Vertical storage, ceiling racks, high wall shelves, etc. You can't have too much. All the incidental sundries that go with this hobby consume a lot of space. Many items may only be used a few time in a year and they require space.
You have square feet of floor space but you also have the multiplier of cubic feet for overall space, use it wisely. Storage boxes cataloged like file cabinet drawers saves search time.
I have all the shop equipment I want for now. I can make just about anything I need. I ocassionally have parts laser or water jet cut at a local steel supplier.
Bridgeport Mill
13x36 clausing lathe
14" Wilton Vertical Bandsaw
4" x 6" harbor freight horizontal bandsaw
HTP 221 Invertig
OA torch set
Parts Washer
48" 16 gauge sheetmetal brake
cheapo drill press
Kalamazoo 2" belt grinder
30 ton h frame press
Harbor Frieght tool and cutter grinder for lathe tools
Craftsman and Kennedy stack for machinist tools
Snap On box for mechanics tools
Workbench with partial steel plate for welding
Lot's of storage shelves
I have all this crammed into a large two car garage along with my car. It's cramped, but it forces me to keep it clean and I can only focus on one car at a time.
Like weld said, if its just a hobby shop just to the essentials and get creative with it lol. I'm saving up for my BS-250 bandsaw but for the time being I'm kicking right along with just a portaband and a steady hand with the grinder. It may be a little slow and not PERFECT but it gets the job done.
Stick to a good welder, mitering headed bandsaw, grinder, drill press, and a sweet sweet welding/fab table till you see it absolutely necessary for something like a space eating sheet metal brake or stomp shear and stuff of that nature.
We all want ALL the stuff.... but the reality is SPACE/MONEY/USE.
I have zillions of dollars invested in tools -- some are rarely if ever used. Some I wish I had more of. More talent to use some that I have. More projects to utilize what I do have.
Some tools to do specific jobs cost serious money. Sometimes I ask myself if I just want the tool - will I use it much beyond the current need - and what if I don't buy the tool and just have someone else make the part for me. Or better yet - make it another way. I usually end up making it another way.
Here's the one thing I will add - once you have lots of tools. I never look at a project and start to think how I was going to make something. I look at the situation and just ask myself how I WANT to make "it". Before having lots of tools there were limitations and I'd have to fuss around trying to make do with what I had.
There is no question in my mind that having a minimum amount of skill - but having the right tools to do the job - increases your "skills". The job will turn out better... But for many people -- you have to ask yourself how many cars do you really intend to build?? One? Three? Unlimited? When you're done with the car you're working on now -- what's next? Do you have the budget to build another? Improve what you did already? Help your buddies build theirs? It wouldn't be much fun to own kool tools if there's nothing to do with them.
I'd like to have a pro planishing hammer and english wheel and maybe a shrinker/stretcher... so let's call that 10 grand. Why don't I have them already? Because I've found that I'm not really building "bodies". I'm doing patch panels... and I can build some pretty decent patch panels with a beater bag and some hammers and some time. Anything more than that will be pro built.
The cars I've built or worked on -- generally have been the "popular" models. I can buy most any panel on the car - use what I need of the panel or use the whole piece (floors - firewalls - quarters etc). I'm not building a complete over the top custom everything car. I've bent sheet metal tranny tunnels over a gas bottle laying on it's side.... I really didn't need a slip roller... The crap I'm doing is going to be carpeted anyway.
I've also found suppliers for all the little tabs and brackets and suspension parts that I've ever needed. I might have to "mod" them.... and that's where the good belt grinder or some other tool comes into play... But I didn't have to make the actual brackets. I might have had to buy a bracket for something "else" and just whack and finish off the part that I need for my intended purpose.
Where I've "invested" in tools --- has been more in the QUALITY of the tools I have bought. A cold cut saw needs different blades for the metal being cut - Stainless requires a blade change as does Aluminum etc. I have multiple blades for my band saw - depending on the cut being made. I have different bottles of gas for the MIG -- tri mix for SS... that sort of thing. If I didn't own a TIG - I might have a spool gun for aluminum... and even today -- If I need something super fancy that is going to show - I'll take that to a pro shop. I'm a really good welder - but I don't do it enough/often enough or upsidedown and backwards that I can make it look "pro". I admit that - and just hustle it off to someone that can. It's rarely more than $100 and usually more like 40 or 50.
