# Working the future of my shop



## clockworkcheval (Jan 17, 2021)

With retirement approaching I started to develop a machineshop which by now occupies 75 square meters and has a wide variety of tools and machines. I try to focus on horology but I get mostly detracted by building special tooling and upgrade my machines which are up to 80 years old. Approaching 75 (years) myself causes me to consider the future of my shop. The current Corona crisis leads in our country to a Lockdown including the closure of Schools. Lessons are online - and thus can be followed everywhere. So I have invited my grandchildren of 11, 14 and 15 years to live during the week with us and in the weekend back home to their parents. As the parents who live a 100 kilometers away both have quite fulltime jobs they kindly agreed to the lightening of their duties. And so, after quarantaine and due testing the kids stay with us each week. During the day they follow their online lessons and in between or late afternoon I teach them machining. When they have internalized the basics of turning, milling, drilling and grinding we will start some machines. A wobbler, a ships twin wobbler and a Stirling motor. I plan to do the (horizontal) boiler. It is slow going but a great joy! I'm now working on my son in law to prepare a workshop area of 75 square meters to house all the stuff. And I no longer wonder where the machines must go in the (hopefully far) future. Some pictures of the shop which has a heated area of 40 square meters and an unheated area of 35 square meters. Jacob (15) at the lathe, Reinder (11) at the mill Sophie (14) at the lathe and Jacob and Reinder measuring the thickness of a cigarette paper (this brand 0,033 mm).


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## goldstar31 (Jan 17, 2021)

Well, I'm a bit older at over 90 but apart from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. deafness from 'National Service' and sort half an eye or maybe  more, I'm OK. I can't or will not drive and have to cope now with living alone, I'm a lot better than most far younger( perhaps like you)
The statistics are 'gloomy' and I say that pinning my Prostate Cancer appeal badge alongside my 'Veteran's Badge' along side as I'm heading  out of lockdown for a jab for macular degeneration in one of my eyes which can be injected. Prostate cancer for us blokes?  One in 4.  Deafness?  Of all my mates- ( a small handful) only ONE is NOT deaf.  As for heart problems, touch wood!!! I'm fine but all but one of my lot who are not stuck together with gelatine around medication- and that is ME, Me , me!
At my 85, my wife died and the last silly thing in my mind was -- a workshop. 
A Long time before I was 75, I'd sat with a blank sheet of paper and worked a LOT of maths in the event of either  me or my wife dying or -- both of us. Again, I worked out aas best as I was able to a contingency situation if  o ne of us was- like a vast percentage of the old people have series ailments and- Heaven forbid, a thing like a lingering cancer or worse perhaps- dementia.
What to do with a workshop comes way, way below the huge list of 'What if's'
Consequently, I have already divested myself of MOST  of my wealth  already and am amongst the next stage  to see if O can meet the punitive '7 Year Rule'.
As A bold and almost evil thought, I got a 'End of Tax Year' statement a few days ago and looked at the total.  I had had enough dividends to buy a Colchester 'clone' and if I did nothing and lived until next year------ I could have TWO and if I lived another year, I could have Three and start breeding them.
It's only simple aritmentic

Best Wishes

Norman


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## clockworkcheval (Jan 17, 2021)

Well, you see, I'm a fifth generation mechanical engineer (we know no further back) born and raised close to and in machineshops. My son is the sixth generation. But my daughter has deviated from this commendable path. So I take efforts to get her children back to the Path as seventh generation. Much earlier attempts (see pictures) did not really stick.


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## goldstar31 (Jan 17, 2021)

I was never allowed to follow the 'commendable path' because there was no money in it to 'buy; an education.   I grew and sold spinach beet as a teenager and paid for whatever education was available for a youngster during WW2.
My son instead of getting a wage for mending a car owns a small fleet of them.   He came in a Mercedes today to see me and to briefly check that one of the others is tacked away in my gage- accruing in value! He speaks better French than most of the French, has a place tucked away in the Dordogne and is a bit narked that Covid-19 has stopped his skiing. .
It's all a game, he quips in his best Cambridge accent!
Daughter, followed her mother- the usual string of University degrees, married a senior consultant heart surgeon and has an ambition to take her dog for walks and muses on cookery books.


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## aarggh (Jan 18, 2021)

What a brilliant idea getting the grand kids involved!

I wish I had that growing up, I would have loved it!


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## goldstar31 (Jan 18, 2021)

aarggh said:


> I wish I had that growing up, I would have loved it!



If that had been my father's swish to follow in his footsteps,  I would be sitting in a rented red brick terrace house in the depths of a forgotten corner of County Durham in England.  My wife a dishevelled headscarf and pinafore pouring water from the cast iron setpot in the yard after taking the galvanised tin bath from the nail on the wall and then to scrub the embedded coal dust - and matted blood from a day's shift in the local coal mine.
Really?
Instead! OK I'm on my own now but 5 years ago, I lost my wife, I sold my house in Spain and I sold my house in Scotland , gave all but one car away and my 4 grandchildren have enough money to pay for university educations and opportunities which could never aspire to. The elder boy at 15 has already 'been interviewed' at university. And so it goes on.
It is Covid-19 time, I've been 'locked down' since February  but I rattle about in a house that will comfortably sell for half a million pounds and I indulge my lovely grand children which rules imply, I cannot see. I wait for that wonderful day!
Despite all this thing about people in debt because of the pandemic, I'm actually having a hard job NOT to accrue money. 
MY buckled and scarred  old father seemed to have made the right choice-- for me. I'm trying to be half as good.


