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The Long Overdue Shop Overhaul

🕑 Added 2024-09-09 00:39:06 +0000 UTC

Comments

Jason Harner

Fellow 98th percentile openness person here. I wish I had a shop that big to fill with nonsense. I'm glad I don't have a shop that big to organize.

Michael S Wilhelm

The wife and I watched to the end. interesting. Thx.

scottgm321

You were describing me then said that's probably why I'm drawn to your channel. One of my elderly neighbors just got moved into a nursing home and his kids threw his hand carry tool box just like the one you have, out to the curb. I grabbed it and cleaned it up. Spent time thinking of all the honey do jobs it did. It had 4 flat carpenter pencils and a tiny screwdriver with some bank's name on it. I'll cherish it. Thanks for the video.

John Lottes

Wes, don't trash those 6.0L parts! I just got one. So far it doesn't NEED anything but if you're going to junk them I'm willing to help both of us out. Also that DoAll may be able to get a home with either Steve Watkins or Salvage Workshop. Both are YouTubers. Steve is down in Texas, I'm not sure where Salvage is, maybe Pennsylvania. I'm in MD and my new channel may be starting.

Conner Wright

Also I’m sure you’ve considered it, but outside storage lol

Conner Wright

Please make the press brake conversion video

Keith Mezzina

This was great to see, it's a very real view of organizing an extremely wide-scope shop. It's hard to get that much capability into the space you have.

CapnMac82

Fun fact, Naval Facilities Command is why we have Building Energy Use models. To go with the legacy of having both DGN and DWG as CAD drafting formats. (I've been using AutoCAD since it's 3rd release, back in 1983, when I was in Grad School.)

Richard Pruen

Worth knowing, put oversized triangle braces at the bottom of the rack, and some bungee cord holes in the sides, you can adjust for just about any good size sheet/off-cut. And yes I stepped them so you had the most used at the front, and least used at the back, requiring the lowering of all the frames to get too. Not ideal, but most workable off all the choices

Richard Pruen

You asked about sheet steel, I made a hinged set of frames, I had a frame with weld mesh on a pivot for each thickness, and 10x6’ to take standard sheets. I had a hand winch to attach to each frame, so it could be lowered to horizontal to load sheets. Then cranked up to vertical and secured with a bolt.

SteveJustSteve

I've never related to a video so intensely in my entire life...

Jamie Pilkey

Wes, I watched this on my lunch today. I'm working on a warehouse redesign for the warehouse here at the Tech Tips factory. For whatever reason, I was super psyched to watch you do exactly what I'm doing at work. Great video as always

Richard Pruen

Egads! I just listened to the intro, and realised I probably resemble your remarks. I have a lot of the same crap you do, to greater or lesser extent, lathes, milling machines, random useless projects. I have a horrible feeling I shouldn’t watch the rest of this video.

David Yates

Excellent work Wes, I like the new layout. If you can enjoy coming into the workshop every day because the space has more utility you'll improve your quality of life and your mental health too - well it worked for me anyway. It's never perfect but better is always achievable

Daryl Jurbala

How do you set up a shop for auto repair, fabrication, woodworking, etc, etc? Wes, I subscribed in search of that answer. I think the old adage that no shop is ever big enough just might be true.

Archie

What would you do without that forklift?🤔

Ian McKay

Oh Wes. I know how you feel. Well, you've started, with at least 100 hrs under your belt, you know what you've got. I like what you have done already, more defined areas to work in. The storeroom is brilliant! That gets hidden, all your necessities, you know where they are too. There is so much that I could mention, but it would take forever to write and read. Just remember we are here to act as sounding boards for you and to bounce ideas back. Trouble is that you pose some serious questions and that stumps me as to which to mention, I'm, as you say "open minded" it all goes in and then I have to sort the wheat from the chaff and then formulate and answer by which time the opportunity has long gone and it's on to something else.... Thanks for letting us see what you got up to when you were away, anyway. From UK.

Eddie Williamson

Wow I feel your pain brother. I have to *force*myself to keep all the periodic use items on the second floor.

Eric Corse

A job well done my shop resembles yours though not in that great a scale. You might have given me some motivation. I feel about hardware like you do as did my dad who never threw away a useful fastener. One thing McMaster Carr and UPS should love me.

Graeme Zimmer

You are in Inspiration Wes. My shop has become a horrible mess lately, and I MUST do something about it. Have decided to sell the place as the ultimate incentive to start sorting junk. I keep telling myself it will be worth it.

Greg G.

