My First Workshop

[Mooncabbage]

As some of you no doubt already know, I'm in the process of clearing out the basement/cellar at my new house. My GF's father passed away last year, after which we decided it was prudent to move into the family home with her mother. As a result I've finally got a space I can use as a workshop, and I've inherited a stack of tools and other gubbins. So many gubbins and tools, you can't actually move around in the place.

I have actually done some clearing out, but not nearly enough. These photos are from a few days ago, but they represent the state of it this morning. I did some more today, but haven't take photos yet, so this lot will have to do as the "Before" photos.

Basement 1.jpg Basement 3.jpg Basement 2.jpg Basement 4.jpg Basement 5.jpg

I also found a chainsaw today, and all kinds of PPE (masks, respirator filters, high vis workwear, safety glasses, ear plugs, about 50 size 10/L leather gloves....).

I'll update this thread with my progress!

[Master Splinter]

Well, I spotted a toilet turtle in that pile of stuff - that'll be handy for when you are in the middle of something in the shed and don't want to go upstairs for a wee...(or worse).

Some guidelines - if you find old chisels (wooden handles, funny ol' english, swedish or german names) put them to one side to look after. Same with things like wood planes (wood or metal body) and even old files and screwdrivers; any of the old 'we did it this way before there were these new fangled e-lek-tricky' tools (basically pre-70's stuff). There are a number of threads here on tool restoration (as well as what's worth restoring and what is junk), and look up electrolytic rust removal as a good way of getting the rust bug off steel. (Pic Basement 5 - is that an old chisel I see near the black Ikea bag???)


https://www.woodworkforums.com/f18/el...s-tools-25731/
Hand Plane Restoration PAGE 1


And for your future junk...err useful stuff.... storing needs I (after some annoying container leaks) have instituted a policy of storing the more aggressive chemicals (phosphoric acid rust remover, hydrofluric/sulphuric acid based aluminium cleaner, battery acid, ferric chloride and other nasty stuff) in little bunds (plastic kitty litter trays) to contain possible spills. I'm almost sure in your basement archaeology you'll come across at least one failed container slowly oozing goop.

PROTIP - If you find a container of hydrochloric acid (also called muriatic acid or brick cleaning acid), store it well away from metal - the slight chloride outgassing from it encourages rust on steel - so allow at least 1-2 meters clearance!

[Mooncabbage]

I found some old chisels, but they're all rubbish, and in terrible condition. Covered in glue, bent, rusted.... I think I might have turfed them. There were a bunch of rasps/files I kept, they're a bit rusty but they still cut nicely. I also found about 6 months ago, a beautiful set of old wooden planes, in your standard 3 basic sizes. I took them upstairs to show the mother-in-law, and she gave them away to a carpenter we had doing odd jobs for us . I try not to think about it. I also found a few different screwdrivers, but just beat up looking old philips head drivers and such. I already have two full sets of the stanley kind, so I binned most of them too. Kept a couple for opening paint cans with :P

From my high school science days I still remember electrolysis for removing rust. I also know a good technique for cleaning silver, just need some tin foil, salt, and bicarb from memory.

I did find one unmarked black bottle of something nasty. All it says on it now is "Poison". I opened the lid to see if I could smell what it was and instantly regretted it. It's some kind of incredibly strong acid, and that's about all I know so far. Could be hydrochloric or sulphuric, I doubt it's anything more exotic.

I want my planes back

PS. I think that was a chisel near the ikea bag, and it probably is one of the old-timey kind. I can't remember the condition the chisel itself was in, but I imagine it wasn't great. I'll see if I can dig it back out. I think I'll be buying a whole new set of chisels anyway, because one isn't going to get you very far. They were also quite wide, maybe 1"?

PPS. I bought a couple of 900x600x12mm sheets of MDF from bunnings, to replace the top of the bench you can see. I plan on splitting it from one ~1.85m long bench (visible on the right side of Basement Pic #2) into two 0.9m long benches, so I can locate my triton WC between them. They do feel fairly sturdy, but I'm not 100% convinced they'll hold up under a decent weight of tools etc. Is 12mm too thin? I can always use them to make jigs if they're not fit for purpose.

[Christos]

Giving the planes away to a carpenter. Is he a member of the forum and has he posted what he was given by a very kind person.

I guess you have learn something in regards to this cleanup.

When my father passed away I went through his tools that he had in the garage and found a lot of rusty tools and slowly cleaned these up. Does not have to happen overnight but does get done eventually.

The table top of 12mm is too thin but still useful as a place to store some things, not too heavy.

[Mooncabbage]

Nah, he's more of a chippie, construction trade. Oh well.

If 12mm is too thin, what would be a good thickness?

