Dynamic Subspace

Author: Jason W. Ellis

How to Build a Moveable Workbench Out of a Wood Wire Spool

When I recently visited my folks in Georgia, one of my projects was helping my dad clean up his shop so that he could more easily work in it. Over the years, it had become more and more cluttered. Perhaps most urgently, many tools were strewn about on the floor. I proposed turning a 48″ diameter wood spool that he had gotten from an electrical supply company into a moveable workbench. While the spool would take up roughly the same space, it would create two surfaces for storing tools and getting work done at elbow height. And, giving him a place to put tools when not in use where he could get them without bending over, would be a positive development, too.

The wood spool is approximately 48″ diameter and 28″ tall.

This side was cleaner and had no obvious problems for working on a roughly flat surface. It would be the top of the workbench.

We designated this side the bottom due to its rougher appearance and extra hole with arced routing (to secure the wire it once held?).

We picked up four 6″ caster wheels with grease fittings from Harbor Freight. These measure approximately 7″ tall including the base. Connected to the spool, these wheels will give the completed workbench an approximately 35″ height.

After closing Ellis Auto Parts, my dad kept a lot of hardware that wasn’t sold, so we were able to find all of the bolts, nuts, and washers that we needed. To connect the wheels to the wood spool, we used 3/8″ x 3″ bolts with washers on top and bottom, and we used two nuts per bolt to lock the bolt (we couldn’t find any 3/8″ lock washers).

To install the wheels on the bottom of the spool, I first selected one diameter line and marked it with a pencil. Using a square, I drew a perpendicular line through the center for the other two wheels. I knew that we were going to reinforce the workbench top with 2″ x 4″ boards cut to length, so I allowed enough room for drilling holes and driving screws through the spool ends into the 2″ x 4″s. I marked that distance (2″) from the outer edge along the diameter lines that I previously drew. Then for each wheel placement, I held a wheel where I had marked, centered it, and used a pencil to draw in the four holes at the corner of the caster wheel base.

I drilled the four holes with a 7/16″ bit and installed the wheels with the 3/8″ bolts with a washer on top, a washer on bottom, and two nuts per bolt.

Since we didn’t have 3/8″ lock washers, we opted to use two nuts on each bolt to lock them in place.

With the wheels installed, we began installing the 2″ x 4″ supports inline with each wheel.

Because the spool was built imperfectly, we cut each 2″ x 4″ support to length as needed. We cut them about 1/16″ – 1/32″ too long so that we could wedge them into place with a mallet for a tight fit.

Using a table saw, we cut notches as needed on each 2″ x 4″ support to clear the wheel’s bolt heads and washers.

We pre-drilled two holes for each screw that would go through the top and bottom of the spool into the 2″ x 4″ boards. We used 3″ long deck screws to fasten the 2″ x 4″ boards in place.

Each 2″ x 4″ is held in place by 3″ long deck screws that were driven in after pre-drilling holes for each.

With the wheels attached and the 2″ x 4″ supports installed, we tilted the workbench over.

The workbench rolls around effortlessly after being completed.

My dad also had a Columbian vice manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio. It’s about as heavy duty as you can get. It would certainly help him with some work, so we decided to install it on the workbench above one of the 2″ x 4″ supports.

For the vice, we used three sets of 9/16″ bolts, washers, lock washers, and nuts.

I marked the location of the holes using the base of the vice as a pattern, drilled 5/8″ holes, and installed the bolts through the top and washers, lock washers, nuts on the bottom.

Our mobile workbench made out of a wood spool for holding heavy duty electrical wire is completed and ready for work.

July 2, 2025
How to Rat Proof a 2013 Toyota Corolla

Last year, I wrote about removing a mouse infestation in my 2013 Toyota Corolla before driving it from Georgia to New York. At that time, I didn’t rat proof the Corolla, but since I recently did that work on my folks’ RAV4 as I wrote about yesterday, I figured that I should do the extra work to mouse proof the Corolla while I was primed to do it.

Preventing mice from entering the Corolla is slightly more involved than the 2017 RAV4 as I couldn’t find any evidence for mice entering the pressure vents on the RAV4, but I did find that in the Corolla. So, I wanted to prevent mice from entering the cabin air vent under the windshield cowl and the two rear pressure vents on the rear quarter panels inside the trunk of the Corolla.

I used metal wire with a 1/4″ grid.

I used tin snips to cut the metal wire.

And, I wore leather gloves while working with the metal wire, because the cut end easily cut and poke skin.

The first place to prevent rodents from entering the vehicle’s cabin is the cabin air intake under the windshield cowl. Unlike the 2017 RAV4, you don’t have to take off the windshield wiper arms to access it (I wasn’t paying attention to how the cowl was designed with a break, which would have saved me this trouble). The cowl is held on with plastic push pins and built-in snaps. Due to the plastic being brittle, the pins broke, but the built-in snaps remained usable.

Pulling the cowl out of the way, you can see the cabin air intake below the windshield on the passenger side of the vehicle.

With the Corolla, the cowl has a metal mesh built-in mean to stop the entrance of rodents into the vehicle’s cabin. Unfortunately, mice can squeeze through where the cowl contours against the metal body of the vehicle on the edges, which is likely how some of the rodents got into my Corolla.

I cut a 14″ x 6″ sheet of metal mesh to cover the cabin air intake.

I shaped it with my hands and a hammer to enter the opening and contour around the body, and I used one zip tie to secure this first sheet.

