Thread: Broken window = new work bench.......suggestions wanted.

Just been looking at those last two pics I posted above and was wondering if I might have sacrificed useful wall space (ie. hanging room for tools) for the two extra windows I put on the side?
All I was considering when I built the addition in the first place was having as much natural light as possible. Any thoughts on this?

Bob

Light is great. My only concern is direct sun as mentioned earlier. Aside from that looks like it will be a nice work area


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Originally Posted by Glenrob

Hi Arch,

Thanks for that link. Man that guy is one mean drawer maker! I have a similar size garage (10.5x8.5mtrs) made of the same material, but so far I've resisted the urge to move my woodworking enterprise into that shed, instead I prefer the "rustic charm" of the beaten up old relic that I am using now and probably will continue to keep it as such. Call me old fashioned, but I just prefer it out there, plus I can modify it to my heart's content and no-one complains.

So here are the latest progress pics as taken this arvo. So far all it's cost me is the cypress pins planks that I've used to line part of the outside as well as some of the interior walls. I hope to be able to dress it all up a bit better than the previous area with some nice trim around all the windows and corners as opposed to just leaving all the rotten old timbers I use to build it in the first place.
I see all these nice, showy 'workshops' in magazines and on line, and while they look fantastic and theirs owners should be justifiably proud of them, I'm happy with my humble old hovel. It ain't much, but it has all the right smells and at least it's mine.
BTW, after this little project is all over and done with, I plan to move another wall and build yet another bench, but this one will be dedicated to purely an assembly bench. I've already started buying all the clamps and fixtures that I can leave permanently mounted so I don't have to clear one bench and make room just to be able to assemble my projects. Already have some great Kreg and Woodpeckers clamps, tracks and little dedicated 45 and 90 deg box and corner clamping fixtures.
Ok then, that's it for now....hope the pics are ok and sorry about the mess, but such is life in the sticks.

Bob

Bob that is a real shed a bit like my fathers years ago, his extensions stepped down with the slope of the land. Both he and the shed have gone now but it is good to remember when i was younger.

Geoff.

Originally Posted by Geoffrey1950

Bob that is a real shed a bit like my fathers years ago, his extensions stepped down with the slope of the land. Both he and the shed have gone now but it is good to remember when i was younger.

Geoff.

Geoff,

It is truly great to have those memories and to be able to hang on to them, then recall our youth when we feel the need.....whatever brings that need upon us.
My best memories from my younger days are those spent with my Grandfather in his shed. I always knew when I was late getting out there as I could hear the sound of him starting up the overhead belt drives for his big engineer's lathe.
I now find myself being the eldest surviving male member of our family, but unfortunately I have no (and will never have) a grandson to share those times with.
All I have are my memories of my beloved Grandfather.

Bob

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

......then spend half an hour pretending I'm working in there.

I hear that many people have reported the same thing. Anyway, why would he want to pretend you're there?

Bob, NEVER apologise for a rustic shed - everyone loves them! It's their age that gives them the feel and good vibes.

The two windows in my shed both face north, and whilst the glare off machinery (or whatever) can be a bit of a pain, I wouldn't change them for anything. As the sun gets to the north in winter it just lovely in there. Just have to watch what sits there permanently. Working on some detailed thing (say in a vise) with direct sunlight illuminating it is the ticket!

TTC & FF,

You're both correct guys about the 'hazzards' of leaving anything standing for too long in the direct sunlight. How I'll handle that will be something for deeper thought later on, but for now, I'm really enjoying the warming benefits of the lower winter sunlight streaming through those windows. In fact, so far I'm having to deal with sweating up a storm some days then having to put a sweatshirt on when I get outside because of the chill factor of the cool breeze and the T shirt I'm wearing.

One thing that I've very much appreciated from everyone so far, is the absolutely wonderful support my "old shed" has received. Though I've tried to make it less of a dump than it was before I took over its occupancy, it's never lost that certain charm, which is why I plan to stay working from there as opposed to moving to a more modern shed.

The only "really modernisation" I plan to make in the future will be solar power cells on the north facing roof, but for that to happen, I will have to completely strip and re-clad the roof after first strengthening every rafter by doubing each one to support the cells. I will only be setting it up as a 'back-to-the-grid' system which should be enough to offset all the power tools I use every day.

Once again, "Thank you" for your support of my 'relic'. It makes me feel better walking in there knowing I'm not alone.

Bob

Bob, mine is less than four years old (apart from the frame and the iron roof which go back about 90 years).

Before:



After:



And now:

I think it has awesome character.

You see FF's above. His is one of my favourite workshops I've been in.

With the sun issue what I found was work was splitting in my lathe if I walked off or left it for as little as an hour in the sun on some projects.

Solution ... cant say it was the prettiest but I got a big beach umbrella and stuck it out the window while I was using the lathe.

