My guide to building a personal makerspace/workshop at home

[Bonivus_elderheart]

I’ve given a fair amount of money to the ol’ Hazard Fraught in the past couple years:

30" mechanics 5 drawer tool cart- once it’s put together, the cart is quite solid. (I recommend using an impact driver to lock the bolts down once it’s squared up.) the drawers… are OK, I’ve not had major problems with them yet.

As far as the workbench goes, it is… serviceable, if only to show you what you will want to do when building it’s replacement. (I’ve already stripped the drawers off mine, because I needed the space below the bench for largeish objects, along with a proper surface for the lower shelf.)

the drawer sides are made of paperboard along with the sides that the drawer slides mount to, and it’s such a fit that one can’t replace it with thin plywood or wood planks without scrapping it all and starting over. the top is made out of laminated boards, but it’s obvious what was done, and the border is a shade taller than the top itself, so you have a ledge that you’ll need to bend a clamp around. The vice is meh, and the bench dogs are not a ‘normal’ size, so you’d need to drill the holes out a bit larger.

I’ve bought two sanders from there: a hand-held corded belt sander, which is loud AF but does exactly what it says on the tin, and a bench-top model that I should have returned, because it’s slightly off kilter, even though it largely works. (It looks pretty janky, though.)

I have a set of the painted/anodized colored sockets in 3/8 and 1/4 drive; while I’ve worn the finish off a couple of them, they’ve held up pretty decently so far. I also have a set of impact sockets that so far have held up as well.

[Brainspore]

I recently built a workbench using maybe 30 bucks’ worth of reclaimed lumber (the top was cut from a very heavy door). It was a good solution for me because it was not only cheap and sturdy but suited perfectly to my available space.

[ficuswhisperer]

@Avery_Thorn

My decision tree for Harbor Freight tools

That pretty much sums HF up in my experience.

[RedFury]

I’m an Old School Bitch. I prefer the top of the washing machine for inside projects and an upside-down five-gallon bucket for outside projects. I’ve sent many plastic buckets to Valhalla by using them for sawhorses.

My dust removal system is ‘Living on a Windy Hill’.

[Wanderfound]

@noahdjango

this is now a battlestation thread.
post em.

…although I’ll be moving soon if all goes well . To here:

Nice big shed, and a river right next door.

[noahdjango]

you win the thread

[danimagoo]

It looks like they’re starting small by ruining spelling.