[Master Splinter]

Personally I'd go for yellow tongue (flooring grade particleboard - 19mm thick) as it's cheap, strong and coated in a resin that lets it stand up to outside exposure for several months without too much water damage, so a sloppy coffee cup won't cause the surface to become all furry.

Or -

Solid core doors (if you can get them at the right price...ie council hard rubbish collection days).

[Mooncabbage]

I think I already have some yellow tongue in the cellar, so that might be handy. I wanted to stay away from particle boards though, as I think that's what was already used AND they have a nasty tendancy to swell in my experience. Depending on the condition of the stuff in the cellar, I might just laminate my two MDF boards together.

I dug my chisels out of my rubbish, luckily they were right on top of one of the bags I'll put a photo up later, because they're definitely in need of serious restoration. Not so much the rust as they're CLEARLY blunt, and I have no idea how to remove the gunk stuck to them.

I'll try using electrolysis on some of the rusty stuff I found (old circular saw blade, the rasps etc). However I'll be using bicarb soda in solution as the electrolyte, and carbon as the anode. I'd use carbon graphite sticks, but I don't have any, so I'll try just using one of the many carpenters pencils I have laying around. I have an old 12V 2A DC regulated power supply I found in the cellar, so it should be perfect.

[Master Splinter]

And you're not expecting MDF to swell like wheatbix if it gets wet....???

[Mooncabbage]

TBH I was kind of hoping to avoid getting it wet :P Maybe I could try painting it or something?

Anyhow, I'll look at what I already have, a bit of 12mm MDF for jigs won't hurt.

EDIT: Here are the chisels I found. Not 100% sure what the little things are, they look like cutters of some description but I've never seen anything like them before.
Chisels.jpg

[Master Splinter]

Chisels - from the left - Stanley (last 10 years), Sandvick (last 20 years or so), wood one looks possibly decent and the fantastic plastic is possibly from china and made from recycled cigarette packet foil. Nothing really exciting there (but good to practice sharpening on!)

The other things look like fly cutters from some sort of circle cutting dingus, or possibly some sort of tile scoring tool.

[Mooncabbage]

Quite possibly tile cutting things. The one on the far right is a trojan one, and about the only one even remotely still sharp. Speaking of practising sharpening these, how does one go about doing that?

Oh, and the "yellow tongue" is actually 18/19mm plywood with a yellow tongue.... would that do? :P Unfortunately it's very knotty, hopefully the other side is better (can't get to it right now to properly look).

[Master Splinter]

Just search for sharpening here...plenty of opinions on how it should be done! (you've got a sheet of glass so you are halfway towards the scary sharp method!)

And the ply is probably C and D grade facings (ie construction quality, not appearance quality) so you can always slap a sheet of masonite over it!!

[Mooncabbage]

Lol, sounds like a lot of work! One of my benchtops (with the cabinets/draws, its' white) is in serious need of some love. Going to need to replace the top, and give it a back, and a side. I'm also going to put some casters on it, to make it easier to move around when required. In the new pics you can see I've stood it up to assess the state of the bottom, and to get it ready for the wheels to go on when I buy them tomorrow.

Speaking of new pics, this is the state of the workshop as of today:

Basement 21-01-2013 1.jpg Basement 21-01-2013 2.jpg Basement 21-01-2013 3.jpg Basement 21-01-2013 4.jpg

It doesn't look THAT much better, but it's atleast a bit more organised. The white cabinet has been emptied out, so once it's been restored a little, I can start to put things into it, and that'll help. I also have two 36W "DIY" halogen tube lights still to go in, but I'm hesitant to put them in before the shops a bit tidier, lest they get inadvertently smooshed.

[Master Splinter]

Whatever you do.....GET RID OF THE STROLLER BEFORE THE G/F GETS IDEAS OR YOUR SHED TIME AND MONEY WILL BE GONE FOR MANY YEARS TO COME!!!!!!

Oh, and if you are doing wiring - NZ standards are the same as ours, and the electrical people in NZ have published a handy DIY booklet all about it - http://goo.gl/9d33T (PDF file). Such a pity we can't do our own electrical work here...

[Mooncabbage]

Too late I afraid... the stroller is our spare, not the old man's. The women in my life have taken to dumping all their faff down there, so I've had to get all assertive! (You can imagine how that went).

I also have HEAPS of expensive tiles leftover from a bathroom reno I need to relocate. I'm not allowed to sell them or throw them yet :P

The lights I got are of the plug-in variety. I was under the impression any wiring _at all_ had to be done by a licensed electrician. They're always going on about it on TV. A bit annoying because I'm fairly sure I could do a decent job myself, but what can you do? Anyways, just going to stick a power board on the opposite side of the beam and plug the two lights into it.