DIY Garage Workshop

In this instructable I hope to share what I have found useful for your own garage workshop.

This is a attached 2 car garage. the previous owner made it "heated" by punching a hole in the wall and cutting into the existing duct work however this makes it so heat will not carry to the rooms on this side of the house. With that said I open the vent in the garage from time to time.

My goal is simple, have a space to work that will not interfere with the cleanliness inside the house. I don't need to park in the garage however my wife has said that every night she must be able to. Sooo I'll take this side (because it is on an exterior wall) minimizing the noise inside. Everything is build so i could park inside if the need arises. The garage shares 2 walls with the house so it stays tolerable in the winter.

Lets See Some Features!

See notes on picture for a quick look. Don't worry I'll cover all of this in a little more detail. .

Keep in mind how you use your tools. Try and keep the ones you use the most often close to the center. I Made a rolling wall to help accomplish keeping tools out of tool bags and within reach.

The first thing I did was began with the Bench top how much work space can I afford to be permanent? Then thru about a year of trial and error this is what I find works the best.

I grouped up tools by type and use. wrenches with ratchets and sockets. Pliers grabbers and cutters. and power tools.

Behind the wall I store tools used less often but still like out.

Shelves and baskets keep stuff together and easy to get off a shelf. Bins keep little parts easy to see.

Under it all sitting on top of the concrete is 1" thick rubber "Stall wall Mats" TSC $40 bucks. Keeps water off tools and keeps tools vibrations from the floor.

Proper bench lighting is a must. So I installed a 4 bulb T8 Ballas under the ledge on the back of the bench and ran each of the wires and solder each end of each bulb and cap the ends with heat shrink. This allowed me to put each bulb where I wanted light. Not having a fixture allows a lot of flexibility.

Lets Look at That Wall.

The wall is made from Pulleys from a weight machine. and the track was a closet shelf bracket. I then made the bottom guide lip the same width as the top. This keeps everything good looking up and down. be sure and check how wide stuff is before hanging it, don't want to get hung up on the wall. Being how sturdy the wall was I decided to hang the power tools on it, keeping them out front. This keeps lots of bench space free, making the space more useable at its size.

Full of Good Ideas.

I ran a new wire from the fuse panel so not to mess anything else up. with it I installed 6 standard 110 plugs and hooked up a dimmer for power control for 3 plugs. the dimmer works great with my dremel. A switch controls the bench lights, a plug under the bench for the shop vac.(so I don't have to reach under). I stowed the air compressor and extra tank behind the air filters to save space. I also insulated the space to cut down on noise. It helped a lot garage closed up and compressor running I can't hear it in the house.

2 large air filters close the space with a box fan located next to the Shop Vac.(the fan running also helps keep the Compressor cool during heavy use)

The bucket separator slows the need to change the bag in the Shop Vac. it catches all the big stuff and most of the small stuff. I have had the best luck with Type: Thien cyclone separator baffle. <= google that for more info.

Baskets With Handles

Mounted on the bottom is a bunch of jars holding all sorts of stuff like wire connectors, jug saw blades, dremel bits, bearings. just good stuff.

Bottom shelf bins with the back lifted to make it easy to see and grab.

Middle shelf baskets with handles baskets keep like items together and handles make it easy to get down without dropping everything.

Top shelf crap I don't want to throw away........

Mobile Work Bench of Death...

The key to a mobile work station will always be the Wheels! If you over load the wheels its not going to be mobile anymore. I made mine so I could rip sheets of plywood without help. so the table saw is flush with the bench top. Under the table saw I keep nail gun, belt sander, saws all, and trash bags. In the center 10" slider and what ever else. The far end is a 3 drawer rubber made I got for a buck. holding caulk, gloves, palm sanders and disks, using this on the wife's side of the garage as a staging or layout table makes things nice. I can essentially make the work space as big as the project dictates.

A Closer Look at the Cutting Edge Technology Used Here.

Freaken magnets I love em. I found these ~18" magnets at Harbor Freight for around $6 bucks. Best part they work! stronger then other bars I have found.

A narrow piece of cypress running along the front of the rolling wall carries all the latest flat and Phillips head screw drivers.
Under the battery chargers 2 small wood blocks hold the drill socket drivers and paddle bits. 5/16 drill bit is perfect size hole.

THE END.

I hope this helps at least 1 person. let me know what you tried or if you have any questions.

Update: Addition & Upgrades

I removed my wood lathe top so I can replace it later if needed. Added maple bench top, to make a small cleaning station. Placing a trash can, spray cleaners, and brushes all together to make cleaning parts as easy as possible. keeping the wave shaft and motors mounted on the table top makes it so I don't have to the realign everything up.

On the upgrade side of things we have been working out here a lot and what I have noticed is that the layout is not good for more then one person working in the same space. So we replaced the space saving roller for a full wall with 2 full length shelves.

Reorganizing the peg board was a process. I went with a what does it do grouping. Turn bolts, Grab/hold, Cut, Smash, Pry, Layout, Air. Working so far. Pro tip put a dot of hot glue on your hooks and they stay in place when grabbing tools, and it removes easy enough if you need to relocate that hook.

One other thing we have noticed is the floor was never sealed. Every little thing that hit the floor stuck. To remedy this I removed everything not bolted down. In order of event: Swept, Scraped, vacuumed, swept, applied full strength SUPER CLEAN everywhere, 10 min break, scrubbed, 10min break, scrubbed, Shop Vac up excess cleaner, rinsed with hot water, vacuumed, let dry

There are many ways to finish the floor after its clean. We went with a clear sealer.

How Everything Looks Today

hope you enjoyed this instructable.