Garage Furniture

Essential Garage Equipment

Garage furniture usually consists of the fittings, storage units, and stationary machinery that is present in the workshop area.

The most popular items of garage furniture are storage shelves and boxes used for storing hand and power tools as well as specialist automotive garage equipment.

Because of the environment in a garage where vehicle fumes, varying degrees of temperature, oils and grease, smoke and paint are present, most items are manufactured in steel or aluminium.

As appearance in a garage is secondary to being functional these items of furniture are normally of heavy gauge construction and designed for a long service life.

Tool chests and storage units are constructed with security in mind as well as easy providing a storage use. Professional hand and power tools are relatively expensive when compared to diy tools so it makes sense for them to be safely stored when not in use.

The most practical way of storing tools safely is in lockable tool chests and tool boxes. Fitted with either a padlock or case lock this item of garage furniture can store small or large tools as well as automotive test equipment and accessories. 

A popular brand of tool storage cabinet are those manufactured by Tengtools. This storage system has been developed to allow hand and garage tools to be stored in an organised way. Their comprehensive range includes tool trays, roller cabinets, and numerous different tool boxes. 

Their range of storage trays covers nearly all types of mechanics tools with new sets being added all the time. Tengtools range of tool boxes are renowned for their versatility giving a wide choice of drawer configurations to suit most options and requirements in the garage. 

One of the most useful items of furniture for use in a workshop is the workbench. Normally fabricated from steel with an aluminium top most work benches have a fixed metal working vice attached as well as power take off points. Garage tables need to be well illuminated to allow efficient working especially when tasks such as gearbox overhauls and metal fabrication is being undertaken.  Off vehicle welding can be carried out on a workbench especially on small components and vehicle parts.

In a motorcycle workshop a vital piece of furniture is a mechanical or hydraulic / pueumatic bike lift. Free standing and with a large load capacity motorcycle lifts are usually constructed from box section mild steel with steel sheets / plates for the walls and lift platform itself.

The thickness of the side frames of the bike lift is usually in the region of 2.5mm to 4mm in thickness, giving strength and rigidity to its overall construction.   Box section side frames are fitted to all motorcycle lifts to allow fixture points for safety straps used for anchoring the bike to the lift whilst it is being worked on. 

A ramp is another feature of all motor bike lifts, being constructed in usually steel or alloy plate. The ramp can be either a permanent fixture of the lift or separate allowing easy transportation and storage in the garage.  

The actual lifting of the motorbike can be by either mechanical means or a combination of hydraulic and pneumatic pumps. The fastest and easiest lift to use comprises pneumatic rams giving a quick lift to the required working height. This of course requires the garage to be equiped with a suitable air compressor tool.

Tools For Fitting Door Furniture

Fit Door Furniture Professionally With The Correct Tools

All different types and styles of door furniture can be fitted with the use of the correct tools.

A simple swap over of door handles or hinges can be accomplished with nothing more than the use of one or more screwdrivers and perhaps a hinge punch.

Modern door furniture is usually relatively simple to fit and most reputable brands normally supply full fitting instructions to carry this out. Budget brands and supplies intended for bulk trade use usually are packaged in the most basic form, without fitting instructions enclosed.

To keep costs down they are omitted and it is left to the consumer or tradesman to establish how to fit or install them.  For the professional tradesman or joiner this is of course not a problem as they will see this task as routine. For the home diy’er the exclusion of assembly and fitting instructions could pose a major problem.  The solution is often to only purchase reputable brands which provide guidance and clear instructions on how to complete the work.    

Popular tools chosen to fit door furniture include a selection of different screwdrivers, both flat bladed and with Phillips cross heads. A hammer and hinge punch. A medium sized bradawl,  tape measure, and joiners square. A selection of popular sized wood chisels, and a hand or powered drill fitted with appropriate sized wood drill bits.

The professional joiner may choose additional tools depending on their usage. Electric woodworking routers are popular for milling out of lock apertures and hinge locations, whilst an electric planer can be a godsend for trimming doors to size to suit existing openings.

Property used for commercial use or which is to be let for residential use usually requires internal doors that are fitted with fire retardant strips. These fire strips are recessed into the edge of the door itself and expand in the event of a fire, preventing smoke and fumes passing from room to room.

Accuracy is the key to the installation of this type of door furniture. The best method for fitting being by use of a purposely designed jig in conjunction with an electric router.  Held in place on the door by locating pegs and clamps the jig allows the routers cutter to follow a precise path milling out the wood or plastic the correct depth and width.

The intumescent fire strip is then pressed into place in this recess.

Heavy duty door furniture such as fitted to doors on public entrances to shopping malls, supermarkets, cinemas, and the like, may need more specialist fixing methods. This is especially the case if the doors are manufactured in glass. It is common for glass doors to use furniture that utilises several different methods of fixing, with threaded fixings and resin glues being most common.

Garden Maintenance Tools

Garden Machinery

A wide range of garden tools are available to hire or buy which allows affordable and effective maintenance of allotments and gardens, no matter how large or small in size.

The maintenance of a garden is time consuming and can benefit by the use of purposely designed tools and equipment such as a garden leaf blower.

In the autumn in the Uk it is an annual time when trees shed their leaves in preparation for the harsh winter season. When the trees drop their leaves it causes problems for both the home owners who are proud of their gardens as well as local authorities and councils that need to keep paths, pavements, and highways clear. 

A tool of choice to solve this issue has to be the garden leaf blower. 

Relatively new to the Uk, a garden leaf blower can be either electric or petrol driven (two or four stroke in the case of petrol engined models).

A garden leaf blower can be in the form of many different configurations. The most popular being held held blower – shredder models or backpack commercial type blowers.

Hand held leaf blowers typically are powerful electric or petrol driven models designed for small to medium leaf blowing and clearing work.

Back pack type units are high powered models such as the Stihl BR380, Br500, BR600, and Br600. These modern and up to date pieces of garden machinery are designed with several purposes in mind but with one main task – effective high volume clearing of leaves and garden debris.