Workshop Picture Thread

Well Guys ( and especially you Jason) you've shamed me into it ! I have spent all day in the workshop, have produced nothing, but at least it now is much tidier!

It will now be a while before I make any progress on my projects as I don't want to mess it up again! I must confess to having a lot of projects on the go which I feel a bit bad about - I really should finish some - but on the other hand I just like using the kit and that's where I get the most satisfaction.

Jason - you are not only great with metal but also a star in the woodwork department !

My Father, Grandfather and Great Grandfather were all cabinet makers. I chose not to join the family business but I can appreciate good work when I see it.

My workshop is half of my double garage and the other half is, amongst other things, the woodworking department. For the sake of completeness -  and to make John feel at home -  here is a picture of that.

Edited By NJH on 03/10/2012 18:23:18

Edited By NJH on 03/10/2012 18:34:29

All you folk who have been tidying their workshops will now discover that they can not find anything

John

Here is another. Only partially tidied

Here's mine, having built it my wife looked at it for a few weeks and then said " it sort of reminds me of a signal box" , cant imagine how it ended up looking like that

and inside

and

Ancient Brown and Shrpe horizontal mill has now gone to a new home, other machines are a Dore Westbury Mill, Boxford AUD and a Qualters and Smith hacksaw.

Hi Andrew, no the shaper is not where I was thinking, I was looking at the corner just to the right hand side of your white milling machine. But it was getting a little late when I posted mine and my blinkers were almost staying shut.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 04/10/2012 06:29:23

.

LOL, that made my day.

I must admit i do need for fresh pictures because time moves on and the the big shop has pictures of the big TOS lathe that's now gone to the scrapyard.

That has been replaced by a very nice bench with inbuilt tool boxes for building up and testing small CNC's but the original clutter made from scrapping the TOS still hasn't been cleared up, part of the price you have to pay in a working shop where customer deadlines have to be met.

John S.

Hi Durham Builder

Where did you get the TARDIS unit?

Definitly bigger inside than outside.

regards David

That photo was taken about 8 mths before the first quake ( that was the one most felt in my area), so its not earthquake damage! Its all done by me, there are areas of the floor etc., that can be seen. That was just a quick shot of my Ross Yoke ALPHA hot air engine, just to record the finishing , well to working state of the motor. Ian S C

Nick: Strange as it may seem there's a long bed Harrison M300 lurking in the corner between the white (CNC) mill and the Bridgeport. It's rather odd looking at pictures of one's own workshop; it seems much bigger in the pictures than it is in reality.

It may be iniquitous to single out a workshop, but the one I really like so far is that of NJH. It's clean, organised, looks very comfortable and there's plenty of room to move about.

Regards,

Andrew

Well Andrew

Thank you very much for those kind words! My workshop is only for my own pleasure - there is no pressure to get on and do things for others and I spent as much of my spare time there as I please (subject to all the other demands of family and other hobbies of course!) . It is somewhere comfortabe to go and "play" with the tools and machines that I have collected over a lifetime and I am constantly learning. My "little projects" keep the grey matter going as I puzzle out the ways to proceed.

I am astonished at the quality of work produced by Model Engineers, including many on this forum, though I am never likely to join their ranks. The more I learn the better I understand just how talented they are. I also realise that the results do not depend on tidy, well equipped, workshops- although it is probably better if they are comfortable, welcoming places, and I guess I find satisfaction in order.

Regards

Norman

I'm posting these for Ronnie, he will add a few comments later. JasonB

Wow! What a fascinating set of pictures, one thing we all have in common seems to be a love of machinery

I'd love to play with some of the gear in those pictures, especially the shapers! Some may have noticed my mill is in a state of dis-assembly. I got the belt drive working yesterday. Still in bits - I spent a couple of hours talking urban regeneration this evening

Jason - so when are you moving in to that large, empty workshop?

Ian - thanks for being even re chaotic than me! I note from Peter King's article that he has everything tied to the spot in case of earthquakes. My Wife and I woke up to an 'earthquake' one morning, then realised it was cooling towers half amile away being demolished. We do get them in the UK now and then - I was camping almost on top of the Towyn earthquake (early 80's) which woke me up too.

