Portable workshop

[Daniel Marcante]

Hey all,

I'm considering getting into wood working - but I'm on a very tight budget - not so much money, as space - enclosed, weather proof space. At the moment I have room in my house where tool boxes and things can be stored, but the only space on my property that can be used for actually working is outside on a deck that is anything but weather proof. Does anyone have ideas on for a set up that I can easily take out there when working, pack up, and take back inside when I'm done?

I have seen some good ideas for tool chests that can easily be closed up, and packed away - my main issue is a work bench. I mainly want to focus on small, hand worked stuff for now so I have no issues with trying to find space for large table saws or anything of that sort - it's mainly having a clean workspace that I can pack up when I'm finished.

Any advice or ideas you can give would be great.

Cheers,

Daniel

[fubar]

gday daniel and welcome to the forum
without knowing your budget it gets a little difficult to give advice but I'll give it a go. Festool tools and the walko workbench are my idea of tools that fold away and pack up nicely, . Have a look at IDEAL TOOLS Australia - Festool, Protool, Walko, and Woodworking Tools (http://www.idealtools.com.au/) (sponsors forum).
This is a pricey exercise but if I look back at all the money I have wasted over the years in buying cheaper tools that dont last I wish I had started out on the better quality ones.
Also have a look at Stu's Shed (http://www.stusshed.com/) for tool reviews might give you some ideas
good luck and happy woodworking

[andrewr79]

I'm making do with a $20-$25 craftright portable bench from bunnings (often on sale) and it's quite usable. Fairly sturdy and a good budget way in I think. Not the best potable on the market but the cheapest and I find on the cement garage floor I have few issues with it moving around.

You can expand on this style of workbench with a variety of benchhook style attachments - I built a normal benchhook, a benchhook with a shooting board attachment for planing, a mitre box attachment and a metalworking vice attachment. Just pick these small units up, tighten the jaws on the bench to hold them firm and you can do a ton of stuff without a big bench. I can take and post pics if you want me to.

I'm about to add a proper woodworking vice to this one and see how it goes, I think it will add quite a lot of flexability to it.

That being said, I'm really looking forward to the day when I can have a big, solid bench that I don't have to pack away!

[ian]

Daniel
ideas
see if you can locate a copy of Scott Landis's "The Workbench Book" some of the chapters deal with people working in tight spaces, from memory one is a guy in San Francisco who lives in an appartment and works in his kitchen.

a bit of googling (maybe on the Popular woodworking blogs) should turn up info on guys who work in the corner of a lounge room -- typically their tools are stored in a bench, which doubles as a sideboard when "packed away"

power tools are always an issue, especially sanders, but with good dust collection SWMBO will often allow work indoors.

also, I recall an article on a WW who has a folding bench which he stores under the bed

[Mike Busby]

Make a cheap fold-down workbench (http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-fold-down-workbench/)
This is a fairly simple idea of making a work bench which when not in use folds flat against a wall. Maybe you can try this on your deck where you can make it do double duty as a serving table for BBQ's or a party. You would need to upgrade the top and the legs to be a bit heavier to give you some stability but the idea is wothwhile exploring if space is limited.

[andrewr79]

Also have a look at the roll around cart in this link, it could solve both your problems

Hyper-Organize Your Shop - Shop - American Woodworker (http://americanwoodworker.com/blogs/shop/archive/2009/08/04/hyper-organize-your-shop.aspx)

[Daniel Marcante]

Thanks guys (and gals?) You have given me some great ideas, my main concern with foldaway's was always stability. In case anyone looks to this post, I also found an article in an American woodworker magazine on the Japanese equivalent of a workbench - 2 saw horses (slightly different to the ones we are familiar with) and a plank or two across the top. Granted it is an different style of woodworking, but this is another Idea that I shall be exploring.