Looking Good! It might feel like a drag now but in the long run you will definitely appreciate the effort you put into it! And like every revamp, once you get settled in you'll probably wish you did this or that differently. It just seems like that's always how things work. And a thought with the used oil. My brother-in-law's family own a small trucking business, and they heat their shop with their used motor oil. I don't know what kind of oil burner they have but it works good. I donate my used oil to them. Great video! Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to future videos in the new setup!

Brien Devine

I like it, I do love shop organization.

David G King

I liked watching "Watch Wes Hoard"! Great job decluttering. Good for the soul.

adorfer

thank you for shedding light on my own workshop and personal issues too.

Craig D Renwick

This was very good to watch, you did great

Virtue Streams

Openness to experience—interesting. Life is all about experiences, so I am calling this inclination a win! Cleaning up is weirdly satisfying, and yet I rarely feel accomplished—hmm. Well, it’s time to get back to doing stuff and to stop trying to figure out why I am doing the things I’m doing—thanks for teaching me a new term—😂🤣😂❤️🔧✌🏻

Patrick Filion

I swear this could be an public service video about ADD. I say this as someone with a medium case of ADD. Does your loved one suffer from ADD? Here are the signs: - Work areas gets messier and messier as time goes on - Goes on over the top "cleaning binges" periodically when things get too bad - Buys shop improvements and only installs them months or years later - Has way too much hardware and refuses to get rid of any of it - Tries to stuff way too many things into the space available he has In all seriousness, cleanup looks great, definitely seems way bigger.

Tim Allan

When Steve Summers (@SteveSummers on YouTube) installed his Maxline he had a neat straightening tool for the tubing (https://youtu.be/KxgzOY4bovw?t=924)

Andrew Burton

CNC/hydraulic conversion would be very interesting to watch and as you say will make it far more versatile. Perhaps raising the bottom shelf of one of your shelving units would let you slide the trolley jack and other heavy stuff underneath for storage? Including the welder and jack, perhapsthere are things you should store in a small container/shed as a kit for going out to do machine recovery/repair videos in the future?

Russ Wideman

you're inspiring me.... kinda hate that

Marshall

My sensors picked up a quite large coefficient of pain and proportional modulus of frustration on this project. Fortunately for me, and I suspect several other 98%’s out there, this video of WWW was highly satisfying. My garage and man cave are miniature to your setup. I feel many of us deal with similar organizational challenges all the time and find it good for the soul to clean house like you have done. You too must now be happy. It looks like that is the case!

Grudd61

Excellent video . Hard to let go of the memories that stuff is associated with. One day at a time.

Terry Thompson

Wes - great job so far. It will never be completed to your satisfaction. Consider a 40 ft connex for storage or add a 16 ft lean to off one side of your shop. Also, move the 3D printing to inside your office.

David

The killer for me is the storage space needed as well for the non fab stuff like a boat and a tractor. If stored inside that stuff looks pretty good yet after 15-20 yrs so trying to keep under roof. I do find pallet racking useful but finding good deals is tough. Everybody wants that stuff and the flippers set a basement price at almost every auction. Kudos on the upstairs dense shelving and storage bins. That I know took hours maybe days

David

Can empathize a bit with your exhausting shop reboot as just spent a couple days moving the furniture around in my 1200 sq ft shop after bringing home more auction "treasures". Can guess you get sucked into those industrial and machine auction sites as well to feed your multiple hobbies and even "real" work items.

Chris M

Yup, palletizing everything and getting it off the floor is a game changer if you have room for a forklift. I had one in my last 3 shops, but this time i'm down to 500 sq. ft. so no room for such luxuries....

sean

Should be able to sell the bandsaw everyone i have tried to buy went for at least $1k at auction

Peter Nowikow

Congrats on the epic rebuild. I'm sure you're wiped out but it was worth it

Noah

I can't believe it's been 5 years Wes. Seems like yesterday that you were working on the L10 in the old shop.

Lee Ludden

I don't have nearly the space you do, (300sq ft), so I've had to become very good at organizing, and I am always looking for better ways to do it. I had an inspiration during a tour of my local metal supply place that may work for your material storage. Basically, you have pallet racks, but instead of the material being stored directly on them, you weld up racks or containers for your material. When you need something, use the forklift to bring the container you are needing down to ground level where you can access the material from that container. This would allow you to store various length material, sheet good, and odds and ends all on the same racking, while leaving the space on the floor under them available to general use.

CodeAdze

Yes yes yes on the hydraulic break press conversion project. I don't know if they are easily available in your area but I worked in two shops that used a sea container and decked it out as a steel rack, you can get your saw in there to. Trying to lay out a lathe and mill together is a pain, even smaller Bridgeport style mills are quite deep. If you can push them into a corner on a 45 then put the tail stock end of the lathe next to it I've found can work quite well (as long as you don't want to do really long stuff in your mill). Lots of people are looking for workshop organization videos because it's hard! There is no 'right' place for anything, everything ends up being some kind of compromise. You've done well with yours.