Andrew - I bet you are good at those puzzles where you fit all the odd shapes together to make a barrel!

Everyone else - thanks for joining in!

Hi all,

Thought I'd join in the showing off fun. So here are a few pictures. Word of warning: they do appear elsewhere!

Two general photos of the garage, er shop. Taken from opposite ends.

Some notes.

The Workmate has been replaced by a trolley thingy from Machine Mart.

There are two benches, both the same height. The working bench was set to suit me, ie top of vice level with elbow. Unfortunately, this meant that the lathe bench ended up too high so I now have a box on the floor in front of the lathe.

The carpet helps keep the floor a bit warmer.

More or less every inch, or should that be mm, of wall space has something against - shelves or shelving. Floor are is about 16' x 9' of which 4' x 7' is taken up by two bikes. the eventual free space to move about in is about 9' x 5'

Regards,

Peter G. Shaw

Edited By Peter G. Shaw on 04/10/2012 21:18:41 to correct image problem.

Edited By Peter G. Shaw on 04/10/2012 21:21:49

Jason,

Sigh........ I wish that I could keep my machines that swarf free. Every time I clear them (using brushes and vacuum cleaner) they just seem to be swarf laden as soon as I turn my back.

Dream on Terry

Regards,

Dreamer

hi people my name is jonathan but i use the name on here ronnie barker as this is what i was known at school and members of my stationary engine club call it me.

first of all a big thankyou to jason for posting my pics of my workshop which i wanted to share with you all.

the workshop is a brick built building with a fully lined roof and a pair of double doors at one which opens out into the lane and a single sliding door that opens into the garden the workshop is 30f long by 14f wide, last year i fitted the pot belly stove from machine mart and this has made the workshop very cosy.

lve got carpet at each machine and at the benches, i try to clean up after each machining job and i have a hoover and do the carpets once a week i cannot work in dirt if you keep everything clean things seem to go alot better.

thing i dont like is that my woodworking machines are in the same place, the bandsaw isnt to bad but the table saw and router table are hell, i do try to do this outside now.

if anybody would like to ask anything about my workshop or give me any pointers then please do so im always looking to improve it

jonathan

NJH: Now there's another advantage your workshop has, it's comfortable. At the moment mine is unheated; although the oil fired central heating boiler is in the corner it's not very useful in heating the workshop. However, I plan to replace the boiler next year, and when I do so I'll fit a couple of small radiators in the workshop.

Stub: That brought back memories! I did have one of those barrel shaped wooden puzzles as a small kid, and another one, probably a cube. And I did find them easy. The workshop was planned out with graph paper and little cutouts of the main machines; several times actually as I acquired more stuff. The horizontal mill is the most travelled, up and down the workshop three times, which given that it weighs 3500lbs was pretty hard work.

Jonathan: That looks like a really nice and cosy workshop. What make are the little mill and the flat belt drive lathe?

Regards,

Andrew

andrew, the mill is a atlas which someone has made a head for it, its a lovely little miller its got power feed and a clutch its a joy to use.

the lathe is a colchester master which im only the second owner of i brought it off the man who brought it new off colchester, which was great cos it came with everything!! there was about 8 chucks 3 faceplates steadies collects and boxes and boxes of tools.

jonathan

8ft x 12ft but I call it home. Friends always welcome, relations strictly by appointment.

Well here is another!! All the benches, the mill stand,and the multiformer stand are made from scrap from our local scrapyard. The micromill is now around 10 years old, and the main mill,and lathe are around 4years old. The workshop is 12ft X 16ft and was built in sections in the house and put together in a long weekend 27 years ago ( yes i do have a very understanding wife). The brass bits on the main bench (if you can see them) are parts of the fibre optic clock i am building, The wood saw on the small bench, the base of which is on the mill table, belongs to "men in sheds" and is undergoing repair.

Edited By David Clark 1 on 07/10/2012 20:08:05

Edited By David Clark 1 on 07/10/2012 20:08:49