Setting up my new shop

[kvom]

Wouldn't a Viair 12V compressor work for shows?

 

[Bogstandard]

Kvom,

I don't think it would be able to keep up with half a dozen or even more, hungry little engines.

John

 

[CrewCab]

I've got one of those compressors in the garage John (the one you've just ordered that is) : ............... had it about 2 years and it's been great, tad noisy but I don't tend to run it after the 11:00pm watershed . It copes very well with most of my air tools, even the 1/2" windy gun which my little compressor struggled to turn over.

The smaller one it replaced I thought about selling, but as I was unlikely to get much in return it stayed with me ............ and now sits under the bench in the workshop proving very useful .............. particularly for cleaning up the lathe and mill ......... much better than a brush

Anyway, back to small compressors, isn't there a thread on here somewhere about building one ???

CC

Dave

 

[Bogstandard]

Dave,
It isn't just a matter of just having a compressor, if it was that, it would be easy.

When you display at country shows, there is no air for engines provided, just electricity. So what you have to have is a silent compressor with a fairly large output.
I borrowed a friends one in previous years, but now that my display is growing, that will be running flat out continuously just trying to keep up. In fact last year, I had to wait for ten minutes between runs for the single turbine engine, just so that I stood a chance of getting it up to speed.

Just a little update.

Managed to get all the 'stuff' out of the back shed. I blindfolded myself while the wife dumped a load of it into the wheelie bin. A lot of it is being given away to needy people. I hate selling small items that I have had my use of, I prefer it to go to a good home with a little bit of goodwill.

So if all goes well, tomorrow the compressor will be in it's final position, and the bench can be built around it.

John

 

[Bogstandard]

I how now gone past the point of no return. The suit is now in deep storage, and I am now again in scruff order, t-shirt and bib 'n brace.

Ralph came this morning and took away the last of the problem contraband, so now I have a clear run at the now almost empty 'bottom shed'. As you can see, the compressor is in its final position, but not yet piped in or wiggly amps connected.

After my always welcome visitor departed for home, I duly descended on the wall and hacked it out. It has worked out rather well. I can't put a full width door in there, because of machines on the other side, but the gap between the studs has worked out well and I can easily get my portly figure thru it.
Bandit (the sausage on four cocktail stick legs), really approves of the mods, but is always in the way, whenever I move anywhere, even outside, he is never more than a few feet away. At least it looks like someone enjoys my company.

Here is the hole from the workshop side, it looks more narrow than it really is, I can walk straight thru and my shoulders clear either side. I am not really worried anyway, it won't be a place I frequent often, only quickie cut up and forming jobs will be done in there.
There will be a machine on either side of the doorway, across the corner, surface grinder on the left, mill on the right.

So I will try to get the door finished for tomorrow, then a poke with a sharp stick to the neighbour, and he can come in and fit custom benches.

One thing I have noticed, since I opened up the hole and with both metal doors open, there is a lovely through flow of air, so no more sweating in the summer.

Time for a *** and a cup of coffee.

John

I forgot to mention, Ralph brought his new engine with him, it looks even better in real life, a real corker.

 

[Divided He ad]

Now that's a much bigger hole in the wall than there was this morning John!

I have yet to start to read my way through the huge wedge of 'contraband' but will spend a bit of time on some of it tomorrow... There has to be some usefull stuff in 100+ magazines!!! (I'll tell you how well the little puffer is received tomorrow )

Summer..... Did I read that correctly.... Yep you said summer... do you know something I don't? :big:

Well at least for 5 days a year you have natural air conditioning ;D


Glad you liked the engine John.... Cut out and all :big:

I'll have to start on my new one tonight ;D



Ralph.

 

[John S]

David,
How quiet are those compressors ?
I have two stuck up in what used to be the hay loft, my front workshop is an old stable.
The first one is a direct drive 2 Hp 3 phase unit I bought a few years ago on a largish tank, maybe 200 litres ?

