yes sir. I installed a limited run of strut on my garage ceiling a few months back to help store 10-14 ft long boards. After watching this, I kinda wish I had installed a full grid across the whole ceiling. Great stuff!@@pixelwoodworks
Thank you for introducing me to strut. I am in the middle of purchasing a new house and am planning out the garage. Now that I know about strut, things are going to get wild! I am all about modularity and making something reconfigurable, so this will be a huge win for me.
2 big tips I can give for unistrut in workshops which is amazing. 1 it makes for really great garage door opener supports as its far more versatile. 2 - buy yourself a set of klein or any other brand “pass through nut driver” this allows for fast securing with threaded rod or long bolts. As a bonus tip if you need you can buy plastic end caps for unistrut that hammer into to the ends to make them not sharp if they are in areas that you may come in contact with you
Great advice. I also added red tips to my threaded rod in a few places after bumping my head. I originally shot that but cut it out of the video. :/ Thanks for the tips!
Retired commercial electrician from NYC, I've run thousands of feet of strut ( we called it kindorf [which is just a name brand]. You did a great job . Oh side note ,we cut "strut" with a hack saw ( start on on the open end) or a band saw, ( not a woodworker band saw.) Again great stuff.
So nice to hear from an electrician! You are totally right (of course) about the hacksaw.. I originally mentioned it cut it out for time.. I never actually tried the hacksaw myself either, it just seemed like a lot of work.. sounds like it was a real option though and not just a cost saver. 👍👍 A mobile bandsaw is a great suggestion that I totally missed. 👍👍 Thanks for the tips and feedback!
@@guybratt6238 😵 You are right. I purchased end-caps from Discount Strut Accessories that are rubberized and solve that problem, but then I never found a place to install them, somewhere that was exposed and had about 1.5" of open space for the cap to go on. Good advice, I missed that one.👍👍
Great video I worked in an industrial setting installing many strut systems, the abrasive cutoff saws is very noisy and slow , we found a portable bandsaw the best. As well as being very versatile at the same price range.
We use Unistrut all the time for electrical/low voltage jobs. The only hurdle for the average home owner would be the price. but this stuff is great for a wide range of usages. great ideas, and implementation!!!
It's true, it can get expensive. It can also be targeted for specific purposes and be fairly cost effective. In the scope of my project, the strut was no the major cost. Dust pipe was by far the biggest cost, followed by power, followed by lights.
I used the strut components to mount the waste water tank to the underside of my food truck, but I never thought to use it as intended, hanging stuff from the ceiling… thanks for reminding me of one of the common uses of strut! I’m going to take a good hard look at my little shop and see how I can use this!
Your shop looks awesome. Can you do a shop tour. Maybe short one then a longer one in detail. Great idea on strut. I use it a bunch. Last comment you said got me to laugh out loud. Subscribed’
Great use of the different strut accessories for various applications. One suggestion, around 5:43 when you show the suspended platform. There is a much easier, cheaper and stronger way to do that. Hang a piece of threaded rod in each corner, have a hole in your plywood for the rod, pass it through one strut and then through another at 90 degrees to the adjacent corner (for super heavy duty applications) Rod is much cheaper than the strut drops, you don’t need any brackets, and there is no relying on nuts/bolts needing to be super tight to avoid them sliding in the strut. Again, great problem solving and use of the product
Hi James, I do use threaded rod in many cases, however the de-humidifier itself tends to vibrate and I was worried about that motion over time so I wanted something more stable that didn't have flex. Great suggestion though, and your totally right in most cases. 👍👍👍
Great ideas! But, be careful of weight. To be on the safe side, I'd suggest consulting with an engineer or use other means to determine the load rating of the ceiling joists or trusses.
@@pixelwoodworks I figured as much. Difficult to cover everything in a YT vid. I don't know that structural strength is considered by many/most, so thought I'd offer the reminder. Thanks for the reply.
You can do the metal cutting you describe with an angle grinder. Which you can also use to deburr the cuts once you've made them. Less expensive and less space than a metal cutting saw.
Its true. I haven't personally had great luck with angle grinder cutting, which is why I bought the miter saw. Some people have suggested a bandsaw as well which seems like a great alternative. You must do metal work and be a whiz with the angle grinder, I'd probably loose a hand 🤷 👍👍
Great topic and really well presented! It's a shame my basement joists are less than a foot above my head - there's not much space to exploit! Do you actually film in your shop or is that a greenscreen? The depth of field feels pretty off, but maybe it's just the lights. Cheers!
Thank! No basements here, I can only imagine getting woodworking tools downstairs is all kinds of fun. :) I actually do film in my shop, I'm not a fan of green screens, so thats an actual shot. Those hand-tools are the only items in my shop lit in 3200k. Most of the shop is spot lit in 4000k. Perhaps that contributed. Maybe it doesn't look off to me because it's my shop and I think it looks how it actually is :) Thanks again!
I was actually thinking that it was very well, and intentionally lit. Given how much of youtube is filmed by shaky hand held phones, I appreciate the effort.
Arrrg, you got me at the end! I was waffling on hitting the subscribe button, and BAM!! There you are, callingme out. Great video. Looking forward to more.
lol, I’ve never seen this channel before.. dudes a little awkward.. I saw the end part “uh, you can subscribe if you like?…” [pause]… and I thought.. whoa.. super awkwaarrd… 😂 But no.. he’s got jokes! lol I’m not subscribing though 😑.. not my type of content.. not even sure why I watched it to be honest. Classic TH-cam rabbit hole trick.
@@pixelwoodworks Love the uniqueness.. keep doing you. Came here for the tricks, left with a treat instead. Can’t expect everyone to find the videos useful though right? 🤷🏽♂️
Wow, what a system! I'd love a long-format in-depth look at exactly how you built each layer on your ceiling and the logic/reasoning of why you did what you did at each level. Fascinating stuff. New subscriber as of this video, so I guess you were wrong about one thing. :P Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the feedback. I did originally do a much more in-depth video but after 35 minutes I decided it was too long and we ended up with this. I can tell you my layout was just based on my needs of the moment except putting lights at the bottom. Its really going to depend on what your trying to get off the floor and onto the ceiling and how your shop is configured. The best piece of advise I can give you is tightening up your grid where you plan mount many things. Thanks again!
