OK I'm a newbie who needs to get started on his garage before his project. What equipment is a must? My project will be a Model A ch***is purchased 75% complete. Body will be a 27 Roadster or A Coupe. I got minimal Welding experience, but expect to have to learn. No painting will occur here. The Garage is small. About 12' x 18". Compressor? How Big? Welder, recommendations? Must Have hand tools, power tools? Money is not unlimited. I appreciate any help!
i think id get the biggest compressor i could find, take size with a decent sized motor for quick fills. dont forget about used. some of the old USA made stuff will outlast the china stuff ten fold. if your going to be welding anything structural i would try and find a used mig, in the 230/240 volt range. i did some stuff on my frame with my old 110v, and just bought a millermatic 210 used and it makes life so much better and i have better peace of mind about my welds. lots of c clamps and vise grips of every size. im sure you have basic hand tools. get some air tools, like die grinder. ziz wheel, angle grinder. a nice 4.5" electric angle grinder is nice b/c you can cut, grind, sand with it. me personally i think you could get alot of good stuff used, and start a decent setup with the welder and air tools. then theres the obvious, jack, jack stands, etc. heres what i used when i chopped my 36' chevy.
A radio for tunes and a mini fridge filled with your favorite brew! Oh yeah, and a garage heater if you live in a cold climate.
bandaids, ear and eye protection. I have also added a big hammer to my tool list recently. Always nice to have a big hammer around once in a while.
1st off, insulate the garage. Make sure you have enough lighting & elec outlets. If you think there's enough, add a couple more. NOTHING ****s more than a cold place to work in the winter, it makes projects take forever to finish. With good insulation, you can use a small elec heater to keep it warm enough to work out there (kerosene ones are just plain dangerous due to fumes). Get a used compressor, vertical ones take up less space. Try garage sales. If you're not painting or sanding, you won't need a huge one. Sears is a good start for tools, but swap meets/flea markets are better! Estate sales or garage sales can be better yet! Look at the catalogues to see what they go for new & a used price should be below 1/2 of retail. You can NEVER have too many different types of Vice-grips, C-clamps, & welding clamps. Due to the small space, I'd buy a couple of lower tool boxes & bolt them together to give you a place to work on something. Then I'd make a STURDY bench out of 2x4s with 2x6s for the top. A shelf on the bottom will give you a spot to store boxes & milk crates of parts. The vice on top will be indespensible. Drawers are a great add-on too. Buy a HIGH quality jack & jack-stands. Cheap **** may get you killed! You'll need at least 4 stands. I always wished I had an electric impact when I was starting out, but I was too cheap to buy one. Now that I have one, I use my compressor a LOT less. Get started on the basics of the car before you venture into a welder. You'll have a lot of stuff to do that will require unbolting &/or ***embling things that will get you familair with the hot rod basics. Ch***is brackets always need to be mocked up first, then they can be bolted into place and final welded later (by a pro for safety). Just my $0.02
Whatever you do DO NOT buy cheap ****ty Harbor Freight tools. I buy all my tools from Pawn Shops. Good names like Snap-On, Mac, Blue Point, SK, etc. You can shop smart and buy these tools for about the same price, or cheaper than craftsman tools. Plus, even if you buy worn out quality tools, you can trade them in for new ones because they have lifetime warranties.
Good advice, but be careful about noise....especially in such a small garage, a big noisy compressor will drive you batty if you're running it a lot.
To add to this - I've bought quite a bit of Kobalt (Lowe's) and Husky (Home Depot) tools, and had good luck with them. Kobalt is made by Snap-On; Husky is advertised as "made in the USA" but I don't know by whom.
Oh yeah, I forgot one thing. You can save serious loot if you contact your local welding supply and tell them to call you if they get any demo models. One place demo'd a machine at a trade show just so I could buy it. I bought my mig, tig, and plasma that way. I had to wait about four weeks on average but saved about 20-25%.
Stop at EVERY Garage sale you see. You will be AMAZED at what you can buy for pennies on the dollar. Hand tools and clamps especially. You never know when a divorce occurs and the wife is selling some poor slobs tools.
Is that one of those female types, 25-30, about 110 pounds, 5 foot something, and 38-24-36...??? Can you tell me where I can purchase one or two of those...I got me lots of things that need measured...!!! R-
you got alot of good advice here . for welding i purchased a mig sheetmetal and also a stick welder frames cost arond 650.00 for both look for books on welding first and always try your first couple of welds on clean s**** steel do me a favor sub out all work on suspension and drivetrain till you feel comfortable with your welds. from someone who is self taught almost forgot harbor freight has an autodarkening helmet for around 50.00 i love it good luck
Basic tools are just as handy as big ticket items. Solid work bench, vice, drill press, small hor. /vert. bandsaw, good lighting etc. you get the idea. It will take a lifetime to get them all, that is 1/2 the fun. Ai 64 I am still getting things I need.
I see a problem here... Who would be holding the "dumb" end of the yo-yo??? Or the "smart" end of what yer tryin' to measure??
I am guilty as well of not spending enough time on the garage Journal. I wonder how many HAMBers know that THIS IS OUR SISTER SITE for all theings garage/shop!?!?!?!?!?! Very cool site. check it out!
Good advice, but be careful about noise....especially in such a small garage, a big noisy compressor will drive you batty if you're running it a lot. <!-- / message --><!-- sig --> __________________ As mentioned i am big on the compressor noise issue also. It is not the size of the compressor as much as it is the design of it. Most newer compressors run fast pump speeds and sound like they are coming apart. My bro has a resto shop and started with a "Coleman". He had to rebuild the pump after about 2 years of use. (rings were shot). He then bought a "Snap-On" because the "Coleman" went bad again. The snap-on has blown 2 head gaskets in about 2 years. Both of these are loud and obnoxious when running as they are the new aluminum case pumps that run fast. I have a Quincy compressor. This one is dated to about 1945. I rebuilt the pump about 8 years ago due to the poppet valves not sealing effieciently enough. I also honed the cylinder and put rings in while I was in it. This appeared to be the only time it had ever been opened up.It spent most of it's life in a service garage.The Quincy rep told me it ought to run another 30-40 years. This pump runs at 800 rpm is relativly quiet. i always get comments on the compressor as to how quiet it runs. So what I am suggesting is not to overlook and older compressor that is a well built slow pump speed compressor. They will save your sanity and will give you many years of service. Also note: just because the pump speed is slower does not make it less adequate. The pistons are usualy bigger to make up the difference. Most 80 gallon tanks are designed to build from empty to full 120 psi in about 12 minutes.
My first garage was just alittle bigger than a cracker box and one of the best things I did was get a couple of cheap box fans and used copper wire so I could hang them on the open garage door to keep air moving when it was hot, or I was cleaning parts or welding. Its nice not to afixiate yourself.
GREAT ADVICE!! I can start buying with confidence. Especially the Fridge and Beer. Thanks for al the tips.
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