Super Cheap Shop Gear

basswood

Look for businesses moving or remodeling or going out of business and check the dumpsters at the malls. Some of my best shop organizing stuff came free or cheap.

I bought two rug display racks from a store that was changing displays--I use them to organize plywood rips and trim. I have a "clamp rack" that was a sales rack at a Gander Mountain that was moving. I bought 6 heavy duty cabinets with continuous hinges and metal shelves on the doors from a pharmacy that went out of business. My best shop cart was a Carhardtt display. Most of these fixtures cost $50 each.

Always looking for deals... this crappy economy will provide lots of deals... the silver lining, as they say.

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seifconst

..........and yet more excellent ideas from the bass-man!

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A smart guy won't say anything and a dumb guy don't know the difference!

basswood

You won't believe what ends up in mall dumpsters.

loneframer

I have cabinets in my garage from 3 different kitchen remodels, most of them are wall cabinets, but the few bases make a nice service area to repair and repo parts of tools. I also have a set of gym lockers from a police station with 18 compartments which is great for organizing cans of fasteners, boxes of screws, etc. Then there is the 2 sided pegboard rack on casters from Blockbuster Video that is great for organizing saw blades, clamps and misc. hand tools. I am all about repurposing.

BuiltByMAC

I dunno, man, those clamps look w a a a y too neat!
Nice tip and good pics of your setup, the bottom cab looks like a mini-fridge!

Mac

basswood

The gym lockers sound good for a shop... so does the pegboard rack on wheels. Nice to be able to move stuff around.

I do drag some stuff home cause it seems too good to throw out... not always sure how I'll use it.

basswood

Hey MAC,

A bunch of clamps will fly off the rack this morning to glue up some 6/4 cherry...

...this is the shop frig.

time to restock.

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world llc

gotta love it... you take lemons and make lemon marange pie.....

RobertCDF

mmmm... sierra nevada... mmmm good beer.

I will need to take a pic of the fridge in the work trailer.... I keep a variety so anyone can grab one.

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Robert Shaw
Colorado Springs Custom Decks
Colorado Custom Decks
Custom Composite Decks

basswood

That is the idea. Below are the other rug rack I use for trim and one of the Carhartt displays (also posted in the Table and Cart thread). Unless stuff you store is organized so you can find it... you might as well pitch it.

Now you'll have 50 of us stopping by your jobsite. I like the New Belgium stuff from up north of you (Boulder Beer too).

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DBCoop

I do drag some stuff home cause it seems too good to throw out... not always sure how I'll use it.[/quote]

loneframer

Here's some pix of my recycled goodiesEven the partition material is from misc. job sites. Need to run electric before I enclose storage closets.

Mike Finley

I stole a shopping cart to use in our shop, does that count?

loneframer

Don't you mean you found a shopping cart with no identifying nomenclature?

Sooner Pesek

Great ideas guys,

Lot of improvisation to make use of someone else's "trash".


Hey Bass,
Got any idea of how I could drag home a Quonset hut building , that used to be a dance hall, to my backyard so I could store all my "finds"?

Roger

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"SKILLED Carpenters aren't CHEAP , CHEAP Carpenters aren't SKILLED " --- saw this on a t-shirt a while back ---

DBCoop

It is indeed a sign of the times! Before now it was just prudent and made commen sense.A great thread in which to improvise in these econonmic times.

basswood

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The first tip I ever had published involved dumpster diving (for old tape measures--I cut them up and use them as spacers for laminating with contact cement). That tip made "Trade Secrets" on the back cover of FHB.

That looks like good reuse of the stuff. Nice.

King Soopers of Albertsons?

When I bought this place the dance hall had 7 apartments packed in there with flat 8' ceilings... I did not know about the big barrel vault until I tore the apts. out. Crazy. I'll be doing some work on the dance hall this spring and will post a few pics. I think everyone should have one.

loneframer

Hey Bass, my last girlfriend is a balet instructor. Should I give her your number?

Sooner Pesek

__________________
"SKILLED Carpenters aren't CHEAP , CHEAP Carpenters aren't SKILLED " --- saw this on a t-shirt a while back ---

basswood

I realize that some NFL players have taken ballet, you think carpenters should do likewise?

I actually watched a show on Jerome Robbins on PBS last week. I did not know that one guy was behind so many shows (West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, and on and on).

I sometimes think about actually restoring the dance hall...then I'd have to build a new shop.