Jeffrey Britton

thats a lot of work, but you've been complaining about certain things for awhile (lift at the back, etc) you are going to be so much happier, so very much worth it

Eric Halcik

you will want the 3d print stuff to be in a very clean area .. oil in the air will screw up bed adhesion something fierce and the fumes from resin printing are nasty

John OBrien

I feel your pain. I have a three-car garage, airplane hangar, with multiple airplanes and several storage space rentals. Too many hobbies and I am adding off-road rock crawling. All of these sites look like the mess you just tried to resolve. I have a lot of the same sets of tools that you have. I now know that I am in big trouble. Thanks for sharing.

Jeff Chandler

Seeing what you have accomplished is very inspiring to me. My garage/shop is so cluttered and in disarray that it is nearly impossible to work on anything. It’s like a losing battle that I really can’t afford to lose. I’m proud of how you have faced reality and let go of some of your treasures. I’m guessing that it feels very liberating. Thank you for hoestly sharing your experience with us. Nice work!

Merritt Derr

I feel your pain. I have a 400 square foot wood shop that has so much non woodworking stuff in it that I can hardly turn around. Much smaller scale than what you've done, but I really do get it.

Rod Richeson

Yes on hydraulic cnc press brake!

Joel C

You could store steel in a shipping container. They’re many 40 foot ones now with doors down the side, which would give you tons of access with a forklift

Dr. Internet

Wes, congratulations! That is an awesome job and should make for a happier work place. Some observations from someone a bit older than you: If you have room for 'stuff', keep it; you will need it the day after you get rid of it. Make organization a continuous process, a part of every job. Here's a crazy idea -- put in another upper room, maybe in the back where you can share the stairs. Move the leather, elex, and knife making upstairs. I still think a shed or lean to along the outside would be good for long term project storage, and give you more room to do work. Anyway, it's a very difficult job and you are to be commended. Thanks for sharing!

Peter Church

Thank you for sharing this with us. It is satisfying to see the change even if not complete. I too have a tendency to accumulate stuff. Over the years I have had to come up my own criteria for what stays and what goes. The simplest for me now is if I haven't touched or used it within a year, then it becomes a top candidate for the 'do I really need that right now' discussion.

James Riordan

Hats off to you for doing what I’ve been delaying for years; has to feel good, and it looks great 🙌

K H

I shouldn't laugh, but watching Wes get progressively more and more haggard through this video was just straight up hilarious.

Dave

First off .... Who puts a video out when the Detroit Lions first game is on! 😅 I know it would a bit of money, but a full length X 16' X 20' enclosed Lean to heated or not would be very valuable for you. Couple of sliding barn doors for the steel rack? Of course there's concrete and all that. Shop is really looking awesome 👍. I'm glad I'm not the only one that keeps things I'll "probably" never use in my shop🤣. Thanks for the video Wes 💯❤️

South Street Barbecue

I would try to figure out an inexpensive storage solution. I don't care if it's a broken piece of exhaust manifold, as soon as I throw it away I run into a problem that would have been solved if I only had a chunk of broken exhaust manifold. It's uncanny.

Curtis Roberts

On the verticle stacking for sheet metal, could you bring it in with the forklift then us the gentry crane with a pinching type clamp to get it in the rack you have? It's definately difficult to do by yourself but it's an efficient way to store those metals. As far as the lengths of pipe and tube, I agree. As soon as you cut one, you will need a full length one for a project.

Stephen Meeks

Keep what you use to make a living.

Stephen Meeks

Get a container.

Stephen Meeks

Use magnets to move flat steel sheets.

Stephen Meeks

Get a small container to store steel in a separate location.

Stephen Meeks

Check out Snowball Engineering for a cutting table.

Stephen Meeks

Cord reels mounted on the wall work for 110v tools.

Stephen Meeks

You are to be commended on a great job organising and moving all the stuff. I remember that day. Three times.

Bill Scott

My shop is full of motorcycles, a 63 VW and a 73 MGB.

Bill Scott

What a coincidence, I started cleaning up my shop today 40x40 building. Didn’t realize I have so much stuff.

Andrew Sorensen

I have pallet racking for my sheet and plate steel storage. It's OK but the load beams take up a lot of space if you add a bunch of tiers. If you can find a way to use pallet racking around the perimeter and start the first tier at 8' and only store material overhead that would probably be your most space efficient option