Making room for wings

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 11:53 pm

today, in between home projects and Christmas decorating, i got out to the shop for a bit to make some room for the wing cradles that i'll be building after the new year. my truck has been banished outside to brave the weather, but the scooter and wife's car are in with plenty of room to spare. you can see the garage door rail in the top right corner of the second pic, so this gives you an idea of the size of my two car garage! it's a nice size...now i just need to figure a better way to heat it!

i ran a heat duct out there, but it's not keeping up very well when it's 10 degrees outside.

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 6:46 am

Move the TV to a wall hanging mount and get a Modine or Reznor type blast unit that also hangs off the wall. See about running it off your domestic hot water system. If you have gas, it is pretty efficient!

I like seeing shop pics!

What do you do with the chop saw? That can be stashed, no?

CJ

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:23 am

the plan was to hang the TV on the wall, but the remote doesn't work. i may still hang it, just at a lower altitude.

i've been looking at different shop heaters. with high natural gas prices (my bill went up 51%!!!

), the water system heater is probably a better option, but i do have both.

the chop saw is well used. i am somewhat of a wood worker on the side, so it's a valuable shop tool for me. plus, i'll be building the wing cradle before long...

tshort · Post by **tshort** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:59 am

Don't know if your garage door is insulated or not ... if not, you could glue some of those styrofoam insulation panels in each door panel for insulation. Might consider covering the window(s) too depending on how efficient they are. Having the place well insulated is probably the most important thing.

I did some priming in the garage last PM with OAT in the teens; ran the propane salamander for 15 minutes and things heated right up and stayed for long enough to prime ... probably wouldn't work too well for a shop, though - plus, CO is a concern.

(my bill went up 51%!!! )

At least you're following the 51% rule

Thomas

bmurrish · Post by **bmurrish** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 8:02 pm

What's in the area behind the work bench? You might need to push it towards to garage door to make some more room for the wing jigs.

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:12 pm

nothing that can't be moved...however, according to the plans and other builders, the jigs/cradles are 114" long. i have about 140" of space to work with there. looks smaller than it is, there's really quite a bit of room there. i have the scooter behind the workbench, and can always park it sideways to get another couple of feet if needed. there's another seven feet or so of space between the workbench and the garage door.

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:19 pm

TShort wrote:Don't know if your garage door is insulated or not ... if not, you could glue some of those styrofoam insulation panels in each door panel for insulation. Might consider covering the window(s) too depending on how efficient they are. Having the place well insulated is probably the most important thing.

yeah, the garage door is insulated with the highest rating i could get (9900 or something like that). i need to put some foam insulation in that window, and seal the back door a little better. the whole garage is insulated-walls and ceiling. besides the window, and back door, i think the biggest factor affecting a cold shop is the concrete floor. can't do much about that.

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 6:37 am

Chad, I hear ya on the cold floor thing!

The 1/2" foam flooring things go a long way for comfort and convenience! They do partially insualte as well.

To be honest, I walk around in thick snowboots in the wintertime. It is good because I can kick them off easily when I get into the house and they have thick soles to keep me away from the cold floor.

Get the foam rubber flooring like I have around my jig.

CJ

tshort · Post by **tshort** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:56 am

I second the foam rubber - have it in the basement now.
Just don't get it from Sears - it is lots cheaper from Harbor Freight or Costco (altho Costco's has rainbow colors on one side so you have to turn it over...).

Thomas

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 10:22 am

great idea guys! i don't have a costco close to me, but i'll check harbor freight today.

tshort · Post by **tshort** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 12:09 pm

Something else from Harbor freight - the rubber stuff you put in the tool chest drawers to keep things from rolling around - it is kind of a webbed material. HF has it for like 2-3$/roll - the "craftsman" version is like 20$!

I'm not knocking sears - in fact most of my hand tools are craftsman - just some stuff is a little overpriced. HF, on the other hand, has lots of cheap stuff but you gotta be careful because a lot of the stuff they sell is just cheap junk!

Thomas

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 4:34 pm

the only thing i could find from harbor frieght is the 17 1/2" squares that are $20 apiece! is that what you're talking about CJ? i was thinking more like a roll of rubberized foam...something much cheaper than 17" squares.

speaking of cheap junk from HB, i bought their safety wire pliers--they broke and went right to the trash...and i didn't even try to use them! buy good tools!!

tshort · Post by **tshort** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 5:25 pm

Chad-

Check these out:

It is about 1/2" thick foam, comes 4 pieces to a pack, and interlocks with little tabs.

Thomas

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 5:56 pm

are yours from costco? sears? HF? how much?

tshort · Post by **tshort** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 6:22 pm

Those were from HF; near as I can tell (from the receipt) they were 9.99
Can't find them by item # (40187) on the web page.

The tool cabinet liner is item 47408 $6.99

Mani got some from Costco or Sam's (the floor stuff) and I think it may have been closer to 20$ for four squares.

Thomas

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 10:01 pm

That is them!

$10 is the right price. Mine are the 1' square ones, just because I found them locally.

They are great!!!

CJ

bmurrish · Post by **bmurrish** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 10:06 pm

Better yet, just get a bunch of the stuff that Jake is crashed on. Looks more comfortable for your feet. All kidding aside, I threw down a carpet remenent and boy does it love aluminum shavings. I have heard of people building in their living rooms. I wonder how the heck they get it out? I need to get me some of those rubber matts.

tshort · Post by **tshort** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 4:04 am

Yeah, Jake's bed loves aluminum shavings, too - although he doesn't seem to mind.
I've made the mistake of going down there barefoot a few times and gotten the metal "splinters" in my feet.

T.

jimrobinette · Post by **jimrobinette** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 7:56 am

I too have used carpet remenents, but I always turn them upside down. Still gives me the cushion without grabbing all the shavings.

When I am doing a lot of drilling/cutting, I try to keep the mutt from coming into the shop, just so she doesn't pick up the shavings in her pads.

Jim

bmurrish wrote:Better yet, just get a bunch of the stuff that Jake is crashed on. Looks more comfortable for your feet. All kidding aside, I threw down a carpet remenent and boy does it love aluminum shavings. I have heard of people building in their living rooms. I wonder how the heck they get it out? I need to get me some of those rubber matts.

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 2:45 pm

just got the letter from vans that says my wings are scheduled to ship the week of jan. 30th! it's gonna be COOOLLLLDDD for that delivery!! brrr!