Thanks! Spacing is between 4-5' because the cross members are 10' I wanted to avoid as much cutting as possible so one perpendicular length spans 3x base struts. I hope that helps!
I used to spend way too much time trying to find a random tool or thing, then I decided to used these struts with trollies connected to multiple offset sheets of plywood to create additional wall storage space. These dozen sliding 24" wide sliding walls segments support thirty six packout mounting plates which I use to store the variety of packout organizers that keep all my odd tools, fasteners and other small materials in dedicated cases so they are super easy to find grab and go. Got an electrical project? Just grab the electrics pack and wire nut pack. Internet work needs to be done. I have cases for all that with all the coordinated tools. Hanging pictures? Yes, that's covered and more. and it all fits behind several spaced out tall metal storage cabinets along a 12' wall with 16" of depth. This keeps all the odd things tucked away and out of my larger woodworking and mechanical tool boxes so my primary shop area is super clean and organized.
What a great design and execution. I have seen commercial systems like this but but they are extremely expensive and not configurable. Great Idea, thank you for sharing 👍
Not very expensive at all if you take the time to lay it out properly and source the best trolly. All the rest can be picked up at the box store. Another note is the use of 22" long by 2" tall pieces of high-density polyethylene sheeting on the bottom back end of each sliding panel that runs against standoffs on the baseboard to keep everything level and easily gliding. @@pixelwoodworks
That was the inspiration. I think mine is more sturdy given it is fixed to the buildings joists instead of pallet rack and its more flexible at a third the price. @@159648sentile
Cable trays are for cables (data, phone, external antennas, etc); bus ways are for power. Tons of starline busway on ebay for super cheap; when a company shuts down a shop or lab, more pallets appear on ebay. Not an affiliate, just a lover of on demand configurable overhead power for cheap.
Thanks for the feedback. I had to look this up and research it after you mentioned it. It certainly seems like it would be a great way to setup flexible power but far more in-depth and less approachable for a laymen. The cable I already had was SOOW and its fine to use on a cable tray (or in much worse conditions). Interesting idea though, Thanks again!
A busway system involves a set of enclosed conductors, typically solid copper bars, that distribute power along its length. Outlets or tap-off units can be added at any point along the busway, allowing for flexible and customizable power distribution. I think its a bit much for a garage but may be nice for a mid-size or dedicated shop. Here's the eBay ID of a tap (324970503780) and the bus (285446121734). Hope that helps.
Hello, great video. Gave me lots of ideas. At 6:12 in the video it shows a wall with just brackets mounted and there's nothing on the brackets. Assume these are for lumber maybe. My question is where did you get those self brackets connected to the strut? They have a hook at the to keep stuff from coming off. I've got to get some of those. Thanks
So glad you got some ideas from it. Regarding those brackets, you can find a large variety of configurations, for example: unistrutstore.com/1-58-metal-framing/unistrut-brackets.html -- but my suggestion to you would be to simply use a cut piece of strut with heavy duty angle brackets at the upper connction and 45 degree strut supporting the base. For the end, you can simply use another light duty ($3) angle bracket to keep wood in place. (There are cheaper vendors than Unistrut brand strut too).
For us old boomers, we're shocked at how expensive this 'inexpensive' system has become. My first exposure to it was as a rugrat when my Dad was in the USAF. They used the larger stuff and it was about 15 to 25 cents a foot in the mid '60s, depending on how long you started with. They built the largest storage racks I'd ever seen from the stuff to hold aircraft parts.
I hear you. It seems like thats the way of the world. I don't typically eat fast food and my memories of Taco bell are 59 cent tacos. I went through the drive through last year, and one taco was $4. 😱 I bet the stuff your talking about was American made too. Just out of curiosity, where did one go (and individual) in the 60's to get something like that or was it only available in more commercial applications?
@@pixelwoodworks YIKES! I haven't been to Taco Bell in a long time, but the tacos were still more than 59 cents. They don't taste as good now as they did when they were about 39 cents. The struts were available from what I think was the manufacturer in Colorado Springs, next to Peterson Field AFB. I don't remember the name of the company, but we could go there when it wasn't busy and a couple of the guys were allowed to sell to individuals. I think most of the stuff we got was either returned material or seconds, because we got some aluminum sheets once that were stamped with part numbers but deformed. They were a little thicker than 1/8 inch but about 2 ft by 6ft. We cut them down to size and used them in the kitchen as cookie sheets. They lasted forever.
Interesting. Thats the thing about anything built with quality in mind, it really does tend to last forever.. I've never heard of buying seconds of steel, but I guess you can get seconds or returns of anything. What would cause a strut like product to be a considered a "second" but still usable?
@@pixelwoodworks If it's for direct sale to a branch of the military, they still have to have the correct FSN's (federal stock number) printed or stamped on them. Or if the items don't match the description on the order, like they're an inch too short or something.
In the usa home depot has it in stock, as well as most of the attachments. Well I think they have super strut which is unistrut compatible but doesn't have the branding.
@@pixelwoodworks as long as they are compatible it doesn't matter to us. I like how home depot also carry the powder coated strut. I used some for fence posts across some land that seasonally floods with brackish water. I am hoping that it may last than all of the rusted galvanized posts I see in that area.
@@pixelwoodworks and lowes is easier to get a cheap delivery on in case you don't have an easy way to transport 10ft lengths of steel. When I ordered a several pallets of fence panels from lowes before the pandemic it came with free home delivery.
Why do all the TH-camrs these days have intro music at 400% level of the regular audio? I watch a lot of videos at night or with headphones and I have the volume set so I can clearly hear the person but then that mega loud music kicks in and either blows my eardrums out or wakes everyone up (if I am not wearing headphones). Please just make it same or lower volume as your voice.