To further reinforce it, I cut a narrow and long piece that I wedged under the body lip under the windshield and under the lip where the cowl’s bottom edge sits. This applies pressure to the middle of the mesh covering the cabin air intake to ensure the mesh can’t move.

I pushed the cowl back into place and secured its left edge with a zip tie through the push pin hole that had broke during removal.

Next, I worked on the pressure vents in the driver and passenger rear quarter panels, which are accessible via the trunk. To find them, remove the trunk floor covering the spare tire, pull out the plastic latch cover above the bumper, and pull out the pins holding the upholstery over the trunk’s sides. You’ll find one pressure vent on either side behind the upholstery.

I worked on the driver’s side pressure vent first.

I cut a 14″ x 7″ piece of metal mesh to cover this opening.

Using my gloved hands and a hammer, I shaped the metal mesh to contour around all sides of the vent against the metal body, and I used a zip tie to hold it securely in place.

I worked on the passenger side pressure vent next.

I cut the same size piece of metal mesh, shaped it around the vent against the body and fastened it with a zip tie run through the middle of the vent.

I hope that we don’t have to deal with rodents in the Corolla again. When we purchase a new vehicle, I will secure these openings in that vehicle as the first thing that I do.

July 1, 2025
How to Keep Mice Out of a 2017 Toyota RAV4 SUV

Recently, my folks were unable to drive their 2017 Toyota RAV4 due to an unexpected and unbearable smell inside it. This post details what I did to resolve the situation and prevent it from happening again.

Resolving the Odor

Suspecting mice, I used a video endoscope that I purchased online for about $25 to find their nest under the center console below the radio and AC controls.

To remove it and clean that area, it required disassembling the console and removing the panel covers under the dashboard on the driver and passenger sides. The main tools that I used were a plastic wedge tool to pop the plastic clips loose, a Philips head screwdriver to remove a few hidden screws toward the front of the console, and a socket driver with extension to remove four bolts in the armrest compartment. See this guide for more details and pictures of this process.

The mouse nest was positioned under the plastic air ducts that send air from the AC to the rear of the RAV4.

I removed all of the insulation underneath the nest as it had absorbed the odor from the nest.

To improve the smell inside the vehicle, I shampooed the carpets with a Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet Cleaner, vacuumed after it had dried, wiped down all the surfaces, and put out activated carbon pouches throughout the car.

To ensure the AC system was clean, I emptied a bottle of A/C Pro Vent & Duct Cleaner Odor Neutralizer–half in the ducts and half into the blower with the cabin air filter removed. This released a lot of build up, which clogged the AC system drain. After failing to unclog it with a pliable wire, I used compressed air to unclog the drain (admittedly this probably pushed some of the matter back into the AC system, but I immediately ran the AC for about an hour to have ample water flow out the system). I replaced the cabin air filter with a new Fram filter.

Finally, I opened the sunroof and windows while letting the car sit in the sun over several days.

When the car is left to sit, it still has a slight smell, but this is quickly dealt with by opening the sunroof and windows, turning the AC on high, and leaving the car to ventilate for a minute or two. I think with time, the odor will decrease.

Preventing Mice from Reentering the Vehicle

Having spent days cleaning the mouse infestation from the RAV4, I didn’t want to have to go through this again. I read that the cabin air intake under the windshield cowl is the likely point of entrance.

To access it, you need to remove both windshield wiper arms. There are windshield wiper arm puller tools that you can find for about $20, but I found applying ample WD-40 to the nuts (to remove them) and the bolts (after removing the nuts) permitted the removal of both arms. It’s important though before you remove them to mark the bolt head to align with the direction of the wiper arm (I scratched a line on top of the bolt with a flat head screwdriver).

With the wiper arms removed, there are a couple of plastic push pins that need to be removed and plastic tabs to pop out. Pull the cowl forward enough to see the cabin air intake on the passenger side. See this guide for more pictures and details for removing the cowl.

After releasing the cowl, pull it down and out of the way.

It’s easy to see all of the teeth marks on the plastic grill covering the cabin air intake. Obviously, plastic is insufficient for keeping rodents out of a vehicle.

Wearing leather gloves and using large metal tin snips, I cut pieces of wire mesh to fashion into a cover over the air intake. I used a hammer to tap and push on the wire to mold it to the contours of the vehicle body, and I secured it with zip ties. I added extra wire mesh below the opening to push against the lower lip of this area to push and hold the wire mesh cover in place.

Just for peace of mind, I added a larger flat piece of wire mesh over the intake to ensure nothing could get inside through this opening.

The plastic pins securing the cowl broke during removal, so I used longer zip ties to hold the cowl in place through the pin holes.

I used the video endoscope to explore the AC system ducts and areas under panels in the front and rear of the vehicle, but I couldn’t find any other evidence of rodent infestation. I hope that this guide might be useful to others dealing with this design issue with Toyota vehicles.

Stay tuned, because I will post how to do this for a 2013 Toyota Corolla tomorrow.

June 30, 2025
A Workshop at Night Illuminated from Within

While I was working on my folks’ Toyota RAV4 one night a couple of weeks ago, I took this photo of their metal building.

Next week, I’ll show off some of the things that I worked on and made while I was down there.

June 27, 2025
A House at Night Illuminated by Porch Light

After I moved the oak lumber and cement mixer off the porch of my folks’ house, I took this photo at night.

June 26, 2025