New workshop time (nearly there...)

Sporky

Yesterday I did the second shed and took photos.

First Lady BMcH and I manoeuvred the base/frame assembly into position.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/01framein.jpg

This is inspected by Sprocket.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/02inspection1.jpg

Then the fascia and eaves go on - fascia is screwed onto the front top rail, eaves bolt to the fascia and screw to the top side rails.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/03fasciaandeaves.jpg

And here you can see the fixings:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/04eavesandfasciascrews.jpg

Next the side panels - they clip "under" the corner panel at the front.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/05sidepanel1.jpg

Thusly:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/06sidepanel2.jpg

12 screws hold the panel in place - the bottom ones need a much lower torque setting.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/07sidepanelin.jpg

Time for another inspection.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/08inspection2.jpg

And the second side panel goes on.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/09secondside.jpg

Next the frame extensions go on, with supporting corner brackets. This, of course, is worthy of inspection.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/10framecorners.jpg

And the door jambs are screwed to the frame:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/11doorjambs.jpg

On goes the door ramp. The ply base means the inside bit needs bending a bit flatter - I do this by standing on one side and pressing the other side flat with the other foot.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/12doorramp.jpg

Then the roof starters, which bolt awkwardly to the eaves - really hard to reach, probably should have used a stepladder. All the roof bolts and screws need washers.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/13roofstarter.jpg

Roof panels go on - bolted at the front, screwed at the back.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/14roofpanel.jpg

The edges are a bit sharp...

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/15roofrear.jpg

So trims go onto the edges, and corner protectors onto the corners.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/16rooftrims.jpg

The doors run in the channel in the base at the bottom, and hang onto the rollers at the top. The extra holes are for adjustments.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/17doormounted.jpg

And that's it - the whole thing gets slid onto its base and can now be filled with crap.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/050217 second shed/18done.jpg

Sporky

Today I built the other two bits of racking and put all the timber on them. Also the chargers for all the cordless tools. Much tidy.

TTony

Going up ...

(that's a similar construction garage / mower store in the background)


Up




The view from above (part undercoated)


Got 10 sheets of 8x4 OSB delivered yesterday, which will go down over the standard floor to give it a bit more strength.

Electrics to be plumbed in the next couple of weeks.

Not as industrial strength as Sporky's production complex, but it'll do me ...

Sporky

That looks a very useful size.

markslade07

Bloody hell, that's a beast!

TTony

Sporky said:

That looks a very useful size.

5m x 5.9m.

Which should mean that I'll actually have space to work on stuff without having to move a whole load of other stuff out of the way numerous times during the work, and space for a couple of decent sized workbenches too (which I'll make).

Sporky

Is it time to design a ducting system?

Also get it insulated now.

Sporky

I was slowed down rather by going to a big tradeshow for a few days and catching a cold there.

Last night I made some progress though - the planer-thicknesser wasn't planing at all. It looked like the outfeed bed was out of alignment - might have happened during the move, might have been when I was getting the machine back onto its mobile base. No matter.

The manual is pretty useless but it's not too hard to work through. First you wind the infeed table all the way up and bung a straightedge across the cutter block. The outfeed table was a couple of mm too high so the adjustment knob needs to be unlocked, the allen screw released and then it can be wound down a bit. That also shifts it a little horizontally, so it was fouling the knives so they had to be released and repositioned. If you ever find yourself buying an Axminster AW106PT2 (and it's a nice little machine) one of the first things I recommend doing is replacing the screws that push the knives up with some much weaker ones - I don't see how anyone can hold the knives in place (with the supplied setting jig) and do up the compression block/chipbreaker at the same time with the stock springs.

Anyways, I then checked and corrected the fence alignment, and did the bit-of-stick method for setting the outfeed table height. Chucked a bit of poplar through and it's flat and true enough that I can't measure any variation from square, which is nice.

This means I can now get on with the bench, finally. Also nice to discover that the new extraction system means absolutely no mess from planing - it all whooshes away up the tubes.

BigMonka

How's everything going in the workshops @Sporky & @TTony ?

Sporky

I am behind on updates, sorry.

Planer-thicknesser working nicely, and I've started building my bench. I'll sort out the photos...

Sporky

Bench progress!

Start with a pile of poplar planks that were going to be a bookcase until too many turned up as straight as a banana, or the wrong width, length or thickness. There's a lesson there - everyone who works at a timberyard is dishonest. Everyone. Ahem.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/01 timber.jpg

Cut to length - about 90cm so the bench will be taller than the tool cabinet that'll sit under one side.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/02 to length.jpg

I also learned that the extraction for the chopsaw isn't up to par - needs a proper long cone reducer rather than the current plug reducer. Anyways.

