I , too, am starting to add things to my shop! I am in the slow process of updating my work bench. I am adding a hoist at the end of it, for the heavy stuff. I have just now started “ not” picking things up! I am the oldest in my group and have for years done all the hard stuff! Just turned 73….changing my ways….before it’s too late! Bones
Presto hyd roll around lift. Rated for 1000 lbs I think. Powered by 12v battery. About 5 ft height +/-. Used it in all kinds of lifting, from the walls of my garage addition build to person [me] lift for electric and hanging lights and other imagined uses. Heavy by itself and a little hard to maneuver but the price was right, Free.
Also look for an appliance lift! I have one in my ranch shop, but I have no pictures at this time of it! Instead of a platform it has two square tubing arms sticking out! Mine has a hand crank winch for lifting and will lift about 8 feet. It also has an about 6 foot extension, to take things higher! Probably a little more common. Bones
I used one of those when working on RVs for the roof mount A/C units. Beat toting it up a ladder, but it didn't like gravel, and it wasn't the most stable or easy thing. Beat all other solutions we had, though. It was probably a few decades older than this one.
All those lifts are great when you need them. But when not in use, which is most of the time, they take up valuable floor space in the shop.
Everyone has to have their priorities! As you can see they easily store against the wall and something else can be stored on the arms. Kinda doubling up on storage. In my 40x80 shop on the ranch , I have plenty of room to store my lift! In my garge at my house…..not so much! Bones
Everyone knows that your "stuff" automatically expands to completely fill your shop no matter what you do. I have found that limiting the size of my shop is easier than exercising self control. Cheaper, too.
Thanks for the help fellas I got to find one now, main reason is I already have the answer when my wife says "WADYA NEED THAT FOR!"
When we built the shop, we put in the mezzanine for light stuff. A couple of years later, went to an auction where the owner had about 40 feet of pallet rack; which we bought for basically s**** steel prices. One of the very best additions to the shop. Added a pair of forks to the bucket on our front-end loader; and pretty easy to store heavy items, i.e. engines, etc. on the racks. As to the mezzanine; I don't need the handrails yet, but the day is coming. Jon
During the search for the mid engine Chevy that @Dan Glover built in Yucaipa, CA he either posted or messaged me a photo of the small single car garage that he built the car in. The point being is that size doesn't always matter. I built a 24x32 two story shop when I retired (although my wife has 1/2 of the upper level) and can't seem to get much of anything finished. Just saying.
I may have posted this before, but the biggest mistake I made when building my 32x54 garage in 2003 was spending money on storage trusses. I never go up there anymore, twenty some years later. Should have used that money to expand the footprint. I since purchased a larger building nearby for use as a shop. There’s a tint mez over the boiler / compressor room that works ok. It’s only about 8 or 9 feet above the floor, and I can keep sheet metal parts, gl***, etc up there with access from two sides via a 10’ step ladder and never have to actually go all the way up. The palat rack as a combination bench / storage system works for me. It allows me to keep my spare 36 Ford cab on the floor, but still store things above it. One section has some kitchen countertop on top of the purlins and makes for a nice “clear room” workbench. I also have a couple of 8’ sections with short uprights that makes a pretty sturdy and inexpensive clutter ac***ulation / workbench area. I bought a two post 10k lift I dreamed about for probably fifty years, but by the time that happened my knees decided they weren’t going to cooperate. I took some of the proceeds from the sale of another property that had a garage I was using for storage and bought a couple of four post lifts and a bridge jack. Guess what: my knees love the four post lifts and the two post has been relegated to long term projects. Finally, make sure you have cell phone coverage in your shop if you work alone. Plus, make sure you have face shields strategically located near any wire wheels, and safety gl***es with side shields, as well as a well stocked first aid kit. You’ll needed it. There should be a conveniently located fire extinguisher near any welding or cutting equipment, as well as a bucket of water. I’ve lost count of how many times I have set myself on fire over the years.
51504bat I have the same problem. took awhile but I figured it out, just cause I increased sq footage dont mean I got a needed shot in the *** with a wad of ambition, I still dont get much finished but its because life keeps gettin in the way, too many other things keep happening that I have to take care of now. I pulled the pan on my 71 long roof 460 over a month ago and its still sitting on the floor callin my name.
I get the look too, but its changed over time now its more often a look of pity . I dont know why god blessed me with such a wonderful woman for the last 52 years (54 if you count dating) but he did. faults you say dont know that I have any, no one ever explained to me what a fault is. You know its hard to be humble when your prefect in every way.
I don’t know about you Williebill……but EK is just way too organized! How do people organize that much? I bet EK has 30 hours every day…you think! No, really I wished I was more organized, but I will never reach the level of EK! ( I can’t spell it either)! Bones
Hello, The best thing I have in my garage is a comfortable back support rolling wheels seat. A simple rolling chair with a perforated mess back and a comfortable seat. Nothing fancy, just a simple rolling chair. Around $32. Not your fancy office chair for your computer desk usage. We have a couple of those upstairs in our office. They are the most comfortable seats when doing computer desktop work, filing, paperwork, etc. We are leather seating folks and a lot of our furniture is leather. We tried leather office chairs and even the most expensive ones on the market were not as comfortable as these two air flow seats. Think adjustable, Recaro bucket seats versus a standard factory no adjustment GM bucket seat. Big difference... But, those larger office seats are too large for any garage, well at least for our small two car garage. Once these get adjusted for counter height work, standing for long time periods leaning over to do the work is history. Now, you are sitting even with the height of the counter for working on the project at hand. Since you have roller cabinets drawers for tools, it is a simple roll away to get to the drawers without bending over deciding where that particular tool is located. All in the comfort of the rolling chair. Long gone are the crawl on the floor days. But, if I have to vacuum out the cars, the roller seat is comfortable enough and the accessories are long enough to do an excellent job. So, no more leaning over and in to get the difficult spots cleaned. Jnaki If it is one thing, the rolling chair is it. If necessary some have locking wheels to keep the chair from sliding on the concrete floor. The coolest thing is that the seat can be adjusted for any level of drawers or counter height work. There is no longer a leaning over to do counter work. It just makes life easier for me. If you need access to the area between the cars, or in the narrow aisle in front of the counter for a p*** through, just roll the chair off to the side. No more lifting the standard 4 leg chair to move anywhere. YRMV I once had my laptop out on the counter. I was looking up various stuff needed for a project, coordinating with what was in the drawers. The seat was raised to be level with the open laptop and easy keyboard access. A mini-office in the garage. I could even use the built in speakers for music if necessary. Although I have wireless Bluetooth speakers for that purpose.
Good point @jnaki, I have picked up several office chairs in my travels. I have one upstairs in the office area of my shop, and another downstairs that I use for general tasks. It's just a lot easier to roll over a couple of feet to pick up a tool, grab a part etc. than to get up. I used to favor the roll-around shop stools, but found that the office chairs, being adjustable are just better. Having a back helps, too. I bought a better quality chair that I have at home. I'll bet I use that one when I'm there over 95% of the time.
I have found one benefit of getting older. Over the last 5 years, I've lost almost 3 inches in height. Just enough so that I no longer hit my head when walking under my lift. It used to be quite the painful and sometimes ****** experience, but no more.
The Jalopy Journal
