A place to work.
Everyone needs a workshop.
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois back in the 50's-60's with a father that always had projects underway in one or more work areas simultaneously. The basement, garage, barn, or out-buildings always had a something going on.He once told me that his basic philosophy was to "never have to carry a tool from one workshop to another". Each shop should have the tools needed for the tasks in that area, even if that meant multiple sets of the same type.
When he retired to a small house in Florida, and a single workbench in the garage, I was the lucky recipient of the remainder. Needless to say, I have more screwdrivers, files, sockets, and drills, taps, and dies than most, and thankfully - I received from him the knowledge to use them correctly.
Another thing I inherited was the set of drawers and cabinets that my grandchildren call -
"Poppa's Hardware Store".
This was because if my father needed a screw - he bought a dozen, if he needed a dozen, he bought a box.
All of this was stored with labels, partitions, and care, in a set of drawers 10 feet long and 5 feet tall.
So I rarely need to buy small hardware. If it is not in the drawers, I can probably make it from scratch.
I am lucky to have a partner of nearly 50 years that allows me to have a few places to "putz around."
Although
about 8 years ago she did inform me that she wanted her 1/2 of the
garage back - please,
as she was tired of scraping the snow off her car
in the winter, and I was not reliable enough to do the job.
So
I rebuilt my shop into multiple parts, with the electronics and
micro-machining migrating to the basement, and the larger more noisy and
dusty (and stinky) operations set up in the "1/2 of a 2 car garage".
One side effect of this process has been that I now have room to build "The Car".
I will be adding a winch to the ceiling beams for lifting and holding support.
I will also be fabricating some type of "spray booth" to contain the paint "dust" as the parts are prepared for assembly.
A View from the Garage Doors inward
The tool benches on the side.
The view back to the garage doors.
We will just have to see how well she fits. I seriously can not wait until the first multi-kit shipment comes in. It is still the dead of winter here, middle of February, so I have another month-and-a-half.
In the meantime, preparation is key. Decide on the type of metal treatment, paint scheme, accessories, and read all the experiences of building that have been laid down by - Those That Went Before.
Thanks for reading.
Poppapope
Denver, CO USA