I just finished a project and was cleaning up the shop, moving stuff around to
get at all the sawdust, putting tools back, etc. I was musing about changes
I've made to my workshop over the years, thinking about the successes and the
failures. Here's what I came up with for my best three:

1) Compressed air from an overhead, retractable reel. How the heck did I get
through the early years without this? I leave my portable compressor hooked up
via quick disconnect to a feed line for the overhead reel. I can disconnect
and roll out quickly if I need the compressor in the yard, garage, or at a
neighbor's. The reel also has a quick disconnect, stuffed with a blowgun when
not using any other air tools. This setup is great for woodworking, but the
air gets used for all kinds of other tasks, too.

2) Stopped overcrowding the shop with machines. For years, my semi-portable
power tools were set up and ready to work. Visions of moving from station to
station with effortless efficiency. I thought it made projects go faster. The
opposite is true. As I run low on space, the shop gets messy and projects
begin to crawl. Now I take out the miter saw, belt/disk sander, scroll saw,
etc. only when needed. The rest of the time, I enjoy the free space around the
bigger machines. The shop stays much cleaner.

3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes. Measuring tools, wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers,
drill bits, etc, stay organized and dust free, and I can wheel the thing around
if needed. My pegboarding of all this stuff never stayed organized. Somehow,
I manage to keep it neat in the rolling cabinet.

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

I installed a retractable reel about a week ago but will be relocating
it from near the compressor to nearly the center of the shop, because
there is only about 21' feet of hose which gets caught up on the TS and
other equipment when I drag it over to the workbench on the wall
opposite the reel.

Five wall cabinets to hold and hide lots of stuff! Plus keep most of
the dust off those items.

An overhead retractable 110V cord with a 3-outlet molded plug.

Can I give more than three? Here goes:

painted the walls semi-gloss white.

Lot's of light: 11 4 foot fluorescents in a two car "studio" g

Weather striped the door to stop drafts; the shop is much warmer in the
winter because of that one improvement.

Just added a TV last week to supplement the CD player, cassette
player/radio.


What I'd like to have but won't (do to one thing or another)

1. Utility basin
2. A John
3. more R-O-O-M
4. higher ceiling
5. wood floor



dave





Rich Stern wrote:

I just finished a project and was cleaning up the shop, moving stuff around to
get at all the sawdust, putting tools back, etc. I was musing about changes
I've made to my workshop over the years, thinking about the successes and the
failures. Here's what I came up with for my best three:

1) Compressed air from an overhead, retractable reel. How the heck did I get
through the early years without this? I leave my portable compressor hooked up
via quick disconnect to a feed line for the overhead reel. I can disconnect
and roll out quickly if I need the compressor in the yard, garage, or at a
neighbor's. The reel also has a quick disconnect, stuffed with a blowgun when
not using any other air tools. This setup is great for woodworking, but the
air gets used for all kinds of other tasks, too.

2) Stopped overcrowding the shop with machines. For years, my semi-portable
power tools were set up and ready to work. Visions of moving from station to
station with effortless efficiency. I thought it made projects go faster. The
opposite is true. As I run low on space, the shop gets messy and projects
begin to crawl. Now I take out the miter saw, belt/disk sander, scroll saw,
etc. only when needed. The rest of the time, I enjoy the free space around the
bigger machines. The shop stays much cleaner.

3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes. Measuring tools, wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers,
drill bits, etc, stay organized and dust free, and I can wheel the thing around
if needed. My pegboarding of all this stuff never stayed organized. Somehow,
I manage to keep it neat in the rolling cabinet.

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

On 06 Feb 2004 04:38:59 GMT, (Rich Stern) wrote:

3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes.

I'm with ya' brother!

Every once and a while, I pick up bottom sections with wheels from
Sears. Add a rubber or wood mat on top, and you have a great shop
assistant. The chests can roll righ to the tools and provide easy
access to router bits, saw jigs, measuring and marking tools, etc...

The most I've ever paid was $175, on sale, for an 8 drawer unit. I'm
up to 4 of them, with one top unit.

Barry

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 06:07:04 GMT, Bay Area Dave wrote:

SNIP
An overhead retractable 110V cord with a 3-outlet molded plug.

SNIP

Where did you find retractable reel at what cost?

flip up disk/belt sander and osilating sander, when down it is just the
miter station extension

heat and AC

lots of cabinets, a specific place for everything... well eventually, I
need 2 more cabinets.

my next 3; utility sink, real workbench, overhead air reel in the shop
and another in the garage.

BRuce

Rich Stern wrote:
I just finished a project and was cleaning up the shop, moving stuff around to
get at all the sawdust, putting tools back, etc. I was musing about changes
I've made to my workshop over the years, thinking about the successes and the
failures. Here's what I came up with for my best three:

1) Compressed air from an overhead, retractable reel. How the heck did I get
through the early years without this? I leave my portable compressor hooked up
via quick disconnect to a feed line for the overhead reel. I can disconnect
and roll out quickly if I need the compressor in the yard, garage, or at a
neighbor's. The reel also has a quick disconnect, stuffed with a blowgun when
not using any other air tools. This setup is great for woodworking, but the
air gets used for all kinds of other tasks, too.

2) Stopped overcrowding the shop with machines. For years, my semi-portable
power tools were set up and ready to work. Visions of moving from station to
station with effortless efficiency. I thought it made projects go faster. The
opposite is true. As I run low on space, the shop gets messy and projects
begin to crawl. Now I take out the miter saw, belt/disk sander, scroll saw,
etc. only when needed. The rest of the time, I enjoy the free space around the
bigger machines. The shop stays much cleaner.

3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes. Measuring tools, wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers,
drill bits, etc, stay organized and dust free, and I can wheel the thing around
if needed. My pegboarding of all this stuff never stayed organized. Somehow,
I manage to keep it neat in the rolling cabinet.

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

Sears has them for about 15 - 30 bux.


"jev" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 06:07:04 GMT, Bay Area Dave wrote:

SNIP
An overhead retractable 110V cord with a 3-outlet molded plug.

SNIP

Where did you find retractable reel at what cost?

jev wrote:
On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 06:07:04 GMT, Bay Area Dave wrote:

SNIP

An overhead retractable 110V cord with a 3-outlet molded plug.


