Storage Ideas while I wait for my shed...

[shoottx]

Guests can sleep on an air-bed or the couch, if they don't like it they can get a hotel room. Extra beds always tended to attract freeloaders around my place. Guests' stays shouldn't be counted in months.

The rule around here is guests are like fresh fish, either of them begin to stink after three days.

[pelligrini]

The last straw was a few years ago when my BIL (whom I really like, though) and his new girlfiend were visiting for Thanksgiving weekend. They, and her two kids she bussed in, finally got a place of their own that February.

[dbhost]

Uh...

Eep...

I'm stuffing crap in the spare bedrooms NOW!

[stormdog74]

Just wondering...is there a concern about the weight on the rafters? If you are hanging things like canoes and bikes from below and you are putting stuff above as well, could that be a bit much?

[dbhost]

Canoe + 81lbs. (Per MFG specs, and yes my canoe is a HEAVY canoe, the Kevlar boats are in the 35 lb range...)
Mahogany paddles. 1.5 lbs x 3. Could have gone lighter, but not neccesary for my use.
Misc ropes, bailer, life jacket etc for canoe. no more than 5 lbs.

Schwinn 21 speed alloy mountain bike 15lbs.

How much weight can rafters take?

[stormdog74]

What got me thinking of this issue was remembering an article in Family Handyman about overhead storage in a garage - here is the link (scroll down a bit and you will see the relevant section):

http://www.rd.com/familyhandyman/content/17442/

You may very well be fine, but just something to consider.

[dbhost]

I'm not sure what the load rating is for the attic rafters, but they construction used here is what looks like 2x8 or 2x10, not really sure, never measured. I know they are thick though. Whatever wind storm code called for in 1984.

[dbhost]

Well, an update...

The seasonal junk that has been spread throughout the spare bedroom is now toted up, and stacked floor to ceiling in one tall stack of totes taking 4ft x 2ft of floor space. I am moving the camping gear in there slowly, but it has been hotter than the dickens today, and I am feeling lousy still...

I am also stripping off all my mounted stuff from my workbench. I will be replacing my grinder ASAP as I want one with adjustable tool rests and a light (Ryobi 6" is fine, the Delta 6" looks EXACTLY like my Ace Hardware 6" but with improved tool rests, and a gooseneck light...) I have had the longer legs cut for months now, but I have been lazy about it. I am going to empty the bench this weekend, replace the legs, fill the holes, sand it smooth, add a mount block in the front corner for a woodworking vise instead of my old welders vise. I am not convinced I want to do away with the big vise though. I still do auto work, and that thing is GREAT for holding half shafts while I drive CV joints apart... A woodworking vise won't take that abuse...

I will be going to HF next Friday to pick up two universal tool stands item #46705 (Ridgid belt / spindle sander, and Ryobi Planer, decked with infeed / outfeed supports)
,
one of the 4 leg grinder stands item #3184 (just the right size for my drill press, just cut out a mount board for the DP, Mount it to the stand, mount the DP to it... Maybe one of these years I will buy a real drill press...)

, and one of the tri base grinder stands for the bench grinder item #42986
.
(Each of the prices listed on the web site is WAY higher than the current circular.)

As I go through the cleaning / rearranging process, I am clearing off the left wall, so that I can re-run the sawdust collection tube, and eliminate any bends aside from the Y-s at the blast gates, and the final 45 degree by the door for getting vac hose into the driveway for the cars... Not that the system has been a problem yet, I am just wanting to simplify the layout...

I need to figure out how to get the lumber off the floor on the one side, and how to deal with about 240 beer bottles (I also homebrew) that I need to soak labels off of, sterilized, and boxed up ready for a couple of batches when the weather turns cold.

I have toyed with the idea of building the rack kind of thing like Alex Franke had set up, but the idea of swapping the big benchtop tools, specifically my planer, was VERY unappealing. I don't know how heavy it is, but after digging it out, setting it up, blah blah blah... I just don't want to mess with anything else... If it is standing ready, I am good to go...

I think I am going to want to put everything on casters though, so I can roll everything against the wall when not in use, and simply roll each tool forward a foot or so, lock a caster, and go to work...

[LarryG]

... add a mount block in the front corner for a woodworking vise instead of my old welders vise. I am not convinced I want to do away with the big vise though. I still do auto work, and that thing is GREAT for holding half shafts while I drive CV joints apart... A woodworking vise won't take that abuse...

Nor would you want it to. Anything that could have grease or oil on it, like car parts, shouldn't come into direct contact with anything you'll be using to do woodworking. In my own shop, I have to constantly be on guard when I'm working on my bicycles. There are way too many surfaces that make a much-too-tempting target when I need to put down something grimy, like a chain or derailleur.

One common dodge for the machinist's vise problem in a WW shop is to mount it to a piece of 3/4" plywood, maybe 18" or so square, with a cleat on the bottom that can be clamped into the WW vise. Or you can dispense with the cleat and secure it to the bench with a couple small clamps. Either way, the idea is that you only bring the vise out when you actually need it, similar to the system you've considered for some of your benchtop tools. Obviously, how well this will work for you will depend on how often you need the machinist's vise, and how big and heavy it is.

[dbhost]

I'd thought about just keeping the machinists vise tucked away, possibly swap it around to the stand for the DP when needed, maybe once a year or less... One of my projects on the truck is going to be to rip the 2.5" lift off of it, and replace it with a 6" and long travel control arms (lift for performance, not looks). That will require the machinists vise...

I do tend to hose down the vise, or any multipurpose tools with brake cleaner prior to any wood getting anywhere near the tool. My vise is probably the cleanest of it's type you will see that has spent more than a day out of its box... I learned a LONG time ago that greasy / oily tools only lead to broken bones and deep gashes. I'm too old to start going through that junk again...