Cars are amazing feats of technology. They have saved millions of people so much time in their daily travels. Without them, you would not be able to reach school or work from your home in a short time. Passengers enjoy the convenience of just sitting in their seats until they reach their destination. Drivers, on the other hand, do exert more effort, but their skill has given them the freedom to go anywhere they want.
Motor vehicles are robust and complex machines, but they are not perfect. Like people, they have a limited life span, and sometimes you will see them break down unexpectedly. That is why vehicle repair and maintenance businesses are lucrative. There will be no shortage of drivers and passengers around, which means a steady stream of customers. If you are interested in building a garage, whether it is for business or just a hobby, here are some essential pieces of equipment you have to look out for.
Dress for Success
First things first: You have to think about safety. Heavy machines and tools will be involved, so you better make sure that you are well protected for you to avoid getting some serious injuries. Invest in overalls, gloves, and footwear that can handle extreme heat and is thick enough to shield you from debris. You also need to protect your eyes, so a nice set of durable goggles should also be in order. Wearing a face mask is a no-brainer since you will also be dealing with fumes and smoke.
If you are a hands-on person, you can grab yourself an apron that can hold your tools for easy access. There will be no need for you to lug around a large toolbox that can even become an obstacle and trip hazard.
The Blowout
Vehicle tires work by filling them with air, so it is just right for you to get an air compressor. That will let you inflate those wheels in no time. Not only that, its high pressure will even let you use it as a blower. So if you have lots of little scraps lying around the garage floor, fire this one up and blow them all away.
The air compressor can also be used for spray painting. You can use it with a nozzle so you can give a car a new look or remove some flaws if it has a few scratches on the body.
Do You Even Lift?
The jack is your weapon of choice when one of your tires has depleted all of its air. All vehicles should have one in their compartments, as you can unexpectedly also have a flat tire. Its job is to lift one corner of the car just enough so you can unscrew the wheel from it. Changing a tire is considered a rite of passage for motorists. So if you have done it yourself, you should be proud as it can be physically challenging.
For more serious issues like a damaged suspension, you will need a more substantial machine to raise your vehicle. You can try hunting the classifieds for a four-post car lift for sale. That provides ample support for all four corners of your car. So when it gets raised, you have the confidence that all pillars will bear its whole weight. You can then walk right under so that you can observe and find out if there are any physical damages present on the underside.
Tire Work
The World Health Organization or WHO reported a 50% chance of survival when a vehicle experiences impact at 28 miles per hour. That means that even a modest city car can run at considerably fast speeds. While this may give the impression that it is light and it can zip by if you put the pedal to the metal, it still has to bear the heavy weight of its body. That is also one factor that affects its tire alignment. It can lose balance when driven on bumpy roads or figures, even in a mild collision. You can use a computerized balancer to realign the wheel so your car can run smoothly again.
Removing your tire from its rim can be a laborious process if you will do it by hand. To save you time and energy, you can add a tire changer to your garage. That is a machine that can scoop out the tire so it can be separated from the rim.
Power Tools
If you already have a collection of power tools at home, they can come in handy for use in your garage. You can use drills and polishers to make some cosmetic fixes to a car’s bumper. Circular saws can come in handy if you need to cut off pieces of metal that you will add to reinforce the chassis. If you have more tools, you should find uses for those one way or another.
Once you have amassed these essential tools and machines, you should be ready to put up your own garage. You will be prepared to handle most of the issues that a car would have. That will give you hours of fun tinkering and fixing stuff.
