Benchtop Ruler from a Broken Tape Measure

I've had an old tape measure go out on me and it turned out to be a broken spring. I tossed it into a repurposing bin and thought about what I could do with it for a few days.

Then I hit on a nifty solution. I'll attach it to my project work table.

 Here's the tape attached to the back of my project work table.

And here's a close up of how it's attached. I cut off some brads and nailed right through the metal tape every six inches or so. I like the look and it's a complete no brainer to get the length of something by just pushing it against the tape.

This method can be used on any equipment where quick measuring is important while fiddling with the tape is a pain in the butt. Smaller width tapes are more useful in situations where the tape must lie flat against a surface though so don't just throw out that broken tape measure!

The Subtle Art of Scrounging for the Garage

To properly maintain and even improve any garage on a tight budget, it is important to engage in obtaining items as cheaply as possible.

This is popularly known in the military as scrounging.

Scrounging is not a five finger discount! The rest of us call that stealing. On the contrary, scrounging is the ability to find items that others do not want, actually are tired of looking at, and do not wish to attempt to get good money for.

You can do this in several ways. The first is to watch the local trader newspaper and respond to ads for items you want in your shop at a price that is affordable. This still costs money.

Another method is to watch the Craigslist 'Free Stuff' advertisements. The pickings will be uniformly random, the competition can be pretty stiff if it's a nice item, and there can be lots of stuff to look through that you have no interest in. If the advertiser tells you you can have the item, then be prepared to drop everything to go pick up your new prize.

A curious Craigslist phenomenon is the 'Curb Alert' in the free stuff advertizing. This requires lots of luck and close proximity to score items advertized this way but can be well worth the effort.

Other sources of cheap or free are Auctions, Estate Sales, The local Newspaper, sometimes local TV web sites have classified ads, Garage sales, Yard sales, business closing clearance sales, thrift stores, items set out by the curb(be sure to ask first!), and the venerable wellspring of all things, the local apartment complex dumpster.

For Auctions, Estate Sales, Garage Sales, Yard Sales, and really any sale where the name of the game is to get rid of stuff, be sure to politely ask the seller if they will be disposing of any items after the sale. Talk nice and chances are good that the beat up book shelf you are eying for Five Bucks will be yours for free a little later.

When bartering for an item, it may seem like good practice to try to beat every nickle out of the sale, but this generally creates resentment on the part of the seller. Do it too frequently and if you run into that seller again they might just jack up their prices on you.  If the price is already better than fair and both of you know it, it is in bad form to try to get the price down even further. Just be nice and take the already great deal.

Then there is the 'secret' method of obtaining cool stuff. Trading for it! Never, ever, turn down something, anything, that is useful in a garage. A huge winner is shelving of any sort. Once you drag it home, you can begin working your network of friends and cronies to see if anybody wants the item, and what they have to trade for it. Once you make a deal its almost as if you got the traded item for free! Besides if you got that table for free, who cares if you 'only' got a shop light for it this time as 'I can use that' is always way more valuable than 'I don't need it'.

Bottom Line: By scrounging, as little money leaves your pocket as possible while steadily improving the utility of your garage. This is a key component of running an Easy Cheesy Garage.

Protect Those Safety Glasses!

I was rooting around the web looking at things people have been doing in the shop when I ran across a great way to re-purpose an old sock and protect the safety glasses all at once.

 Here's a pair of safety glasses with an old sock I scrounged from my sock drawer. The sock protects the glasses from scratches and dust, both of which make it harder to work safely and effectively.

And here's a decent place to keep them.  I just used an old speaker magnet to hold it to the metal shelf of my project work table.

Later, I might put a grommet on the sock so I can hang it from the pegboard. Other options are to put them in a drawer, tie a string to the sock to hang it from equipment or just leave as is on the work table when not in use.

While I'm at it, decent safety glasses are relatively cheap. Once they turn yellow, or get too hazy from scratches to see clearly it is time to retire them to the file 13 and buy a new pair. I actually keep ten pairs or so floating around the shop to keep me from 'neglecting' to put them on.

