The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-08-11

carry out the really necessary repairs without warmth in the garage. There are many methods of heating the ga- rage available. For the permanent structure the steam heating plant of the house may be utilized to send out heat to the garage. This, of course, must be done when the latter building is erected. In other cases separate heating plant may be installed for tho garage, and it may be of the steam, hot water or even hot air type. For the small, portable or merely unpretentious garage, there are number of types of smaller heating systems available. There is gas heater circulating hot water, there is properly protected self-feeding coal heater and even an oil stove may be utilized, properly screened to keep the fumes of gasoline and oil away from the naked flamc Here again the garage owner must be quite sure that he Is keeping on the safe side of whatever local laws may be ir force. If any of my readers con- template building garage and are in doubt as to the heating system they want to use, I will be glad to advise them and tell them where an appro- propriate system may be purchased
 The question of illumination needs some careful consideration A gener- ous window should be provided over the workbench, so that there may be light enough to work by even on a dull day. Electric lighting is the only artificial illumination for use in the garage. It should be so arranged that a cluster light or a bub of generous power is over the work bench Some- times it is necessary to carry out re- pairs at night and trying to work with- out plenty of light is a sad perform ance. Also there should be light at the door.
 Also the matter of water supply must be taken into consideration in the be ginning. I consider it essential that water shall be piped to or into the garage. The motor car is a vehicle requiring much washing When the water is piped into the garage it Is a good idea to have one pipe at sink, while a second is located in the floor for washing pur- poses And this indicates the necessity for drain. Every garage ought to have some provision for drainage. Even the most unpretentious building can have what is known as French drain, bar rel sunk in the earth and filled witf, cracked stone and rubble. Many garage owners prefer to have the water supply outside the building. so as to minimize
 messiness. but, of course, this has its disadvantages.
 We have provided now for what may
 be called the permanent fixtures, the garage and that part of its equipment,
 which Is designed to remain in place after it is once installed. The next con- sderation will be that of tools and de- vices needed in carrying out work on the car The size of this equipment will be regulat ted by the owners ability as me- chanic. For the man who knows noth- ing about the mechanism of his car and turns all repairs over to the repair shop, a very simple tool equipment will sui flee, in fact, that which is supplied by
 the maker of the car will probably prove ample. On the other hand, the man who
 intends tc do all the ordinary repairing and maintenance work, a comprehensive
 tool kit is essential. Fortunately auto
 mobile tools are not as expensive now as they Used to be.
 The first necessity that I would sug-
 gest is really satisfactory workbench No one can do really good work without a substantial and convenient base Two or three good sized drawers should b. part of the bench. I would also recon mend fair sized set of shelves or wal cabinet as part of the equipment. One of the most vitally important
 things in arranging the garage equip ment is to have definite method in plac- ing the various tools and devices and di VI dy D ihdlAtdii ". <tdNS All loOlS Ol OiAe kind gathered together in one place Never use a tool without afterward re turning it to it's proper place in tho room An excellent idea in tn.s connec tion is to have series of straps nailed around the room to hold the various l tools. As a contribution to orderliness | it is an admirable plan to pumber the 1 handle of each tool and place the cor responding number over the particular niche this tool is to occupy. It is easy | then to return each item to its appointed place. A friend of mine adopted the method of outlining each tool in painl | against the wall. In this way. too. it is easy to see that each implement goes 1 back into its proper place.
 1 In one of the drawers of the bench which, by the way, ought to be fitted with a lock, there should be kept any l fine tools, such as micrometers. gauges calipers, etc. The vulcanizing apparatus | should have shelf or a drawer to Itself
 A drawer in the workbench should be gwen up to cloths and waste. A drawer divided off into compartments must be provided for nuts bolts. screws. wash CTS, cotten pins and other small parts It need scarcely be said that tools should be arranged in groups, the chisels should be kept together. the screwdriv-
 CTS. the wrenches of various kinds segre gated. the files, the saws the hammers, etc., etc.
 The home garage is a surprising breed CT of litter and unless this continual stream of refuse is kept in hand, the re- suit is very fair imitation of chaos, m
 remarkably short time. There must be definite place to throw old clothes. waste that has been soiled and similar refuse. One of the cans with spring
 top, that arc now on the market, serves the purpose of catch all and incidentally lessens the chance of fire. A very good arrangement in this connection is to have round hole out in the top of the work bench and under 1t place a generous
 waste can. This hole must have lid.
 50 that it can be covered up when ths owner is working on the bench, other
 wise small parts of various sorts are likely to be pushed accidentally into the waste can.
 Such litter as old cans, old parts, olo tires. etc, should have some definite harbor, instead of being thrown into any corner that happens to be nearest
 If the garage has an upper story. this may be used for storing this discarded material that still has potential value In some cases 8 rack may be built in the main room of the garage for holding this stray material.
 The ingenious owner will find many ways of improving the equipment of his garage az various needs make them. selves evident For instance, man know has rigged up an old electric mctor. powered from the lighting GIT cult and uses it to operate an old tire pump, electrical drills and other tools etc. Bu- above all else. order and sys- ktx- t.<<s rau