Simple Hacks to Level up YOUR Workshop. Metal Fabrication Shop Tour.

Put C channel under the casters of the toolbox that is on the loft, it will keep it from sinking into the particle board / plywood and help spread out the weight. As a bonus you can put a strip of 1/8 material on the bottom of the front C channel so that it is slightly higher than the rear and the box drawers will drift shut.

Organization breeds efficiency. Efficiency breeds success!

On grinding room, go with cold storage Plastic strip curtains. Like in walk in freezer. You can see thru it and just walk thru it.🥶

To save some money on the spray paint storage, you can use Sewer and Drain pipe (SDR26/ SDR35) instead of SCH40 Drain Waste Vent (DWV) pipe. It should be much cheaper, and since it is thinner wall you should be able to fit more pieces in the amount of space.

Long time no see Nate. Shops looking great

It’s time for a plasma table. 😊

Best to dry the air with an after cooler after the compressor pump before the air goes into the tank. The air is so hot after the pump (400 F on my 2 stage compressor) that cooling it will get so much water to condensate. I run a transmission cooler as an after cooler on the compressor fan with 2 self draining water traps which keeps my compressed air dry enough where I get no water in my drip legs and almost none in the air tank. I have to say, the shop is coming together nicely. Having the space to get organized looked to have helped a lot.

Put some sort of a hook or something in the middle of your wire storage rack to hook a tape measure to. You’d be able to walk out tape measure and the end of a wire in your hand and know for sure how much you are cutting off, instead of just taking a good guess. I cant wait for all the builds and projects that are going to happen in your new space. It looks amazing.

Sounds like you need to reach out to BendPak for a new lift or two. Seeing many youtubers with them now. I wouldn't trust that amazon lift. Especially the long pull out arms. Should see about doing a floor door for the loft so you gain more work space while up there. Your loft rails should be removable incase you need to bring bigger stuff up there

Im usually onboard with saving some cash but one place im not is in buying an automotive lift. Spend the money, get a quality lift that parts are available for. Its only your life depending on that lift to do what its engineered to do. Shop looks great.

Challenger Lifts needs to sponsor you.

Hey Nate use a welding curtain for your curtains in the grinding room

Please be careful with that lift. Everything else about that shop is amazing, like thats a dream build for me right there, but when it comes to lifting heavy vehicles that i would be working under, the last thing I would even consider "budgeting" would be the lift. Im sure bendpak would be more than happy to help out and get you a solid reliable lift. stay safe! and have fun because that shop is AMAZING. Taylor Ray needs to take notes on that loft

I know not everyone likes having them. But in our old shop, my buddy hooked alexa to almost everything. Alexa turn on air compressor, done... alexa, turn on welding bench lights, done... tell it to turn off the shop and it would kill all lights, compressor, and lock the door.

If I died and went to heaven, I'm pretty sure your shop would be there, excellent work, keep it up!

Everything looking sweet in there.... one idea i have is for your funnels... as is, they're gonna drip all over that wall, the answer once again is in pvc pipe. Have a length going up your wall with 45' T's or Y's every foot or so, and a catch can at the bottom, simply slot your funnels in and let them drain into catch can😉... no need to thank me, lol👍

Awesome Video: Banister Railing, I'd use metal posts (your a fabricator) and run coated dog leash cable (or something similar) horizontally, it looks great and gives it the open feel. The air compressor, wrap it with hot water tank blanket, move the air intake out side, slightly larger in OD than needed. Even better if you could run it up through the roof and put Briggs and Stratton metal air cleaner set on the end. Works great in any weather, slightly oil soaked, check once every 10 years ( do you really think it'll get dirty mine never did, plus oil keeps the bugs away). The grinding room, buy welding blankets and hang them, put your own eye-let holes in then and on hooks, you can use them on other jobs when not grinding. The Mobile Tool Room is the new catch phrase or MTR. I grew up on a farm and finding things was always a challenge, even in the best laid out machine repair sheds. Once a week clean out the building, crap builds up fast. PS long ago I was an Industrial and commercial tool Mechanic. Keep your tools cleaned and oiled when possible. Cheers to you Nate.

For your holes saws you could drill halfway into a 3/4inch plywood piece with each saw and then they can hang on the wall and if you need a hole saw just walk up and pull it off the wall.

Regarding air lines Nate, if you run the air lines in a big loop all around the shop it makes for more even cfm and pressure distribution for all stations. In really big buildings we'd run a cross line every 50' if possible which again helps even out the pressure and cfm flow. If you've got areas far from the compressor which require a fair bit of air, placing an air tank near that station helps, even a smaller one. You can use a high pressure radiator and fan as a dryer. We had an Air Tek that was just that, looked like an air conditioning rad from a semi or large ag tractor, with a fan blowing across it to cool the air. Dryers are a must even in the semi-desert where we are. Lastly, mount the compressor on wooden beams instead of onto the concrete floor as that'll quiet it down a wee bit as well. Hope that made sense and helps you or someone out there.

Rubber fatigue mats in front of the work stations, hose reel at front of shop so you can air up out front, maybe water reel too for radiator fills. Also maybe a mop sink somewhere if it makes sense and supply and waste is nearby. Just a few ideas for you, shop looks great!