This basket is 10 inches long and 3 1/2 inches deep. You can stack cut the front and back to speed up the cutting. The center pieces are a lamination and you can make the basket as deep as you like by adding more pieces to the assembly. Download the pattern below.
Workshop Upgrade:
Like many of you my workshop has always been in a garage. A garage workshop can get pretty hot in the summer. Here in Kentucky we have some hot and humid days.
I have always just suffered through the heat. Well this week I decided to try to make life in the workshop more bearable. Installing an air conditioner in a garage can be a challenge if you don't have a window to put it in. All I needed to do was find a way to install a portable AC unit. I did not want to cut holes in the wall but the side garage door was just the ticket.
The pictures below show how I installed the vent hose through the door. I used 4 inch plumbing pipe, butterfly valve and a plastic grate to keep the critters out.
It was 86 degrees today and the humidity was 80%. I was able to keep my workshop at a comfortable 71 degrees. I was absolutely thrilled. I am lucky that my garage is well insulated with an insulated garage door. I plan to do a little more weather stripping around the overhead door to help keep the cool air in.
This is a 13,000 btu LG Electronics portable AC unit. It is rated for 500 square foot of cooling. I have 350 square foot to cool but garages are hard to cool so I went a little bigger than called for. It did take a little over an hour to get the shop that cool.
I removed the side door and cut a round hole to insert the 4 inch pipe. You can't see it well in the picture but the hose is easily removable and I have a cap to seal off the pipe for storage during the winter.
On the outside I installed a butterfly valve and a grate to help keep the critters out. All in all I was able to keep the visual impact to a minimum. If I need to remove the unit when and if we move all I have to do is replace the outside door.
There are still some questions to answer about this setup. It will be interesting to see if I can keep the AC unit clean from all the dust. I have made it a habit to clean the filter every day and use my air compressor to blow off all the intake ports. If I can get 3 or 4 years of service from the unit I will be happy. Today was 86 degrees outside but we can get some high 90 degree days here also. Will it help on those days?? I'll find out soon enough.
I thought I would share this shop upgrade for those of you that may be considering something similar.
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