The Garage

So like most people my garage is in a constant state of chaos. It is pulled between a place to keep stuff, a workshop, and storing a car. So a bit of background. We have an 1.5 car garage that is about 60 years old. It has the foot print of  a two care garage though with one of those weird garage porch things on the side.  It has been reinforced to keep it from falling apart and the door needs replacing. If I could afford it I would raze the garage and build a new one. It is that bad.

Some of the problem stems from the fact that the garage was designed to hold a car and I want to do more. I want it to be my wood and metal shops, bike storage, canoe storage, garden shed, and hold a car.

Trying to fit it all in is an adventure. There was a time when we could fit a car in with 4 canoes. The canoes (most of them at least) have moved to a rack on the back of the garage, so there is only one inside now. Hopefully the 5 will become 4 and they can all go outside. We recently remodeled the basement and almost all of my tools have moved to the garage. Additionally it has all the other garage stuff like garden tools, lawnmower, oil, windshield washer fluid.

Since it is such a big task, and still a work in progress, I am going to do a multi-post and break each section down. Look for them to come soon.

This article is one in a series of articles entitled: The Garage. To see all the parts so far CLICK HERE.

I inherited an old floor drill press from my grandfather. For a while it sat in my parents barn, but once I got my own house and garage it moved in with me. So far it has worked well, but I would like to do some upgrading to make it easier to use and more accurate. It is a beast and totally worth some time and effort. My grandfather already made some upgrades. The original motor was replaced with a washing machine motor, complete with a two speed switch added to the side. He also modified (flipped upside down) the cover to make adjusting the pulleys easier…I think. It may just be that the new motor wouldn’t let the cover fit properly.

What I would like to do is:

• Clean and wax the column. Older drill presses don’t have a rack and pinion to move the table up and down. To adjust the table I have to loosen the clamp, and bear hug/shimmy it up or down. Cleaning should make it easier to move.
• Counterweight the table. Once it moves freely a counterweight will allow for easier and theoretically more precise table adjustment. A cool commercial version is detailed here.
• New auxiliary table. Drill presses have tables designed for metal work. While I do some of that, I would also like one that works better for woodworking. Right now an old melamine coated cabinet side is on it from when my father-in-law used it for a project. I would like an adjustable fence, removable insert, dust extraction, and  T-track for hold-downs or other attachments. Something similar to this one that looks reasonably simple and functional. I would also like to use t-slot framing for the fence. I may just wait for the Harbor Freight one to go on sale though. Sometimes buying is cheaper then making, and way easier.
• Also Some sort of shelf/drawers to go underneath and fill with drill bits like this or this. I almost never use the full height of a floor drill press.