Ditto stomping cut sheet. I find I can get what I need for a "cut fee" right at the shop I buy my supplies from. They have a water jet and a plasma... since I have a great belt machine - and a plasma - and all kinds of hand grinders etc - I'll try to make the piece on my own first. If it's super critical - then I'll order it water jetted and just suck up the set up fee. Fortunately I'm friends with lots of hot rod shops in my area (before I moved) and then would always be willing to help me when I got into trouble. Buying the whole shop pizza for lunch on Fridays was way cheaper than buying a tool I'd rarely use.
I'm fortunate enough to be able to buy any tool I'd ever need... and even I don't have some tools I'd just like to own. A lathe is one of them... I'd like one "just because" and I shop them all the time... But the 8 grand or so for the one I really would buy isn't worth the space or money for the twice per year use... and I've made it 40 years without one so far so why do I think I really "need one" now. It's what keeps me from hitting the buy it button. Ditto the $8000 dollar Kaesar screw compressor I did buy... but was able to cancel - when the electrician told me I'd have a minimum monthly electric bill for the 3 phase 408V service needed to run the one I had on order. Even I think that's a pretty dumb waste of money. I have a great compressor -- I just WANT a screw compressor - with air dryer... but I don't need it at all.
If Gaetano (Track Junky) was closer to me -- since he needed a new compressor -- I'd have ordered a new one just so I could give him my old one... that's usually how I end up "upgrading" stuff.
I went to the property again today for the electrical inspection. A few small issues but overall it looks good. Looking at the shop space again it can see how small it really is. Having all the tools in the world and no place for a car is just as bad as not having a shop at all. I certainly need to prioritize my tools. I appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions. I don't move in until dec due to a lease back since the guy needs lots of time to get his stuff out. Once I get moved in and the space layed out I'll post some pics
Does anyone have an opinion on a portable 2 post lift like this one? It scares me a bit given the 2 posts are not connected any way but I like the ability to store it away if needed.
I have no experience with a portable two post I just have a two post. But I will say this from experience... Think the lift out long and hard before pulling the trigger! A lift, even a two post takes up a lot of space when not in use! Another thing is the practicality of one. I have a two post lift and it really doesn't get a whole lot of use, just because it can be time consuming to get a car on the lift to do a quick job. My boss sits 3.5"s off the ground at the rockers and it easily takes 30-45 minutes to get it on my lift and I've done it several times so when it comes to doing oil changes and even small suspension and exhaust work is just done on jack stands and the ground cuz it's quicker. If I could build my shop over again I'd put my lift and bay doors in another way or even pour a slab to put the lift outside to save floor space. Lifts are nice but definitely have their drawbacks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________
Kody Willis
1969 mustang fastback - Lots of secret surprises to keep under wraps.
2012 boss 302 - BMR lower control arms, relocation brackets and pan hard bar, cortex racing coilovers, enkei 18x10.5's front and rear with 315/30/18's, offroad x pipe, lethal performance over axel pipes, SLP loudmouths.
"Your boss's exhaust when you floor it sounds like Jesus stepped on a lego in the middle of the night while going to the bathroom!"
I have no experience with a portable two post I just have a two post. But I will say this from experience... Think the lift out long and hard before pulling the trigger! A lift, even a two post takes up a lot of space when not in use! Another thing is the practicality of one. I have a two post lift and it really doesn't get a whole lot of use, just because it can be time consuming to get a car on the lift to do a quick job. My boss sits 3.5"s off the ground at the rockers and it easily takes 30-45 minutes to get it on my lift and I've done it several times so when it comes to doing oil changes and even small suspension and exhaust work is just done on jack stands and the ground cuz it's quicker. If I could build my shop over again I'd put my lift and bay doors in another way or even pour a slab to put the lift outside to save floor space. Lifts are nice but definitely have their drawbacks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I understand what you are saying about the lift. I agree with the space vs usage consideration. Last weekend I really could have used a lift when pulling the trans out of my car on the jack stands. I'm hoping the portable lift is a good mix to use when I need it.
I closed on the house/shop yesterday. The seller is leasing back for the next month or so. Hopefully soon I'll be in there and able to start getting things planned out. I asked him if he wanted to leave his vertical CNC burntable and for some reason he wanted to take it with him....what a jerk...
It's funny this topic comes up around this time, me and my soon to be wife are looking for a place with some land so we can build a house and shop and she asked me yesterday "where in the world are you gonna keep all this stuff till we get a new shop built!?!?" and my only response was I have no idea lol!
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
Linear Mode
