New Garage

The apartment that I move in to on August 1 has a garage. Up until now, I have been working on my bikes outside, so I'm pretty psyched. Now I've just got to find a sturdy work table for cheap.

Any suggestions on how to keep oil and other chemicals off the garage floor?
Also, do any of you have favorite, can't-live-without modifications to your garage?

 

I've found that the vinyl garage floor paint with the friction adders in it work really well. We use them in all the aircraft hangers at work, and when there's a spill it cleans up really easy.

 

satellite radio. and, of course, bikes.

also: congrats!

 

I built a very sturdy workbench for less than $60 in lumber. The cheapest "kit" I found was $79 and nowhere near as solid.

My personal "can't live without" is one of those rolling shop stools with the tool tray base. The Craftsman is the same price as the ones they carry at Harbor Freight but built much better.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... tionAnchor

I use it constantly.

 

No contest here! 2 items: 240V air compressor and Harbor Freight 1200 lb. pneumatic motorcycle lift. I'm too old and too fat to enjoy laying on the garage floor to work on bikes. I buy air tools when they go on sale at Sears and 3/8 and 1/4 in air ratchets are a huge time saver. I also use a 1/2 inch impact gun that is also a great tool.

When we moved to our new house I switched from Dish network to Direct TV so I bought a cheapy satellite receiver for the garage. I put the TV on one of those movable stands that hangs from the wall and voila! Bring on the NFL!

The last thing you need is fluorescent lights! Lots of fluorescent lights!

Enjoy your garage! It will be a huge improvement in your quality of life!

 

One gotta have item: Refrigerator.
After all there are times when we need to just sit and contemplate what to do next or watch the ball game while sitting next to our bikes.

 

Platform lift for sure along with air compressor, drill press, bench grinder with stone and wire wheel, sturdy bench with receptacles, cheap computer with wireless internet for tech help, music and viewing the XJCD's.

 

I would love a drill press and bench grinder, but I'm on a budget. I think my first purchase (after I build a table, of course) has got to be an air compressor. Any advice on this particular purchase?

 

dont get a giant one they take up too much space, the small ones recover fast enough that you wont be waiting to build pressure to work.

 

So true!

 

My first purchase after moving into my new garage last year was a "giant" air compressor. I found a Craftsman 2 stage, 240 Volt, 80 gallon one on sale and had some coupons that brought it down to $699. I love it! I never have to wait for it to recover and it will power air tools continuously. I want to get a blast cabinet so I'll use it's large capacity with that.

I'll agree, it does take a bit of room, but not much more than the smaller one I had previously.

Fortunately, I already had all the other tools I need.

 

If I want to sandblast or paint, do I need a larger capacity compressor?

 

For sandlblasting I would think you need a lot of volume at high pressure, for painting maybe not nearly as much. My compressor delivers 13 cfm at 175 psi. Any continuous duty air tool will require quite a bit of volume, like an air sander, grinder, etc. I used my smaller upright compressor for minor painting with an automotive type gun, and it ran an impact wrench ok.

 

If you are going to run a sandblaster for any amount of time you want a rotary vein compressor or a compressor that cranks out more CFM than the blaster you are going to run, if you get one that puts out to low a volume and only has a big tank then you are going to blast for a minute, take a five minute break while the compressor catches up and do it all over again, blast-break-blast-break-etc. that gets to be a pain in the A$$ most air tools eat up a lot of CFM also, so do yourself a favor and get one you won't be working to death. You could also get an in-line air dryer to keep the condensation out of the lines; moisture in a sandblaster is not a good thing.

 

Hey Fitz, how about a picture of that workbench you built? I was about to start one and I'm looking for ideas.

 

most of the home/shop sandblasting cabinets require 15-25 CFM, on the other hand if you own a pressure washer and want to clean up non-ferrous items, you can pick up a sweet attachment that hooks up to your pressure washer and uses a venturi to pull sand through a hose and mixes it with the high pressure stream of water. not so good for blasting bike frames though.

 

Here is my .02. You need to think about what you are going to do with the compressor. Then look at the budget. The last thing you want to do is what I did. Buy a 30 gallon 110 unit then realize hey I want a small blast cabinet(it didn't work out), I want to run a cutoff wheel, (Nope) long story short 300 bucks kinda wasted. I got lucky and found an old dental compressor(made to run all day everyday) for cheap. But do get a big enough compressor that you will only use 80% of it's capacity for you tools. Now I also understand the being on a budget and not being able to spend 800 bucks right away on a compressor. Go with a 240 unit they run quieter and use less amperage to run. Looks around at Sears the first compressor I bought I found the last years model they had on the floor as a display and bought it for almost a 40% off the full price just because it had a different plastic housing. You should never have to wait for the compressor to build pressure when you are working if you have the right size. Yes it will run but the recovery time should be short enough that you can continue to work and it will build up the pressure and shut off.

 

If you check out a few of the type of sandblaster you are considering their descriptions should include their air supply requirement as XXcfm at XXpsi.
Getting a slightly larger compressor than required will never cause you to cuss at it while you wait for it to catch up.
The sandblaster is probably going to have the highest airflow requirement of anything you will regularly use.
When shopping for a comeressor, the oil-less ones are quite a bit cheaper for the same capability but their lifespan is a lot shorter and it you use it a lot you'll get real tired of the noise.
The larger compressors with the upright tank don't really take up much more floor space than the small ones.

 

About the table. I found an old wooden drafting table 4x5 feet. I got it for $25 from a used office furniture place. Nobody wants them so they're cheap. I tilted it flat and then used 2x4s to built a frame underneath and stabilize it. Presto, a great work table. I have against the wall so I can get at stuff from 3 sides. Next I want to add a layer of 1/16 in sheet metal on top.
By the way, here's another cheap trick. When you're taking apart carbs or brake parts, you make a mess with fuel or fluid etc. I procured a burnt cooking tray from my wife. The edges are curved up about 3/4 in. so no errant fuel or tiny parts can escape. Very handy.