Until then, an effective glass cleaner will keep them serviceable. I prefer Pledge as it minimizes the light scratches and reduces the possibility of fogging.

Lastly, if you ride a motorcycle, ordinary sunglasses do not provide ballistic protection! Go to Lowes or Home Depot or your favorite hardware store and buy a decent set of tinted safety glasses to wear when riding.  If you are ever hit by a rock or a June Bug you will be glad you took my advice.

Organizing the Garage

So I have this garage and I had a plan. Then I promptly blew it by not following the plan. The result was a cluttered filthy mess that slowly became unusable.

My recommendation? Make a plan and then stick to it. I'm not saying to never change the plan, but make the plan and follow the plan.

The first item on my plan was to decide what I wanted to use the garage for.

My list looked like this:

Garage Intended Use List

1. Store my motorcycle collection.
2. Space to store my tools and equipment.
3. Space to work on my motorcycles.
4. Space to do basic woodworking.
5. Space to do basic metal working.
6. Space to work on miscellaneous projects.
7. Space to store my bicycles.
8. Space to store house paint and miscellaneous stuff.
9. Space to store vehicle fluids, solvents and cleaners.

Yours might be greatly different, like kids stuff, garden tools, cars, and so on.

I then had to decide where everything went. In order to do this I had to figure out what equipment I had, the kind of storage I had, the general layout of the garage and so on.

Garage Infrastructure List

   This is stuff about the garage that may affect the layout and the use of the garage. It includes things that can't be moved without lots of grief and or cost.

1. A 26'x28' garage with 10 foot ceilings.
2. There's a 16 foot main door and a 3 foot side door in the front of the garage. This gives 16 feet of parking space behind the main door and 10 feet of floor space to line up equipment on the right and around a foot or so of space between the main door and the west wall for shelving.
3. The garage is fully insulated and has a garage heater mounted to the ceiling.
4. There's three banks of florescent overhead lights. I also had 5 large windows built into the garage.
5. There are three 20 amp circuits, one in the west wall, north wall, and one that serves the east and south walls. There's also two 230 volt, 30 Amp circuits.
6. I have an 80 gallon 5HP air compressor already bolted down in the back left corner of the garage. The air system has two circuits, the first is dried, filtered, and regulated. the second is dried, oiled and separately regulated.  Both circuits have hose reels mounted near the air compressor along with fixed lines running the length of the back of the garage.
7. I have two sheets of pegboard already mounted on the back wall of the garage.
8. The floor is relatively flat and mostly painted with a cheap epoxy paint. The floor outside of the remaining painting doesn't need any repairs.

Garage Stuff List

This is stuff that will go in the garage and can be moved around

1. My motorcycle collection
2. Two bicycles
3. Enough equipment to line the east and north walls, plus a double row of equipment between the side door and the main door going front to back.(This could be a couple of pages of stuff so I shortened the list)

Garage Layout Plan
I already had a general idea of the layout I had in mind, so:

1. Motorcycles will sit in the central space behind the main door.
2. The west wall will have bookcases for storage as there is only about a foot between the door edge and the wall. I eventually included a folding table to store household items.
3. Paint, large motorcycle parts and chicken feed will store near the air compressor in the corner.
4. A row of equipment will sit across the back wall of the garage and will primarily be items that sit low to allow access to the pegboard on the wall above it.
5. Another row of equipment will sit along the east wall. These items will be either tall or heavy with fill in to take advantage of wall space or window access as needed.
6. A double row of the remaining equipment will go in the remaining space between the main and side doors. This creates a long aisle way from the side door to the back of the shop which then makes a left to follow the back wall. I learned from previous layouts that little used aisles tend to become storage and I wanted to discourage the temptation to do it again.
7. Aisles should be 30 inches or more where possible in order to move equipment around as needed and allow safe use of power equipment.

So I proceed to set up the garage according to the current plan.

 The pegboard

 The air compressor area

 The back aisleway

 The back row of bikes

 The bookcase storage

The other compressor and blasting cabinet

 The dust collector, hydraulic press, and one of the work tables

 Household stuff storage

 The back aisle and three of the bikes in the front row.

