Behind the Shop: The Vegie Garden

Behind the shop is a funny little piece of land; a historical anomaly.  A little strip behind the otherwise rectangular block, making in the words of a friend 'like a battle axe'. Although it looks small and useless when you measure it it's actually substantial - 17.3m x 1.85m.

The strip has had no specific purpose and has thus defaulted to an area of misc. plants and storage of timber and metal left overs. 

However, my plans are grand, for a lovely vegetable garden. I plan to enclose the entire area as a raised garden bed. With the bed 1.2m wide it makes for 20 m ^2 of useable vegie space with no loss of backyard.

The Shop in Spring

I found this old photo of the shop in spring.
(I've removed the Oleander over safety concerns and I would prefer an edible vine such as passionfruit there.)

Tablesaw Transport Woes

I finally decided on a list of tools to purchase from Gregory Machinery... but there's a problem...

I'm 577km away from GregMach and they can't find anyone to freight it... 

'We have contacted three different transport companies including one that has there head office in [your town] and none of them have “tail lift deliveries” in your town.
 There is no problem to get the goods there and one company suggested that you collect the goods from their warehouse with either a utility or trailer and then unload at your leisure. Do you know of anybody in [your town] that has a tail lift that we can consign the goods to and they do the delivery? Please advise'

Unloading a 220kg saw from a trailer on a palate without wheels... I mean I'm up for a challenge but seriously.... Will keep thinking.

The New Shop: Cleaning Up Part 1.

With the walls a little clearer more of the structure is revealed. Unfortunately it appears that the slab was poured after construction. The corrugated iron is thus below the slab line and in connection with the ground.

Not surprisingly this has led to rust and in parts disintegration to point there are visible holes. I haven't yet dug down deep enough to know the thickness of the slab or what foundation the wooden frame is in. (Hopefully it's not just hardwood sitting in dirt.)

I suspect that I will have to trim at least 300mm of iron off the bottom and replace it. Along with this I will plan to extend the slab around the edges as a path with drainage. Unfortunately this all costs time and money. (Should be a bit of fun though).

As part of the clean up I've ripped out most of the shelves the previous owner had used. There was certainly a variety of materials (hardwood, softwood, honeycomb core, MDF, and far too much chip board) and fixtures (random screws, rivets and lots of nails.) He was certainly fond of nails. 

The New Shop: Arriving

Here's some photos of the new shop. I'm in the process of clearing out the previous owners mix-match shelving he'd salvaged and put to use. Striping it back to just the timber frame and iron skin. The next step will be clearing out the resident spiders and cobwebs. Then I'll take the pressure cleaner to the walls to de-dust and clean things out. (Unfortunately I did't have time to do this before moving in. So all my gear is piled in the middle and will have to be shuffled as I clean.)

The removalists were great and totally professional. They held a 'can-do' attitude despite a continued low level apprehension about the workbench. But there were no dramas. We had six blokes on scene but it only took three to safely move the bench and thicknesser.  

The New Shop

Today we moved into our new residence and as importantly moved into the new workshop. This will be the fourth incarnation of my workspace and the first dedicated external building. 

It's quite a big space. 7.6 x 5.4m or ~40m^2. Concrete slab. Hardwood and corrugated iron construction  Divided into two sections. The larger will be the woodshop and the smaller for garden equipment and wood storage. There are two large wooden bifold doors on each section and three windows. There is also a car port off to one side. (Currently the building has no electricity.)

All tools & timber came off the truck without damage. (Two wheels on the workbench failed but with one end on a trolley it was moved safely without drama.) I haven't even begun to unpack or plan the set up.

I think this one deserves a name... 

Sturt School - Tools & Techniques Weekend

The most relaxed and enjoyable woodshow I have ever been to is the Sturt School for Wood's annual Tools & Techniques weekend. This year it's on the 16-17th February (4 weeks from now.) It's you're a hand tool enthusiast or new to it all this will be a wonderful weekend.

View Larger Map

Roubo Ready to Roll

I haven't said much about it so far but I'm packing up shop and moving on... The biggest single item to pack up was the Roubo. Here you can see the sliding leg vises are removed. The wooden handles have been unscrewed and the chrome covered in foam secured by quick ties. The external glide wheels are removed and stored away. But for ease I chose to leave the sliding vice on the bench. The top sits on vertical tenons so I added a strap in case anyone tries to lift the top (which weights 150-200kg). You'll also note the temporary wheel mounts.

I've had the bench in operation for nearly 2 years now. (Although I never finished all the details.) Over that time it has been a star performer living up to expectations. 

It is starting to show some wear and tear. You can see the impressed marks of the pin mechanisms.

Hmmm... occasionally I use my circular saw on my hand-tool bench... not smart.... I think this section might be cleaned up to hold some vice leather...

The existing leather is looking well loved. I might free it from its hide glue and trim it a little neater. 

The move will be a good opportunity to service the bench. It will need re-surfacing and oiling, a middle row of dog holes, a tidy up on the wagon vice block, and general de-dusting / de-rusting.

Despite the Roubo's popularity nowadays... I believe this style of sliding leg vice is still unique.

My Most Ambitious Project Yet

just a hint of what 's to come in 2013...

Router Table Search

Woodman MS 1 & MS R2 - ?$
Gregory Machinery sell two versions of the Woodman router-table. One all cast iron with a mitre t-slot the other with an aluminium sliding table. They have split aluminium fences. Axillary switches. 2.5 or 4' dust extraction. Bout 56kg.

Carbatec Cast Iron - $329

My original preference - largely as it was cast iron and was cheap. Some reviews said the fence was out of alignment and needed work. Ticks most of the boxes and appears to share components with the woodman.

Carbatec with Sliding Table - $495

Similar to the MSR.

Carbatec with Tenoning Attachment - $849

Well reviewed other than the lack of an external axillary switch (which seems important to me.) The engineer in me likes the ideas of the dial in fence movements but I likely wouldn't use them to tenon as intended.

Kreg Precision - $599

I'm sure the Kreg is a well built and precise tool. But for some reason I feel the urge for cast iron rather than MDF.