Garage hacks/ideas to make life better?

[4WDKC]

The wood cribbing I just made to get the front end of the Trans Am up is going to be used multiple times I feel. very sturdy and safe way to get your car elevated for long periods of time. I feel like at least 1 set of 4 is mandatory for a shop / garage now.

What was your reasoning for buying studs instead of finger joint or 2x4x8 boards?

 

[Crispy]

What was your reasoning for buying studs instead of finger joint or 2x4x8 boards?

I may have used the wrong term then. I did buy 2x4x8 boards, I just called them studs since I thought that was the common size for wall studs.

 

[SDJunkMan]

I agree with lighting. I got my LED's from Menards (a midwestern chain) and love them. The price has dropped so much in the last few years that there is no reason not to upgrade. (They were on sale last week for $10 each, after rebate) I have 6 4' 4200 lumen lights In a 26' x 28' area and its great. Added a 4' 3200 lumen light above each bench for a little extra light when working on small items.

I'm working on a portable vise stand made out of a semi drum and some square tubing and a stand for my bench grinder using a disc (from a piece of farm equipment) for a base.

 

[4WDKC]

I may have used the wrong term then. I did buy 2x4x8 boards, I just called them studs since I thought that was the common size for wall studs.

studs are precut to length (IIRC 92 5/8") to produce a wall that is 8ft tall with a 2x4 on top and bottom

 

[Crispy]

studs are precut to length (IIRC 92 5/8") to produce a wall that is 8ft tall with a 2x4 on top and bottom

Thanks, I didnt know that. Yea, so 2x4x8 boards is what I used.

 

[TravisB]

One to make life better. If your building, put a floor drain in your garage!

My last garage had a floor drain that stopped up. I prefer pouring it so the door is just a bit lower than everything else and push any water with a squeegie.

I should add that this particular garage had the back wall halfway buried in the hill behind and was made of cinder block. The wall leaked every time it rained and with the drains not draining it was an endless uphill battle to try and get the water out so I may have a biased hatred for those floor drains. None of my attempts to clear the drains helped and the best I could tell they joined 2 drains in a y under my driveway which was impossible to access without destroying the drive.

 

[Colin]

This thread reminded me I need another bag of cheap kitty litter for spills
and oil leaks on the shop floor.

 

[DoubleDingo]

My last garage had a floor drain that stopped up. I prefer pouring it so the door is just a bit lower than everything else and push any water with a squeegie.

I should add that this particular garage had the back wall halfway buried in the hill behind and was made of cinder block. The wall leaked every time it rained and with the drains not draining it was an endless uphill battle to try and get the water out so I may have a biased hatred for those floor drains. None of my attempts to clear the drains helped and the best I could tell they joined 2 drains in a y under my driveway which was impossible to access without destroying the drive.

I wonder if they cheaped out and installed small diameter drain pipe instead of something that would flow. The seeping wall is just wrong. Must have paid of the inspector for that to happen.

 

[TravisB]

I wonder if they cheaped out and installed small diameter drain pipe instead of something that would flow. The seeping wall is just wrong. Must have paid of the inspector for that to happen.

I am sure there was no inspection at all on this thing. I used the heck out of it but man was it a pain in the butt when it rained.

It had railroad track suspended in the ceiling and a beam between them with a hoist attached to the beam. The guy who built it used it to pull engines and lift tractors when servicing their clutches and stuff. I was afraid to use the dang setup because that track wasn't made to hang from it's ends and I was afraid it would break and drop the whole mess on me. I could pull my weight onto the hoist and see the track flex. Maybe it would have held but it was a pretty neat idea if it's safe. The old guy was a bit of an inventor I guess you could say. The back wall had a big truck fan mounted in it's shroud to pull fumes from the place on an electric motor. There was an air powered cylinder in the floor that would lift a motorcycle if the cylinder didn't leak down so fast it could have been used. He had gas pipe on the walls for air lines, anchor points in the floor for bending frames back straight, walls covered in pegboard and a homemade electric pressure washer that I never did figure out how it worked so I used the cord to power my welder. The place was built in the late 60s so imagine all that stuff I mentioned in that time frame and my experience with it was in 2005 to 2015 or so.

Excuse the mess but this is what it looked like. You can see the "designed shelving" on the back wall there. That had a grinder mounted on the leg the shelf was standing on, in front of the window that was broken and covered with metal. You can see the water flowing on the floor in this pic.

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Here is the other side, the beams are above my new truck that was still my uncles at the time. More flowing water in the floor though.

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You can see the trusses here where we had to fix the roof. You can see they were built before those metal staple deals were invented for these things.

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[WFO]

studs are precut to length (IIRC 92 5/8") to produce a wall that is 8ft tall with a 2x4 on top and bottom

Studs are usually cheaper too, since they produce a lot more of them than 8 footers.

 

[DoubleDingo]

I am sure there was no inspection at all on this thing. I used the heck out of it but man was it a pain in the butt when it rained.

It had railroad track suspended in the ceiling and a beam between them with a hoist attached to the beam. The guy who built it used it to pull engines and lift tractors when servicing their clutches and stuff. I was afraid to use the dang setup because that track wasn't made to hang from it's ends and I was afraid it would break and drop the whole mess on me. I could pull my weight onto the hoist and see the track flex. Maybe it would have held but it was a pretty neat idea if it's safe. The old guy was a bit of an inventor I guess you could say. The back wall had a big truck fan mounted in it's shroud to pull fumes from the place on an electric motor. There was an air powered cylinder in the floor that would lift a motorcycle if the cylinder didn't leak down so fast it could have been used. He had gas pipe on the walls for air lines, anchor points in the floor for bending frames back straight, walls covered in pegboard and a homemade electric pressure washer that I never did figure out how it worked so I used the cord to power my welder. The place was built in the late 60s so imagine all that stuff I mentioned in that time frame and my experience with it was in 2005 to 2015 or so.

That guy had some imagination for sure. I bet he had great stories to tell.

 

[TravisB]

That guy had some imagination for sure. I bet he had great stories to tell.

No kidding. There was a windmill on a tv antenna pole in the yard when I bought the place. He had a fan belt connecting the windmill to an alternator to charge batteries. The wife made me take that down because the guys last name was Bates and the tail of windmill said "master" bates. I should have kept that thing. hahaha

I never tried to charge a battery with it or recall it ever working though.

 

[4WDKC]

Studs are usually cheaper too, since they produce a lot more of them than 8 footers.

I usually stay away from them because they are so picked over by carpenters its hard to find good straight lumber.

 

[4WDKC]

No kidding. There was a windmill on a tv antenna pole in the yard when I bought the place. He had a fan belt connecting the windmill to an alternator to charge batteries. The wife made me take that down because the guys last name was Bates and the tail of windmill said "master" bates. I should have kept that thing. hahaha

I never tried to charge a battery with it or recall it ever working though.

unless the battery had power to excite the alternator it would never charge even if it was spun to reach enough RPM.

 

[TravisB]

unless the battery had power to excite the alternator it would never charge even if it was spun to reach enough RPM.

Yeah I had my doubts and never tried it.