First workshop

Looking good Matt!

Jim

You have made some lovely progress so far Matt!!!

Good solid bench there, and first machine in pride of place.

Looking good, the only question is "what is the box at the end of the bench will it ever need to be accessed if so what allowance have you made if it does need it"

Thanks all! I'm really happy so far

Dalboy, it's my grandads old toolbox. Filled with lots of old bits, all imperial (where applicable) which will be helpful for me. He's had it since he passed about 20 years ago and has been looking for a new home for it. Everything (other than the lathe) is in a temporary spot for now. I want to start doing some work then plan my layout so the tools I need are where I expect them to be (if that makes sense)

Not the toolbox but the grey box attached to the wall with wires coming from it

That's the rear side of the electric meter box. Opened from the outside so no problem there. I'm planning on boxing it off properly with some MDF just the be doubly sure that it's not damaged by flying and spinning things. The main gas pipe to the house also inconveniently runs up the wall of my workshop so that too will get boxed off and all hot work (brazing, silver soldering, tempering etc) will probably get done in the garden.

No problem it was just a thought as things can easily be overlooked. Yes boxing it in is a good idea

Keeping different types of work separate is always a good idea if you can. Woodwork and metalwork don't mix because sawdust soaks up oil and makes an abrasive mix with swarf on machine tools. And metalwork generates oily black mess that spoils clean woodwork. Painting demands cleanliness, and so does electronics. Apart from fumes, and corrosive flux fumes, flames in the workshop produce a lot of water - the condensation caused by hot work is nastier than ordinary wet.

My ideal workshop would about 10x10 metres and air-conditioned. No chance, I have to make the best of what I've got...

Dave

Good progress!

If you are not familiar with lethe work, buy one or more books and read before launching into action. That way, you will be safer and have an idea of what you are doing.

PM me if you want a list of possibles

Certainly, you will find a set of Zeus Charts usedul. (Still using mine from 1958! )

Tubal Cain's "Model Engineer's Handbook" is another useful reference book to have to hand.

Then you can start becominbg used to operating a lathe.

FWIW, my advice is to start by making a few small tools. They will be useful for years to come, and if you make a mistake, it may still do the job, even nif it has a poorer finish that you would want But you will have learned from the experience. We all had to start somewhere.

Better to make a mistake on a bit of mild steel bar than an expensive casting!.

As you gain experience, you will find other things that you need; to cut or to measure. or hold!

Good Luck!

Howard

Howard, yes my first projects are planned to be tools I will need. It will help me practice hitting dimensions accurately before working on anything with expensive or low tolerance parts. I have some drawings for a machinists hammer and a retractable scribe. Both of which will be invaluable I'm sure.

Theres a few books I'm looking at, although YouTube is also a good source of education to accompany the more in-depth reading. If all else fails my dad has an engineering background, machine tooling in his younger years but now aircraft engineering.

Hopefully taking my first chips tonight. I have to say on this progression from my simple drill and Dremel experience to machine tooling something that didn't occur to me in my research is just how intimidating it is to stand in front of a lathe spinning stock. Perhaps "scary" would be a strong word but I'm certainly extremely cautious.

Nowadays, as I can't find mine anyway, a cheap minimal spec laptop with solid state drive so it powers up quickly will provide the info, plus music, plus drawings, plus access to a very helpful forum.

Having had two workshops with concrete floors I would lay something down more foot friendly. Carpet and rubber mats were a nightmare to clean so I wouldn’t use those again. My current workshop has a wooden floor with a layer of plywood on top painted with floor paint. In your position I’d be tempted to do the same and put some plywood down.

Hey Matt, How is your workshop looking?

I finally got around to uploading pictures of my fit out.... (Except that while uploading, they've all been rotated 90 degrees)

You can see my workshop progress in this album

Having grasped the proverbial nettle and cut some metal, you have gained a little confidence.

(We have all travelled that road. Once, we were all beginners )

The more that you do, the more confident and more able you will become. Yes, there will be mistakes along the way, but they expand our knowledge.

Forty years or so ago, when I got my first lathe, I never imagined that one day I would cut screw threads or cut gears.

