Outgrew my shelf unit, Build Along

[dikman]

Great post, I enjoyed it. I too use a centre-punch on wood in situations like that, makes it much easier to drill the holes in the right place! Good move making a new shelf with the slots, when I saw the first one I figured it wouldn't take much to break those fingers.

I wonder how long it will be until you've outgrown this setup and need something bigger? 

[Brokenolmarine]

I need a bigger shop but won't build one.  When we moved from Virgina to Oklahoma I had JUST built a custom workshop with everything just so.  I had a custom builder come in and build it just the way I wanted.  Heavily insulated, 10' walls and perfectly lit.  Plugs around the walls at 4', every eight feet, windows HIGH up the walls for light but the wrong folks couldn't see in.  Climate controlled, finished interior and bright white walls to reflect the light.  Then, the pockets of democratic voters put a bought politician in office and we moved out.  HE paid back the billionaire who bought his governership by giving away the state.  I regretted walking away from that new shop and my few good friends... but ....

[Brokenolmarine]

I wasn't going to spend another $50,000 to build another shop so I adapted the old workshop at the new property.   I might insulate the other half of the building and open up the wall to add a bit more space down the road... but I'll likely just make do.  The health won't allow the size projects I was tackling in the new shop in VA...   I mainly build smaller projects to use around the house and stick more to cutting boards, knives, presentation boxes, leatherwork... so I'm good.

The shelf on the leather bench?  I can add side tool bars if need be. LOL.

[Brokenolmarine]

The next project for the Shop Itself?  To put in climate control I had to seal the huge roll aside door.  I can only stand for short periods and I use my wheelchair in the shop.  It won't fit thru the side People door of the shop.  I sealed the roll aside door by using six cans of spray foam around the door to keep the heat and air inside.  You can tell the difference by looking at the white foam vs. the dark yellowish professionally sprayed foam on the rest of the walls and ceiling.

If you look in front of the tractor in the pic below you can see the outside of that roll up door.... before I sealed around the door, it would swing in and out on the wheels it was hanging on, the lock allowed about two inches of play at the very bottom.  That let a lot of air exchange, so the new Mini-split had a hard time maintaining the heat or AC.  Once I sealed it, 68 degrees year round.

The next project is to frame in that area as a wall, with a double door 4 to 5' opening.  I can get the wheelchair in and out, and bring materials directly into the shop without having to go in thru the secondary rollup door of the boathouse, seen over the tractor above.

[Brokenolmarine]

My plan is to frame in the wall from the inside.  Once that's done, install the new door, cover the inside of the wall with 1/2' plywood.  Then we'll roll the old door aside and remove the metal sheeting, with the insulation intact and apply it to the outside of the new wall. Once that is accomplished, I'll remove the metal framing of the rollaway door, and then the tracks.  May add a small awning to insure no leakage.  There is a slight gap between the carport and the barn.  As we get closer, we'll draw up detailed plans and materials list and check on available door sizes.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Brokenolmarine

[dikman]

It must have been very discouraging having to abandon that workshop! Still, it looks like you're in a nice area and at least the building there has possibilities.

[Brokenolmarine]

I waited a lifetime to build a dream shop.  But I walked away without looking back due to the politics.  The new shop isn't as nice but we have 21 acres in the country, and are surrounded by farms and pastures as well.  It's a farm community outside a real ghost town in Oklahoma.  It's quiet.  Exactly what we wanted.  Other than an occasional tornado warning...  ... we love it here.  Here is a look down on the north pasture from the top of the hay field.

[Brokenolmarine]

When we bought the place that building was dark and dreary and had thirty year old Fluorescents for lighting.  Half the ballasts were dead and the light assemblies weighed about thirty pounds.  The wiring was exposed and just twisted in the open.  The shop was unheated, and uninsulated.  I had a spray insulation done, and double on the root to combat the 100+ degree summer heat in the metal building.  I removed all the lighting and it's wiring and rewired the building and added LED lighting.  I wired all the connections in proper boxes for safety.  Boom... you could see in the shop.

 

Once I added the mini-split heat/ac I replaced that junk yard screen door with a solid door so the ac could do it's job.  These days the shop stays at 68 degrees.  I'm always working to improve the shop, but I won't build a new building.  Too old and broken to spend that money... LOL.

[Brokenolmarine]

These days it's a working shop with shelves and areas set up for the various projects.  I even have a table set up for knive shaping.  Adapt and overcome. 

 

Both the table in the foreground and the area against the wall in the background are mainly used for shaping the scales on knives, but I can also shape cane handles and the like as well.

At three O'clock in this picture you can see the leather bench, but I have since rotated it 180 degrees and moved it away from the wall as you see in the other pics in the thread.

[Burkhardt]

I'd take that as a dream property. Thought mine would stay that way till the lady who said she would never sell the land for housing developments and about 40 houses later, so much for country living.