Working Without a Workshop

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No room for a workshop? Here's how I get by without one.

I live in a condo with one bedroom, two closets, a kitchen/dining room, and a front room. None of these really screams "Make me a workspace!" There is, however, a small area at the end of a hallway, that is between my bedroom and closet. I assume it is for a vanity, as I am a non makeup wearer, I put in a counter and a set of drawers. A small office chair rounds out the set, and voila! A small work area perfect for small art/electronics projects, and small woodworking projects.

The problem comes in when you want to work on something BIG. I have wanted to try smithing/casting metal for a long time, but living in a cement box makes for bad ventilation, and according to my association "setting the neighbors porch on fire" is a violation of the bylaws. Also, having to break down and drag in my equipment anytime I want to use another large tool, or leave the house is a pain in the butt.

I wanted to do stuff, but didn't have the space to work, much less store large equipment. It was time to find a solution.

The answer presented itself to me when a buddy of mine bought a house with a garage. He was a friend with a huge garage just sitting there, full of the junk the previous owner left behind. He needed to make the place useable, and I needed access to a work space.

After a hot, dirty afternoon of cleaning someone else's garage, it was time to make my move.

I had just spent a day cleaning out a garage that wasn't mine. I had an immense amount of "payback" coming my way. Instead of making my friend help me move, or paint my place, I asked if I could work in his garage once in a while on projects. He gave me a key and said "Don't leave a mess."

SUCCESS!

So there are a couple of issues with this method, even though I have made it work. One of the problems is timing. It can be hard to get into someones garage when they have a family and a job, and a busy schedule. Sometimes you can get a key or a pass code to a keypad. Sometimes you call your brother and tell him you're coming over and to leave the back door to the garage open before he leaves. Sometimes you just don't get to work on your project at all.

Another issue with this method is storing your project. I drive a sedan, so I don't have much storage capacity in my vehicle. If I had a truck or SUV I wight be able to keep stuff there. Sometimes your friends/family members are cool with you leaving some stuff at their place, as long as it isn't too large, or can be kept outside. Sometimes your project IS too large, and then you have to make arrangements to get it moved back and forth.

The last problem with this method is usability. I have access to three different shops all with different tools in various states of completeness and accessibility. One friend has his table saw and router set up, another has a band saw and a compound miter saw, and a third has all his tools put away and a nice empty space to work.

All these factors can make it difficult to make things and complete projects, but having friends and family around when you work on stuff is a definite benefit as well.

My brother and I work on stuff together all the time, like the forge, and we go Dumpster Diving together whenever we can. My buddy John and I have built and prototyped numerous projects in his garage, as well as grilling and smoking a variety of delicious treats in his yard.

Some compromise is necessary to access other peoples work spaces, and use their equipment. But it is also an opportunity to get involved in some fun new things with people. One of my favorite things I have done in a friends shop is refurbish a bad saw that we got from a coworker for free. We went to my buddy's garage, tore it apart, cleaned and lubricated all the moving parts, put everything back together and tested it out. Several hours of work and a very nice, functional piece of equipment to add to the growing list of resources I have available. I hope this instructable was interesting, and if you have any comments or questions please let me know in the comments!