Making a mini-workshop out of a garage

HawkEye244 · 6 Jul 2015

I have a garage in an estate and it would be nice if I could use a few power tools in there without having to use a power supply.

I'd like to think in this day and age with all the technological advancements there's a way of being able to run some low consumtion tools like a mini-band saw or chopsaw for perhaps an hour (continuous use).

The estate management prohibit mains electric in the garages but there's nothing in the lease about the use of batteries for e.g. lighting etc.

I have a small three phase generator (the £100 ones) which works perfectly well but is noisy and will disturb people nearby.

I welcome any suggestions for a possible workaround. In terms of budget I have a few hundred to spend on a solution

nickjb · 7 Jul 2015

Cheapest option will probably be a car battery and an inverter. You could put the battery on a small trolley to drag it to the house for charging. You'll need a fairly good inverter to run power tools.

ntb · 7 Jul 2015

You're supposed to put the estate in the garage, not the other way round.

HawkEye244 · 7 Jul 2015

nickjb said:
Cheapest option will probably be a car battery and an inverter. You could put the battery on a small trolley to drag it to the house for charging. You'll need a fairly good inverter to run power tools.

Have you heard about leisure batteries? I've read that normal car batteries don't function well from prolonged use because they are designed to provide a surge of electricity to start a vehicle and not consistent power output.

big-all · 7 Jul 2015

battery tools ??
http://uk.ryobitools.eu/one/
http://www.diy.com/departments/ryob...-drill-2-batteries-llcdi18ll40s/546421_BQ.prd
you can get a chop saw
http://www.ryobi-direct.com/PBSCPro...1&PGFLngID=1&gclid=CLG5uL7vyMYCFTDJtAodg5IKoQ
and a light router as an american import p600 around £70
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/2619...3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

Dave54 · 7 Jul 2015

What BA said above sounds sensible. Battery lights of some sort. You can get "quiet" generators which might solve the problem for occasional use of bigger kit.
If it's a lock up though, you'll need to think about security. Who will know what's in there, and how easy is it to get into?

HawkEye244 · 7 Jul 2015

big-all said:
battery tools ??
http://uk.ryobitools.eu/one/
http://www.diy.com/departments/ryob...-drill-2-batteries-llcdi18ll40s/546421_BQ.prd
you can get a chop saw
http://www.ryobi-direct.com/PBSCPro...1&PGFLngID=1&gclid=CLG5uL7vyMYCFTDJtAodg5IKoQ
and a light router as an american import p600 around £70
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/2619...3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

Food for thought.

At present I have a cordless dewalt drill which will be useful for pocket hole joints (I have the jig already).

I have a chop saw which runs off a normal 240v but it's a naff one anyway, I could perhaps go for that battery powered ryobi, and again that cordless router you linked is good value as well.

I'd like a mini-table saw for stripping lengths, but I can't see much in the way of cordless, any suggestion ?

I'd like a bandsaw for lazy man's dovetail joints, but not much in the way of cordless either, any suggestion ?

Yes I know ''use a saw'', however I'd like as neat and easy job as possible

EFLImpudence · 7 Jul 2015

You have progressed quickly

Saturday -

HawkEye244 said:
ladylola said:

Bit of scrap ply and knock up as rough as looking one as possible , add a few tasteless stickers and paint splashes ,job done . Much less pinch able than a nice shiney named box.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't know where to start in making one ... ?

HawkEye244 · 7 Jul 2015

Dave54 said:
What BA said above sounds sensible. Battery lights of some sort. You can get "quiet" generators which might solve the problem for occasional use of bigger kit.
If it's a lock up though, you'll need to think about security. Who will know what's in there, and how easy is it to get into?

How about this ? http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/rechargeable-10w-led-work-light-a92rw

http://www.leoindustries.com/light_level_recommendations.php

It would save having to buy a battery to run the lights off.

Can't say I'm keen on leds, two halogens I'd prefer. Ideally I'd like over 1000 lumens for the work space, so two of these suspended from the ceiling might work, I hate the spectrum though. Two would be £80 away, perhaps there is a cheaper alternative.

So far then, given the above tools as a potential I'm looking at around £400-500 setup.

Your question about security; well nothing of value is kept in the garage. I don't leave tools in there. Also I'm having the door replaced in a week or two as the existing one is buggered !

HawkEye244 · 7 Jul 2015

EFLImpudence said:
You have progressed quickly

Saturday -

HawkEye244 said:

ladylola said:

Bit of scrap ply and knock up as rough as looking one as possible , add a few tasteless stickers and paint splashes ,job done . Much less pinch able than a nice shiney named box.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't know where to start in making one ... ?

Click to expand...

Hi, sadly I can't use intuition in the workshop, even for something you might deem straightforward such as a tool box. The way the box clips together, the sorts of hinges and their replacement, the overall specification I'd need to copy from someone whose done it and made a success of it. I'm the sort of person that needs to see the start to completion, it's not easy for me.

Dave54 · 7 Jul 2015

HawkEye244 said:
Hi, sadly I can't use intuition in the workshop, even for something you might deem straightforward such as a tool box. The way the box clips together, the sorts of hinges and their replacement, the overall specification I'd need to copy from someone whose done it and made a success of it. I'm the sort of person that needs to see the start to completion, it's not easy for me.

Make a drawing then. Nobody starts out knowing what "works" by instinct. If you think about a case, it really is just a wooden box cut into two pieces to make the case and the lid. Hinges are usually what's on the shelf that fits. Couple of over centre catches and a handle. Foam or wooden blocks inside to locate the tool. Incidentally power tools are very nice, but you don't "have to have them" if what you're doing is just for yourself. Up until fairly recent times an awful lot of work was done with handtools.

big-all · 7 Jul 2015

a multi bench that will turn a jigsaw into a sort off band saw
and a circ saw into a table saw now the problem with that is they are designed to work with mains so turning on and off could be difficult also the depth off cut is restricted
random example
http://www.conrad.com/ce/en/product/812354/Wolfcraft-6165000-MASTER-CUT-1000

HawkEye244 · 7 Jul 2015

That's a nice bench, it doesn't look as though there's anything like this battery powered though.

The stand alone cordless table and band saws don't seem that popular either. Hmmm.

big-all · 7 Jul 2015

your tools clamp onto the the base its no more than a housing for your tools mains or battery

HawkEye244 · 11 Jul 2015

big-all said:
your tools clamp onto the the base its no more than a housing for your tools mains or battery

Oh I see now, not bad at all.

I've got lights coming in the next few days. 2 x 20w LED work lamps, 6 hours running time each, so I'm a little further along

Making a mini-workshop out of a garage

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