SNIP

Where did you find retractable reel at what cost?
I can concur with the retractabel reel. Just do not let the cord
whiplash back into the reel. The Sears version will eventually break.
Mine did after about 1 year of use. Had to buy another one.

1) Rearranging my shop so the tablesaw was at the end and not in the middle
(gave me way more room).

2) Hung power cords across the ceiling and dropped down to tool areas (keeps
cables off the floor) -- I know, I know against code, but I have to build a
shed to put my outdoor crap in and then I can make my shop permanent -- I'll
run conduit at that point

3) Snagged a heavy duty table/cabinet with shelves underneath for free and
use it as my assembly table.

3a) Keep my shop clean. Now when I have 30-60 min to spare instead of
looking at a pile of tools everywhere and thinking "That'll take 30-40min
just to clean up and give me space to work" I just start working. Ahh...I
love it -- thanks for the advice Tom Plamman!

Mike

"Rich Stern" wrote in message
...

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

"Rich Stern" wrote in message
...
I just finished a project and was cleaning up the shop, moving stuff
around to
get at all the sawdust, putting tools back, etc. I was musing about
changes
I've made to my workshop over the years, thinking about the successes and
the
failures. Here's what I came up with for my best three:

1) Compressed air from an overhead, retractable reel. How the heck did I
get
through the early years without this? I leave my portable compressor
hooked up
via quick disconnect to a feed line for the overhead reel. I can
disconnect
and roll out quickly if I need the compressor in the yard, garage, or at a
neighbor's. The reel also has a quick disconnect, stuffed with a blowgun
when
not using any other air tools. This setup is great for woodworking, but
the
air gets used for all kinds of other tasks, too.

2) Stopped overcrowding the shop with machines. For years, my
semi-portable
power tools were set up and ready to work. Visions of moving from station
to
station with effortless efficiency. I thought it made projects go faster.
The
opposite is true. As I run low on space, the shop gets messy and projects
begin to crawl. Now I take out the miter saw, belt/disk sander, scroll
saw,
etc. only when needed. The rest of the time, I enjoy the free space
around the
bigger machines. The shop stays much cleaner.

3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes. Measuring tools, wrenches, sockets,
screwdrivers,
drill bits, etc, stay organized and dust free, and I can wheel the thing
around
if needed. My pegboarding of all this stuff never stayed organized.
Somehow,
I manage to keep it neat in the rolling cabinet.

What are your best three easy imrpovements?


1) Put the less used machinery on wheels - made room for more machines!

2) Cleaned it right to the corners! (4 yrs late)

3) Moved clamps/finishing/sanding supplies and equipment directly adjacent
to the assembly area, rather than the "efficient use of space" place that
they previously occupied.

4 Moved most of my remodeling equipment/tools to a shed... who needs two
portable tablesaws (in addition to the 3 hp cabinet saw) in their shop
anyway???

sears, for $29.95 on sale. same exact model that a favorite mail order
company of the Wreckers sells for $54.50.

Hint: it's a Canadian company

Hint number 2: The item is on page 222 of the 2003-2004 catalog.

dave

dave

jev wrote:

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 06:07:04 GMT, Bay Area Dave wrote:

SNIP

An overhead retractable 110V cord with a 3-outlet molded plug.


SNIP

Where did you find retractable reel at what cost?

Stop letting the kids play jump rope with it!

dave

JAW wrote:

jev wrote:

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 06:07:04 GMT, Bay Area Dave wrote:

SNIP

An overhead retractable 110V cord with a 3-outlet molded plug.


SNIP

Where did you find retractable reel at what cost?

I can concur with the retractabel reel. Just do not let the cord
whiplash back into the reel. The Sears version will eventually break.
Mine did after about 1 year of use. Had to buy another one.

1. A space-saving tool cabinet that opens up. This organizes my hand
tools where I need them. Maybe not easy, but it was fun to build.

2. Installed 7 electical circuits (one circuit is 220v) with lots of
outlets. I put an outlet every 4 feet, plus a few about waist high
and overhead. Like clamps, you can't have too many outlets. No more
sanding and pulling the plug out!

3. Finishing the walls (drywall). I finished my walls just like it
was a living space, except I installed beefier baseboards to take the
abuse. Painted the trim and walls white. Makes cleanup easy and adds
needed light.

On 06 Feb 2004 04:38:59 GMT, (Rich Stern) wrote:

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

1) White painted walls.

2) More circuits and outlets.

3) Lumber rack with integrated chopsaw (miter saw) station.

Yikes! I just spent $1500 on mine. Then again, it is a Snap-on unit.

B a r r y B u r k e J r . wrote:

On 06 Feb 2004 04:38:59 GMT, (Rich Stern) wrote:



3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes.



I'm with ya' brother!

Every once and a while, I pick up bottom sections with wheels from
Sears. Add a rubber or wood mat on top, and you have a great shop
assistant. The chests can roll righ to the tools and provide easy
access to router bits, saw jigs, measuring and marking tools, etc...

The most I've ever paid was $175, on sale, for an 8 drawer unit. I'm
up to 4 of them, with one top unit.

Barry

The kids are at an age to where they need less of my attention and I can
get back to woodworking, so:

1) Move the bike hobby off to one corner of the shop. www.bunchobikes.com

2) Buy two tool boxes. ( Actually, one was a gift. ) A Snap-on for the
"mechanical" type of tools and a Craftsman for wood working tools
exclusively.

3) Addition of some new items. Mostly a Delta 6" jointer. Also a
sliding mill table to modify and improve the "drill press attachment"
Delta mortiser.

Lights, outlets, benches and storage were the first things I created
years ago. I make my living as a mechanic and one thing I can't stand
is working with a drop light. So there are more flourescents than
anyone should be allowed to have!

Rich Stern wrote:

I just finished a project and was cleaning up the shop, moving stuff around to
get at all the sawdust, putting tools back, etc. I was musing about changes
I've made to my workshop over the years, thinking about the successes and the
failures. Here's what I came up with for my best three:

1) Compressed air from an overhead, retractable reel. How the heck did I get
through the early years without this? I leave my portable compressor hooked up
via quick disconnect to a feed line for the overhead reel. I can disconnect
and roll out quickly if I need the compressor in the yard, garage, or at a
neighbor's. The reel also has a quick disconnect, stuffed with a blowgun when
not using any other air tools. This setup is great for woodworking, but the
air gets used for all kinds of other tasks, too.

