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Mark Putnam

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Houston
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Grizzly H8259 10" x 18" benchtop lathe - 1/2hp motor - Speeds: 826, 1205, 1713, 2422, 3337 RPM

Garage or no?
Apr 22^nd, 2016 at 12:51pm

(Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this question. I don't have any pics but will post some soon.)

I was raised by a very strict code that, apart from one's home, your car is your most important investment. It gets you to/from work, where you make your money. It gets your family to the grocer, the doctor, school, etc. For that reason you respect your car, and you treat it right. And above all, you park your car in the garage!

I was also raised by an avid woodworker. So of course, I have the bug.

We live in a suburban house, small lot. There is not a lot of room to build a separate shop--not to mention there is no money to build a separate shop! So currently I am relegated to a small (6' x 10') space in our garage, just outside the entry to the house. It has my lathe, a small workbench, and lots of clutter.

Many of my friends insist that the garage is FOR a woodshop. They have never parked their cars in their garage. They park in the driveway. They think it is ridiculous that I use my garage for my cars.

I'm curious how many of you use your garage as your shop and park your cars outside. If I am ever going to move up to a "real" lathe (I have a midi, 10x18.) then a car will have to be parked outside. What are your thoughts?

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Glenn Jacobs WR Addict Offline JC L&S Posts: 2,077 North DFW, Texas Texas USA Gender: Powermatic 3520C	Re: Garage or no? Reply #1 - Apr 22^nd, 2016 at 1:01pm Same situation. My car once saw the inside of the garage. There is now not enough room in there to park a bike. It's ALL shop.
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David Hamann

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Pasco WA
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Re: Garage or no?
Reply #2 - Apr 22^nd, 2016 at 2:07pm

we have a two car garage. at first, it was all shop, now it is half shop, half storage. most of the storage will go to Habitat Store and to a women's shelter. then the wife can park inside again. garage is not big enough for both a car and a ½ ton pickup.

so, my suggestion is do what YOU think is best. you can have both with careful planning.

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“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” - Ted Geisel

Be yourself, after all, everyone else is taken.

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Larry Matchett WR Addict Offline Be One with your Tool! Posts: 1,588 Gulf Coast, Mississippi Mississippi USA Gender:	Re: Garage or no? Reply #3 - Apr 22^nd, 2016 at 6:39pm Put everything on wheels. Works. I did it for years. When you live in MT you park in the garage if at all possible.
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Ed Weber WR Administrator WR Patron Offline Posts: 8,939 Wilton California USA Gender: JET 1642 Grizzly G0584	Re: Garage or no? Reply #4 - Apr 22^nd, 2016 at 8:05pm No vehicles in the garage yet ...but hopefully soon I do want to park in the garage to protect the investment as you mentioned but as many have found, space is always at a premium no matter what your hobby or situation.. Cars are built to handle the elements and are sadly the first things to get kicked out.
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Len Layman

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What have I got into??

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Grand Cayman
Cayman Islands
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Re: Garage or no?
Reply #5 - Apr 22^nd, 2016 at 10:16pm

Larry Matchett wrote on Apr 22^nd, 2016 at 6:39pm:

When you live in MT you park in the garage if at all possible

I did not know you could live in a Morse Taper. I am confused now. Cheesy

Mark, I don't know where you live so leaving the car outside may or may not be acceptable. Where I live, in the Cayman Islands I have never had a garage. If I did my shop would be bigger than 12 x12. and my car would still be outside. So I agree with David. Do with what works for you and your family.

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Len

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." MLK

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James Saxinger

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Saskatoon
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Re: Garage or no?
Reply #6 - Apr 22^nd, 2016 at 10:57pm

We park our vehicles in the garage, the winters here in Saskatchewan can, and do get brutally cold, we are also in our forever house (I hope !! ) And it's nice having a garage to park both vehicles in, but with this house we have a 24'x24' detached garage in the back yard, that I've converted to a heated shop, the shop in back was a huge bonus when we bought this house. Now that I have a shop not in or attached to the house it will be hard to get me to move again. But if I didn't have the shop in back, my shop would be in the garage and on wheels and still not give up any parking !!

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Ralph Fahringer WR Addict Offline I'm the "Burly" Man!! Posts: 1,629 Ellsworth Maine USA Gender: PM3520b	Re: Garage or no? Reply #7 - Apr 23^rd, 2016 at 8:06am James, the only thing that would make your situation even better is to build a causeway between the house and the shop!!! As in... no shoveling to get to the shop in the winter!!!
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David Hamann WR Administrator WR Patron Offline papadave Posts: 5,701 Pasco WA Washington USA Gender: Jet 1014VSI	Re: Garage or no? Reply #8 - Apr 23^rd, 2016 at 10:57pm Len Layman wrote on Apr 22^nd, 2016 at 10:16pm: I did not know you could live in a Morse Taper. I am confused now. MT = Montana, Big Sky Country.
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Dave Gill Senior Member Offline Good People - Good Info! Posts: 346 Hayward California USA Gender: Jet 1220VS Jet 1642EVS-2	Re: Garage or no? Reply #9 - Apr 25^th, 2016 at 2:03pm The only thing that needs to be parked in the garage is the motorcycle - the rest of the space should be used for the work shop and storage - at least that's what I tell my wife Dave G.
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gary marquardt

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Re: Garage or no?
Reply #10 - Apr 26^th, 2016 at 4:49pm

Wheels are your friend. I have a one car garage and the wife insists on having a warm dry car in the morning. All the noisy and dusty machines must live in the garage. so table saw, router table and jointer are on heavy locking casters. I back the car out and do what needs to get done. clean up and move the car back. oddly the lathe lives in the basement shop with a dust deputy attached.

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Bill Rockwood Active Member Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 218 Buena Park California USA Gender: Grizzly G0838 Excelsior 10x18 HF 8x12 (95607)	Re: Garage or no? Reply #11 - Apr 27^th, 2016 at 1:41pm Dave Gill wrote on Apr 25^th, 2016 at 2:03pm: The only thing that needs to be parked in the garage is the motorcycle - the rest of the space should be used for the work shop and storage - at least that's what I tell my wife Dave G. I tell my wife the exact same thing! So far, she's allowed me to persist in my delusion.
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Dave Gill Senior Member Offline Good People - Good Info! Posts: 346 Hayward California USA Gender: Jet 1220VS Jet 1642EVS-2	Re: Garage or no? Reply #12 - Apr 28^th, 2016 at 10:38pm Hey Bill - must be a California thing
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Don Davis

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Re: Garage or no?
Reply #13 - May 2^nd, 2016 at 1:03pm

My garage does "double duty". About half is dedicated to woodworking/turning toys (mostly) but half has to be reserved for car parking in bad weather and every night... so some toys tools are on wheels and my "wood stash" is a set of shelves on the wall on the other side of the car space. I planned to add a carport out front so I could use all of the garage, but the City says I'm not allowed because the front of my house is too close to the middle of the street (55 ft from garage to middle of 16 ft wide street). Here's a photo... the "shop" is very messy right now.

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