Only problem with this is that it's incredibly noisy, like REAL NOISY. Not too much of a problem during the day as it only had to fill the tank up for the odd blow down job.

Then I got the big CNC which has air clutches and tool changer so I bought a recon Hydrovane compressor as it can run late at night and still be quiet as the workshop is close to a neighbor.

I can swap between the two if I get problems and both compressors have had the tanks linked so it stores about 400 litres of air at a build up.

I don't want to run the direct drive unit again though unless I'm really forced due to the noise so it would be nice to know if there are other alternatives.

.

 

[Bogstandard]

Summer,

Sorry about that Ralph, I was reminiscing about a different century.

John

 

[Bogstandard]

Now we're cookin' with gas.

I got the neighbour involved this afternoon, to come and build the supports for the new benchtops. The hardest part was getting the holes thru the concrete walls to support all the weight that is going in here.

This is my offering, I managed to get the rough hole tidied up, an' put wood 'cross t'ole.
It looks rather narrow, but I can walk straight thru without my shoulders touching either side. Going thru sideways is a different matter. It seems I am thicker than wider.

Two and a half hours saw the framing for the benches in, the support legs will not be fixed to the floor until all weight is on the benchtops.
The bit across the door will be for my power hacksaw. I will be able to cut up to 12" long with the door closed, or with it open, a lot longer. Also I will be able to use the outside door for bringing in large metal lengths rather than smashing everything if I bring it thru the main shop.
The compressor can be pulled out sideways if needed, and brought out under the end bench, and thru the door. Just in case it needs a repair job on it.
As usual, the nose on legs is never far away. He is such a fixture, I didn't notice he was there until after I had got the piccy ready for uploading.

This shows the sliding door from the other side. It is amazing how easily it slides, and the space it saves over a conventional door.
I have decided against having it self closing, but have adjusted it for minuscule effort to move it.

So, take out a second mortgage to buy the benchtops, get a few wiggly amps into a couple of wall sockets and a florescent light, and it should be almost done for the time being.

John

 

[JohnS]

Ah yes John but don't forget to bung up that crack in the roof - a bit of cheese from Gromit should do it !

John S

 

[Bogstandard]

John,

A bit of a change since you saw it earlier this afternoon.

The crack will be sorted very soon, I am expecting my mentor sometime this week, so he can get up there and fix it. I daren't get up there, if I did, expect a rather larger hole in the roof.

BTW, your engine now looks great.

John

 

[Bogstandard]

I keep going on about my storage problem at the moment. All should be fixed by tomorrow as the benchtops are in, just got to get the backboards for the shelves sorted and all my short term storage problems will be sorted.

This is what I have had to do, the cat normally sleeps in here at night, but he's had an eviction notice. This is about 10% of my problem. Every nook and cranny in my very secure garden is now stuffed up with bits like this. I couldn't leave getting them any later, as they will be required as soon as the machines are commissioned.

I have been told my lathe won't be in the country for another four weeks, so I am arranging to bring in the problem miller in about ten days time, so all modding work on the shop has to be completed by then.

The mill will take a couple of weeks to put into commission anyway, as I have to fit the new DRO system, plus get it set up and adjusted correctly. Also because John S has kindly made me one of his power supply boxes, I will be fitting a fourth el cheapo axis to the quill. Nice one John.

Bad Back Bogs

 

[rake60]

John I can't help but notice Bandit is beginning to look more comfortable
with the changing surrounding.

It's shaping up nicely.
I'm certainly enjoying the progress pics!

Rick

 

[shred]

What's with the climbing rope? The occasional bit of abseiling off the scrapheap? ;D

 

[Bogstandard]

Rick,

Bandit is loving it, the only problem is, he can cope with normal doors, but can't get the hang of the slider. All you can hear is him banging his head against the door. Mind you, haven't we all been there at one time or another.

Shred,

As I have said before I am very reluctant to throw anything away, That is just another example. But it has helped me out a few times. What I found underneath it is the major thing. Two very thick wall copper pipe ends, perfect for making boilers for locos, not that I will ever make a loco, but they are there if ever I get the urge.

