| Blog series by Blake | updated 11-05-2015 05:46 AM | 9 parts | 53842 reads | 86 comments total |
Part 1: "I Bought a Garage!"
Well, I bought a garage! ...And as a bonus there is even a house attached for my family to live in. Isn’t that convenient?! So here is the first post in a series where I will show the transformation from humble garage to bad ass shop. I haven’t even gotten a chance to take photos yet but here are the specks: Lets call it a “generous” one-car garage 13.5’ X 21.5’ Slightnly smaller than my current shop but a lot closer to home (i.e. attac...
Part 2: Gears Slowly Turning
The… gears… are… turning… slowly… Well we got the place, but that’s old news now. Its no surprise that the garage became the last priority. I moved enough of my basic tools to the new house to give it a complete face-lift, inside and out. I did a lot of interior remodeling (trim, cabinets, paint, electrical, plumbing, added closets, changed out every fixture in the house, new floors, windows, bathroom remodel, etc) and completely re-landscaped / hards...
Part 3: "Before" Photos
As promised here are some “before” photos of my messy garage. Notice the open ceiling joists with hundreds of nails sticking out… this is because I have already ripped the crappy sheetrock down to start work on it. Here it is a little less messy: And here is the “before” photo of the loft space above the garage. This is the reason that the shop project is so slow to get off the ground… there is a TON of storage potential up there and I ...
Part 4: Sketchup Plans
First of all, I’ve made some more progress on the attic “loft” space above the garage. You might remember this “before” photo: Here it is now… It is about halfway finished: And I’ve already started moving storage up into this valuable space… woo hoo! ———— So it turns out I’ve been a very nice boy this year and Santa put a little something in my stocking: ———— Wel...
Part 5: Attic is Done
Just a quick update… The attic storage space is pretty much finished, and it only took about a year to thin out and organize everything up there. And of corse the whole point of spending so much time on the attic space is to get all that stuff off my garage floor. So I was finally able to clean and organize below. Next projects: electrical, lighting and then new sheetrock on the ceiling and walls, and finally a new floor!
Part 6: Pimp My Table Saw (EYE Candy)
Not much progress on the actual garage lately… I’m waiting for someone to help me put the electrical together. Its a little over my head, since I need to reroute entire circuits, add 220, etc. So instead I’ve been working on my table saw. Here’s where it started, with a used DeWalt 746 hybrid table saw. Honestly I’ve never given Hybrids much thought. I had always drooled over the new Unisaw and Sawstop. But I came across this little gem and love it! Its pow...
Part 7: Help from Todd Clippinger
So, lots of progress. Where did we leave off? Something like this… (its getting better in terms of organization) Finally it was time to call in the big guns. Todd Clippinger has been begging me for some woodworking lessons ever since he found out about me so I finally let him come all the way over from Montana to California to work with me and pick up some mad skills ;) Well we ripped up the place and did a ton of electrical work, installed a window, moved a door, and he a...
Part 8: Sheetrock & Saw Bench
Still making progress. Here’s a small update. Here is a random photo I took at some point. It shows where the saw bench will go and also the partially-framed laundry area to the far right: I’ve been hanging sheetrock for weeks in my spare time: This is my old tool box. Its has served me well for many years but its not the most efficient use of space, and I need to make use of every inch in this tiny shop. So its gotta go. I sold it on Craigslist: And st...
Part 9: DONE!
Pretty much done. Obviously there is a long list of finishing touches that I will be working on throughout the winter. But after about 3 years its finally a woodshop. And an art studio. And a ton of storage. And a built-in laundry. And remember that I was able to fit this all into a one car garage. One of my goals, other than to have a kick ass work space, was to show what was possible in a one car garage. I wanted to be a bit of an inspiration to other woodworkers who don’t have ...