2) Stopped overcrowding the shop with machines. For years, my semi-portable
power tools were set up and ready to work. Visions of moving from station to
station with effortless efficiency. I thought it made projects go faster. The
opposite is true. As I run low on space, the shop gets messy and projects
begin to crawl. Now I take out the miter saw, belt/disk sander, scroll saw,
etc. only when needed. The rest of the time, I enjoy the free space around the
bigger machines. The shop stays much cleaner.

3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes. Measuring tools, wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers,
drill bits, etc, stay organized and dust free, and I can wheel the thing around
if needed. My pegboarding of all this stuff never stayed organized. Somehow,
I manage to keep it neat in the rolling cabinet.

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

On 6 Feb 2004 08:19:05 -0600, jev
wrote:

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 06:07:04 GMT, Bay Area Dave wrote:

SNIP
An overhead retractable 110V cord with a 3-outlet molded plug.

SNIP

Where did you find retractable reel at what cost?

I got mine at Auto Zone and I think it was about $29. If you dont
have Auto Zone in your area, check whatever passes for auto parts
store.

On 06 Feb 2004 15:08:56 EST, Mark and Kim Smith
wrote:

Yikes! I just spent $1500 on mine. Then again, it is a Snap-on unit.

Mine honestly aren't anywhere near Snap-On quality, but I think
they're plenty adequate.

Barry

just got done moving the air hose reel from the wall opposite my work
bench, to overhead, near the bench. Why didn't I install one years
ago??? Used 1/2" "L" copper pipe. Was a breeze to install except for
getting to one of the mounting screws behind the reel. Attacked it with
a quarter inch ratchet and ultra short phillips bit.

dave

Rich Stern wrote:

I just finished a project and was cleaning up the shop, moving stuff around to
get at all the sawdust, putting tools back, etc. I was musing about changes
I've made to my workshop over the years, thinking about the successes and the
failures. Here's what I came up with for my best three:

1) Compressed air from an overhead, retractable reel. How the heck did I get
through the early years without this? I leave my portable compressor hooked up
via quick disconnect to a feed line for the overhead reel. I can disconnect
and roll out quickly if I need the compressor in the yard, garage, or at a
neighbor's. The reel also has a quick disconnect, stuffed with a blowgun when
not using any other air tools. This setup is great for woodworking, but the
air gets used for all kinds of other tasks, too.

2) Stopped overcrowding the shop with machines. For years, my semi-portable
power tools were set up and ready to work. Visions of moving from station to
station with effortless efficiency. I thought it made projects go faster. The
opposite is true. As I run low on space, the shop gets messy and projects
begin to crawl. Now I take out the miter saw, belt/disk sander, scroll saw,
etc. only when needed. The rest of the time, I enjoy the free space around the
bigger machines. The shop stays much cleaner.

3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes. Measuring tools, wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers,
drill bits, etc, stay organized and dust free, and I can wheel the thing around
if needed. My pegboarding of all this stuff never stayed organized. Somehow,
I manage to keep it neat in the rolling cabinet.

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

Humm, I have to go with 38 wheels and 125 drawers!






On 06 Feb 2004 04:38:59 GMT, (Rich Stern) wrote:

I just finished a project and was cleaning up the shop, moving stuff around to
get at all the sawdust, putting tools back, etc. I was musing about changes
I've made to my workshop over the years, thinking about the successes and the
failures. Here's what I came up with for my best three:

1) Compressed air from an overhead, retractable reel. How the heck did I get
through the early years without this? I leave my portable compressor hooked up
via quick disconnect to a feed line for the overhead reel. I can disconnect
and roll out quickly if I need the compressor in the yard, garage, or at a
neighbor's. The reel also has a quick disconnect, stuffed with a blowgun when
not using any other air tools. This setup is great for woodworking, but the
air gets used for all kinds of other tasks, too.

2) Stopped overcrowding the shop with machines. For years, my semi-portable
power tools were set up and ready to work. Visions of moving from station to
station with effortless efficiency. I thought it made projects go faster. The
opposite is true. As I run low on space, the shop gets messy and projects
begin to crawl. Now I take out the miter saw, belt/disk sander, scroll saw,
etc. only when needed. The rest of the time, I enjoy the free space around the
bigger machines. The shop stays much cleaner.

3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes. Measuring tools, wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers,
drill bits, etc, stay organized and dust free, and I can wheel the thing around
if needed. My pegboarding of all this stuff never stayed organized. Somehow,
I manage to keep it neat in the rolling cabinet.

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

3) Lumber rack with integrated chopsaw (miter saw) station.

^^^^^
Would love to see a pic of this.

"Rich Stern" wrote in message
...

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

1) Better lighting through white painted walls/floor.
I can find dropped hardware and there is no concrete
dust in my lungs any more. Whew!

2) Assembly table with cabinet storage underneath.
I store all my abrasives (few), cleaners (many) and
cauls there. Te room in the middle will soon be an
additional pair of shelves. The 5" casters will roll
over a tuba fore if needed. I'll be redoing the side-
mounted clamp posts into a vertical clamp cart, also
on 5" casters. (Side mounting made the cart unstable.)

3) I'm in the process of building cabinets to store all
my tools to keep them in easy reach.



================================================== =========
Save the Endangered Boullions from being cubed!
http://www.diversify.com/stees.html Hilarious T-shirts online
================================================== =========

My "shop" is my two-car garage, so every square inch is precious.

