My workshop improvements

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

I thought i would start a new thread.

Maybe it has been done before , but i have not come across one. If there is one then maybe Jason or Neil would want to move this over.

So 2 things really . 1 My son has bought his 1st house. It is in the same street as we live in. He is like me a bit car mad. So in my workshop i have 2 tool cabinets. Pretty good quality. But they are not mine. I lost all my stuff in a /?';., divorce.

His new to him house has a double garage & a pit. So he will be needing his cabinets back at some point.

2: I am going to need more storage cabinets,, drawers etc.

I started looking around for more storage cabinets & ended up on the usual ebay. I found 2 things that caught my eye. There was 2 workbenches with under drawers unit & a wall cupboard. Made by Clarke machine mart. Pictures below. I do not need more workbench tops , but reckoned that they could be removed. Anyway the cupboard is £115 new. The workbenches are £330 each. I bid at 10 seconds from the end & won them for a grand total of £137 , Pick up was 50 miles away , but i have a Vivaro van so no problem.

On to the 2nd item. It was a 9 drawer 1100mm wide drawer unit. I won this for £51.01. Don't ask why. I just bid £61.00 & thats what i got them for. They are heavy industrial drawers with 6 caged roller bearing on a carrier that holds each drawer.

The Clarke drawers were terrible & the runners were about 15mm deep & hung to the unit on 2 little tags that just hooked onto the chassis.

Moving on i took all the drawer runners off & have fitted heavy duty 50kg sliders. The 9 drawer cabinet was in a bit of a state & was lifted into my van with a fork truck. Heavy is an understatement.

I can only carry 1 drawer at a time.

They are now all in position & i just have to finish painting the drawer fronts & it is all done.

So i now have all the storage i will hopefully ever need & my Son will have a workbench & 3.4 mtrs of worktop. + 1 of his cabinets back. I am keeping 1.

Pictures. Post your workshop pics here. We hear of your machines but little of your workspace. Large or small. Share.

Steve.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

A thread to add to as improvements are made. Please add you photo’s.

[DanielParticipant @daniel]

Nice idea for a thread Steve.

I'll get some photos of my space.

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

You can have a video of mine. Compact and bijou I think estate agents would call it. Tighly packed, I'd say.

Video link to garage/workshop

John

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

A timely reminder to revamp my garage/workshop. I first laid it out to leave space for pulling my Land Rovers apart. Retirement and the realization that I could afford the old motorcycles or the Land Rovers but not both. The bikes won my affections, first love and all that.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

You cannot have too much storage space (As long as you can remember where you put things! )

The more shelves the better, but there is a law like Parkinson's, which says that any horizontal surface will soon be used for storage. (Even the shelf above the door! )

Howard

[Ron LadenParticipant @ronladen17547]

If you want cosy then here it is, my shop all 6' 6" x 6' 6" of it. Its all I have but it works somehow, I guess a case of it having to.

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

My workshop has been around for a few years now, a few pics:

basically a purpose built garden shed which looks like this:

I am fortunate enough to have a desk space at one end:

and a fitting bench at the other.

For more photos and info see Workshop Tour on my website

John

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Posted by Journeyman on 16/12/2020 10:52:08:

My workshop has been around for a few years now, a few pics:

basically a purpose built garden shed which looks like this:

I am fortunate enough to have a desk space at one end:

and a fitting bench at the other.

For more photos and info see Workshop Tour on my website

John

Now that is just too darn tidy.

Steve.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Posted by John Hinkley on 16/12/2020 07:44:54:

You can have a video of mine. Compact and bijou I think estate agents would call it. Tighly packed, I'd say.

Video link to garage/workshop

John

Very nice John. I actually saw the video a few weeks ago & left you a comment.

Steve.

[MortyParticipant @morty]

Hi Steve!

Nice score on the storage, I am keeping an eye on EBay to see if a suitable bench for My shop appears, but have not decided on whether to get a bench top or floor standing mill yet.

I will probably end up making a fitted bench to suit.

Good thread idea!