And check against the tool chest:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/03 taller.jpg

The planks get planed, thicknessed and cut to width:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/04 planed.jpg

Then glued together in threes:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/05 glued.jpg

So first the ends get trimmed:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/06 first end.jpg

Then the other end with a stop on the saw so they're all the same length.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/07 length.jpg

Ta-da!

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/08 all legs.jpg

There'll be top rails linking the legs in pairs, which'll be recessed into the tops of the legs, so that needs marking in. Line the ends of the legs up, put a top rail across and mark with a pencil:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/09 end marking.jpg

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/10 end marking 2.jpg

Do this on all four sides to make sure the line follows right 'round:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/11 marked.jpg

Next job is to set up the bandsaw for cutting the mortices. I took a bit of scrap pine, put featherboards onto the bandsaw (these are ace - magnetic ones!) and trimmed it to the same width as the legs:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/12 mortice test width.jpg

Then set the blade to the right position and make a cut each way 'round. Not sure the cuts show up too well.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/13 mortice width cuts.jpg

I cut out the middle bit with a fretsaw and did a test fit:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/14 mortice test.jpg

So the width is right but the depth needs attention. Easy enough to fix that. The lower rails will be rabbeted into the legs so I'll collect the dado jig from the old workshop tomorrow and do that with a router. Quick mockup to check the arrangement:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/15 mockup.jpg

Sporky

And this is the plan. The red block is the tool cabinet, the top will be two 40mm thick bits of solid beech kitchen worktop, shelf will just be a bit of ply and I'll have a vice in the open section and another on the end, plus some bench dog holes in the top and down the legs for clamping. The legs will sit into pockets routed out of the underside of the top so it should all be very solid indeed.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/110317 Bench frame/16 benchrender.jpg

Sporky

Yesterday and today I made significant progress (on account of being on holibags).

Fairly early in the day, two chaps delivered these beech kitchen worktops:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 more bench/01 worktops.jpg

It was only £10 more each to have 3m instead of 2m, so I did. The bits left will be router table or CNC stand. Out came the railsaw again:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 more bench/02 railsawn.jpg

Once cut down to 2m, Lady BMcH and I moved the lot to the workshop. Next is to cut the pockets to take the legs. I have this nifty Trend Varijig which makes a wide range of rectangular shapes. Put it together around one leg:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 more bench/03 leg jig.jpg

Pop the leg out and you have a perfectly adjusted jig.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 more bench/04 jig set.jpg

But it's a bit big to use on the tabletop, so sticky tape onto the bottom:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 more bench/05 sticky.jpg

Stick that to a bit of ply, router it out and chisel the corners square, then check fit:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 more bench/06 ply jig.jpg

That template will get transferred to a thicker bit of MDF. In the meantime this arrived:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 more bench/07 small vice.jpg

More once I've organised photos.

TTony

What are you going to make, once you've finished making your workshop.

Or is the project to make a workshop??

Electrics go into mine in a couple of weeks.  LED tubes are here ready.  I just brought back an old kitchen worktop that I had planned (very loose use of the word "planned" there) to put along one side of my workshop.  Carried it in, laid it out against the side to find that I misunderestimated its size - it only fills half the space.

Time to re-plan ...

Sporky

Right. Before I could transfer the template I needed to finish the drill table. I made holes for the mounting bolts, countersunk them, and drew a centrepoint. Then drilled a 20mm hole at the centre point.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/01 drill table hole.jpg

Next I used a trimming bit to enlarge the hole to exactly match the hole in the cast iron table to which the wooden one is mounted.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/02 drill table done.jpg

Then I stuck the ply template to a leftover bit of MDF with golf grip tape.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/03 jig transfer.jpg

Drilled out most of the waste, making a giant monster face.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/04 monster face.jpg

And tidy up with the trimming bit again.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/05 jig tidy.jpg

Next job is to roughly lay out all the bits and determine leg positions:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/06 layout.jpg

And then I used an edge-following ruler and a centre rule to lay out the positions:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/07 edge ruler.jpg
http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/08 centre rule.jpg

Routed the first pocket, then squared the edges with a chisel:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/09 first pocket.jpg

Test fit is pretty good.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/10 leg test fit.jpg

So I routed all the other pockets to match.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/11 all pockets.jpg

And another test - I also cut new rabbets in the legs and cut the crossbeams to length, all on the tablesaw. Which, it turns out, is a lovely bit of kit. Who knew?