Best four improvements:

1. Wall-mounted lumber rack
2. Retractable power cord (overhead installation)
3. Putting bench saw, power mitre saw and router table on
moveable bases.
4. Built large shelf unit (half of one wall) using 1" x 12"s.
(Holds lots of stuff)

Why the wood floor Dave and is this in preference to concrete ? I am =
about to set up a new shop and wondered what was better.
Puff

"Bay Area Dave" wrote in message =
m...
I installed a retractable reel about a week ago but will be relocating =

it from near the compressor to nearly the center of the shop, because=20
there is only about 21' feet of hose which gets caught up on the TS =
and=20
other equipment when I drag it over to the workbench on the wall=20
opposite the reel.
=20
Five wall cabinets to hold and hide lots of stuff! Plus keep most of=20
the dust off those items.
=20
An overhead retractable 110V cord with a 3-outlet molded plug.
=20
Can I give more than three? Here goes:
=20
painted the walls semi-gloss white.
=20
Lot's of light: 11 4 foot fluorescents in a two car "studio" g
=20
Weather striped the door to stop drafts; the shop is much warmer in =
the=20
winter because of that one improvement.
=20
Just added a TV last week to supplement the CD player, cassette=20
player/radio.
=20
=20
What I'd like to have but won't (do to one thing or another)
=20
1. Utility basin
2. A John
3. more R-O-O-M
4. higher ceiling
5. wood floor
=20
=20
=20
dave
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
Rich Stern wrote:
=20
I just finished a project and was cleaning up the shop, moving stuff =
around to
get at all the sawdust, putting tools back, etc. I was musing about =
changes
I've made to my workshop over the years, thinking about the =
successes and the
failures. Here's what I came up with for my best three:
=20
1) Compressed air from an overhead, retractable reel. How the heck =
did I get
through the early years without this? I leave my portable =
compressor hooked up
via quick disconnect to a feed line for the overhead reel. I can =
disconnect
and roll out quickly if I need the compressor in the yard, garage, =
or at a
neighbor's. The reel also has a quick disconnect, stuffed with a =
blowgun when
not using any other air tools. This setup is great for woodworking, =
but the
air gets used for all kinds of other tasks, too.
=20
2) Stopped overcrowding the shop with machines. For years, my =
semi-portable
power tools were set up and ready to work. Visions of moving from =
station to
station with effortless efficiency. I thought it made projects go =
faster. The
opposite is true. As I run low on space, the shop gets messy and =
projects
begin to crawl. Now I take out the miter saw, belt/disk sander, =
scroll saw,
etc. only when needed. The rest of the time, I enjoy the free space =
around the
bigger machines. The shop stays much cleaner.
=20
3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low =
end,
stacking unit from Lowes. Measuring tools, wrenches, sockets, =
screwdrivers,
drill bits, etc, stay organized and dust free, and I can wheel the =
thing around
if needed. My pegboarding of all this stuff never stayed organized. =
Somehow,
I manage to keep it neat in the rolling cabinet.
=20
What are your best three easy imrpovements?

B a r r y B u r k e J r . wrote:

On 06 Feb 2004 15:08:56 EST, Mark and Kim Smith
wrote:



Yikes! I just spent $1500 on mine. Then again, it is a Snap-on unit.



Mine honestly aren't anywhere near Snap-On quality, but I think
they're plenty adequate.

Barry


Hi Barry,

I hope you don't think I was knocking your tool boxes, as I certainly
wasn't! I was just bragging a bit. The important part is that the box
holds what it's supposed to and you are satisfied with it! Besides,
that Snap-on I have is a baby compared to my "train"!
www.bunchobikes.com/mac5.jpg Throw in a couple of cheapie Craftsman
for other uses and I'll have more boxes than I'll know what to do with
when I retire!!

Hmmmm, a couple of questions. What pressure are you running your air
system at and does anyone know the pressure rating of "L" copper??

Bay Area Dave wrote:

just got done moving the air hose reel from the wall opposite my work
bench, to overhead, near the bench. Why didn't I install one years
ago??? Used 1/2" "L" copper pipe. Was a breeze to install except for
getting to one of the mounting screws behind the reel. Attacked it
with a quarter inch ratchet and ultra short phillips bit.

dave

Rich Stern wrote:

I just finished a project and was cleaning up the shop, moving stuff
around to
get at all the sawdust, putting tools back, etc. I was musing about
changes
I've made to my workshop over the years, thinking about the successes
and the
failures. Here's what I came up with for my best three:

1) Compressed air from an overhead, retractable reel. How the heck
did I get
through the early years without this? I leave my portable compressor
hooked up
via quick disconnect to a feed line for the overhead reel. I can
disconnect
and roll out quickly if I need the compressor in the yard, garage, or
at a
neighbor's. The reel also has a quick disconnect, stuffed with a
blowgun when
not using any other air tools. This setup is great for woodworking,
but the
air gets used for all kinds of other tasks, too.

2) Stopped overcrowding the shop with machines. For years, my
semi-portable
power tools were set up and ready to work. Visions of moving from
station to
station with effortless efficiency. I thought it made projects go
faster. The
opposite is true. As I run low on space, the shop gets messy and
projects
begin to crawl. Now I take out the miter saw, belt/disk sander,
scroll saw,
etc. only when needed. The rest of the time, I enjoy the free space
around the
bigger machines. The shop stays much cleaner.

3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes. Measuring tools, wrenches, sockets,
screwdrivers,
drill bits, etc, stay organized and dust free, and I can wheel the
thing around
if needed. My pegboarding of all this stuff never stayed organized.
Somehow,
I manage to keep it neat in the rolling cabinet.

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

"Mark and Kim Smith" wrote in message
...

1) Move the bike hobby off to one corner of the shop.
www.bunchobikes.com

OOH OOH OOH. A Schwinn Stingray!
Man, I saved my paper route money for a long time to buy mine! Mine was red,
though. How I wish I would have tucked that away somewhere instead of
selling it when I started riding dirtbikes.

Mark, how much are those things worth these days?

Keith Carlson wrote:

"Mark and Kim Smith" wrote in message
...



1) Move the bike hobby off to one corner of the shop.


www.bunchobikes.com

OOH OOH OOH. A Schwinn Stingray!
Man, I saved my paper route money for a long time to buy mine! Mine was red,
though. How I wish I would have tucked that away somewhere instead of
selling it when I started riding dirtbikes.

Mark, how much are those things worth these days?




A Fastback, like I have, in decent condition will hit $300. The earlier
the Stingrays, the more they will bring. An early 63-64 with a first
year only paint job brought $4000 on eBay recently. Krates will
regularly bring $800- $2000. These are averages.

On 06 Feb 2004 21:45:04 EST, Mark and Kim Smith
wrote:

I hope you don't think I was knocking your tool boxes, as I certainly
wasn't!