 Another view of the black worktable

 Akro bin storage and work table

 The primary project bench

 The main tool chest, solvent and fluid shelf, and wire spool box

 A view from the side door

Looking back toward the side door

The whole project took the better part of three months. I hope to never have to make this kind of adjustment to my man cave ever again. I do plan to tweak the layout to improve storage and the general efficiency of the garage, but this will be one thing at a time.

Charlie's Garage Rules

GARAGE RULE BOOK

Every garage or shop needs rules of some sort. If nothing else it makes things flow smoother. You will have your own whether you realize it or not. These are mine.


SAFETY RULES

1. Safety first!
    Anything that can get me hurt should be done as safely as possible. Failure to observe safety rules can result in injury or death not to mention the cost of getting medical attention or the cost of a funeral and the emotional suffering that will accompany it. I don't drink, so the possibility of losing a couple years worth of beer money doesn't motivate me. Losing the entire garage improvement budget for a couple of years, not to mention getting nothing done during recovery does motivate me!

2. Know what to do in the event of a mishap.
    A. Don't panic. Calm myself or I will be worthless in working the rest of the list.
    B. Do I need to escape? Get out now if necessary. I know the escape route. It's my responsbility to clear the area of visitors as well.
    C. Assess the situation. 911 is the immediate answer if the situation is life threatening or too big to handle quickly. Things like a fire my fire extinguisher can't handle, or someone trapped under something, or someone passed out, or squirting blood, all merit a 911 call.
    D. I know where the first aid kit is.
    E. I know where the fire extinguisher is.
    F. I know where the water hose is.
    G. I know ice is the remedy for a burn and I know where to get it quickly. Use cold water in a pinch or anything from the freezer.
    H. I know how to do a compress.
    I. I know that the paper shop towels will serve as compresses in an emergency.
    J. My belt makes a great tourniquet.
    K. I know enough CPR and First Aid to save someone.
    L. Somebody knows I'm working in the garage.
    M. The phone is somewhere I can reach it if I'm on the floor.
    N. There is a way to get to urgent care or the emergency room if I think I can get there safely.
    O. If there is any doubt call 911.

3. Wear safety goggles when using power equipment. Better yet, put them on before starting the project, period.

4. Wear hearing protection around noisy situations. I already have tinnitus and don't need it to get worse.

5. Wear breathing mask around painting and wood cutting projects. This includes hand sanding!

6. NEVER reach in or over rotating equipment. This includes running cars from the front.

7. NEVER wear gloves around rotating equipment. While this is intended for things like my drill press and lathe, it includes my hand drills. The last thing I need is to watch my glove get sucked in followed by my hand and then my arm. At least if I get too close with bare skin I'll only come away with an abrasion, a cut, or a missing chunk of my body. Besides, cut-off injuries can be sewn back on by the doc while twist off injuries end up in the bio-hazard bag.

8. NEVER work under or crawl under functioning equipment or a car without employing adequate safety bracing. If nothing else place an inflated car tire under the equipment. Even a small car will kill someone trapped under it, and the tire can be the difference between a broken bone and a funeral.

9. NEVER assume a cinder block will not shatter or break under the applied load. At a minimum place a piece of 2x10 plank between the cinder block and the braced piece of equipment. Also provide a secondary fall back brace such as an inflated car tire under the car or equipment. I can say from experience that a bare cinder block can easily shatter especially if the jack slips and the car comes down on it suddenly.

10. ALWAYS click the cordless widget to safe when not using it. I had a drill I was carrying with other tools and the trigger got pressed as I was carrying it. The drill wrapped up my shirt and only the quick thinking to just drop everything prevented it from ripping the shirt right off my body along with pinching off skin and other body parts. If there is no safe position or switch, take the battery out when transporting it.