Take care, Pete

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Hi Pete. Nice to hear from you again. I hope you find the perfect mill for your requirements. I was origonally going down the Chinese smallish bench mounted route , but . I found a nice old Tom Senior vertical light on ebay. I took a punt on it & bought it. It is what i would call a medium sized mill. This is floor standing & has a pretty large 16" of Z axis travel. Most of the medium Chinese models do not have that much movement. Plus it has a nice amount of Quill travel. It is extremely heavy to me at 370KG. It is probably the best investment i have made in my workshop to date. Although only a MT2 taper it has performed beautifully so far.

I will be posting more pics of the storage units once painted to my liking.

At the moment me & my son are working on a youtube video of the Ftype v8 jag doing silly things. Cops not invited.

Steve.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Just to add , if you go down the Chinese route then expect to spend a bit of time correcting the awful engineering that they produce.

From the cheapest to the most expensive arc euro offerings like Seig. Or is it Sieg. Conventional threads & very poor castings. Most members will play hell with me as they have them , but the truth is you cannot beat the good old British or American machines. Plus some others from Countries that make good quality machinery.

All the arguments will be , i have a R8 taper. So what the Mt2 is sufficient for anything a hobbiest will want to do.

Very rare to find , but still plenty around if you just bide your time & keep looking. Remember that most of the Cast iron that China uses is the scrap that the rest of the world throw away.

Basically they Smelt the iron & skim off as much of the slag they can & then use what is left. You end up with a nice finish with a few bubbles showing. It is pretty poor & very pourous.

The mad thing is that companies like Clarke machine mart & Sealey all use this rubbish & rebrand it as like it is so good. I recently bought a 150mm bench grinder by Sealey. Looked very nice & then suddenly the body decided to split in half. I now have 2 great jubilee clips holding it together until i can find a new machine.

Steve.

[MortyParticipant @morty]

Hi Steve!

Top of My mill wishlist is a Tom Senior Light!

Been keeping My eye out for one for a while now but they are a bit thin on the ground!

Several M1 mills about but I would prefer the refined quill on the 'light'. MT2 not a problem, interchangability with the Myford!

Would definitely prefer an old British machine, the Tom wins over My other choice, a Centec, because of having a bigger capacity.

The search continues……..

Cheers, Pete

Oh, just spotted a 'light' on Ebay, thick end of 3 Grand though……..

Edited By Morty on 18/12/2020 21:04:24

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

If you have the space and budget a Bridgeport is nice. The downside is most are worn out beyond sensible reconditioning.

[SamsarandaParticipant @samsaranda]

Are these real workshops depicted in the pictures in this thread, they are far too tidy, my workshop is what I call lived in, but I can still find things, well might take a while to find! Well done those of you who manage to keep their workshops neat and tidy.
Dave W

[AStroudParticipant @astroud]

here's mine, seeing others makes me realise I should update the lighting

Edited By AStroud on 19/12/2020 10:47:40

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Steviegtr on 18/12/2020 02:57:48:

Just to add , if you go down the Chinese route then expect to spend a bit of time correcting the awful engineering that they produce.

From the cheapest to the most expensive arc euro offerings like Seig. Or is it Sieg. Conventional threads & very poor castings. Most members will play hell with me as they have them , but the truth is you cannot beat the good old British or American machines. Plus some others from Countries that make good quality machinery.

All the arguments will be , i have a R8 taper. So what the Mt2 is sufficient for anything a hobbiest will want to do.

Very rare to find , but still plenty around if you just bide your time & keep looking. Remember that most of the Cast iron that China uses is the scrap that the rest of the world throw away.

Basically they Smelt the iron & skim off as much of the slag they can & then use what is left. You end up with a nice finish with a few bubbles showing. It is pretty poor & very pourous.

The mad thing is that companies like Clarke machine mart & Sealey all use this rubbish & rebrand it as like it is so good. I recently bought a 150mm bench grinder by Sealey. Looked very nice & then suddenly the body decided to split in half. I now have 2 great jubilee clips holding it together until i can find a new machine.

Steve.

That's a horror story. A real hand grenade waiting to happen. I would not continue using it with jubiliee clips holding it together. Theres a lot of energy in those two grinding wheels spinning around. If the whole thing flies apart could be catastrophic.

Disappointing that reputable in-country suppliers have now stooped to selling such dangerous rubbish.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

I think most of the Car Accesory bussiness buy & rebrand these type of machines to suit there name. People always say oh it a Sealey it must be good. Same as Machine mart & many more.