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317 yet more bench/12 test build.jpg

And finally here's the big vice for the front of the workbench.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/170317%20yet%20more%20bench/13%20big%20vice.jpg

Not bad progress for a day.

Sporky

TTony said:

What are you going to make, once you've finished making your workshop.

Or is the project to make a workshop??

The current project is to make a bench, so that I can make a router table, so that I can make... and so on and so forth. Also the construction of a bench will free up a lot of space in the workshop. But I still need to fix the air cleaner, make improvements to the dust extraction system, put up clamp racks and tool boards. There's a long way to go, and it seems to get longer and longer the more I do. That drill table isn't finished, it needs a cutout for sanding drums and a fence (so some t-track). The CNC machine needs to be recommissioned - possibly rebuilt to some extent; I could make it long enough to do a neck-thru in one go.

The aim, however, is to start making things rather than workshop. A shoe and boot rack is required for the utility room. I have unfinished instruments. I would like to make an acoustic cello. I miss making bowls on the lathe and small boxes.

But at the moment I am very much enjoying making a workshop, even though it is in order to move on from making a workshop.

Sporky

Right. Nearly there with the bench. I think.

Introducing the pocket hole jig I bought a couple of years ago. Basically a block with angled holes through it, a clamp, an odd drill bit and an extraction port.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/01 pocketholejig.jpg

And it makes holes like this in bits of wood!

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/02 a pocket hole.jpg
http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/03 other end.jpg

Having tested it I made holes in all the cross beams for the legs. Thusly.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/04 more done.jpg

For the shorter front-to-back ones I used sash clamps to hold the joints together while bunging in the screws:

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/05 assembly.jpg

The widthway ones are too wide for the sash clamps, so I used strap clamps instead. I normally use these for boxes but they're nifty for this too. Not massive clamping pressure but enough for the job.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/06 long assembly.jpg

It's all too much for poor Sprocket, who has a nap on what used to be our lawn.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/07 all too much.jpg

Meanwhile I get the rest of the cross beams fitted. All reasonably square too, so my measuring was OK.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/08 all the legs.jpg

Eventually the legs will be secured to the top with dirty great carriage screws that go through both worktops - also holding the worktops together without any glue. So I made a block that fits neatly into the leg pockets, and which has a hole in its centre. A 10mm hole. Drilled with the pillar drill. Because I'm using M10 coach screws.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/09 drill guide.jpg

So then I can drill holes right through both worktops that are darned close to vertical.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/10 drilled.jpg

Drop a coach screw in to check - all is good. A sensible amount of thread through the bottom.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/11 carriage bolt test.jpg
http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/12 carriage screw other end.jpg

And then a 7.5mm hole in each leg. So the screws will drop through the table tops and cut nicely into the legs.

http://monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/new_workshop/180317 will the bennch ever end/13 legs drilled.jpg

Tomorrow we flip the legs over and put the tops onto the legs, and move the bench to its final position. Then the vices get fitted. Also the upstand across the back to stop things falling behind the bench, because that's annoying. And then bench dog holes in the top and legs. And then it all gets a few coats of an appropriate finish, once I work out what is an appropriate finish. Oh, and I need to make handles for the vices because the Veritas handles are £6.50 each and I've got a lathe.

TTony

I think I've just got my central workbench / island sorted out.

2 x 1600mm x 800mm office desks on very solid cantilever metal frames.  C20th solidity.

Haven't decided whether I'll put them back to back or end to end.  Might top them with some sacrificial MDF.  

£20 donation to RSPCA.  

Thats as as long as they'll flat pack enough to fit in the boot of my car next week ...

Sporky

That sounds a decent size. Will you be able to reach the middle?

I had an excellent idea last night on how to make the recesses for the bolt heads and washers neatly. I will drill a nice clean 26mm hole (they being 25mm washers) in a long-ish bit of scrap. I will then drop the bolt and washer into the hole and draw around the washer. I can then align the bit-of-scrap with the washer mark, clamp in position and rout the recess really accurately, to exactly the right depth.

Then once the lathe is accessible I will make little wooden caps for the bolt holes so that the top of the bench looks all smooth again, but I can get at the bolts should I ever need to take it apart and move it.

Most of this occurred to me as I was falling asleep so there are some barely-comprehensible scribbles in my bedside notebook. Also something about how bears could fly helicopters if they really wanted to.

TimmyO

You make things to help you make the things you will use to make things.

I feel godly when I change a lightbulb without breaking anything.

We are different.