Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Dave Seitz · Mega Poster

Breaking point to cleanup shop?

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

I currently have myself painted into a corner with non-running stuff..I have a line on some pallet racking abd its going in this spring

Derek69SS · Founding Member

When I can't find a tool, I start picking up ALL the tools until I find the one I'm looking for...

Lost in the 60s · President

I usually can't find anything in my shop 90% of the time but when hand tools are all out of the drawers too, it's time to take inventory and put them back.
Cords and hoses on the floor tripping me drive me nuts. One day last week I had the plasma cutter hoses and the Mig welder hoses along with the air hose to the Plasma and an extension cord for the 2 grinders I was using ALL on the floor at the same time. Then I needed the torch to heat some bent steel on my neighbors plow that I was repairing and added that to the mix. By the time I was done, there was no bare floor to see. Took me an hour just to pick up all the equipment I had used...

dashboard · 2K+ Club

I try to cleanup every night before I leave the shop, dosent happen every time, but I try, must be the 30 year Navy background. What I do notice however is the shop contunies to get smaller. I seem to have less and less space as time goes buy.

Dan Williams · Active Member

I keep my bench as clean as possible every night, have one of those mobil tool tray like things that gets pretty loaded up, but when it gets real heavy, I roll it over the the box and put everything away. Floor is usualy swept every couple of days under the lift. Have too many other peoples stuff in my shop to not keep it fairly organized.

Lost in the 60s · President

dashboard wrote:
What I do notice however is the shop contunies to get smaller. I seem to have less and less space as time goes buy.

That's what they make pallet racking for. I've lost my floor a couple times in the past. Never knew I had concrete all the way to the walls....

John D · 2K+ Club

I've got 30" x 22 feet of workbench - now about 1/2 of this is "used" by mounted tools like the grinder, drill press, etc.

When there's no more horizontal surface to put things on, or there's more than 6 serious "trip-hazards" on the floor it's cleanup day.

Funny how you make all the resolutions in the world to clean up (completely) after a job, but not quite everything makes it back into it's place.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

Im pretty sure I have never known what its like to work our garage with there being a ton of stuff in my way in some shape or another.

Dave Seitz · Mega Poster

John D wrote:

I've got 30" x 22 feet of workbench - now about 1/2 of this is "used" by mounted tools like the grinder, drill press, etc.

When there's no more horizontal surface to put things on, or there's more than 6 serious "trip-hazards" on the floor it's cleanup day.

Funny how you make all the resolutions in the world to clean up (completely) after a job, but not quite everything makes it back into it's place.

Been toying with the idea to mount grinders and some other types of equipment on a slides. Flat steel plates with a square tube like on a receiver hitch, that will allow storage under the bench untill needed.

Lost in the 60s · President

Buy more roller cabinet tool boxes. It takes money away from car parts, but it's nice to have grinders, drills and all their assorted consumables in one place, even if it takes weeks for them to all get back in the drawer. I bought a Mastercraft, or something like that, at Menards a year ago for $240 with a few deep drawers just for that purpose and it helped get the larger hand tools off flat surfaces and the floor. The flat surface on top comes in handy for setting down parts and tools temporarily too, like for a few months at a time.... hmm

Wow, John, you must have a large "shop" to have that much work bench. I don't have a clue how much I have because it's always covered with "stuff".

John D · 2K+ Club

It's not really that big - about 26' x 26' - an oversize 2-car garage. It does have 10' ceilings and an 8' door (which is nice). The layout is such that there's about 6 feet of space in front of, and along an entire side wall when 2 cars are in there.

Probably one of the best things I've done is get the compressor up off the floor, and mounted on the bench. This would have been a "dead corner" anyway, and would've turned into a catch-all for junk. The intakes have been piped up into the attic, which really cuts down on noise.

I'm also fortunate that there's only 1 caviat. I have to leave room for my wife's car "without rubbing against anything greasy when I get out" during the winter months. In the summer I can take over the other stall for limited amounts of time.

SShink · 3K+ Club

'A place for everything and everything in it's place'. The Lean Manufacturing mantra instilled in me over the years. Everything from drawing shadows around the tool drawer or peg board so you know where it goes after using it, to labelling drawers on the outside so that you know what's inside them.