Not at all! G

Barry

On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 04:04:37 GMT, "Keith Carlson"
wrote:


OOH OOH OOH. A Schwinn Stingray!
Man, I saved my paper route money for a long time to buy mine! Mine was red,
though. How I wish I would have tucked that away somewhere instead of
selling it when I started riding dirtbikes.

A guy that frequents our bike shop has a few crates. We currently
have one of his Orange Crates on display, complete with an original
store poster behind it.

Ah, the memories! G

Barry

Puff Griffis wrote:
Why the wood floor Dave and is this in preference to concrete ? I am
about to set up a new shop and wondered what was better.
Puff


Wood floors are easier on the feet and legs. It does not seem like much,
but there is a big difference. New floors are not always practilal, but
rubber mats whee yo stand the ost are a big help. Two or thee are a "must"
in a good shop. In front of the bench, in front of the sander, the band
saw, the table saw. --
Ed

http://pages.cthome.net/edhome

The pic is on the way to your email box.

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 22:42:30 GMT, "Rob V" wrote:


3) Lumber rack with integrated chopsaw (miter saw) station.

^^^^^
Would love to see a pic of this.

Why the wood floor Dave and is this in preference to concrete ? I am about to set up a new shop and wondered what was better.

You are asking this is a wood news group?
Seriously, concrete is hard on the bones & cold. Got mats from CostCo.
Really like them but hard to sweep up; so's I don't. Except
Mama.....never mind.
If you afford it, go with wood floors.

I'd really, really, like to reorganize my shop for better efficency. Its
the basement, divided into 3 areas currently. One corner was a
darkroom/laundry area. No darkroom now, and I plan to make the laundry
area smaller to enclosed the washer/dryer/tub acessible by bifold doors.
There is a dividing wall along the middle of the basement, running
alongside furnace and hot water heater. On my "shop" side (dirty side),
I cram a workbench, a tool cabinet, table saw, band saw, drill press,
and soon, a jointer. The table saw is on wheels. The Band saw and drill
press will soon be. The jointer will be too. On the floor under
shelving, I have my planer, drill doctor case, plate joiner case, a
small electric heater, shop vac, a model plane in progress, and a couple
of small rubbermaid tubs. On the other side of the shop around the
furnace, I have 3 rubber maid "wrap and store" containers for my model
airplane cover, a 6' high wheeled rack for model airplane wood sheets, a
roll around upright rack for model airplane wood sticks, a couple of
boxes of stuff, some rolls a of naughahyde, and lots of wood leaning
against the water heater. Plus a rolling toobox and air compressor.

The other half of the basement (which has the laundry corner), I have a
4x8 table intended for building parts of my full size plane when I get
to it. One wall holds model airplanes. Another wall is taken up by steel
shelving, the 3rd wall has shelving, my reloading bench, a gun safe, and
a plastic desk holding my miscellanous hunting stuff (clothes, cases,
etc). Next to the laundry corner are 2 plastic shelving units, a half
size metal shelf, basement dehumidifier, and miscellanous stuff.

So yeah, things are tight.

And no, I don't have a garage!

I need storage! agh!

John

This is initially going to sound crazy but here goes.

Grade school kids
brooms
"huge vacuum cleaner" (their term for "dust collector").

Now the words - kids, cleaning, dusting - and the phrase
"tidying" up don't normally go together - when they're
at home. But in a SHOP...

Maybe it's ALL THAT POWER - dust collector's muted roar,
the sound of a large volume of air being sucked into
a four inch hose, the way things magically disappear
as the end of the hose approaches them or the sound of
small pieces of all sorts of things rattling their way
through the pipes on their way to who knows where.

All of my "stationary" tools are on wheels and normally
reside against a wall. They get pulled out when used
and push back when done - leaving wood residue behind
them. Out of sight, out of mind. But, after a kid, or
a team of kids have sucked everything that they can
reach into that four inch hose, they start looking
UNDER and BEHIND things.

In BIG VACUUM CLEANER mode, kids become prospectors
searching for the Mother Load. Discovering all the
sawdust that collects under a cabinet saw is a cause
for squeeling rejoicing. That will prompt a search
through my "sticks and dowel" storage tubes for an
arm extender to get to the otherwise inaccessible
sawdust. And like gold miners, they'll stick with
"the gold vein" until it's all gone.

When they discover more "treasures" behind the tools
on wheels they'll hound you until you move them out
of the way so they can continue their prospecting.

After finding and taking care of everything the dust
collector can handle, they find brooms and start
sweeping small to medium cut offs into two or three
piles - to be gone through for later "glue stuff
together, use your imagination, sculpture/projects"
The rejects go in a scrap box for kindling and "the
good stuff" goes into each one's large zip lock
stash bag.

When "the room full of heavy stuff that generates
sawdust" has been picked clean they move on to the
"quiet gluing and bug spitting room" (bug spit to
them is shellac to the rest of us - but bug spit
sounds cooler). Here they can't use the HUGE
VACUUM CLEANER - they know curlies will clog it
up (earlier learning experience) - so it's brooms
and brushes. The interesting curlies get saved
for a future creative project and the rest get
stuffed in a "fireplace fire starter stuff" bag.
All those little pieces that dovetails and tenons
create are each examined carefully for some
wonderful use, the rejects going in a kindling
box.

As a bonus for me, they also find every nut, bolt,
screw and anything else I'd dropped and couldn't
find. Those go in the "stuff that was found and
will be sorted out and put away later" can. One
of these discoveries will prompt a "what's this
and what's it for" question and one of my "too
much information" lectures. I've learned to pay
attention, so when their eyes start to glaze over
I let them get back to The Hunt.

In less than an hour the cleaning tornado moves
on, other games to play. I'm left with a nice
clean shop (it's still cluttered but relatively
clean) bags of kids project parts, a bag
of fire lighting curlies and a box of kindling.
I'm also exhausted and inspired.

Exhausted because I've had to mediate at least a
dozen "he got to vacuum for 10 minutes and I only
got to vacuum for a minute", "I found that first
and she took it", "why can't I use the push broom
this time?", "she says this is from a pin socket
and I say it's from a tail socket" disputes.

