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what should i have in my own garage?


Guest ON3GO

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Two feet deep minimum, three if you can fit it. Also four feet high is standard.

 

I'm gonna say it now so I won't later, That shop is gonna be way too small and you are gonna get majorly frustrated. When you find yourself losing it and get at witts end (Small tight spaces to work in suck!), just take a break and go get something to drink, surf the web, do something fun for a few minutes.

 

People always see me riding one of my various bicycles (We've got 7 high end bikes at the house) in front of the house when I'm greasy and grimmy. Lots of times I'll throw a leg over my bike and go out in the street and do tail whips, endos, and wheelies just to have a distraction for a few minutes. It helps break the tension and sometimes provides that abstract activity needed to think about a problem in a different light. I can't tell you how many times I've been in the middle of an endo or wheelie and the light switch in my brain just flicks on! :D

 

Mike

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To follow up on the fire extinguisher suggestion, be sure to mount the extinguisher near an exit door and not buried in a back corner of the garage.

 

This allows you to approach a potential fire with your back to an exit allowing a quick retreat in the event the fire gets up of control.

 

If you have to dig the extinguisher out of an "out of the way" corner you may find yourself surrounded by flames when you turn around.

 

Additional info can be found by reading your local fire codes.

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I have four fire extinguishers in my garage. I know all to well what a fire can do to a garage and a house. :(

 

About twelve years ago, I was using a torch while working on a thunderbird. I caught part of the fiberglass ac housing on fire. The fire spread very quickly and totslly engulfed the garage in minutes.

 

In the end it destroyed the garage,most of the house,the thunderbird that I was working on,my 81 280zx,and my 65 Comet convertible including all of the restoration parts that i had accumulated over 2 years time.

 

The moral of the story is... You can NEVER have too many fire extinguishers. :( (I had NONE) :oops:

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Um... where in Texas are you moving, again?

 

The first rule, no matter where you are in the state, is that you MUST have a good fan. You say you already have one. Throw it away and buy a bigger one. No, not that one, the next one up. The one that makes a Taurus cooling fan run and hide.

 

Next, you must have light. LOTS of light. Blaine thought it was serious overkill for me to install a 4" workbench light and two 8" banks of fluorescents until he had to work in the garage one night. Things are much, much easier to do when you have good lighting, and you stop losing so many nuts and bolts in the shadows.

 

An air compressor is a true luxury, and one which you can do without for a while. A full set of metric and SAE wrenches/sockets comes first. Buy EVERYTHING you can at a pawn shop. A full set of Craftsman (or Husky) sockets should cost you about a third of what they'd charge at Sears, and they carry the exact same warranty.

 

Find a Harbor Freight or Northern Tool and buy your bench grinder, your vise, your 4" angle grinder, and your parts washer on sale from them. I doubt you will find them anywhere cheaper, even at pawn shops.

 

The only other must-have is storage. Commit one wall of your garage to shelving at least 12" high per shelf, 18 inches deep, with 24" clear space on the top, and you won't regret it. If you don't have them, you'll forever be tripping over CRAP and you'll end up breaking things and cursing the day you didn't listen to Scott's advice. :-)

 

Good luck, and have fun!!!!

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Aaw, man! You're moving down there after the fun of Summer is pretty much over. You can't claimed to have lived in Texas until you've broken a hard sweat walking the ten feet to your mailbox, or turned the A/C in your car on full blast while going to work in the morning.

 

Seriously - Houston is a great city, with all the amenities one could want, and relatively inexpensive country living not too far away. You'll have a blast!

 

When is the date for the housewarming BBQ, so all us Texas HybridZ members can welcome you to the neighborhood? :wink:

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lol im up for a meet anytime!!!!!!! i really want to meet some Z'ers over there so they can show me the fun spots or just places to go. this is a real big jump for me.

oh and my Z has NO a/c.... so that sucks.

my Z wont be there right away, cuz it will be in miami. but ill be flying down to florida and driving the Z to texas.

 

mike

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