I'm not the best at this, but anyone that has helped me in the garage knows that I put the socket back in it's same location when I'm done (most of the time) or back in the drawer where it belongs (most of the time), or back in the wrench holder, so that when I go to look for it I know where it is instead of hunting and looking all over benches, under the car, etc. Probably a little anal about putting things back in the same place, but it works for me.

Power cords on the floor are probably my biggest offense (ask Kevin biggrin ).

bowtie · Secretary

Dave-I built a tower that has my TV on top, then a shelf below with my table sander and grinder on a lazy susan. This shelf is on drawer slides so it pulls out, then can be rotated to which one I need. Below that I have my Mitre saw on a sliding shelf too. Underneath all that is my shop vac. I don't have a pic of it right now, but you could figure something out. It really helped save space. I also built my workbench to be just taller than the table saw so that slides in underneath.

John- I like how your compressor is up high like that-saves floor space.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Forgot to add... everything in the cave is on wheels. Another tip from the mfg. world. It's a lot easier to make changes and adapt when you can move things around. Even my workbench is on wheels with brakes so that I can push it away from the wall if needed.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Stan does seem to be able to have some since of order in disorder, he maximizes every square inch of horizontal space. That is to say, you must hunt for a place to set a soda can down. I have never figured it out, he has double 20 amp wall outlets every four feet but always has 200 feet of #18 extension cord strung all over the floor.

Nevertheless, I must admit if you ask Stan where the whatamacallit is he will say, second drawer down, right side, back corner next to the gismo thing.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

SShink wrote:

'A place for everything and everything in it's place'. The Lean Manufacturing mantra instilled in me over the years. Everything from drawing shadows around the tool drawer or peg board so you know where it goes after using it, to labelling drawers on the outside so that you know what's inside them.

I'm not the best at this, but anyone that has helped me in the garage knows that I put the socket back in it's same location when I'm done (most of the time) or back in the drawer where it belongs (most of the time), or back in the wrench holder, so that when I go to look for it I know where it is instead of hunting and looking all over benches, under the car, etc. Probably a little anal about putting things back in the same place, but it works for me.

Power cords on the floor are probably my biggest offense (ask Kevin ).

Im right there with you Stan. With tools, I try to put things away after im done nearly every time. Especially at work. The only way I know I didnt put a tool away or left it somewhere in the shop is to put everything away and see if anything is missing. Im not about to be out a 45 dollar Mac wrench or Snap On socket. At home I usually leave a bunch of tools near where I was working on the car because I dont like to hassle with dragging out every tool again a second time. But I wont leave them out in the open on the floor. If im doing something under the car, the tools arent in the way and they can stay there until I need them again or I need them for something else.

SShink · 3K+ Club

dashboard wrote:

Stan does seem to be able to have some since of order in disorder, he maximizes every square inch of horizontal space. That is to say, you must hunt for a place to set a soda can down. I have never figured it out, he has double 20 amp wall outlets every four feet but always has 200 feet of #18 extension cord strung all over the floor.

Nevertheless, I must admit if you ask Stan where the whatamacallit is he will say, second drawer down, right side, back corner next to the gismo thing.

That's another golden rule of organization... 'If you can find it in 30 seconds or less, the system is working'. That's why whatever works for you and is efficient, works. My office cube is like that at work. 99% of the time I can find something in 30 seconds or less although anyone else trying to find it there would give up in 30 seconds. biggrin

Dave Seitz · Mega Poster

Well I think my tool box is big enough, and the small Kennedy box I wound up shoving in the corner so the granite top doesn't get trashed. Back wall of the shop is pallet rack and one end has cabinets under it with cords, oils body supplies ect and the misc bolt and washer drawers. Work bench has 3 drawers that are tall and deep with drills, grinders, sanders, saws, chargers, and bits. Open space under the bench has benchgrinders with wire wheels, buffers, grinding wheels also jack stands small jack and funnels. Over the top of the bench is a shelf with the TV that if it breaks I will have no idea how to get down, used a skidsteer with forks to get it set up there. Looking for a desk style PC and flat monitor to replace the tower PC and CRT monitor that will get moved freeing up more space on the 1/2 bench.
Main thing that would clean up some room is the metal storage rack that is a nightmare and I still use all the little scraps on it.