Shop Talk

Since I have a shop now I’m going to occasionally write a little about how I’m setting up the shop.

Music
I mentioned in the last post how important good shop music is. Radio reception isn’t great around here and even if it was you end up having to listen to tons of commercials. I thought about getting some digital music player and speakers but then realized I should just have a computer in the shop and then I could play music off of it (either streamed or stuff I have on the hard drive). So I’ve retired my laptop to shop duty. I also had a boom box that I got as a birthday present when I was in my 20s. Still works great so I threw up a little shelf to set it on and I have my laptop on the bench underneath. I also need internet in the shop so I bought a little wi-fi extender ($40). it works great.

strong wifi in the shop!

strong wifi in the shop!

Computer
The computers main job is handling the tunes but I have found myself using it a lot to take notes and make lists (I use google docs so I can access them from my computer/tablet in the house) and check the internet for parts or tools when I realize I need something. It also makes it easy to do some quick research on something I’m working on (like I used it to look up the Gremlin 232 firing order). But what I really want to try soon is using it to set up a “google hangout” (or something similar). basically I want to see if I can setup a camera and live stream when I’m in the shop sometimes. I’ve wanted to have a regular “hot rod” night with friends for years but everyone is always busy (plus I used to live further away). anyway, I thought with live streaming I could maybe have a kind of virtual hot rod night with friends or other AMC nuts. just an idea. let me know if you would want to participate in some virtual shop time like this…

Laptop is a great shop tool!

Laptop is a great shop tool!

Heat
despite (or maybe because of?) growing up on the east coast, I HATE the cold. Now let’s define terms. For me, cold is anything below 60*. if the shop feels cold it doesn’t make me want to be there. So I bought a Kerosene heater (70,000 btu). it’s awesome. it’ll raise the temperature 10* in about 15 minutes. In the morning I can fire it up and get the place from the low 50s to mid 60s in less than 20 minutes. while it’s running I start working and by the time it’s warmed up I’m also warmed up so I can turn it off and work the rest of the day.

70,000 btu heater

70,000 btu heater

Storage
I got some plastic shelving off craiglist for $30. the two units I’m using in the garage are only about a 2/3rds of what I got so it was about $20 and I still have another shelf left over. I also found a cool 4 drawer rolling cart off Craigslist for $120. Just fits under the bench. I’ve moved all my grinders/drills to there. it has divider strips that are held in place with little 2 sided magnetic strips. pretty cool. the cabinets are also modular so you could keep stacking if you wanted to go higher or break it up into two 2-drawer sections.

Tools
I got the craigslist score of the century! I’ve been watching craigslist for an engine hoist (cherry picker) for a few months. I had pretty much given up and decided I needed to just go to Harbor Freight and buy the 1-ton folding hoist (it’s only like $190 but I’m not sure about the quality). Anyway, then one morning a good looking hoist showed up on CL only 20 minutes from my house for $50. It’s a Delta brand. I looked up the model number and it’s on Grainger listed for $1000!? I still Need to get a drill press and a pressure washer.

$50 hoist, Craigslist Score!

$50 hoist, Craigslist Score!

Decor
I FINALLY got to hang my US Grand Prix F1 prints. I bought these years ago (’95) when I went to the Glen to hang out with David Tom and watch the vintage Trans-Am cars run. I got them framed and then I’ve dragged them around for 20 yrs waiting to have a place to hang them. now I do! I also hung up my AMC and Rambler project development tin signs and my Champion Spark plug sign. Shop’s looking pretty homey now 🙂

that’s it for now. more updates soon.

Shop Talk

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