The shop has come on a bit now, work surfaces are on, main backboard is done, just a smaller one to fit. Most of the electrics are in and working, just got to wire in the compressor with a no volt release. Then I can start on the main shop.

John

 

[shred]

Shred,

As I have said before I am very reluctant to throw anything away, That is just another example. But it has helped me out a few times. What I found underneath it is the major thing. Two very thick wall copper pipe ends, perfect for making boilers for locos, not that I will ever make a loco, but they are there if ever I get the urge.

I've got the same disease... in fact I happen to have a couple retired climbing ropes stashed on a shelf too...

 

[Bogstandard]

Another bit of the boring saga, but at least this bit is nearing the end.

I have blasted on the last couple of days and managed to get all the electrics in and backboards fitted, ready for shelving to come from the main shop. So this is the new layout for what used to be the garden shed.

This first pic shows the metal cutting area. With these three machines I will be able to do serious damage to anything that passes thru here. I have been relying on my little bandsaw for too long, it will now be able to take it a little easier.

Four machines in two. With this pair I can cut sheet, bend, roll and punch/assemble.
All machines are at a height specifically to myself, no bending or stooping for me from now on.

This shot taken from inside the main shop shows the main reason for the conversion. To house the larger compressor, which is controlled by the switch box on the left hand side of the door frame, this stops the compressor from overloading my workshop electrics if anything goes wrong.

Happy bunny bogs in his new rabbit hole. A big difference from when it was first shown to the public as a storage shed. The thing hanging up at the back is now the only bit of garden equipment I will need, and that will be located outside very soon.
You will notice a funny shaped marking on the base of the big saw towards the motor end. My mentor decided to put his thumb under the base of the saw, the saw won. So the new shop has been christened. All my mate was worried about was whether he could still roll a cigarette with a duff thumb.

This is the only real failure. Two of us couldn't lift it onto the bench (it weighs about 2 cwt), plus there was no room for it to go anyway. If anyone reading this is interested in obtaining it, I will be posting it soon in the for sale section. If it doesn't go, the sledge hammer man will turn it into bits for little engines. That reminds me, Ralph, I may have a little job for you.

So that is the first stage basically over, a few of the shelves from the main shop will be put in here, a few small shelves fitted under the bench, then all the tooling I have bought will be stored in here until needed.

John

 

[Metal Mickey]

I can see your an Axminster tools man...........I have the bender, their branding on a RF25 milling machine and the hacksaw. I thought I was being clever and made a stand for it to sit on. To help keep the shop tidy and storage I put it on wheels. Big mistake! Moves forward and backwards nicely......... :big:

 

[Bogstandard]

Mike,

One of the main reasons I go for Axminster is not that they are any better than the competitors, is that what you see is what you pay. Everything up front, no hidden extras, no trying to make people think yours is the cheapest by putting vat or delivery or both in small lettering somewhere nearby. I only deal with those that do that is because I can't get it anywhere else. If I see a site with no prices on at all or phone for prices, they are history.
On the other hand, touch wood, I have never had a single complaint about any of Axminsters tools and tooling I have bought.
A lot of others, supposedly catering for the model engineering fraternity, would do well to follow their lead. It only takes one miscalculation for a person to be put of a supplier for life. Why does VAT have to be added as a separate transaction if catering for the non business population. Maybe they think they can attract a few more buyers from overseas.
A good example was a supplier on eblay that would only take payment over the phone. I purchased a set of parallels for £19.95p buy it now. I phoned up to make the payment, by the time he had added vat and second class postage it came to nearly £30. I never read the small print. He was a major supplier from the shows, and he will never get any custom from me again.

Moan over

You now see why mine sits on the bench rather than wheels. After it has had a bit of use and the perfect position is found, only then will it be bolted down.

Bogs

 

[CrewCab]

Thanks for the tip about the power hacksaw John, I bought one from the same source as my Mill, same hacksaw but blue : ............. changed the blade and it's made a new machine out of it.

Dave