Thread: Advice needed: Help me with a portable workshop

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So here's my dilemma: I have so many ideas and see so many more great things here that I want to try... but I have limited work space.

Our garage is filled with "stuff". I have a small work bench in there, but I'd need to clear EVERYTHING off just to work on one small to average sized tombstone. The crawlspace under our house actually has about a 8x10 foot area where I can stand without hitting my head but the "floor" (if you can call it that) isn't very even. It's a good storage area though (and nice of the spiders to spin real webs on my stuff during the year ).

What do people do for work space? Does anyone set up in their yard/driveway? How? Are there folding tables/workbenches that give you the space to work on tombstones or columns or full skeletons, etc?

Any other suggestions?

im in the current mess of redoing my garage for a full blown workshop. howver for you i would building a work bench on wheels. much like a kiosk in the mall you can but an above shell or storage below back it with pegboard and but it on wheels so you can wheel it out when you want something to work on but also have all of your tools right there,

either tha or invest in rubbermaid fastrack and clear up your garage like i did. i have pics if you need ideas

how's the warehouse scene where you're at? maybe you can find a small business unit for lease. we're in california, which is already expensive, but my warehouse is less than $1/sqft each month.

if you can turn your hobby into a business that at least pays your lease and utilities, then you're good to go =)

very good idea thrill entertainment. finding a cheap warehouse and building a few extra props a month to help pay for rent then that could give you more room. perhaps even getting a storage unit and setting up a workshop in there ive seen people do.

We actually still park a car in our garage (darn hubby ) and store most of our lawn and offseason equipment in the garage as well, so if I want to work out there, I have to move the car, set up, clean up, put the car back.

I generally don't work outside if I can help it, tho since it's like the surface of the sun during the summer into early fall. But most of the painting/gluing has to be outside.

I do the really messy stuff in the garage, or on my back porch using a piece of masonite on folding sawhorses and an old plastic picnic table kept around for this purpose. It sits on our back deck otherwise, but this kind has the removable legs so it could technically collapse flat. I spraypaint in the yard, away from any structures and just end up painting the grass most of the time.

I also use my dining room for prop builds, but I'm going to have to get a cheapy carpet remnant to cover the (new hardwood) floor now... (one you can just unroll and not worry about getting paint drips or the like on). I use the tile floor of the kitchen to work as well, as that is easy to clean up drips if you get them before they dry.

If I was really needing a dedicated workspace, I'd consider getting an outbuilding in the back yard with a window air-conditioner. There are places like Tuff Shed here, and they have quite nice setups for workshops with skylights, windows and workbenches for under $3,000 for a decent workspace size (10x 14ft).

Originally Posted by wackychimp

So here's my dilemma: I have so many ideas and see so many more great things here that I want to try... but I have limited work space.

Our garage is filled with "stuff". I have a small work bench in there, but I'd need to clear EVERYTHING off just to work on one small to average sized tombstone. The crawlspace under our house actually has about a 8x10 foot area where I can stand without hitting my head but the "floor" (if you can call it that) isn't very even. It's a good storage area though (and nice of the spiders to spin real webs on my stuff during the year ).

What do people do for work space? Does anyone set up in their yard/driveway? How? Are there folding tables/workbenches that give you the space to work on tombstones or columns or full skeletons, etc?

Any other suggestions?

My way isn't for everyone but if you want something that is mobile, cheap, and doesn't take up much space when you don't need it then this might work for you. I believe I also mention it was CHEAP I'm not into how things look, the more money I save on a work space I can spend somewhere else. My whole workspace cost me $3.00

I use old doors and cabinets, or book cases, people throw away and dump just about everyday. I got mine from behind the thrift store, that was going to the dump.

Anyways use a old door and a cabinet, or book case and lay the door across the cabinet, you can use a scrape piece of plywood to give you a larger base. Put a couple screws into the door and the plywood and cabinet and you have a work space that will hold just about anything. Take the screws out and put it against the wall when not in use.





This is the one I take down if I need the space or to take outside if I'm doing a lot of sawing. The cabinet on the end is not connected, it's a extra one I picked up for storage.



Like I said it's not pretty but you can't beat the cost

Originally Posted by thrilltainment

how's the warehouse scene where you're at? maybe you can find a small business unit for lease. we're in california, which is already expensive, but my warehouse is less than $1/sqft each month.

I do like this idea but I wonder how you'd get power? Surely those places don't have outlets in them. We rented one several years ago and I remember it being pretty bare-bones (no Halloween pun intended). I think you also had to sign saying you wouldn't use it as a home or business.

I'd have to see if they allowed this kind of thing. I'd love to be able to set something up and leave it up for a while. Downside would be having to drive there whenever I had the spare time to work.

MadMax- Great idea on the found items! This can save big time dollars. I wish I had your space to put it in.

the rolling table top, and pegboard idea sounds cool. you can buy casters at harbor frieght for low cost. the frame could be out of the small dimention lumber(furring) you can buy at home depot. whether were gluing, burning foam headstones, painting or whatever you generally need good ventilation. you might as well just roll out the whole thing. if you put a power strip on it you could just plug the whole thing in.

Originally Posted by wackychimp

I do like this idea but I wonder how you'd get power? Surely those places don't have outlets in them. We rented one several years ago and I remember it being pretty bare-bones (no Halloween pun intended). I think you also had to sign saying you wouldn't use it as a home or business.

I'd have to see if they allowed this kind of thing. I'd love to be able to set something up and leave it up for a while. Downside would be having to drive there whenever I had the spare time to work.

MadMax- Great idea on the found items! This can save big time dollars. I wish I had your space to put it in.

well... for us, it actually IS a business warehouse. there is full utilities and electricity. and when i need to do some shop work, i just come "to work" =)
maybe you're thinking more of a storage unit --- i wouldnt recommend that, it's probably also more expensive per sqft.

i would drive around locally to find a business zone with available commercial/industrial space on the first floor. for me it's a 10 minute drive from home, but it's actually closer to all the places i would buy supplies from (home depot, etc..)

Depending on the size of the project we may just drop the tailgate down on our truck to work on it,otherwise we set up sawhorses and a sheet of wood or use a heavy duty folding table I bought at an auction. We are always working in the driveway and then just toss the mess inside at dark.