11. ALWAYS have the fire extinguisher within arms reach when working with solvents, gasoline and any running equipment. Be sure to shake up the fire extinguisher before beginning work if I suspect it to be a baking soda type extinguisher. Shake the extinguisher before firing it as well. Think of it as a rattle can of paint that must be shaken up before getting decent use out of it.

12. ALWAYS account for the adjusting tool before starting the equipment!

13. The garage shall be NEAT AND CLEAN AT ALL TIMES! Clutter and filth are safety hazards and I will avoid this situation all the time.

14. Know the escape route and make doubly sure it is not blocked or cluttered.

15. Any situation that can cause harm and is not previously identified in the safety rules must be given proper attention to reduce the risk of injury or not be attempted to begin with.


GENERAL RULES

1. I am the king in my garage. My rules are LAW. I also obey my own rules.

2. Do not rush! Rushing is the habit of attempting to complete a project in as short a time as possible. This creates the temptation to cut corners, skip steps, and ignore safety rules. Instead, focus on completing the operation at hand as efficiently as possible. Once efficiency at the operation is achieved, then it is possible to work more quickly. 

3. Cleanup anytime there is a mess.

4. Trash generated during the course of activities goes in the trash can immediately. Bulk trash goes to the bulk trash container immediately. Scrap items go in the scrap bins immediately. Re-purposed items and materials go in their respective bins and containers.

5. Cleanup and put away tools, equipment, and materials after every project. This includes sweeping the floor, dusting the equipment, and cleaning tools. If a project is a multi-day project then put away the tools and equipment, organize the workspace so it is neat, and leave just the project parts on the workbench.

6. Projects waiting on parts, tools, materials, or time to complete them are clutter. Box, label and store all stalled projects. Include a date to revisit the project on the label.

7. Clean the garage at the end of the day. Give myself at least 20 minutes to sweep the entire floor that the broom can reach. Remove all trash to the bulk trash can.

8. Nothing is stored on the floor. If it doesn't fit on a shelf, then put wheels on it as soon as the budget allows it. If there is no room on the shelves, then it is time to scrounge some shelving. If there is no room for a shelf, then it is time for a garage sale.

9. Garage Sales: Never sell tools unless they are my third set of something. The only exception is a hated tool that does not perform or function as expected. Never sell equipment unless I have no room for it, I never use it, have no possible plans to use it or it is broken and repair is not intended or practical.

10. Visitors: There will be visitors from time to time. Make sure they have a place to sit, something to drink, and feel welcome. Make sure they are the center of attention. Make sure they know what is unsafe to mess with, especially without supervision. If working, make sure they understand where the first aid gear is and how to use it. Visitors that are unsafe(also known as children) must be supervised directly, not left alone, and removed as soon as practical or when the visit is over.

11. The garage must be thoroughly cleaned the first weekend of every month. Blow off and out everything, dust everything, pull out everything and sweep under it and generally remove all dust and accumulated grime.

12. Chock wheeled equipment or vehicles if they might move during use.

MAKING STUFF

1. If I take the time to make something, I must make the time to make it well and make it stout. It is not completely made until it is painted.If the design proves to be defective or unsafe I will redesign it or discard it.

2. Take pictures of the work in progress.

3. Most throw-away items can be re-purposed, the only limit is the imagination. Do not overload the re-purposing bins. I am not a hoarder so excess items must be regarded as trash or scrap and discarded.


GARAGE ORGANIZATION


1. The garage is organized into zones of like items, tools, materials, and equipment. Some equipment and tools can be used for multiple things, so the decision of where to put multipurpose items depends on the  most likely use.

2. Everything has a place and the only time it is out of place is when it is being used or when cleaning the zone it occupies.

3. Label the contents of containers and shelves as much as possible and label as I handle or use a container.

4. Nothing will be stored on the floor. If it is too big to place on a shelf then it gets wheels. If there's no room on the shelves then it is time to make or aquire shelving. If there's no room for shelving, then it is time for a garage sale. I will make exceptions for safes, fixed, and heavy equipment.