Hi, thanks for the feedback. It's actually harder than you think to get that right, it seems to depend on the speakers your using. To be clear, that was just the normal music volume, I didn't increase it, I simply reduced the volume at other times. When your listening on a computer, the background music fades out and you may not even hear it. When listening on headphones, I imagine its a more balanced sound so it feels much more dramatic than using loud speakers or computer speakers. Its tough to find that balance. I get the message though, no one wants hearing loss from background music! I'll pay a bit more attention in the next video and strike a better balance. Thanks again for the feedback!
@@pixelwoodworks Great video, love your thought process and creativity 😀 The source file seems to be hyper compressed (like most music coming out these days). Find a recording of the same track with better dynamic range or use a different clip altogether. Use audacity or something of that sort to level out your audio clips. (+-3db between tracks) It's actually really really simple!
Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to go back and look at the source project and see whats off, I really thought it was better balanced. I'd update it if YT allowed, but I'm stuck with whats here.
@@pixelwoodworks No worries, Your content is top notch, and that's all I'm looking for! 🙂 Audio balance isn't a turn-off for me, my ears are way past their prime after decades of headphone usage and working with machinery 🤣
Good idea. Its usually referred to as unistrut. Also, for cutting it just use an angle grinder or reciprocating saw/sawzall. Most importantly, before hanging heavy loads or a winch, make sure your ceiling is rated for that
Thanks for the feedback! I called it Strut because Unistrut is actually a brand and you will find Superstrut or another brand at your home center. Your right about load on your ceiling, I just didn't want to digress into that too far so I cut it out of the video. Thats the only reason I am not storing MORE on my ceiling, there's a room above it all sitting on a glue-lam. Thanks again!
@@pixelwoodworks Actual its a Dewalt cordless skill saw. I'll post the blade number tomorrow. It's in my work truck. Not as good as a miter saw but better than a hand or skill saw.
Be careful hanging too much weight from a garage ceiling. My parents have been doing that since the 80s and it looked ok when the roofing was old wood shingles but when they re-roofed with asphault the damage was plain to see. The roof trusses had sagged over the garage so while the house portion looks fine, the attached garage has dips and curves where it should be flat and straight. I told them to take out the storage they were hanging from the garage roof trusses and fix the dips before they put on the new roofing but they did not and now it looks pretty funky. You might not notice it right away but after you do, you can't un-see it. The other thing is if you design a garage with open roof trusses, design it to hold a load of crap in the trusses because somebody is going to look up and have bad ideas...
Its true, I consulted a structural engineer because we built a room on top of this garage as well. So far so good, this has been installed for about 1.25 years and no signs of movement. I covered this in the original edit, but cut it for time. I even had a segment in my attic talking about the joists etc. I just thought it digressed too much, but perhaps that was a mistake, people seem interested. 🤷
What you did isn't bad, maybe a couple hundred pounds and you aligned the strut to distribute the load. It's when you have 4x as much and don't distribute the load properly that messes things up. I'm planning a garage with living space over it too. An important part of that is using the space between the floor joists as a mechanical chase for my utilities. It's going to be covered up with a decoupled ceiling to make the garage look nice and reduce the noise that can make it upstairs but still allow access when I need to get to something hidden in there. Now I'm thinking of adding permanently installed dust extraction in there too. Another thing I want to do is hang movable walls on truss trolleys so I can make my two room garage/shop in to three or four rooms. That will let me create a paint booth or wood shop that is designed to control overspray and dust for quick cleaning and conversion back to garage space after a project is finished. I'm also going to have a lot of pallet rack area so my storage can go vertical and I have a hydraulic lift cart that can raise 300 lbs 72" so I can put heavy bins on high shelves even when I'm old and grey. It's all going to be an exercise in efficiently utilizing every square inch of floor space to the maximum so I can make do in a 1,000 ft² shop instead of a 3,000 ft² shop and live in about 800 ft² upstairs. Hopefully that will mean a solar and battery system big enough to occasionally run a mill, lathe, horizontal bandsaw and welder will be big enough to run my HVAC continuously (I live in a desert with good sunlight). It's also a lot cheaper to build 1,800 ft² of shop/home than 3,800 ft². I'm going to build another ~1,000 ft² steel building for additional shop space and storage. It will have HVAC but it will be set to cool when it gets over 95° and heat when it gets under 40° unless I'm using it. Insulation will be about R12 in the walls, maybe a bit higher in the roof but well sealed to prevent conditioned air leaking out or critters getting in. That might sound like a lot of space but when you want to fabricate, paint, woodwork and store a few project cars inside so they don't cook all summer, it's about as minimal as I can go without making some things really difficult or impossible. Luckily I have over an acre to build on and flat spots for both buildings and a driveway that connects them.
@beardoe6874 Wow you got some plans, it sounds like that will keep you busy for some time! "Nature Abhors a Vacuum", and we seem to find no problem consuming as much space as we can find, or in your case build. I used to do automotive work until I ran out of things to do so I switched hobbies, thats going to be a big chunk of your space. I imagine if I had land to build on, I might fall into a black hole of over-building and never completing, a labor of love for sure though. Good luck and hopefully you have or are getting a Tractor with Backhoe too! 👍👍
Is there a way to make a 90 degree turn with this stuff? Need to hoist stuff up to my attic, slide 3ft down, the make a right turn and slide another 6ft.
Yeah... I'll admit. I have ceiling Height envy. My present garage shop (20x24) has a ceiling height of 84" with a beam going across it with a 74" headroom. One more row of block when they built this house in 1969 would have made a world of difference. As it is, there's only enough room for the dust collection duct to go across half the space without some head-banging pipes at the beam. excellent idea though.🙂
I hear you. My last garage was like yours, a big beam below the ceiling deck with a post, but on the other hand it was a bit wider and deeper. Is your shop laid out in a way you need to cross that beam? I guess we make the best of what we have, play to its strengths etc. :) Thanks for the kind words Wayne!
