francophile 

Agree, this is the one "AHA!" moment for me that would help solve at least one of my problems.

francophile 

@The Thin Man looks like we build benches quite similarly eh. My shop is nowhere near as neat, and is primarily for flippable projects versus completed personal projects. Active flips on the left, personal personal projects on the right, pending/completed queue on the back wall. Sometimes left/right stands both get used for personal when I'm doing routine maintenance versus a full restore, like in this pic when I got that Bertoni Corsa Mondiale. I find those bulk paper boxes you get at the office supply store with 3-4 reams of paper make good 'project' boxes instead of spending $$ on the plastic bins which never seem to fit everything for me. A lot of my projects get torn down to headset & BB, parts boxed, then into a box onto the wire rack, it allows room for +5 or more projects when buying time is good.

@Kiddmen57 what model of ultrasonic is that? I'd always heard it was bad to use Simple Green on anno'd alloy parts, but I understand you gotta add something using ultrasonic cleaners.

Oh, and pic of my workspace from early/mid last year, I think. At least 4-5 of the bikes showing are sold and gone. Rim pile is gone, replace by my truing stand. Moved a lot of tools to hanging on the top-front 2x4 of the bench. Parts are in plastic bins on a wire rack behind me in this pic.

It's still a bit of a stye, I need to work more on tool storage, but I'm sort of in the same camp with @RobbieTunes there...

ryansu

Hey I put a tarp down!

ryansu

@francophile I'll chime in on the Ultasonic cleaners. I have a basic ultrasonic cleaner I got off Amazon, (Kendal Industrial Grade 160 Watts 2.5 Liters Digital Heated Ultrasonic Cleaner.) I have added both Simple green and dish soap to the mix and my non scientific read is they work about the same, I think of more importance is running the cleaner for a long time and using the heater. I have heard of folks using a crockpot (no longer used in the kitchen obviously) for a long slow warm soak to good effect on greasy components. YMMV

billnuke1 

billnuke1 

SquidPuppet

I tend to have clammy hands and that makes holding tools a bit slippery. And there is something odd about my skin oils that causes even the highest quality tools to rust. My solution has been hockey tape. Good grip, comfy, and protects the tool. I also use it to color code for sizes.

I'm also into polishing up my old tools. We like polished stuff, right?

Tuna cans with a little grease in bottom makes chasing the balls with tweezers a lot easier.

The cone wrenches are vintage, made by a company that is no longer in business. I polished those as well.







And no matter how tempting it may be, never hire an assistant. This clown had an impressive resume, but ultimately proved to have poor shop skills.

-holiday76

[

francophile 

I thought you could use anything which increases surface tension of the water, or anything which will create bubbles, which is what aids in breaking up the gunk. Seems like dishwashing soap would work perfectly. I've done the crockpot trick, I bought a cheap $20 unit which could theoretically fit three or four 32t freewheels stacked on top. But the heat of the boil, even on low, tends to cloud up the surface of certain metals. I've been hunting something which'll whip up a crankset (still assembled), so I've been curiously reading threads here at BF and others for a few months. I've got a few heavily pitted Stronglight cranksets from non-weathered bikes and was told by a couple of different folks over the years these were byproducts of using Simple Green, but never had any evidence to substantiate.

ryansu

My cleaner will only take crank arms not full assembled drives side cranks (sad trombone)

noglider 

That's quite a man cave, @-holiday76.

malcala622 

Im having a bit of difficulty getting plywood from the hardware store. Doesnt help that the local Home Depot closed to a new location and i dont have a truck.

Project temporarily on hold till i can get plywood to my home.

tiger1964 

Brilliant! Just picked one up; I walked all over the local Auto Zone, could not find one, had to ask... they keep them in the back for some reason (cannot imagine anyone shoplifting one )

Drillium Dude 

I could use one of those! Where might I find it?

DD

cambiker71

Some fantastic workshops here, mine is a little cosier than most, I do have a parts store shed for larger items and completed projects though

billnuke1 

The Thin Man 

Ditto!

wrk101

Do like I say, not like I do. Keep the piles of parts OUT of the work area. Tools, workbench, work stand, and vintage stereo. I've got some major reorganizing to do. Step 1: Less stuff!

billnuke1 

Drillium Dude 

Thank you; it looks as though that thing will hold almost all my tools as well as give me a place to rest my posterior. Win-win

DD

billnuke1 

malcala622 

Spent the last 3 days finishing up the home workshop and the 2nd level bicycle parking. I reused lumber and plywood scraps from work to build it so it saved me a few bucks.

Weight testing it tomorrow

Prowler 

billnuke1 

malcala622 

I've tried both ways and found it easier this way all facing the same...I was able to seperate the wheel loops a bit more so when parking them this way the front wheel doesn't swing to the side and smack another bike...usually the front wheel will catch onto another pedal.

Thabks for input though much appreciated