saturate with some MEK, roll it up in the towel and poly with a bit of the towel exposed to air and weight it with a brick.  Next day you will have a brand new brush and you don't use a lot of solvent.  ?

[Jon Matcho]

On 7/25/2018 at 9:19 AM, Kent Ashton said:

BTW, Here is my #1 top building tip:  When you finish with an epoxy brush, squeegee out the excess, put it on a paper towel on top of a piece of poly.  Saturate with some MEK, roll it up in the towel and poly with a bit of the towel exposed to air and weight it with a brick.  Next day you will have a brand new brush and you don't use a lot of solvent.  ?

I thought I already replied to this (a defect in the forum software or my brain) but I tried this the other day with Acetone (I don't use MEK) and it worked like a charm!  I had given up with the traditional wash-the-brush-in-a-tin-can approach because the cost of the acetone wasn't worth the cost of the new brush.

I came home from work last night and jumped right into getting this Harbor Freight mobile base stand built and installed under my very heavy 1950s table saw.  Wow, after 2 hours of mixing tablesaw and drill press work with my end-of-workweek-it's-Friday rituals I called it quits and spent time with the missus.  Kent's words of "don't build infrastructure" were echoing in my head, but I have seen the light of mobile tool stands and I know the joy that will soon be mine.  I'll share a pic after completion (hopefully between now and when I need to depart for a family reunion today)...

 

 

[Jon Matcho]

Got it done... just need to add some stiffening so the setup is not as flimsy (was always the case; not the fault of adding the mobile base).

You can also see cabinets that are now rolling thanks to a few parts from www.mcmaster.com

 

[Jon Matcho]

Another weekend of "re-setting" up shop.  Sorry for the blurry picture, but I now have just one bulky object on the ground that needs wheels (a large table saw I need to refurbish).  The difference in the shop's workability is like night and day.  

I can now get in the corner to remove that chunk of fiberglass insulation!  ?

[Voidhawk9]

While I agree with building airplanes, and not infrastructure, a well planned and efficient 'infrastructure' sure makes building faster and easier!

But it doesn't need to be the next wonder of the world, either. Tidy and effective is enough, looks like that is what you are going for, Jon!

[Jon Matcho]

I need to know where all of my stuff is so I can get to it.  I'm not building a bedroom, but this place is either unbearably hot or too cold for anything in the winter.  

It's been great being able to move stuff around, and I just hung those cabinets to get them off the floor.  I only have 2 main pieces on the floor, a large table saw and a rather big and heavy lathe (both were given to me recently by my uncle).

[Voidhawk9]

Sounds like your workshop temperatures are similar to mine. 

[Jon Matcho]

Extreme to extreme?  When I moved in the ceiling insulation was home to a community of mice and squirrels, so what you see in one of these pics is the last corner of it (I dread pulling that down too).  There was no insulation on the sides and there are a few places where I can see daylight where I shouldn’t.

Once I had all the insulation down and some other stuff pulled down I couldn’t help but think about raising the roof two blocks and properly insulating.  That is now my fall project.  Speaking of the roof over the garage, it’s a “flat roof” with a pitch of *maybe* 1 degree.  Makes for some interesting behavior with the fluorescent lights (to be replaced with LED lighting).

[Voidhawk9]

I have no insulation in my current workshop at all! Just steel exterior over a wood frame. It's kinda small, too, but it's what I have for now, we will move at some point, probably in a year.

Thus my heat-tent is very handy.

[Jon Matcho]

At least steel is an excellent conductor of heat <sarcasm>.  

I know how you feel.  We just got the first hint here in the Northeast USA that fall is coming and I’m torn between patching a few things up and ripping my roof off (like I thought I could/should afford to do the last 2 years).

Jon