😅 Grammar, public speaking, even interacting with people is its just not my "thing".. I'd be much happier putting someone else on camera than myself.. but woodworking seems to be largely a solo sport and my only real goal is to share some info with the broader community. 🤷 Hopefully I'm getting better at it though! Thanks for the comment!
Well great content that is definitely eye opening. A couple of minor issues with sound and camera perspective. It seems the viewpoint is sort of looking up your nose.
Good info really. Kinda shocked I am hearing it first from a coaster. Yes. We know, just how you talk about only 150 bucks. Us in rust belt, that’s a stretch often.
Leaving a top level comment since i don't know if you see replies to other comments. Me and at least one other viewerr would be interested in seeing more about the cables, outlets, and specifics of the electrics at each of the tool sites!
Interesting, I'm not sure if there's enough info to make a video out of, I'll have to think about what I would cover. Are you interested in what interfaces I used, power panel, 3-phase power, fuses, or just everything in general?
@@pixelwoodworks perhaps a video on all things electric infrastructure in your shop would be enough content? Your power requirements, what you had to begin with to what you added and why, and how it played into your strut structure.
This seems to be a pretty common comment. Yes Uni-strut is A brand. You won't find Uni-strut at your local home center, you will find Super Strut or something else, so I just made it more generic to avoid confusion. Mission failed on my part 🤷 👍
@@pixelwoodworks I in no sense of the word think you failed! I was just injecting a comment more than anything.. I have seen and heard it called all of the above. You did an excellent job on your ceiling project!!!!! Thanks!
Why do you, and everyone else assume the bottom chords of the roof trusses were designed to handle the loads from the stuff you are adding. In most garages it is not.
Hello, I did not assume that, but I decided not to get into it in this video. My ceiling is 2x12 Joists with a large glue-lam beam supporting it. I talked to an engineer about adding the load in the past before building out. I did have a segment of video where I should the attic, joists, and discussed it, but again I cut it out. The original video was ~40 minutes :/ I think I'll add a note in the description of the video though. Thanks again!
I talked to a structural engineer before installing, but yes, everyone should be cognisent of the load. I originally covered that in the video but cut it for time. I did cover it in the description of the video.
I guess thats all perspective and relative, $23 for a 10' piece of steel I can mount all kinds of things too doesn't seem to bad for me. A trip to Taco Bell cost me $40 😭
It really depends on what your comparing it to and what the long tail of cost savings is. I've had it for coming up on two years and I get endless utility from it. Prior to this, I spent a lot of money trying other configurations including wooden structures, that I tore down and trashed over time. YMMV and one size does not fit all 🤷
Running a MasterClass on space optimization. Such a brutally underrated system. Bravo
Thanks! You sound like someone who understands and appreciates it :)
yes sir. I installed a limited run of strut on my garage ceiling a few months back to help store 10-14 ft long boards. After watching this, I kinda wish I had installed a full grid across the whole ceiling. Great stuff!@@pixelwoodworks
When the time is right, you can certainly add on. :)
Thank you for introducing me to strut. I am in the middle of purchasing a new house and am planning out the garage. Now that I know about strut, things are going to get wild! I am all about modularity and making something reconfigurable, so this will be a huge win for me.
Awesome! 🎉 You are at the best part of the shop build, the beginning. Enjoy the journey!
2 big tips I can give for unistrut in workshops which is amazing. 1 it makes for really great garage door opener supports as its far more versatile. 2 - buy yourself a set of klein or any other brand “pass through nut driver” this allows for fast securing with threaded rod or long bolts. As a bonus tip if you need you can buy plastic end caps for unistrut that hammer into to the ends to make them not sharp if they are in areas that you may come in contact with you
Great advice. I also added red tips to my threaded rod in a few places after bumping my head. I originally shot that but cut it out of the video. :/ Thanks for the tips!
Retired commercial electrician from NYC, I've run thousands of feet of strut ( we called it kindorf [which is just a name brand]. You did a great job . Oh side note ,we cut "strut" with a hack saw ( start on on the open end) or a band saw, ( not a woodworker band saw.) Again great stuff.
So nice to hear from an electrician!
You are totally right (of course) about the hacksaw.. I originally mentioned it cut it out for time.. I never actually tried the hacksaw myself either, it just seemed like a lot of work.. sounds like it was a real option though and not just a cost saver. 👍👍
A mobile bandsaw is a great suggestion that I totally missed. 👍👍
Thanks for the tips and feedback!
Also remember to file the cut ends. Unistrut can make a nasty slice in your skin. Bad enough to require more than electrical tape to close it up.
@@guybratt6238 😵 You are right. I purchased end-caps from Discount Strut Accessories that are rubberized and solve that problem, but then I never found a place to install them, somewhere that was exposed and had about 1.5" of open space for the cap to go on. Good advice, I missed that one.👍👍
Great video
I worked in an industrial setting installing many strut systems, the abrasive cutoff saws is very noisy and slow , we found a portable bandsaw the best. As well as being very versatile at the same price range.
I agree, the cutoff saw is extremely loud. Great suggestion. 👍
We use Unistrut all the time for electrical/low voltage jobs. The only hurdle for the average home owner would be the price. but this stuff is great for a wide range of usages. great ideas, and implementation!!!
It's true, it can get expensive. It can also be targeted for specific purposes and be fairly cost effective. In the scope of my project, the strut was no the major cost. Dust pipe was by far the biggest cost, followed by power, followed by lights.
I used the strut components to mount the waste water tank to the underside of my food truck, but I never thought to use it as intended, hanging stuff from the ceiling… thanks for reminding me of one of the common uses of strut! I’m going to take a good hard look at my little shop and see how I can use this!
Awesome, the great thing is you can do as little or as much as needed, you can add on over time, and start with something very specific. Good luck!
@@pixelwoodworks thanks!
Your shop looks awesome. Can you do a shop tour. Maybe short one then a longer one in detail.
Great idea on strut. I use it a bunch.
