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I Forge Iron

I have an issue with my shop...


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My problem is that my setup requires me to put everything together and take everything out of my garage every time i want to work, making it hard to be motivated to work and also, its a massive waste of time. In addition, everything is so compact, its hard to do much. Im such a novice that I have bad tools from harbor freight and I can't afford to get any better gear. The simple solution seems to be to just clean the garage to make space for everything to be inside so i don't have to assemble the shop. The problem with that, is we have no space to store everything we are keeping in there, that is taking up the work space. I felt like maybe i could just clean the garage, but then realized my delima. Any suggestions for how I can solve this issue? As far as the low quality gear goes, I will just have to make some money, but as such a beginner, that is going to be very difficult. But before that, i need to find a solution to this annoyance of a "shop" i have.

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What are the things that must stay, and what are the things that can or must go?

The first rule of holes is if you find yourself in one, quit digging.   Stop bringing more stuff in until you use what you already have.  

Put similar subjects together (such as woodworking, mechanics, blacksmithing, etc) and organize each section.  Put everything possible on wheels or mobile platforms.  Look over a subject and actually make the project using materials you have collected for the project.  One project complete and less stock to store.  

 

 

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I used to have to carry everything out of my basement when I lived in Ohio!  Things I did to help:

Work on projects that need minimal tools: forge, anvil, 5 gallon bucket of tongs/punches/drifts.

Arrange some things I could leave outside:  Anvil stump (placing a flowerpot with flower on top of it can be a cunning disguise!) I got an old welding table about 30" square and heavy that I bolted a postvise to and then welded over the nuts. I then would put an empty plastic bucket over the vise when not using it and oil it frequently.

Plan my work days ahead of time to be able to spend a lot of time working per cycle of setting up and tearing down. One Saturday was all forging, one Saturday was all grinding, etc

Built a micro forge that I could use in my basement when there was a foot of snow on the ground and -20 degF wind chills.

Moved to NM and built a smithy, (currently 20'x60'  I only wish sometimes it was meters!)

For a gas forge can you get an old propane BBQ cart and build it into a movable holder for the forge and tank?  Or even have a propane forge hidden in it that you might be able to leave outside?

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