workshop?

[Eddy Matthews]

A topic that came up on the Model Boats magazine forum was about building your own workshop - Something I've been giving serious consideration to for some time....

So assuming we're looking at a garden shed of 12 foot by 8 foot maximum size, what features would you look for in the ideal modelling workshop?

Good lighting - as much natural daylight as possible, insulation to keep out the winter cold and damp, and as many electrical sockets as possible would be my first priorities - But what about layout? What workbenches would you install? What power tools would you incorporate? What have I forgotten (there's bound to be something)?

I'd be extremely interested in other peoples ideas or suggestions....

[T.J.]

If you want to start your workshop but find building materials a little expensive.  You might consider looking around town for the folks that build windows for homes.  These folks get their glass in wood crates which after removing the glass they put out for free fire wood.  These crates are usually made of 1x5 or 1x6 and 2x4s and 2x6s. I framed my hole shop, roof trusses, sub floor and roof for the total sum of asking if they had no use for the wood, would they mined if I took it.  They appreciated me cleaning up the mess. My shop is 8x12.

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD’s – here is a snap of my rented double garage & I am lucky to have a scroll saw, a multi function sander, a new pedestal drill & grinder but what I don’t have is natural light or sufficient brightness – this snap was taken with the camera flash – so yeah must agree – 1st most important requirement is plenty of light - Derek  
         
 
From: Eddy Matthews [mailto:chat@paddleducks.co.uk]
 Sent: Tuesday, 14 March 2006 10:31 AM
 To: chat@paddleducks.co.uk
 Subject: workshop?  
 
   
A topic that came up on the Model Boats magazine forum was about building your own workshop - Something I've been giving serious consideration to for some time....
 
 So assuming we're looking at a garden shed of 12 foot by 8 foot maximum size, what features would you look for in the ideal modelling workshop?
 
 Good lighting - as much natural daylight as possible, insulation to keep out the winter cold and damp, and as many electrical sockets as possible would be my first priorities - But what about layout? What workbenches would you install? What power tools would you incorporate? What have I forgotten (there's bound to be something)?
 
 I'd be extremely interested in other peoples ideas or suggestions.... <if> <endif>      
 

 Regards
 Eddy
 
 
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[David Allinson]

Eddy.  
The first question to answer when setting up a workshop, apart from the shed itself, is “What am I going to make?”  
We are a boat group so let’s go with that.  
For that work I would suggest that you would find the following very useful.  
   
BAND SAW. I have a variable speed Clarke 12” from Machinery Mart (GBP105.69) but it really needs better guiding for the blade. Look for one that has proper three way roller guides top and bottom. Well worth a little extra money. Mine just has a small wheel with a slot in it. (From GBP89.99). To allow the table to tilt mine has a relatively huge hole around the blade. I have made a new plastic plate, which fits very closely to the blade and stops all the little bits falling through. Suggest that you check with Screwfix range as well as Machinery Mart  
   
DRILL PRESS. These range from bench top (GBP35.19) to floor standing for GBP100 more. The floor standing unit is good as it gives you almost unlimited space under the drill head and doesn’t take up any bench space. A good drill press vice to hold the work properly, absolutely essential and cheap. Set of metric drills, which go up in 0.1mm (only 4 thou!) steps. This way you always have a drill the right size or VERY close. For drilling bigger holes cleanly get a set of Forstner bits.  
 
GRINDER Small bench type. Many to choose from. Machinery Mart from GBP14.98 or with a belt sander on one end GBP27.91 Don’t forget to buy the gadget to true up the grinding wheels once in a while.  
 
SANDER A combined disc and belt sander will make life really easy. I have a Dremel unit but it looks just like the Clarke unit supplied by Machinery Mart at just GBP55.17. Get some spare belts/discs of different grades as they quickly get clogged up with glue and resin from the wood.  
 
Last but not least the usual small hand held Dremel type unit (or equal) with a large range of things to stick in the end of it!! I have invested in a small chuck for mine which is not essential if you have the full range of collets but does save time when changing cutting burrs etc.  
 
DUST EXTRACTION If you value your lungs then I would VERY highly recommend a vacuum dust extractor unit such as the VAC-KING from Machinery Mart at GBP51.64. This can be kept under the bench and very easily piped up to both the band saw and the sander with ordinary drainpipe fittings. They both make an amazing amount of dust. Also very useful to clean the bench etc as required  
 
With regard to bench vices. I have found that a small one that clamps onto the bench in the work area and a bigger bolted to the bench but well away from the normal work area are useful.  
 