Last comment you said got me to laugh out loud. Subscribed’
Thanks for the support! 👍👍 Woodworkers building shops is half the fun, right? 😂
Great use of the different strut accessories for various applications.
One suggestion, around 5:43 when you show the suspended platform. There is a much easier, cheaper and stronger way to do that.
Hang a piece of threaded rod in each corner, have a hole in your plywood for the rod, pass it through one strut and then through another at 90 degrees to the adjacent corner (for super heavy duty applications)
Rod is much cheaper than the strut drops, you don’t need any brackets, and there is no relying on nuts/bolts needing to be super tight to avoid them sliding in the strut.
Again, great problem solving and use of the product
Hi James, I do use threaded rod in many cases, however the de-humidifier itself tends to vibrate and I was worried about that motion over time so I wanted something more stable that didn't have flex. Great suggestion though, and your totally right in most cases. 👍👍👍
This was one of the most useful videos (for me) of any I have ever watched.
Thanks so much for the kind words!
@@pixelwoodworks 👍
I just found your channel and immediately watched (and loved) every video. Top-notch everything.
Thanks so much, glad to have your support!
Great ideas! But, be careful of weight. To be on the safe side, I'd suggest consulting with an engineer or use other means to determine the load rating of the ceiling joists or trusses.
I agree and In hindsight I should have mentioned this in the video. 👍👍👍 The load is the reason I'm not storing any lumber.
@@pixelwoodworks I figured as much. Difficult to cover everything in a YT vid.
I don't know that structural strength is considered by many/most, so thought I'd offer the reminder. Thanks for the reply.
You can do the metal cutting you describe with an angle grinder. Which you can also use to deburr the cuts once you've made them. Less expensive and less space than a metal cutting saw.
Its true. I haven't personally had great luck with angle grinder cutting, which is why I bought the miter saw. Some people have suggested a bandsaw as well which seems like a great alternative. You must do metal work and be a whiz with the angle grinder, I'd probably loose a hand 🤷 👍👍
Great topic and really well presented! It's a shame my basement joists are less than a foot above my head - there's not much space to exploit! Do you actually film in your shop or is that a greenscreen? The depth of field feels pretty off, but maybe it's just the lights. Cheers!
Thank! No basements here, I can only imagine getting woodworking tools downstairs is all kinds of fun. :) I actually do film in my shop, I'm not a fan of green screens, so thats an actual shot. Those hand-tools are the only items in my shop lit in 3200k. Most of the shop is spot lit in 4000k. Perhaps that contributed. Maybe it doesn't look off to me because it's my shop and I think it looks how it actually is :) Thanks again!
I was actually thinking that it was very well, and intentionally lit. Given how much of youtube is filmed by shaky hand held phones, I appreciate the effort.
Great for those with really high ceilings. My ceiling is a couple of inches under 10' which makes using overhead spaces a lot more complicated.
You are right 👍 I wish I had 14' ceilings though 🤷
Arrrg, you got me at the end! I was waffling on hitting the subscribe button, and BAM!! There you are, callingme out. Great video. Looking forward to more.
hahah.. thank you sir for taking pity upon a TH-cam scrub like me 😅
lol, I’ve never seen this channel before.. dudes a little awkward.. I saw the end part “uh, you can subscribe if you like?…” [pause]… and I thought.. whoa.. super awkwaarrd… 😂
But no.. he’s got jokes! lol
I’m not subscribing though 😑.. not my type of content.. not even sure why I watched it to be honest. Classic TH-cam rabbit hole trick.
@@HiThisIsMineThanks, I think?! 🤣
@@pixelwoodworks Love the uniqueness.. keep doing you. Came here for the tricks, left with a treat instead. Can’t expect everyone to find the videos useful though right? 🤷🏽♂️
"Can’t expect everyone to find the videos useful though right?" -- Oh, can't I? 😂
Wow, what a system! I'd love a long-format in-depth look at exactly how you built each layer on your ceiling and the logic/reasoning of why you did what you did at each level. Fascinating stuff. New subscriber as of this video, so I guess you were wrong about one thing. :P Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the feedback. I did originally do a much more in-depth video but after 35 minutes I decided it was too long and we ended up with this. I can tell you my layout was just based on my needs of the moment except putting lights at the bottom. Its really going to depend on what your trying to get off the floor and onto the ceiling and how your shop is configured. The best piece of advise I can give you is tightening up your grid where you plan mount many things. Thanks again!
Would happily watch all 35 minutes if you still have it! Upload it as an "extended version"!@@pixelwoodworks
@@ModernSurvivalists Sorry, deleted and working on the next video, with a Shaper. So far I still have both arms, so thats a good sign 😅
I would love to see a shop tour video.
Noted!
Thinking about this system, a track for a 5 gal shop vac would rock. The one I have in my small shop is always underfoot.
👍 For sure, I considered putting a dust extractor above my workbench for easy access to sanders or other handheld tools.
That looks like a great setup you have. What is the spacing between the base struts that you use?
Thanks! Spacing is between 4-5' because the cross members are 10' I wanted to avoid as much cutting as possible so one perpendicular length spans 3x base struts. I hope that helps!
I used to spend way too much time trying to find a random tool or thing, then I decided to used these struts with trollies connected to multiple offset sheets of plywood to create additional wall storage space. These dozen sliding 24" wide sliding walls segments support thirty six packout mounting plates which I use to store the variety of packout organizers that keep all my odd tools, fasteners and other small materials in dedicated cases so they are super easy to find grab and go. Got an electrical project? Just grab the electrics pack and wire nut pack. Internet work needs to be done. I have cases for all that with all the coordinated tools. Hanging pictures? Yes, that's covered and more. and it all fits behind several spaced out tall metal storage cabinets along a 12' wall with 16" of depth. This keeps all the odd things tucked away and out of my larger woodworking and mechanical tool boxes so my primary shop area is super clean and organized.
