Interrupted Shop Project

[Note: I took a bunch of photos for this post, but they’re just not uploading. It is what it is.]

My workshop is too packed to be useful and most winters it’s froze so cold it wouldn’t be useable even if it was empty. This year I’m trying again. I cleared and checked Betsy the stove. Then I cut and stacked a face cord (1/3 of a real cord) of specially selected small diameter, short length “kitchen stove wood”. We’ll see if that helps.

I’m also trying to Tetris/Jenga the place until it’s useable. (I’m also tossing as much stuff as I can bear.)

One small part of this “space efficiency” is re-organizing and getting rid of my stacks of coffee cans full of hardware. All men have between one and a couple dozen coffee cans of stuff. It’s mandatory. The problem is that its inefficient with space. Plus, I can never find what I’m seeking.

Sometimes I walk past a score of coffee cans and drive to the hardware store. I know I’ve got 3/8″ lag bolts or whatever in there, but I’m in no mood to spend hours finding it!

I’ve made a run at this before. A few years ago I “invested” in Milwaukee Packout “Milk Crates“. They’re stupid expensive compared to a regular milk crate but…

HOLY SHIT! I have to interrupt here to mention my link to Amazon. For some inexplicable reason it goes to a non-Milwaukee knock off that costs… I mean it just…

Words fail me!

I have no idea what lunatic is paying a C-note for a knock off milk crate but apparently some exist. They walk among us? I do NOT recommend dropping a hundred bucks on a milk crate. But I do encourage you to check the link, because some things must be seen to be believed. (*If you go to Amazon and buy anything I get a tiny kick back and it costs you nothing. If you’re crazy enough to buy gold plated milk crates have at it. Heck, for a hundred a piece I’ll almost sell you the three I own! I’m sure I paid like $40 or even much less.)

The milk crates (which shouldn’t cost $100!) stack and have clever features. I bought three some time ago. I stacked them and they lock together very well. Then I bought Packout wheels. (Wow, I have no idea what’s going on with Amazon. Did Milwaukee steal their lunch and now Amazon is getting its revenge? Did I pay that much and then have a black out?) The wheels are not cheap but now my stack rolls and it does improve my chances of a workshop that isn’t totally gridlocked. I added a mid-sized Packout toolbox to the bottom of the stack too.

A milk crate isn’t particularly clever. However, Milwaukee includes little “cups” with many of their organizers and I had several on hand. Turns out you can cram 12 “cup units”* in a milk crate… some clever engineer worked hard on that. (* I have no clear way to describe “cup units”. Some cups are rectangles instead of squares meaning it takes double the space. It makes a 3×4 grid… which was perfectly clear in the photos I can’t upload.)

There’s always need for more. Sometime last year I bought special Milwaukee cups that have upper and lower levels and some split their layer in two. Now one cup can store three things without mixing it all up. Be still my beating heart!

Then I realized I’m a big bad 3d printing nerd. So I made cups that split into 2, 3, or 4 cells. At first I was trying to match colors. Then I ran low on filament mid print. I made “two colors for more hardware awesomeness” and it actually looked cooler than the OEM stuff. I even printed a piece in translucent orange, because why not? It looks pretty damn cool too.

So now my milk crate has more or less 12 little storage spaces which I’d changed to roughly 23. Nice. But wait, there’s more!

If you’re nuts like me, you can add a second layer of cups. Now I was up to… who cares I’m not counting… compartments for stuff. That’s a lot of nails, screws, bolts, etc… I spent a while happily sorting the chaos.

But the top layer didn’t rest perfectly on the bottom layer (it’s designed that way but bulky stuff in compartments had a say in the matter). Meanwhile the top layer kept gathering sawdust and such from the messy environment.

I resolved to make a “platform” between the layers, so stacking is smooth. Then copy the platform for the top so it doesn’t get filled with sawdust. I scrounged up some 1/4″ plywood and was about to hack it to bits.

Then I spied a hunk of plexiglass. It was left over from the garage door which had basically rotted away before I replaced it. For some reason I’d kept the plexiglass. It beckoned to me.

Who am I to resist the call of salvaged materials! I cleaned it off and started marking an outline. Having a clear material means I can see (mostly) everything in every cup without even lifting the lid for that layer. Awesome!

I marked it out and decided to use my old bandsaw to cut the plexiglass. Now here’s where maybe I fucked up? I’m not sure if you’re supposed to do something special when cutting plexiglass. It ain’t wood y’all. Anyway I cut through plexiglass whether it was wise or not. I made enough plastic “sawdust” to give Greta Thumberg an aneurism but it came out OK.

The first lid came out perfectly useable, maybe even cool looking (for some definition of cool). I even used a 3d printing tool meant for trimming plastic supports. I ran it around the edge; effectively beveling it so I won’t be scratching my fingers when I lift the lid. Sweet!

I took about a thousand photos, none of which I can upload. Then I started on the second lid. BANG! My bandsaw blade snapped. So I guess it’s a project that’s half done for now.

I’m not too upset about the blade. I got the saw used a zillion years ago. As far as I remember I’ve never swapped the blade. I could be anywhere from 10-20 years old. It’s probably duller than dirt too.

I tore apart my bandsaw and found all sorts of cool “historical artifacts” in there. It was like breaching King Tut’s Tomb. Think about it; how often do you poke around inside your appliances? Anyway, I took more pictures, which I can’t post. So I’ll say “fuck it” and end the story here.

Have a nice day y’all.