Still trying, and failing, to be a precision engineer.

Keep at it!

Howard

Hi all,

Sorry I've not updated, life has been pretty busy (thesis writing and all). I had a slight issue with the drive pulley on my lathe, wasn't terribly impressed with the quality of the build but very impressed with warcos customer service so that's something I guess.

I've got a load more tools, my dad dropped off the rest of my grandads old gear and I've bought a few things of my own. I'm not exactly a "two steps ahead" thinker, so I keep getting to a stage where I need a tool but don't have it. Case in point, bought taps to tap a hole but failed to see I'd need a tap wrench! So progress on projects is slow.

As a mill is out of the question, there is simply no room, I'm considering investing in a bench drill. Not for milling purposes! I've read enough to know that's a bad idea but I feel ill occasionally need to drill so accurately holes that would be difficult on a lathe.

I'll upload a few more pics tomorrow, after I've had chance to tidy up a bit!

Matt

As promised an update on the workshop. The cabinets that were in there before are now back in. The big pine cabinet tucked under at the back is sadly of no use to my workshop but has the important job of storing duck food. The 2 grey cabinets had a bit of junk in that I've cleared out and is now full of my tools and other bits, there's a little extra room in there still. I'm yet to put cupboards under the bench but so far I've managed to find homes for everything, so I'll expand as I need to. My thoughts were that a bench drill might fit next to the tail stock, it could make for some workshop gymnastics to get the tail stock on and off but I think I could live with that in return for more precise holes than I can do with my hand drill and baby vice. The vice can swivel, which I thought was a handy feature in a tight space and so far it's served me well. I have the left over work top and I think with some jiggery pokery I could mount it on some collapsible legs and that would allow me an extra bit of pop up worktop in the garden on a nice day.

I am glad you have had a good experience with Warco, I have had bad customer service from them myself.

As for milling...... looking at your latest image, I would say you have space on those cabinets by your window for a worktop milling machine.....

I found some dimensions of a generic milling machine... Overall dimensions of machine: 670 x 550 x860mm

The footprint of one of these machines is fairly comparable to that of a drill press.

I am most certainly not suggesting you buy this exact mill but it is the reference I have used for the dimensions above.... You should try and template the footprint out with some masking tape.

Amadeal Milling Machine

But you're making good progress and learning important lessons by the sounds of things.

You also have the option of three in one machines....

3 in 1 milling lathe

Hi Rooossone, I had a look at your workshop build and using a shipping container is an ingenious idea! Much cheaper than building something I assume and probably more secure. I see you've got lighting in, and I imagine leaving the doors open will provide some natural light although I've been very grateful to have the window right behind me. Having the natural light in helps it feel a little less confined.

The issue I see with a mill is table travel, I might be able to fit one in but I don't think I'd get much in the way of reach during milling operations. It might be okay, but I still need to have a think about it. In the meantime a bench drill is a much cheaper option and gives me a few extra operations. I've been looking at second hand ones on ebay and you can pick up some rather solid looking ones relatively cheaply (less than 100 quid).

The 3 in 1 machines were something I looked into when buying my lathe, I wouldn't say I regret not buying one but I do wish I'd considered this option a bit more. I think in the end it came down to a hobbymat vs warco decision based on popularity and availablity of parts. Although I could probably get parts for pretty much any lathe these two seemed like the most serviceable, and after losing out on old hobbymats (that may have had issues I wouldn't be well experienced to deal with) I went for the warco one. I have to say overall I'm quite impressed with it, apart from the drive pulley basically exploding it's been a solid piece of kit. Everything lined up so well out of the box I haven't had to shim any corners or anything like that. The tailstock lines up with the chuck centre dead on and I haven't got any measureable taper when I turn a long distance.

Making some more chips tonight, since I mentioned I was buying a lathe I've had requests from friends of mine. Tonight I'm turning some aluminium axles for an RC car that previously had plastic ones that snapped. A fairly simple project but all good experience. A shipment of mild steel has also arrived for my next project so I'm looking forward to having a go with that too!