What a great design and execution. I have seen commercial systems like this but but they are extremely expensive and not configurable. Great Idea, thank you for sharing 👍
Not very expensive at all if you take the time to lay it out properly and source the best trolly. All the rest can be picked up at the box store. Another note is the use of 22" long by 2" tall pieces of high-density polyethylene sheeting on the bottom back end of each sliding panel that runs against standoffs on the baseboard to keep everything level and easily gliding.
@@pixelwoodworks
I've had this exact idea floating in my head for about a year now. Been trying to reverse engineer levracks. Love the idea, hate the price!😂 cheers!
Ah yes, thats the product I was thinking of, thank you! 🙏
That was the inspiration. I think mine is more sturdy given it is fixed to the buildings joists instead of pallet rack and its more flexible at a third the price. @@159648sentile
Cable trays are for cables (data, phone, external antennas, etc); bus ways are for power.
Tons of starline busway on ebay for super cheap; when a company shuts down a shop or lab, more pallets appear on ebay.
Not an affiliate, just a lover of on demand configurable overhead power for cheap.
Thanks for the feedback. I had to look this up and research it after you mentioned it. It certainly seems like it would be a great way to setup flexible power but far more in-depth and less approachable for a laymen. The cable I already had was SOOW and its fine to use on a cable tray (or in much worse conditions). Interesting idea though, Thanks again!
Can you point out what you are talking about? I am not able to find anything about a bus way. Posting the id of a ebay listing would be fine.
A busway system involves a set of enclosed conductors, typically solid copper bars, that distribute power along its length. Outlets or tap-off units can be added at any point along the busway, allowing for flexible and customizable power distribution. I think its a bit much for a garage but may be nice for a mid-size or dedicated shop. Here's the eBay ID of a tap (324970503780) and the bus (285446121734). Hope that helps.
Just found your channel and Subscribed. Very nice work
Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate it.
Hello, great video. Gave me lots of ideas. At 6:12 in the video it shows a wall with just brackets mounted and there's nothing on the brackets. Assume these are for lumber maybe. My question is where did you get those self brackets connected to the strut? They have a hook at the to keep stuff from coming off. I've got to get some of those. Thanks
So glad you got some ideas from it. Regarding those brackets, you can find a large variety of configurations, for example: unistrutstore.com/1-58-metal-framing/unistrut-brackets.html -- but my suggestion to you would be to simply use a cut piece of strut with heavy duty angle brackets at the upper connction and 45 degree strut supporting the base. For the end, you can simply use another light duty ($3) angle bracket to keep wood in place. (There are cheaper vendors than Unistrut brand strut too).
@@pixelwoodworks great suggestions. Thanks
wow I couldn't have found this at any better time! thanks so much for sharing. Great info, super useful. Subscribed!
Glad you found it so useful, thanks so much for the support!
For us old boomers, we're shocked at how expensive this 'inexpensive' system has become. My first exposure to it was as a rugrat when my Dad was in the USAF. They used the larger stuff and it was about 15 to 25 cents a foot in the mid '60s, depending on how long you started with. They built the largest storage racks I'd ever seen from the stuff to hold aircraft parts.
I hear you. It seems like thats the way of the world. I don't typically eat fast food and my memories of Taco bell are 59 cent tacos. I went through the drive through last year, and one taco was $4. 😱 I bet the stuff your talking about was American made too. Just out of curiosity, where did one go (and individual) in the 60's to get something like that or was it only available in more commercial applications?
@@pixelwoodworks YIKES! I haven't been to Taco Bell in a long time, but the tacos were still more than 59 cents. They don't taste as good now as they did when they were about 39 cents. The struts were available from what I think was the manufacturer in Colorado Springs, next to Peterson Field AFB. I don't remember the name of the company, but we could go there when it wasn't busy and a couple of the guys were allowed to sell to individuals. I think most of the stuff we got was either returned material or seconds, because we got some aluminum sheets once that were stamped with part numbers but deformed. They were a little thicker than 1/8 inch but about 2 ft by 6ft. We cut them down to size and used them in the kitchen as cookie sheets. They lasted forever.
Interesting. Thats the thing about anything built with quality in mind, it really does tend to last forever.. I've never heard of buying seconds of steel, but I guess you can get seconds or returns of anything. What would cause a strut like product to be a considered a "second" but still usable?
@@pixelwoodworks If it's for direct sale to a branch of the military, they still have to have the correct FSN's (federal stock number) printed or stamped on them. Or if the items don't match the description on the order, like they're an inch too short or something.
Inflation
Great video and super informative! Thanks for sharing, and I loved the ending...
Thank you for the kind words!
Great video! Good to see ya on TH-cam :)
Hey! Thanks for the support; I've been keeping in touch vicariously through Tom. Congrats on your AI startup, some cool videos! 👍👍
In the usa home depot has it in stock, as well as most of the attachments. Well I think they have super strut which is unistrut compatible but doesn't have the branding.
Correct and Lowes has Adamax (which I'm not sure is more or less confusing? 🤷)
@@pixelwoodworks as long as they are compatible it doesn't matter to us. I like how home depot also carry the powder coated strut. I used some for fence posts across some land that seasonally floods with brackish water. I am hoping that it may last than all of the rusted galvanized posts I see in that area.
@@pixelwoodworks and lowes is easier to get a cheap delivery on in case you don't have an easy way to transport 10ft lengths of steel. When I ordered a several pallets of fence panels from lowes before the pandemic it came with free home delivery.
Interesting, that could make a real difference. I usually have to rent a truck. Thanks for the tip.
A great idea that I have never even considered. Thank you
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the support!
Awesome video, underrated channel! Subscribed.
Thanks so much for the kind words and support.
Why do all the TH-camrs these days have intro music at 400% level of the regular audio? I watch a lot of videos at night or with headphones and I have the volume set so I can clearly hear the person but then that mega loud music kicks in and either blows my eardrums out or wakes everyone up (if I am not wearing headphones). Please just make it same or lower volume as your voice.
Seriously! I almost always click away. Checking for standard audio levels should be a requirement!
