Steves Workshop & Stuff

[powerdesal]

Photos of the work shop:-

Storage space is a premium so I try to hang as much as possible on the wall.

Home made fence for router table, melamine shelving used.

1/4 Ally plate is basis, the slot was for a previous use as zero tolerance slot for circular saw, superceded by saw bench.

Router table clamps into work mate for use.

One of the kitchen cupboard doors almost finished

12 speed laser sighted pillar drill, GMC brand (Australian)

Dewalt planer/thicknesser, invaluable for 'recovering' pallet wood for use.

semi-home made saw bench. The top is a painted 3/4 in chipboard sheet.The guard is obviously removable

Fence is from melamine shelving which is smooth, straight and dimensionally stable.

[cooperlola]

Have you seen this?

http://www.amazon.fr/Men-Sheds-Gordon-Thorburn/dp/1843303299/sr=1-1/qid=1165763567/ref=sr_1_1/403-1248381-7290826?ie=UTF8&s=english-books

[Chris Head]

You've got all the basics in there Steve, you can cut, plane and mould wood. I used to look in the equipment catalogues and dream of having this and that and now I dont. I maintain it's the head, the heart and the hands that are the creaters, not the machinery. You do great work with what you've got.

Your workshop is unnaturally tidy though, I'd have to chuck a bit of sawdust and a few empty beer bottles around, I prefer chaos, knowing that order will follow somewhere along the line[:D].

 

[powerdesal]

And there was I thinking that I should tidy up before taking the photos !!!!

There is quite a large amount of sawdust under the saw bench.

I generally sweep up before leaving, three reasons,:- I dont want aggro for treading sawdust into the house, fire risk, the cat lives in the workshop in the tool cupboard (which I have to leave a bit open).

I would post some more pics of work done but with the present amount of other photos I think I will wait a while.

ps. I dont generally drink beer, and its in cans here anyway. Perhaps some empty wine bottles would add the finishing touch. Drinking and wood working is as dangerous as drink driving, if not more so.

[Chris Head]

Get the piccies up Steve!

Sarah's learned not to moan about the sawdust by now, I am quite a dab hand with a dustpan and brush though!

Valid comment about alchohol and work. For the record, I never drink during the day, apart from occasional Sunday social events. I've got my own fridge in the workshop with beer, Chablis and a bottle of Bollinger stashed for a special occasion. It's a great place to hide when there's a housefull of kids, women or if there are orders being thrown about[:D]. It's my space and the kids and Sarah enter tentatively! And before all the woman start on me, yes, Sarah does have her own space!

I'll get a piccy up of the current chaos later.

[powerdesal]

Same same with my space, Barbara just opens the door and stands there till I notice her, she wont say anything if I am using power tools in case she disturbs my concentation and I cut what would hurt. I did have a drinks fridge once but it died and I dont feel the urge to replace it.

We had a call button system for a while when she couldn't walk so she could 'bleep' me if she needed any thing, thats not required any more (thanks to good orthopedic surgery and time), now its up to me if I come in for lunch at week end !!!! Ditto Barbara's space, it used to be 'Our' office and 'our' PC but now its her geneology research centre and I am relegated to the kitchen table with my laptop. [:(]

piccies some time soon.

[powerdesal]

OK

The bowls are toroidal secions of recycled pallet wood glued together then turned, I think the biggest one is 7 layers and the smaller one 5.

The lid is from a total of 4 pieces. It has a deep groove around the top flat surface as a juice trap because its use was for chopping lemons (for G & Ts ) and stopping the juice spilling onto the marble work top. (Lemon juice = acid = ruins marble surface)

The finish is jacobean oak stain with carnauba wax. All from recycled pallets. The light coloured dish type thing is an incense stick holder.

The settle is 100% recycled pallets. The fielded panels were 1/2 in thick edge glued then cut to size, routed for field effect and glued into rebates routed in the frame. The arms are pinned joints with no mechanical fastening. Under the cushion is a storage box with lift up lid on piano hinge along the back edge.

The three legged stool is a milking stool (for goats) which was the first item done on the lathe and was a pesent for Barbara (she asked especially for a milking stool). The walking stick is a 'stick wiv an orses ead andle' bought in Goa.

[Wozza]

Some nice stuff there - and I thought I was clever making a composter from old pallets (3 nailed together!). I suppose the use of pallets is due to a difficulty / expense buying wood in UAE? If so, it must be a joy when in France, but then I suppose you don't have the tools?

Warren

[powerdesal]

Warren,

Yes and yes.

Plus its a challenge to recover what is effectively scrap timber and make something useful. If it doesn't work, all I have lost is time. If it does then I have probably learnt more skills. There is a great deal of self satisfaction in what I do. Sometimes I end up binning what I have made but thats not the point. I have enjoyed it, I dont NEED to do it, but I WANT to do it and thats the whole issue.

Sometimes I get compliments on my 'skill' sometimes not, it doesn't really matter. I will never make money doing what is, effectively, a hobby because there is no cost-effectiveness in it, but I enjoy what I do and, hopefully, will be able to do it for a long time.

The stuff I make may be pretty rough, crude, basic or simple by the proffessional or semi-proffessional standards of some people, even some on this forum, but I am always open to advice and willing to learn.

Enjoy.

[Chris Head]

Steve, you should be as proud as punch of your work, it's great. You're using what resources you have and applying imagination and determination....excellent stuff.

I love the settle, OK the finish isn't to my taste but the proportions and execution of the project or just great.

I love what you say about learning. The beauty and also the frustration of working in three dimensional subjects is that there just aren't any rules, anything goes.

In my opinion, one of the secrets to producing great work is repetition...by that I mean identifying the core joints (in the case of joinery) and techniques that feature heavily in most projects and doing them over and over again, over time you become good at these core componants, even if you get bored to death with the process of learning them.

It's a little like learning to play music or learning to cook, at the start the individual notes of music, or ingredients of cooking are perhaps a little confusing, but over time one becomes profficient with the basics and is able to put it all together, to make, music, food or joinery. Then add imagination, determination and endeavour and you start to grow in confidence and profficiency.

For me I find the mixture of chainsaw sculpture and interior joinery projects fascinating, the two have a symbiotic relationship. And vice versa, when I'm carving, the patience required to construct a piece of furniture transmits through to the sculpture...I don't cut anything unless I'm sure the cut is right, my mind never stops working, leaping forward and dreaming....I'm one of the lucky ones who can realise my dreams.

Anyone got any other pictures of thier work?