Exhausted because I've had to watch them like
a hawk to keep them from bumping their heads
while crawling under power equiptment searching
for treasure, trying to move a wheeled cart
supporting a disk and spindle sander away from
the wall to get to who knows what behind it ...

The inspiration comes from listening to all
the wonderful ideas they have for a piece of
scrap they found and saved.

Inspired because they got me to look for useful
stuff in what would otherwise be "just scrap".

For those who'e had their teeth on edge, worrying
about kids in the shop:

The sharp handtools are in wall hanging tool
cabinets behind a SCMS station and are out of
reach of kids and, with the doors closed - out
site, out of mind.

All power tools are unplugged, and those that can
be "locked down" are locked down BEFORE the human
tornadoes get started.

I've got one of those powerful magnates on a stick
things and use it when emptying the cyclone garbage
can - finding the iron bearing parts that shouldn't
have been vacuumed up in the first place.

To date there's been only one injury. While
crawling around under the sliding table of my
combination machine (a Robland X31 for the curious)
looking for more sawdust to vacuum up, and despite
my repeated "watch your head" warnings, one girl
tried to get up while under the sliding table and
dinged her eyebrow.

That prompted a "que tip and peroxide - neopsorene
- big gauze eyepatch with four big pieces of tape to
hold it in place - just for dramatic effect - medical
emergency production with an audience enjoying every
act of the three act drama, The star of this production,
with her "eye make up" was in all her glory, basking in
the attention of her fans - "Does it really hurt
bad?" - "You gonna have to get stitches?" - "Think
you'll lose your eye?"

Of course the tape and the gauze came off before she
went home and her "gaping wound" lost some of it's
shock value - a shiny neosporened eyebrow just isn't
all that noteworthy.

Maybe, in addition to eye protection, ear muffs rubber
gloves and safety glasses, I should add a helmet or
two.

Nothing to buy, no slick jig or fixture, no new use
for an existing tool- a single, free in terms of
dollars, shop improvement. Clean shop and another
one of those priceless experiences.

charlie b

On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 11:33:42 -0800, charlie b
wrote:

This is initially going to sound crazy but here goes.

Grade school kids
brooms
"huge vacuum cleaner" (their term for "dust collector").

Now the words - kids, cleaning, dusting - and the phrase
"tidying" up don't normally go together - when they're
at home. But in a SHOP...

Maybe it's ALL THAT POWER - dust collector's muted roar,
the sound of a large volume of air being sucked into
a four inch hose, the way things magically disappear
as the end of the hose approaches them or the sound of
small pieces of all sorts of things rattling their way
through the pipes on their way to who knows where.

All of my "stationary" tools are on wheels and normally
reside against a wall. They get pulled out when used
and push back when done - leaving wood residue behind
them. Out of sight, out of mind. But, after a kid, or
a team of kids have sucked everything that they can
reach into that four inch hose, they start looking
UNDER and BEHIND things.

In BIG VACUUM CLEANER mode, kids become prospectors
searching for the Mother Load. Discovering all the
sawdust that collects under a cabinet saw is a cause
for squeeling rejoicing. That will prompt a search
through my "sticks and dowel" storage tubes for an
arm extender to get to the otherwise inaccessible
sawdust. And like gold miners, they'll stick with
"the gold vein" until it's all gone.

When they discover more "treasures" behind the tools
on wheels they'll hound you until you move them out
of the way so they can continue their prospecting.

After finding and taking care of everything the dust
collector can handle, they find brooms and start
sweeping small to medium cut offs into two or three
piles - to be gone through for later "glue stuff
together, use your imagination, sculpture/projects"
The rejects go in a scrap box for kindling and "the
good stuff" goes into each one's large zip lock
stash bag.

When "the room full of heavy stuff that generates
sawdust" has been picked clean they move on to the
"quiet gluing and bug spitting room" (bug spit to
them is shellac to the rest of us - but bug spit
sounds cooler). Here they can't use the HUGE
VACUUM CLEANER - they know curlies will clog it
up (earlier learning experience) - so it's brooms
and brushes. The interesting curlies get saved
for a future creative project and the rest get
stuffed in a "fireplace fire starter stuff" bag.
All those little pieces that dovetails and tenons
create are each examined carefully for some
wonderful use, the rejects going in a kindling
box.

As a bonus for me, they also find every nut, bolt,
screw and anything else I'd dropped and couldn't
find. Those go in the "stuff that was found and
will be sorted out and put away later" can. One
of these discoveries will prompt a "what's this
and what's it for" question and one of my "too
much information" lectures. I've learned to pay
attention, so when their eyes start to glaze over
I let them get back to The Hunt.

In less than an hour the cleaning tornado moves
on, other games to play. I'm left with a nice
clean shop (it's still cluttered but relatively
clean) bags of kids project parts, a bag
of fire lighting curlies and a box of kindling.
I'm also exhausted and inspired.

Exhausted because I've had to mediate at least a
dozen "he got to vacuum for 10 minutes and I only
got to vacuum for a minute", "I found that first
and she took it", "why can't I use the push broom
this time?", "she says this is from a pin socket
and I say it's from a tail socket" disputes.

Exhausted because I've had to watch them like
a hawk to keep them from bumping their heads
while crawling under power equiptment searching
for treasure, trying to move a wheeled cart
supporting a disk and spindle sander away from
the wall to get to who knows what behind it ...

The inspiration comes from listening to all
the wonderful ideas they have for a piece of
scrap they found and saved.

Inspired because they got me to look for useful
stuff in what would otherwise be "just scrap".

For those who'e had their teeth on edge, worrying
about kids in the shop:

The sharp handtools are in wall hanging tool
cabinets behind a SCMS station and are out of
reach of kids and, with the doors closed - out
site, out of mind.

All power tools are unplugged, and those that can
be "locked down" are locked down BEFORE the human
tornadoes get started.

I've got one of those powerful magnates on a stick
things and use it when emptying the cyclone garbage
can - finding the iron bearing parts that shouldn't
have been vacuumed up in the first place.

To date there's been only one injury. While
crawling around under the sliding table of my
combination machine (a Robland X31 for the curious)
looking for more sawdust to vacuum up, and despite
my repeated "watch your head" warnings, one girl
tried to get up while under the sliding table and
dinged her eyebrow.