Hi, thanks for the feedback. It's actually harder than you think to get that right, it seems to depend on the speakers your using. To be clear, that was just the normal music volume, I didn't increase it, I simply reduced the volume at other times. When your listening on a computer, the background music fades out and you may not even hear it. When listening on headphones, I imagine its a more balanced sound so it feels much more dramatic than using loud speakers or computer speakers. Its tough to find that balance. I get the message though, no one wants hearing loss from background music! I'll pay a bit more attention in the next video and strike a better balance. Thanks again for the feedback!
@@pixelwoodworks
Great video, love your thought process and creativity 😀
The source file seems to be hyper compressed (like most music coming out these days). Find a recording of the same track with better dynamic range or use a different clip altogether.
Use audacity or something of that sort to level out your audio clips. (+-3db between tracks)
It's actually really really simple!
Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to go back and look at the source project and see whats off, I really thought it was better balanced. I'd update it if YT allowed, but I'm stuck with whats here.
@@pixelwoodworks No worries, Your content is top notch, and that's all I'm looking for! 🙂
Audio balance isn't a turn-off for me, my ears are way past their prime after decades of headphone usage and working with machinery 🤣
Good idea. Its usually referred to as unistrut. Also, for cutting it just use an angle grinder or reciprocating saw/sawzall.
Most importantly, before hanging heavy loads or a winch, make sure your ceiling is rated for that
Best way to cut unistrut is with a portable band saw.
Thanks for the feedback! I called it Strut because Unistrut is actually a brand and you will find Superstrut or another brand at your home center. Your right about load on your ceiling, I just didn't want to digress into that too far so I cut it out of the video. Thats the only reason I am not storing MORE on my ceiling, there's a room above it all sitting on a glue-lam. Thanks again!
Great idea.
Diablo makes a Steel Demon blade for circular saws. It works great!
Excellent. What kind of saw are you using it in, standard miter?
@@pixelwoodworks Actual its a Dewalt cordless skill saw. I'll post the blade number tomorrow. It's in my work truck. Not as good as a miter saw but better than a hand or skill saw.
@@billygilbert7911 Ah that works too, even more efficient.
Be careful hanging too much weight from a garage ceiling.
My parents have been doing that since the 80s and it looked ok when the roofing was old wood shingles but when they re-roofed with asphault the damage was plain to see. The roof trusses had sagged over the garage so while the house portion looks fine, the attached garage has dips and curves where it should be flat and straight.
I told them to take out the storage they were hanging from the garage roof trusses and fix the dips before they put on the new roofing but they did not and now it looks pretty funky.
You might not notice it right away but after you do, you can't un-see it.
The other thing is if you design a garage with open roof trusses, design it to hold a load of crap in the trusses because somebody is going to look up and have bad ideas...
Its true, I consulted a structural engineer because we built a room on top of this garage as well. So far so good, this has been installed for about 1.25 years and no signs of movement. I covered this in the original edit, but cut it for time. I even had a segment in my attic talking about the joists etc. I just thought it digressed too much, but perhaps that was a mistake, people seem interested. 🤷
What you did isn't bad, maybe a couple hundred pounds and you aligned the strut to distribute the load.
It's when you have 4x as much and don't distribute the load properly that messes things up.
I'm planning a garage with living space over it too. An important part of that is using the space between the floor joists as a mechanical chase for my utilities. It's going to be covered up with a decoupled ceiling to make the garage look nice and reduce the noise that can make it upstairs but still allow access when I need to get to something hidden in there.
Now I'm thinking of adding permanently installed dust extraction in there too.
Another thing I want to do is hang movable walls on truss trolleys so I can make my two room garage/shop in to three or four rooms. That will let me create a paint booth or wood shop that is designed to control overspray and dust for quick cleaning and conversion back to garage space after a project is finished.
I'm also going to have a lot of pallet rack area so my storage can go vertical and I have a hydraulic lift cart that can raise 300 lbs 72" so I can put heavy bins on high shelves even when I'm old and grey.
It's all going to be an exercise in efficiently utilizing every square inch of floor space to the maximum so I can make do in a 1,000 ft² shop instead of a 3,000 ft² shop and live in about 800 ft² upstairs.
Hopefully that will mean a solar and battery system big enough to occasionally run a mill, lathe, horizontal bandsaw and welder will be big enough to run my HVAC continuously (I live in a desert with good sunlight). It's also a lot cheaper to build 1,800 ft² of shop/home than 3,800 ft².
I'm going to build another ~1,000 ft² steel building for additional shop space and storage. It will have HVAC but it will be set to cool when it gets over 95° and heat when it gets under 40° unless I'm using it. Insulation will be about R12 in the walls, maybe a bit higher in the roof but well sealed to prevent conditioned air leaking out or critters getting in.
That might sound like a lot of space but when you want to fabricate, paint, woodwork and store a few project cars inside so they don't cook all summer, it's about as minimal as I can go without making some things really difficult or impossible.
Luckily I have over an acre to build on and flat spots for both buildings and a driveway that connects them.
@beardoe6874 Wow you got some plans, it sounds like that will keep you busy for some time! "Nature Abhors a Vacuum", and we seem to find no problem consuming as much space as we can find, or in your case build. I used to do automotive work until I ran out of things to do so I switched hobbies, thats going to be a big chunk of your space. I imagine if I had land to build on, I might fall into a black hole of over-building and never completing, a labor of love for sure though. Good luck and hopefully you have or are getting a Tractor with Backhoe too! 👍👍
Is there a way to make a 90 degree turn with this stuff? Need to hoist stuff up to my attic, slide 3ft down, the make a right turn and slide another 6ft.
If you mean with strut, yes you can make 90, 45, or more subtle angle changes.
This is a brilliant idea/design!
Thanks for the kind words! 🤗
These are great ideas! Thank you!
This is more commonly known as: Uni-strut. As opposed to just strut.
Its true, and I also refer to it as Unistrut, however thats a brand and you won't find "Uni-strut" at your local home center. It's like Coke.