All normal hand tools that you probably have already. Find a way to store them that lets you keep the bench clear and yet have the tools near to hand.  
 
If you cannot turn out something pretty respectable with the machinery above you are not really trying!!  
   
If you want to spray paint then that is another story and we can go into that later. Aerosol cans all the way to compressors!!  
 
Don’t forget the check up on the new electrical rules on wiring things up yourself.  
 
 Get some old carpet on the floor. This not only helps to keep your feet warm but saves the cutting edges of sharp things you drop!!  
 
What are you waiting for?  
 
Any questions gladly answered.  
 
David  

 
-----Original Message-----
 From: Eddy Matthews [mailto:chat@paddleducks.co.uk]
 Sent: martes, 14 de marzo de 2006 0:31
 To: chat@paddleducks.co.uk
 Subject: workshop?  
<![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]>  
A topic that came up on the Model Boats magazine forum was about building your own workshop - Something I've been giving serious consideration to for some time....
 
 So assuming we're looking at a garden shed of 12 foot by 8 foot maximum size, what features would you look for in the ideal modelling workshop?
 
 Good lighting - as much natural daylight as possible, insulation to keep out the winter cold and damp, and as many electrical sockets as possible would be my first priorities - But what about layout? What workbenches would you install? What power tools would you incorporate? What have I forgotten (there's bound to be something)?
 
 I'd be extremely interested in other peoples ideas or suggestions.... <![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]> <![endif]>      
   

 Regards
 Eddy
 
 
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 Exported by Paddleducks Mail System.
 
 http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6942#6942
 
 -------------------- m2f --------------------

[towboatjoe]

If I could have an 8 x 12 workshop, I believe I would make a 5 x 5 room for a paint booth. It gets aggravating to do all the painting outside.

[Eddy Matthews]

Thanks guys, some interesting replies that will be very useful...

So, what about layout? To be used purely for building model boats, no need for a lathe as I consider that engineering rather than basic modelling, and I could never afford a lathe anyway! :-(

Lets assume the shed will have a door at one end, and windows down the full length of one of the longer walls....

I need a workbench, storage space for tools, vice, pillar drill, bench disk/belt sander, 6" bench grinder, and perhaps a bandsaw... Have I missed anything obvious?

How would you lay everything out to make maximum use of the available space?

[Red_Hamish]

Hello all, this is an area close to my heart as I too am considering replacing my existing shed with a larger one of a similar size to that as mentioned by Eddy. The main difference is that I'll fit it with a set of double doors on a longer wall thus creating a U-shaped workbenches around the perimeter. These would be at a height convenient for sitting and working from. A major advantage with this setup is the height an often forgotten about requirement. An ideal source of double glazed units is from the replacement window market as is often the case people change the windows not through necessity but in the name of renovation. A few words in the ears of the local glaziers and they will keep any decent units aside for a few pounds/dollars.
My preference is not the ubiquitous shadow board but accessible drawers in the main worktop area for the commonly used small tools. Larger drawers for storing the scratch builders material in the best possible condition and if the luxury is afforded some overhead racking for long thin materials in the rafter space.
A good point was raised earlier about felt roofing a proper torched-on felt is far superior to the nail fixed version and does not cost that much more. Ventilation by way of an extractor fan to remove solvent fumes and other airborne pollutants and will assit in replacing the stale air with fresh quite often in the hour.

As to machinery a good source of smaller pieces is http://www.charnwood.net/ where they will deliver to an individuals address in the UK. Reasonably priced / quality and a good alternative to MachineMart & Screwfix. Admittedly I'd rather go for a more upmarket product but then my work allows this luxury.

Tool layout working from left to right on the U-top my line up would ideally be:
L/H 6ft length: Scrollsaw, Bandsaw, Bench drill, Belt / Disc Sander with underneath this the dust extraction vaccuum. Rear wall Cleared top: 12ft long work bench with three / four drawers mounted underneath. Small benchtop clamped swivelable vice for intricate work, Carpenters vice mounted below, Mechanics vice on far right and a variable position bench hold down clamp which I've found invaluable. R/H 6ft worktop: Painting area with extractor fan on wall and possibly a cooker hood on the rear of the wall to act as a spray booth type device. Under the worktop would be an castor mounted island with worktop as wide a footprint as possible for stability. Shelving on both left and right hand walls under the worktops for cased power tool storage with the main worktop are kept clear.
Wiring of any nature is not an area that I relish and what with the advent of the pre-wired consumer units which allows a degree of flexibility this is the route I'd go down. You will still need a qualified electrician to complete the installation to the main distributor board in the house though.
It goes without saying of course that there will be a radio/CD player to keep the music and creativity flowing, possibly a beer refrigerator too to keep other stuff flowing   :wink:
To find a decent plan for this workshop please look at www.brimarc.com under the New Yankee Plans section.
When I get costings I'll let you know just what the likelyhood of progress is over the summer.