You got one thing right ... those windows make it nice and pleasant in the winter


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

FF,

What a wonderful "old relic"..... I love it. Your shed has a special beauty all of its own and the fact that you haven't gone mad trying to hide it with trees and shrubs (nothing against them .... I love trees and shrubs too), shows the pride you have for the history and origin of your shed. Also I would be happier working away under your tarp 'extension' than seeing one of those horrible tin garden sheds tacked onto the end instead.
I'm saving your pics and may even use some for my computer desktops.

Well Done FF,
Bob

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

I think it has awesome character.

You see FF's above. His is one of my favourite workshops I've been in.

With the sun issue what I found was work was splitting in my lathe if I walked off or left it for as little as an hour in the sun on some projects.

Solution ... cant say it was the prettiest but I got a big beach umbrella and stuck it out the window while I was using the lathe.

You got one thing right ... those windows make it nice and pleasant in the winter


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Dave,

Ever since you first mentioned the point about the heat from the sun splitting your work, I've been tossing over ideas in my hollow cranium occasionally, and thought I might see if I can scrounge an old fold down canvass widow shade from a council clean-up, providing they haven't all stopped them before I get my 'prize'.
Thanks for the idea.

Bob

My jointer/thicky sits against one of those northern windows, and the fence is anodised alum, so the glare off that is pretty harsh. I don't use a beach umbrella (no room, and I ain't got one) but during a long stint yesterday I just propped an MDF sheet up on the ledge to knock out the glare. Only covered the bottom half of the window so still plenty of light streaming in.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

My jointer/thicky sits against one of those northern windows, and the fence is anodised alum, so the glare off that is pretty harsh. I don't use a beach umbrella (no room, and I ain't got one) but during a long stint yesterday I just propped an MDF sheet up on the ledge to knock out the glare. Only covered the bottom half of the window so still plenty of light streaming in.

My beach umbrella goes to the outside ... sorta cramped on the inside for space on the inside.

I also have a complete west wall of glass ... bit by bit I have been going with the MDF idea or anything I can find to block the light/sun


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Again I have little to relay as far as my bench project goes, but for the sake of showing that I am at least doing something productive, I have one pic to post.
I spent the greater part of the afternoon sizing, routing and thicknessing the corner moulding that I'll be using for the wall cabinets.
For this moulding I've glued some dressed pine, that I've 're-claimed' from some old pallets, to pieces of scrap western red cedar (as if such great timber could ever be called 'scrap') and then routed the pine section with a beading bit to form a decorative and contrasting edging for the cedar. Before the routing, I put every combined length through the bandsaw and finally into the drum sander to achieve a reasonably uniform width and thickness.

In the pic, I placed these pieces on top of the lid of the wall cabinet which has already been given two coats of French Polish. After a few more coats, it should be ready for final sanding and waxing. I've previously done all these steps on a test piece of cedar ply to see how the process is supposed to look when finished.
The 'French Polish' I'm using is a Feast Watson product, but isn't applied in the 'traditional' fashion, so I'm only doing as per the label instructions indicate.

Anyhow.....

Bob

Well apart from adding coats of oil and waxes plus a lot of sanding and buffing to the cabinet doors and box frames, I've actually begun to frame up the bench members. The stud finder/laser level that my son gave me a while ago is really coming in handy when trying to get levels while matching new timber to old frames.
This pic below, I took to see if I could show an idea of the surface finish shine on the drawer front after it was wet and dry sanded and then buffed with some very old Libron wax. This drawer isn't the right one for this side. I just wanted to get it into the shot.

DSCF3600.jpg
This one shows what I've spent most of my day working on, which is setting one of the power points into position. I had to start setting the final height of the bench at this stage because I've started fitting the wall ledgers. See the short beam horizontally under the drawer. The top of this 'beam' is 930mm with the final bench height ending up somewhere around the 970mm mark. There'll be a few different layers of materials that will be the make-up of the benchtop.
Obviously my bench design is nowhere close to the excellent bench that Micheal built. As it progresses further, I hope you'll be able get a better idea of what my thinking is leading towards.

DSCF3600.jpg

My ultimate goal is to have a place to work from with as many of my tools safely stashed away in drawers and cupboards for a change instead of having them hanging all over the place wherever there's a spare spot on the wall. I have a few crazy ideas of what I want to achieve in the long run with this bench, which is why my progress isn't as fast or as consistent as others' efforts.
I know my creation won't measure up to most peoples' preconceived thoughts of what a proper wood-worker's bench should be, but no-one could ever call me 'traditional'.
DSCF3603.jpg

This last pic is just to show that I'm taking notice of the suggestions about the sun's constant effect on the bare timber walls, etc. So I've already coated the cypress boards that make up the walls, with oil and will keep on until it can't soak up anymore.
I hope I can pick up the pace a bit guys and show some more progress pics, but it's the little sneaky ideas I have in mind that take up time, plus the fact that I have no plans to work from.

Thanks for the inspiration Michael and everyone else for their approval of the fact that I love working in my 'ratty relic' of a shed. Character goes such a long way to making our sheds our own special places to work in and retreat to when we need a jolt of reality to make us feel good.

Thanks Guys,
Bob

Looks like I made a mess of the pics people, and I don't know how to delete the duplicates. Sorry all.