Thats a sexy ceiling man
Sadly, my wife doesn't seem to care :)
Yeah... I'll admit. I have ceiling Height envy. My present garage shop (20x24) has a ceiling height of 84" with a beam going across it with a 74" headroom. One more row of block when they built this house in 1969 would have made a world of difference. As it is, there's only enough room for the dust collection duct to go across half the space without some head-banging pipes at the beam. excellent idea though.🙂
I hear you. My last garage was like yours, a big beam below the ceiling deck with a post, but on the other hand it was a bit wider and deeper. Is your shop laid out in a way you need to cross that beam? I guess we make the best of what we have, play to its strengths etc. :) Thanks for the kind words Wayne!
Yes I am subscribing great video.I just found this channel. Look forward to your next video.
Thanks so much for the support! 👍👍
That’s a bad ass set up!!!
Thanks so much for the positive feedback!
Look the snark at the end about not subscribing is what got me to subscribe lol
Yeah that guy's pushy :P
Just curious, have you been to Journalism school or classes?
😅 Grammar, public speaking, even interacting with people is its just not my "thing".. I'd be much happier putting someone else on camera than myself.. but woodworking seems to be largely a solo sport and my only real goal is to share some info with the broader community. 🤷 Hopefully I'm getting better at it though! Thanks for the comment!
Enjoyed your video. Subscribed!
Thanks so much for the support!
glad i saw this video .. awesome.
Thanks so much for the feedback! 👍👍
Well great content that is definitely eye opening. A couple of minor issues with sound and camera perspective. It seems the viewpoint is sort of looking up your nose.
I noticed that too! 🤷
Great Job!
Thanks for the support!
Can you expand on this, show each config?
Hi, can you clarify what you mean exactly? Do you mean each item I've installed on the ceiling, like power, dust, etc?
Great thinking
Thanks for the feedback!
Good info really. Kinda shocked I am hearing it first from a coaster. Yes. We know, just how you talk about only 150 bucks. Us in rust belt, that’s a stretch often.
Hi Aaron, I'm in Texas, but there is a coast here, but does that make me a coaster? 🤷 😂
Leaving a top level comment since i don't know if you see replies to other comments. Me and at least one other viewerr would be interested in seeing more about the cables, outlets, and specifics of the electrics at each of the tool sites!
Interesting, I'm not sure if there's enough info to make a video out of, I'll have to think about what I would cover. Are you interested in what interfaces I used, power panel, 3-phase power, fuses, or just everything in general?
@@pixelwoodworks perhaps a video on all things electric infrastructure in your shop would be enough content? Your power requirements, what you had to begin with to what you added and why, and how it played into your strut structure.
It could be done... fun could be had :D
Hi Alan, I made and posted the video I think you asked for, not sure but there you go: th-cam.com/video/5ecfdy9lqHQ/w-d-xo.html
all right I'll sub gees, that's smarts my shop looks like a monster was looking for food.
😂
Liked and subscribed! 🎉
Thanks so much!
well done
Thank you for the kind words!
oh you better believe i’m subscribing
Thanks so much for the support!
Unistrut.... ?
This seems to be a pretty common comment. Yes Uni-strut is A brand. You won't find Uni-strut at your local home center, you will find Super Strut or something else, so I just made it more generic to avoid confusion. Mission failed on my part 🤷 👍
@@pixelwoodworks I in no sense of the word think you failed! I was just injecting a comment more than anything.. I have seen and heard it called all of the above. You did an excellent job on your ceiling project!!!!! Thanks!
Agreed, reusable 10/10
Thank you so much!
Dangit, I really love the content, but for some reason the presentation was not super enganging, and I don't know why.
Thanks for the feedback! It's probably just me :)
Why do you, and everyone else assume the bottom chords of the roof trusses were designed to handle the loads from the stuff you are adding. In most garages it is not.
Hello, I did not assume that, but I decided not to get into it in this video. My ceiling is 2x12 Joists with a large glue-lam beam supporting it. I talked to an engineer about adding the load in the past before building out. I did have a segment of video where I should the attic, joists, and discussed it, but again I cut it out. The original video was ~40 minutes :/ I think I'll add a note in the description of the video though. Thanks again!
Strut runs $20-$25 for 10ft?
Omg... Here in Canada it's more like $6-$8 per foot, bought in minimum lengths of 10ft
Damn, must be nice!
It looks almost as complicated as an oil refinery.
It doers kind of look that way.. but it isn't, just like a bunch of legos 😅
It’s all fun and games until your roof comes down because it’s not designed for the extra weight.
I talked to a structural engineer before installing, but yes, everyone should be cognisent of the load. I originally covered that in the video but cut it for time. I did cover it in the description of the video.
I want. 😉
It can be yours! :)
Geez who’s got that much overhead space, not me 😕
Maybe its more common in the south? 10’ ceilings aren’t that uncommon around here. 🤷
6:56
😅
Biden moment @5:51.
Lol. I have moments like that. Course you can stare at it and forget what you were taking about.
LMBO
😂
Good video. My only criticism is that you are dressed too nice as a TH-cam creator lol. ;)
And yes, I did subscribe.
Lol, well I'm not a real "TH-camr," just another hobby :D Thanks!
This would be a great video if that annoying noise wasn’t in the background
Oh no. Like a high pitch whine?
why annoying background music? violins, and classical instruments are not good choise when you talk at the same time.
I liked it 😅
Music's a funny thing, its hard to please everyone 🤷
Thanks for the support! 🙏
Music is distracting while you speak.
I've heard that but can't do much about it post-posting. Thanks for the feedback!
Strut is NOT cost effective lol
I guess thats all perspective and relative, $23 for a 10' piece of steel I can mount all kinds of things too doesn't seem to bad for me. A trip to Taco Bell cost me $40 😭
fact check: cost effective. No.
It really depends on what your comparing it to and what the long tail of cost savings is. I've had it for coming up on two years and I get endless utility from it. Prior to this, I spent a lot of money trying other configurations including wooden structures, that I tore down and trashed over time. YMMV and one size does not fit all 🤷
Great ideas!
Thank you so much!