I miss my garage back home!

My mother’s garage in my home down of Danville, CA became more or less my garage when I started getting into cars at 16. Owning a 1968 Camaro as a primary driver meant I needed to have a place to work on it. For birthdays and holidays I would ask for tools and equipment to complete my workspace. At first my family thought they were getting off easy since their impression was that tools were less expensive than jewelry or other traditional gifts, they were wrong. Things though, were always on a budget. I didn’t have the resources to get the biggest and best of everything but just enough to get what I needed to get the job done.

Anyone who knows me knows I am borderline obsessive compulsive when it comes to organization. At the start of a project, a cleared bench and spotless floor gives me so much more motivation then coming into a mess. Opening the socket drawer and knowing the 9/16” hex deep socket would always be there was refreshing. This wasn’t just for me. My friends, whose mothers wouldn’t let them take over the garage, used this space for projects. Every drawer on my tool box had a magnetic label I created describing what was held inside. It became a running joke when a friend would ask “where are the screwdrivers,” and I would respond “in the screwdriver drawer.” This of course applied to every tool I owned.

Before attending Wyotech hand tools were all I needed. Since getting my feet wet in metal fabrication I needed a lot more equipment. There would be welders, plasma cutter, torch, drill press, mini-lathe, band saw among others added to my shop. Of everything I have acquired the Lincoln TIG welder has been the most fun to use and has served as a tool for additional income.

Since my move from the San Francisco Bay to the Los Angeles area, I have had to leave all these things behind because rooming with mom and having your own place out here forces you to downsize. I hope this changes some day but at least when I visit I can enjoy all my goodies.