cheers

Jim

[steamboatmodel]

One thing most of you are missing is HEAT and insolation. It gets far to COLD around hear to work in a shed without heat, so until I win the Loto its my small corner in the basement for me.
Regards,
Gerald

[Eddy Matthews]

I like your ideas Jim - I would never have thought about having the door on the long wall of the shed and utilising a "U" shaped workbench setup. But the more I think about it the more practical it seems...

[Eddy Matthews]

One thing most of you are missing is HEAT and insolation. It gets far to COLD around hear to work in a shed without heat, so until I win the Loto its my small corner in the basement for me.
Regards,
Gerald

I did mention insulation in my first post Gerald  - With the cold winters we get here in England heating would be a necessity! :-)

[Khephre]

Eddy, better late than never...

A couple of considerations for you...

Think about somewhere for your plan sheets. I've put up pinboard on the wall at the back of my main workbench so that I can easily refer to plans, photos and other research materials while I'm working on my models.

Something else I've seen is a small freestanding or island bench where your model can stand while you work around it. An old friend of mine has one on casters so that he could rotate the model whichever way he wanted. When doing other stuff the models are wheeled off to one side. Plus storage underneath for storing subassemblies, etc.

I've been really spoilt for a work surface - picked up a reject wooden benchtop from a kitchen company a coupla years ago. Close to 3 inches thick, perfectly flat, wide and long. Just what you need to ensure your lay-ups are square and true. First grade quality would have cost me over a thousand NZ dollars (that's South Pacific Pesos to the uninitiated) but because it had been rejected by them it cost me under a hundred plus a couple of packets of biscuits! Took a forklift to load it on the truck and a couple of us sweated blood to get it off at the other end and into my workshop (read converted garage!). Mounted it on top of a couple of kitchen cupboards from the demolition yard. I reckon it will outlast the apocalypse!

Have a look through demolition yards for domestic ceiling spotlights, preferably the tracklighting kind. Cheap stuff to buy and with wall-and-celining mounted tracks you can move your spotlights and change angles to light up whatever you're working on from every direction you could imagine. Very flexible.

I like Joe's comment re a spraybooth as well - wisht I had one!

Tony

[T.J.]

I hope you lads will see these pictures with the humour in which they are intended

[Bill Hudson]

I had to give up my nice shop of 14' x18" when  we moved.   If I were able to build a new shop I would not have windows on any wall (unless I had a really great view to look at.  Rather I would use skylights for natural light.  I find wall space is really a blessing for cabinets, shelves and cork board for notes  and a place to display plans and drawings.

I built my work benches along the walls for equipment and my main work bench was an island 3' x 6' with heavy casters so it could be rolled about in the shop.  I found the 3" wide bench became a collector so I divided it in thirds with a back board with shelves. On the back side of the divider I store my Kenady machinest's chests for all my small hand tools and measuring tools.  

The main door was on on end to one side.  As you entered to the left was a row of benches along that wall. first was two scroll saws. a large one and a Miclro- Lux miniature scroll  saw. Then a small band saw.  The next bench held a ML 7 9x20 clone metal lathe, Next was an import mini mill which doubled as a drill press.  Then a Cameron fine high speed drill press.  At the end of the benches  was a 3' wide metal shelves from floor to ceiling.  On the back end wall was a door but it was a four foot drop to the ground so I had a rolling tool chest there. Next a small dentist bench.  In the corner to the right was a metal, hooded  And vented soldering booth.  On the neat wall was another long heavy duty bench  where I had Sherline mini mill and lathes stored underneath. This was my main assembly bench.  In the next corner  (back by the front door) was a closet which I turned into a paint booth complete with exhaust fan.

At one time I had 12" vulcanizer and white metal spin casting machine located just inside the front door to the left.  A melting pot was shared the bench with the scroll saws.  When I was casting I moved the saws to the center work bench. This was a wonderful  little shop for model building.  I have some pictures some where and will share them if I can find them.

Bill

[Stu Kerrn Sr]

Eddy
If you build models in the manner I do. have a light under the workbench you can switch on, it saves time getting your flashlight out for dropped bits and pieces. I have installed one