That prompted a "que tip and peroxide - neopsorene
- big gauze eyepatch with four big pieces of tape to
hold it in place - just for dramatic effect - medical
emergency production with an audience enjoying every
act of the three act drama, The star of this production,
with her "eye make up" was in all her glory, basking in
the attention of her fans - "Does it really hurt
bad?" - "You gonna have to get stitches?" - "Think
you'll lose your eye?"

Of course the tape and the gauze came off before she
went home and her "gaping wound" lost some of it's
shock value - a shiny neosporened eyebrow just isn't
all that noteworthy.

Maybe, in addition to eye protection, ear muffs rubber
gloves and safety glasses, I should add a helmet or
two.

Nothing to buy, no slick jig or fixture, no new use
for an existing tool- a single, free in terms of
dollars, shop improvement. Clean shop and another
one of those priceless experiences.

charlie b

Excellent reading.
You're a hard act to follow.

Joe

Now thats a drive by gloat if I ever heard one!

great read!

Thanks
_Rob
"charlie b" wrote in message
...
This is initially going to sound crazy but here goes.

Grade school kids
brooms
"huge vacuum cleaner" (their term for "dust collector").

Now the words - kids, cleaning, dusting - and the phrase
"tidying" up don't normally go together - when they're
at home. But in a SHOP...

Maybe it's ALL THAT POWER - dust collector's muted roar,
the sound of a large volume of air being sucked into
a four inch hose, the way things magically disappear
as the end of the hose approaches them or the sound of
small pieces of all sorts of things rattling their way
through the pipes on their way to who knows where.

All of my "stationary" tools are on wheels and normally
reside against a wall. They get pulled out when used
and push back when done - leaving wood residue behind
them. Out of sight, out of mind. But, after a kid, or
a team of kids have sucked everything that they can
reach into that four inch hose, they start looking
UNDER and BEHIND things.

In BIG VACUUM CLEANER mode, kids become prospectors
searching for the Mother Load. Discovering all the
sawdust that collects under a cabinet saw is a cause
for squeeling rejoicing. That will prompt a search
through my "sticks and dowel" storage tubes for an
arm extender to get to the otherwise inaccessible
sawdust. And like gold miners, they'll stick with
"the gold vein" until it's all gone.

When they discover more "treasures" behind the tools
on wheels they'll hound you until you move them out
of the way so they can continue their prospecting.

After finding and taking care of everything the dust
collector can handle, they find brooms and start
sweeping small to medium cut offs into two or three
piles - to be gone through for later "glue stuff
together, use your imagination, sculpture/projects"
The rejects go in a scrap box for kindling and "the
good stuff" goes into each one's large zip lock
stash bag.

When "the room full of heavy stuff that generates
sawdust" has been picked clean they move on to the
"quiet gluing and bug spitting room" (bug spit to
them is shellac to the rest of us - but bug spit
sounds cooler). Here they can't use the HUGE
VACUUM CLEANER - they know curlies will clog it
up (earlier learning experience) - so it's brooms
and brushes. The interesting curlies get saved
for a future creative project and the rest get
stuffed in a "fireplace fire starter stuff" bag.
All those little pieces that dovetails and tenons
create are each examined carefully for some
wonderful use, the rejects going in a kindling
box.

As a bonus for me, they also find every nut, bolt,
screw and anything else I'd dropped and couldn't
find. Those go in the "stuff that was found and
will be sorted out and put away later" can. One
of these discoveries will prompt a "what's this
and what's it for" question and one of my "too
much information" lectures. I've learned to pay
attention, so when their eyes start to glaze over
I let them get back to The Hunt.

In less than an hour the cleaning tornado moves
on, other games to play. I'm left with a nice
clean shop (it's still cluttered but relatively
clean) bags of kids project parts, a bag
of fire lighting curlies and a box of kindling.
I'm also exhausted and inspired.

Exhausted because I've had to mediate at least a
dozen "he got to vacuum for 10 minutes and I only
got to vacuum for a minute", "I found that first
and she took it", "why can't I use the push broom
this time?", "she says this is from a pin socket
and I say it's from a tail socket" disputes.

Exhausted because I've had to watch them like
a hawk to keep them from bumping their heads
while crawling under power equiptment searching
for treasure, trying to move a wheeled cart
supporting a disk and spindle sander away from
the wall to get to who knows what behind it ...

The inspiration comes from listening to all
the wonderful ideas they have for a piece of
scrap they found and saved.

Inspired because they got me to look for useful
stuff in what would otherwise be "just scrap".

For those who'e had their teeth on edge, worrying
about kids in the shop:

The sharp handtools are in wall hanging tool
cabinets behind a SCMS station and are out of
reach of kids and, with the doors closed - out
site, out of mind.

All power tools are unplugged, and those that can
be "locked down" are locked down BEFORE the human
tornadoes get started.

I've got one of those powerful magnates on a stick
things and use it when emptying the cyclone garbage
can - finding the iron bearing parts that shouldn't
have been vacuumed up in the first place.

To date there's been only one injury. While
crawling around under the sliding table of my
combination machine (a Robland X31 for the curious)
looking for more sawdust to vacuum up, and despite
my repeated "watch your head" warnings, one girl
tried to get up while under the sliding table and
dinged her eyebrow.

That prompted a "que tip and peroxide - neopsorene
- big gauze eyepatch with four big pieces of tape to
hold it in place - just for dramatic effect - medical
emergency production with an audience enjoying every
act of the three act drama, The star of this production,
with her "eye make up" was in all her glory, basking in
the attention of her fans - "Does it really hurt
bad?" - "You gonna have to get stitches?" - "Think
you'll lose your eye?"

Of course the tape and the gauze came off before she
went home and her "gaping wound" lost some of it's
shock value - a shiny neosporened eyebrow just isn't
all that noteworthy.

Maybe, in addition to eye protection, ear muffs rubber
gloves and safety glasses, I should add a helmet or
two.