TOOLS


1. The most important equipment in the garage is my mind. All other tools are an extension of the mind.

2. Tools and equipment will be neat and clean. They will be out only when in use.

3. Rube Goldberg contraptions will be avoided whenever possible. I am not a mouse or monkey and will not put myself in harm's way in this manner.

4. Rusty tools are an abomination before the king. When discovered, bought, or used, they will be de-rusted, polished, and painted or waxed. When other finishes are merited then they will receive the appropriate finish before use. Words such as patina are fancy phrases used by wine gulping Antiques Road Show addled morons that have no proper concept of tool maintenance. Therefore 'patina' constitutes tool neglect and will not be tolerated in my garage.

5. Broken tools are not to be used. If they can be repaired they must be repaired immediately. If they can be re-purposed, they will go to the appropriate bin for re-purposing. Otherwise they will be discarded immediately as a safety hazard.

6. Tools that must be sharp to function will be checked for sharpness and sharpened if necessary before use.

7. Tools that must have the correct shape to function properly must be checked and properly shaped before use. An example is a screwdriver; worn screwdriver tips cause damage in use and will be avoided. Same goes for any tool that depends on proper shape to function.

8. Inferior tools usually yield inferior results. Never buy junk tools, unless it is an emergency, the tool is unlikely to break on the first use, and the tool will likely be used only once. Never buy badly worn tools regardless of the supposed value.

9. Tools I make will be as stout as my skills allow me to produce within reason. If I cannot make a suitable tool that operates safely, then I will abandon the attempt and seek a manufactured version of what I need.

TABLE SAW

1. The table saw blade will be down when not in use.

2. The hands will not ever be found beyond the front edge of the saw blade when in use.

3. NO REACHING OR LEANING over the saw blade when it is exposed from the table top or running.

REVIEW

1. Review the garage rules periodically. Once a month is fine.

2. Keep a printed copy of the garage rules in a labeled binder on the workbench.

3. Hand write new or modified rules right into the garage rule book and update the rule book as soon as it is practical to do so.

4. Deficiencies discovered in the safety rules require immediate attention. New safety rules and modifications to existing safety rules require updates to the rulebook immediately.

Gotta have a Vise!

I already had two vises, but felt both were too small for any really big or tough projects. I started poking around Craigslist to see what would turn up and to my surprise an old Reed vise was for sale.

I contacted the seller and went out to look at it. I knew nothing about old vises, but this one was big and heavy. It was also one big lump of rust.

I took a chance, paid the man 40 bucks and dragged my boat anchor home.

Lots of rubbing, cussing, filing, honing, electrolyzing, wire wheeling, sand blasting, plus a decent coat of paint later and I finally have a vise that I'm pretty sure will handle most problems I come up with.

 Here's the technical info on it. It's a Reed 105 R. It weighs about 73 pounds and has almost no play side to side or up and down. It also has no play in or out. I painted the fixed portion with a undercoat of Rustolium Cold Galvanizing Compound followed by a good black epoxy paint I bought at Advance Auto.

I neglected to get before pictures, but suffice to say, it took me three days just to get the movable jaw out of the thing. The vise has two problems that I see. The first is the movable jaw looks like someone took a hatchet to the top of the back side. There's lots of deep cuts in it. I have no idea why, but it was the reason why it took three days to get the jaw out. I had to file the upper corners followed up with sessions with a honing stone to remove the mushroom on the top side. The other problem is there is a minor flaw in the hardened jaw tooth that looks like a crack between the tooth and the cast jaw. Reed vises have imbedded jaw teeth unlike other makes that are bolted on and I suspect there was a forging defect in this one. The imperfection hasn't failed in 70+ years so I'll live with it.

I mounted it on a Gladiator roll around cabinet I bought back when I had more money than sense. I like Gladiator stuff, but it has a tendency to come out of the box with dents in it. It is also light duty so I decided to beef up the top to take a bit of punishment. The plywood top is 3/4 inch and there's another sheet of 3/4 inch inside the cabinet to sandwich and reenforce the top. I used 5/8 x 3 inch carriage bolts around the perimeter to hold it all together.