I bought a motorcycle hydraulic lift from a Import warehouse in Chesterfield some years ago. It was £245. Sealey & Machine mart both had the identical ones for sale. Over £350. The difference was a badge.

Steve.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Posted by AStroud on 19/12/2020 10:40:44:

here's mine, seeing others makes me realise I should update the lighting

Edited By AStroud on 19/12/2020 10:47:40

Great that you have the boiler in there. Bet it stays super dry.

Steve.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

A real hand grenade waiting to happen. … If the whole thing flies apart

Probably not. There is a field winding around the shaft and it is held together, in compression, by (what should be) four through-fixings. Possibly the windings were initially pressed in too tight and have got hot and expanded. Still not a good situation, all the same, especially if the end cap is cracked (as it appears it is).

It should be going back to Sealey for replacement if purchased new recently. It must be running well out of balance, I would think, so I would not be using it as the wheels may fail (that would be bad enough). Good for the scrap bin as it looks as though it is only riveted together, not even bolted through…. More likely it broke when it fell off the back of a lorry.🙂

There is another of it’s mates on epay at present. Cracked base and no grinding supports or safety screens. Still wanting fifty quid for it!!! Usual case of buy cheap, buy twice?🙂

[JAParticipant @ja]

I am following the workshop part of this thread with great interest since I am in the process of refurbishing part of my workshop.

Posted by Samsaranda on 19/12/2020 10:24:38:

Are these real workshops depicted in the pictures in this thread, they are far too tidy, my workshop is what I call lived in, but I can still find things, well might take a while to find! Well done those of you who manage to keep their workshops neat and tidy.
Dave W

I think most of the pictures posted are of new workshops. Mine looks nothing like those featured. I was going to post a picture of the end of the workshop to be refurbished but I am too ashamed of it.

I have manged to chuck out the horrible Chinese band saw and it should get to the tip on Monday along with a lot of other rubbish. I then have the cold periods of the next month to plan what I am doing. I want proper storage, that is not nasty B&Q plastic crates etc. The only good individual tool storage I have ever bought is a Bisley five draw cabinet. Shelves are great but, like everything else, they get over crowded. I would like to replace the fluorescent strip lights with LED but I don't like working on the top of steps (and they still work).

After clearing the rubbish and moving the grinder out of the workshop and into the garage I am going to look at a lot of pictures of other people's workshops.

JA

[egaParticipant @ega]

JA:

You could just replace your existing tubes with the LED tubes that come with a dummy starter; very quick and easy to do.

[JAParticipant @ja]

Posted by ega on 19/12/2020 12:27:45:

JA:

You could just replace your existing tubes with the LED tubes that come with a dummy starter; very quick and easy to do.

Yes, but you still have to get up a step ladder. I did this in my kitchen a couple of years ago. The LED tube was great but the electrics were "not good". I know the electrics in the workshop (I did the work). They may give problems to my executors but not to me.

JA

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Posted by not done it yet on 19/12/2020 11:32:36:

A real hand grenade waiting to happen. … If the whole thing flies apart

Probably not. There is a field winding around the shaft and it is held together, in compression, by (what should be) four through-fixings. Possibly the windings were initially pressed in too tight and have got hot and expanded. Still not a good situation, all the same, especially if the end cap is cracked (as it appears it is).

It should be going back to Sealey for replacement if purchased new recently. It must be running well out of balance, I would think, so I would not be using it as the wheels may fail (that would be bad enough). Good for the scrap bin as it looks as though it is only riveted together, not even bolted through…. More likely it broke when it fell off the back of a lorry.🙂

There is another of it’s mates on epay at present. Cracked base and no grinding supports or safety screens. Still wanting fifty quid for it!!! Usual case of buy cheap, buy twice?🙂

You are spot on with your comments NDIY. I looked high & low for a good 2nd hand bench grinder. To replace the one lost in a Div–ce. I have been slowly replacing all my workshop items . I just could not find a decent western made unit. I will as you say buy twice. You may be correct about falling from a lorry as the left wheel spindle is definately not true. I will find one eventually. Luckily it is not on the top by priority at the moment. I need to get these drawers painted &back together. So i can find a place for all the junk on the worktops.

At least now i have lots of storage space , which did not break the bank to buy.

Steve.

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