Thursday, July 21, 2016

0 Bring Back the Band Garage

Since before we moved in, I've referred to the single stall garage as the "Band Garage". A more accurate title for that space would have been "The Dumping Ground", since very little music has been played in that room. It's more been a harbor for all the random stuff I've accumulated.


With the selling of my beloved Scout II, I opened up half of the main garage that also hasn't been available since we moved in. At Rebecca's suggestion, I decided to move the workshop I'd spent 4 years creating out of the band garage and into that now open stall. So I took down the old kitchen cabinets, laundry room cabinet, hallway shelving, crates, etc. all off the walls and started to lay out the new garage space.


Old medical office cabinet, laundry room cabinet, and my dad's old record crates became a place for all the stuff for our cars. More space than stuff for once!


Our old front door that the glass broke out of became the end cap for some shelving and the 2x6's from the band garage created a header up above (I knew I'd miss having a spot up high for clamps, and it created an overhead spot for really long lumber/trim).


Rough 2x6's from my guitar player and a piece of plywood became the workbench. IKEA vertical drawers from our friend Chris hold rags and other small light items.


And finally, the old entertainment center cabinets became a rolling cabinet with a laminate wood flooring top.

I also took a huge load of stuff to the Habitat ReStore - things I knew I'd never do anything with. It was important that I purge as much as possible so I wasn't just moving the mess around. A huge fire helped burn up a bunch of wood I knew I'd never use as well. It's still a work in progress, but finding a place for everything and keeping it organized will be key going forward.

With some other small projects out of the way as well, like the trim upstairs that I'd put off for 3 years, and beadboard on the other side of the stairs, it was time for a fun project.

Back in January or February, we cleaned out the theater's storage barn to make more room for random stuff ShowSpan buys, and as a result, they got rid of an entire pallet of IMAX-grade fiberglass panels. I got 69 super-dense 2'x2'x2" thick fiberglass panels with a black fabric side. I knew I had to do something cool with them, I just didn't quite know at the time. Now I knew.

I picked up some 1"x3" boards and my Kreg Jig and got to work creating a grid. Since the boards are actually 3/4" x 1-1/2", I set the bit and jig to 3/4"and used 1-1/4" Kreg screws. For those of you unfamiliar with this tool, buy one immediately. I have the Kreg Jig Jr. set and clamp and it works perfectly for the small amount I use it for. Creates perfect, tight joints for creating furniture, and in this case, a simple gridwork.


I started small, with just a 3x4 grid, just to be sure it would work. Sure enough, it worked perfectly.


So I set about making a much larger version:


I used some scrap pieces and L-brackets to keep it 3/4" off the wall and secured. I then wondered if the stuff was easy to cut. Sure enough, unlike the typical pink insulation, this stuff has enough rigidity to be easily cut with a utility knife. So I surrounded the outlets with boxes made from scrap 1x3 and cut the panels accordingly.



Seeing how easy they are to cut, and how many I still have left over, I think I will actually fill in the angled spots.

I'll also be building a wall along the loft all the way to the exterior door, and adding a slider and door to the corners so that the space below the loft becomes a control room for potential recording.

Lots of work still to be done, but the progress has been invigorating.



 

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