I cut two more pieces of 3/4 plywood using the base of the vise as a template, routed the top using a 1/4 round-over bit, and finished up with a nice Varithane stain and sealer.

Now I'm ready to crush some stuff!

Seriously though. A vise is an important investment. A good heavy machinist vise made of ductile iron bought new will run hundreds of Dollars. I recommend keeping an eye out for a neglected antique one for cheap that you can restore yourself. Just don't stoop to buying a cracked, broken, or worn out one.

This whole project; vise, rattle cans of paint, plywood, nuts and bolts, stayed under a Ben Franklin. I also had plywood and paint left over for other projects to boot. A new bought 5 inch vise from Harbor Freight may cost the same or less, but will weigh more like 36 pounds and be made of cast iron which is far more likely to break if you over tighten it.

So, yes Virginia there is a huge difference between cheap and cheapo.

Do this and chances are your vise will still be in your shop ready to give great service when your kids begin fighting over your stuff after your funeral.

Why an Easy Cheesy Garage?

Years ago I built a garage in my back yard. The purpose, I told myself, was to have a place to store my motorcycles and work on all the things I wanted to work on. This was 2006. The garage finished, I put my motorcycles inside, closed the door and proceeded to turn my man cave into the man dump.

Fast forward to October of 2013. I am good and sick of looking at a disorganized, dust filled, impossible to get around in garage. The main door when open reveals clutter and dust stacked chest high. The side door has to be leaned on to get it to open. There are just two narrow paths to get to the back of the garage. Sure, there's bikes to be seen poking out of the stacks of clutter here and there. None have been worked on in years, mostly because of my inability to get to them. Is this what I really had in mind?

NOPE!

So I begin cleaning. The first day involves scooping up sawdust off the floor. I work all afternoon and barely get to the table saw just ten feet into the garage. It's a start though and I'll be damned if I'll give up. Thirteen weeks, countless trashcans of sawdust and debris later; plus pushing shoving and rolling equipment around until I like the result, and I finally have a garage I can use and be happy with. Along the way, I re-discover my interest in motorcycles, a love of tinkering with things, and generally making my life a little easier and happier by keeping my hands busy. The only downer is my lack of cash to just do as I please.

So the Easy Cheesy Garage was born.

Why easy cheesy? Necessity is the mother of invention. When I need something and have little to go on but my wits, ability to scrounge, and time to do what I want done, it's time to go with easy or cheesy or both. I have no problem with quick, simple, cobbled together, or free just as long as it gets the job done. If it works and keeps the dough in my pocket and a smile on my face, then I am all over it like dust on knickknacks.

Then I got to thinking about it. Some of this stuff is on the internet, sure. There's also plenty of forums doing garage and shop stuff. I looked at them and even used a number of the ideas I've seen. Great! However, I pretty much decided the el cheapo means of doing stuff in the garage is grossly underrepresented.

You want the fancy, bought it all at Home Depot or Lowes solution to a problem? Not likely to find it here! Looking for the perfect 7 figure garage to store the collection of 6 and 7 figure cars in? Keep looking! Need the perfect design to impress the neighbors at your next party? Not too likely. It might be perfect, but going to impress the Joneses? Doubtful at best.

Want ideas on how to organize your garage cheap or free? Bingo! Looking for a way to store nuts and bolts using items your wife just threw in the trash? Look no more! Need a quick method to solve a head scratcher? It just might be here. Got more interests and hobbies than the average garage hermit? There just might be an idea or two to chew on floating around.

Granted this IS the first post and there is nothing to go on today but an intro. I do however intend to rectify the situation as I post tips, projects, and solutions I've completed, tried or seen and like. Like all blogs, there's plenty of room to comment and share your own ideas. For that matter, feel free to email stuff to me. If I decide to do it, I'll certainly create a post on it.

I see the Easy Cheesy Garage as a journey of discovery. Sometimes it's a cool trick I noodle out, other times it might be a neat design I've come up with, or a tool I've made. I don't plan to overlook the things I find out about myself and just maybe I'll make a few friends along the way.

Charlie Ehler