Best use of floor space?

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tgreese
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Best use of floor space?

Post by tgreese »

Recently I decommissioned my solvent tank. I had not used it much in the past few years, and it needed new juice. Paint thinner in 5 gal cans at Lowes is more than $10/gal now, which played a role. Plus I built a new rolling table from some 1.25" thick plywood I had (96"x33" crate bottom) and I needed the space.

Floor space is at a premium in my 21'x17' garage. With one of the trucks in there, there's not much extra floor space. With the door closed I can walk around the front or the back, but not both.

If you had to choose between different stationary or roll-away tools, which would you go with?
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Mopar_guy
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Re: Best use of floor space?

Post by Mopar_guy »

Roll-away in your case. My shop is 24 x 26 so I'm in a similar situation. I have the bench in front of my lift as a roller and since I didn't have room for my solvent tank, mine is recessed in the bench top with a cover over it. I don't use it often but it's there when I need it. I buy mineral spirits for mine in bulk 5 gallon buckets from a local fuel supplier which is much cheaper than a store.

My welding table has my full size mig under it, tank and all and it rolls as well.
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Yeller
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Re: Best use of floor space?

Post by Yeller »

Wheels are king for easily reconfiguring your space for the task at hand. So is purging, haven’t used it in years or no longer has a purpose take shed of the extra stuff. All words I struggle with lol, at least with tools, equipment and raw materials
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threepiece
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Re: Best use of floor space?

Post by threepiece »

I think it largely depends on the activity or more specifically the variety of activities in the shop. If only power train building and general maintenance takes place there may not be a need to change anything. Even with wheels it can be difficult to rearrange things simply because there may not be options in such a small shop.

Being able to simply pull things away from a wall for cleaning is a nice feature. Two axle mounted wheels in the rear and a floor jack under the front is an easy/inexpensive way to facilitate this.
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threepiece
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Re: Best use of floor space?

Post by threepiece »

Yeller wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:59 pm Wheels are king for easily reconfiguring your space for the task at hand. So is purging, haven’t used it in years or no longer has a purpose take shed of the extra stuff. All words I struggle with lol, at least with tools, equipment and raw materials
I will add another suggestion to your list, that is not acquiring more stuff that isn’t part of the current activity.
I used to name my FSJ’s after their previous owners, I realized I had too many with five named Rick.

Dang raccoons again!

Rust is a color too.

rocklaurence
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Re: Best use of floor space?

Post by rocklaurence »

Rollers for your tools and stuff and dont forget that you can hang shelves/stuff from the rafters. Any area above your head is storage space.
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