Nothing to buy, no slick jig or fixture, no new use
for an existing tool- a single, free in terms of
dollars, shop improvement. Clean shop and another
one of those priceless experiences.

charlie b

On 06 Feb 2004 04:38:59 GMT, (Rich Stern) wrote:

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

1) I tried for years to come up with an effective dust collection
solution for my SCMS. I've tried using a box behind the saw,
etcetera. Every solution either compromised the cuts the saw could
make, or didn't do a great job collecting the dust. Well,
I finally tried making a shroud out of that flexible plastic that's
used for freezer curtains. A couple of hours of fiddling around, and
Voila! It works! I now have a dust free miter station. It's a
flexible shroud that attaches to the saw and moves with it, and it
doesn't restrict any cut (extreme left miter+bevel, etc) that the saw
is capable of making. Very low effort for a large environmental
improvement, IMO.

2) Mounted my outfeed table top on 28" drawer slides. The table is
28" deep,so when it's pushed in, it doesn't get in my way. When I
push it out, it extends out to 56" behind the saw (60" past the blade)
which is just long enough to handle 8' stock, and I can move it in and
out without even walking around to the back of the saw. After
suffering for years with temp supports and and later a large fixed
table that took too much room, I'm really happy with this solution.

3) Replaced shelves under my bench with simple shallow
pullouts. This was so easy to do it isn't funny, and it improved the
cleanliness of my shop a ton, because I can now get a lot more stuff
neatly arranged on the pullouts than I ever could on the shelves.




Tim Carver

On 06 Feb 2004 04:38:59 GMT, (Rich Stern) wrote:

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

1) I tried for years to come up with an effective dust collection
solution for my SCMS. I've tried using a box behind the saw,
etcetera. Every solution either compromised the cuts the saw could
make, or didn't do a great job collecting the dust. Well,
I finally tried making a shroud out of that flexible plastic that's
used for freezer curtains. A couple of hours of fiddling around, and
Voila! It works! I now have a dust free miter station. It's a
flexible shroud that attaches to the saw and moves with it, and it
doesn't restrict any cut (extreme left miter+bevel, etc) that the saw
is capable of making. Very low effort for a large environmental
improvement, IMO.

2) Mounted my outfeed table top on 28" drawer slides. The table is
28" deep,so when it's pushed in, it doesn't get in my way. When I
push it out, it extends out to 56" behind the saw (60" past the blade)
which is just long enough to handle 8' stock, and I can move it in and
out without even walking around to the back of the saw. After
suffering for years with temp supports and and later a large fixed
table that took too much room, I'm really happy with this solution.

3) Replaced shelves under my bench with simple shallow
pullouts. This was so easy to do it isn't funny, and it improved the
cleanliness of my shop a ton, because I can now get a lot more stuff
neatly arranged on the pullouts than I ever could on the shelves.




Tim Carver

Tim,

Can you give more details and pics on #2?

Also - where did you get that shroud you mentioned in #1?

Thanks
-Rob

"Tim Carver" wrote in message
...
On 06 Feb 2004 04:38:59 GMT, (Rich Stern) wrote:

What are your best three easy imrpovements?

1) I tried for years to come up with an effective dust collection
solution for my SCMS. I've tried using a box behind the saw,
etcetera. Every solution either compromised the cuts the saw could
make, or didn't do a great job collecting the dust. Well,
I finally tried making a shroud out of that flexible plastic that's
used for freezer curtains. A couple of hours of fiddling around, and
Voila! It works! I now have a dust free miter station. It's a
flexible shroud that attaches to the saw and moves with it, and it
doesn't restrict any cut (extreme left miter+bevel, etc) that the saw
is capable of making. Very low effort for a large environmental
improvement, IMO.

2) Mounted my outfeed table top on 28" drawer slides. The table is
28" deep,so when it's pushed in, it doesn't get in my way. When I
push it out, it extends out to 56" behind the saw (60" past the blade)
which is just long enough to handle 8' stock, and I can move it in and
out without even walking around to the back of the saw. After
suffering for years with temp supports and and later a large fixed
table that took too much room, I'm really happy with this solution.

3) Replaced shelves under my bench with simple shallow
pullouts. This was so easy to do it isn't funny, and it improved the
cleanliness of my shop a ton, because I can now get a lot more stuff
neatly arranged on the pullouts than I ever could on the shelves.




Tim Carver

The pressure of the system is between 100 and 125. the L will take
everything a 175 psi system will give! I used to have an auto shop
where I installed an extensive air system with L copper. It is WAY
overrated for that. Not to worry!

dave

Mark and Kim Smith wrote:

Hmmmm, a couple of questions. What pressure are you running your air
system at and does anyone know the pressure rating of "L" copper??

Bay Area Dave wrote:

just got done moving the air hose reel from the wall opposite my work
bench, to overhead, near the bench. Why didn't I install one years
ago??? Used 1/2" "L" copper pipe. Was a breeze to install except for
getting to one of the mounting screws behind the reel. Attacked it
with a quarter inch ratchet and ultra short phillips bit.

dave

Rich Stern wrote:

I just finished a project and was cleaning up the shop, moving stuff
around to
get at all the sawdust, putting tools back, etc. I was musing about
changes
I've made to my workshop over the years, thinking about the successes
and the
failures. Here's what I came up with for my best three:

1) Compressed air from an overhead, retractable reel. How the heck
did I get
through the early years without this? I leave my portable compressor
hooked up
via quick disconnect to a feed line for the overhead reel. I can
disconnect
and roll out quickly if I need the compressor in the yard, garage, or
at a
neighbor's. The reel also has a quick disconnect, stuffed with a
blowgun when
not using any other air tools. This setup is great for woodworking,
but the
air gets used for all kinds of other tasks, too.

2) Stopped overcrowding the shop with machines. For years, my
semi-portable
power tools were set up and ready to work. Visions of moving from
station to
station with effortless efficiency. I thought it made projects go
faster. The
opposite is true. As I run low on space, the shop gets messy and
projects
begin to crawl. Now I take out the miter saw, belt/disk sander,
scroll saw,
etc. only when needed. The rest of the time, I enjoy the free space
around the
bigger machines. The shop stays much cleaner.

3) Rolling tool chest. You know, the mechanic's type. Just a low end,
stacking unit from Lowes. Measuring tools, wrenches, sockets,
screwdrivers,
drill bits, etc, stay organized and dust free, and I can wheel the
thing around
if needed. My pegboarding of all this stuff never stayed organized.
Somehow,
I manage to keep it neat in the rolling cabinet.

What are your best three easy imrpovements?