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## almega (Jan 18, 2021)

clockworkcheval said:


> With retirement approaching I started to develop a machineshop which by now occupies 75 square meters and has a wide variety of tools and machines.


I can only say that your wife must be a treasure and very understanding of your wants, because most of us would do almost anything to have that much space devoted to our shops, not to mention the time effort and cost required to acquire the equipment. That being said, I think it is fantastic that you are passing the skills and understanding of the "trade" to another generation. I hope you have many years of enjoyment left and your heirs have a good long wait for your tools.


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## WisJim (Jan 18, 2021)

I've been retired for awhile and am finally getting a shop space built that will be insulated and heated, but it's only about 11 by 23 feet or so, about 24 square meters.  It will actually be a bit more space than my metal shop tools had in my old shop in an unheated barn and a lot smaller than what I am reading about here.  All my machines and tools have been purchased at sales or auctions or through ads when I could afford them.  I will also have a separate woodworking area of about the same size.  My oldest son went to tech school and is employed as a machinist by a large manufacturing concern.  My youngest son is approaching 40 and has always had access to my shop and tools and has taken evening adult shop classes when they were still offered at the local university. He has used my lathe and mill/drill to make adapters for electrifying certain models of Honda motorcycles, and his step-son is learning to use our wood lathe, so I have some hope for future generations.


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## William May (Jan 18, 2021)

clockworkcheval said:


> With retirement approaching I started to develop a machineshop which by now occupies 75 square meters and has a wide variety of tools and machines. I try to focus on horology but I get mostly detracted by building special tooling and upgrade my machines which are up to 80 years old. Approaching 75 (years) myself causes me to consider the future of my shop. The current Corona crisis leads in our country to a Lockdown including the closure of Schools. Lessons are online - and thus can be followed everywhere. So I have invited my grandchildren of 11, 14 and 15 years to live during the week with us and in the weekend back home to their parents. As the parents who live a 100 kilometers away both have quite fulltime jobs they kindly agreed to the lightening of their duties. And so, after quarantaine and due testing the kids stay with us each week. During the day they follow their online lessons and in between or late afternoon I teach them machining. When they have internalized the basics of turning, milling, drilling and grinding we will start some machines. A wobbler, a ships twin wobbler and a Stirling motor. I plan to do the (horizontal) boiler. It is slow going but a great joy! I'm now working on my son in law to prepare a workshop area of 75 square meters to house all the stuff. And I no longer wonder where the machines must go in the (hopefully far) future. Some pictures of the shop which has a heated area of 40 square meters and an unheated area of 35 square meters. Jacob (15) at the lathe, Reinder (11) at the mill Sophie (14) at the lathe and Jacob and Reinder measuring the thickness of a cigarette paper (this brand 0,033 mm).
> 
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What an absolutely MAGNIFICENT idea! Your grandkids will be independent of the normal limitations of kids today, as they will have both the knowledge and the ability to make things and solve their own problems. 
I hope your son-in-law takes the time and establishes a place that your machine shop operation can be moved to eventually.
The more things you can expose your grandchildren to, the more likely it is they will be active makers long into their lives. 
Have you considered introducing them to clockmaking? Or possibly helping them build a simple wooden boat for them to take on adventures?


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## clockworkcheval (Jan 19, 2021)

We have a horological society where I live with a well-equipped instrumentmakers shop and more than 100 active members. Our experience is that even a simple clock takes about a year to finish. I'm afraid kids becoming adolescent appreciate quicker results much more!


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## William May (Jan 19, 2021)

Well, there are wooden clock kits that would give quicker results. And they actually work pretty well, too. Maybe when they are older and want to try different things to make.


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## awake (Jan 20, 2021)

Can I put multiple "likes" on the OP?


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## Soundguy (Jan 21, 2021)

This is fantastic. Younger folks learning skills that do not involve gaming consoles. I understand the move to automation and computer skills(part of my paying job) but learning the basics........priceless. Keep up the great work and enjoy every minute with your Grandchildren. I plan on teaching my grandchildren all I can about hand tools and skills.
Paul


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## HennieL (Feb 1, 2021)

Clockwork, may I commend you on your post, AND especially on spending time with your grandchildren - Well done, sir 
As a "youngster" of only 65, I was meant to retire this month - fortunately my employer asked me to stay on for another few years... my two grandchildren are only 3 years (grandson), and 8 months (granddaughter), but I have already started dreaming of the day when I can spend time with them in the shop - and of course to take them into the wilderness for some hunting... (have already bought my grandson's first .22 rifle, and his sister's first pellet gun). Unfortunately for me, they live about 8 hours away, and I only get to see them once, or at most twice, per year. Hopefully their parents will move closer to us in the not too distant future and I will have the opportunity to do some serious training  As for me, with my retirement on hold, I currently only manage about one Saturday per month in my shop - much too busy with (still) running the rat race...


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## clockworkcheval (Feb 1, 2021)

Hang in there, sir. There are many beautiful moments to come. The hunting in our low wet country is possibly more limited than in South Africa, but my son in law makes the most of it with the kids. And we found that my machine shop is an excellent place to repair a gun and work some improvements.


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## HennieL (Feb 4, 2021)

Beautiful photo - a "Life Worth Living" moment


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