The Shop > Our Shop

Small Shops and Tiny Toolboxes

<< < (2/5) > >>

Eugene:
Sparky posted 
--- Quote ---if you were forced to downsize and simplify significantly, what would things look like when you were done?
--- End quote ---

I'll let you know. :(

We downsized a year ago and I'm only now getting the workshop sorted out. There isn't any "hobby" space in the house at all, other than an office desk. The garden had no outbuildings when we moved in, so since then I've built a wooden tool store (out of sight from the bad lads) for garden and small hand tools, but not yer actual machinery. We chose the place because it was in very pleasant countryside, so any workshop has to be in keeping; I didn't want a traditional garage sized shed and didn't have room enough for one anyway.

So heres the compromise... a stretched gazebo, that if and when we come to sell would make a home office, sewing room, studio or whatever, and add to the appeal rather than detract from it. Fully insulated and double glazed, now it needs a coat of paint inside and out. Twee? OK, a bit.









Overall it's 4 x 2 metres and will have to take two Myford M Type lathes, a hand powered shaper, bench drill press, tool grinder, saw table, and two workbenches plus all the usual bits, bobs and clutter.. somethings gotta give! 

Some storage will be in the old roll top cabinets I made for the last shop back in Wales, they turned out to be very useful; I might make some more.

Like I said, I'll let you know.

Eug

Mike E.:

--- Quote from: sparky961 on September 02, 2017, 06:55:38 PM --- ................ "if you wanted to" or "if you were forced to" downsize and simplify significantly, what would things look like when you were done?

--- End quote ---

By choice my Wife & I downsized after recently retiring.  Everything in the ranch home and shop was wittled down to fit in a 20 foot sea train container and shipped. I only kept the best wood and metalworking tools I believe would be used often, quality old school tools that would be very hard and expensive to replace.

The future, now "hobby" workshop, will be U-shaped, wrapped around the inside perimeter of a new one car garage when completed, with the middle available for large projects when required. On the wall opposite the roll up door will be a wood working bench with cabinets, drawers, and shelves. The metal working equipment including lathe, mill, drill press, die filer, surface grinder and metal bench etc. will be positioned along the other walls with related storage cabinets, toolboxes, and a desk somewhere in between.

It was a really uplifting experience to get rid of a lifetime's collection of "stuff". I came to the conclusion that.... you never really own things in life, they tend to own you. You just have use of things while you are here, and accumulation becomes an increasing bourdon as one gets older.

sparky961:
Great replies so far.  Please, keep them coming.

gerritv:
Downsizing can be good for the soul, it removes a lot of baggage that in the end you often really don't need (anymore).

I would keep a small lathe, a drill press and a small mill, perhaps a CNC router with small foot print. Some means of cutting wood by machine is also important to me.
The challenge in a small space is to utilize all the space, esp vertically. If you keep some wood working tools then making storage thingies becomes possible. Remove a built in closet and you get more space back as well. Ikea has a AsIs section, great place to find tall kitchen cabinets, just fit shelves on drawer slides for maximum volume and ease of access.

E.g. my offcut storage is narrow and tall. If needed I could re-arrange the pullout shelves to get more density.

Books I have mostly as pdf files. I print the pages I need for a project or tool build. Those go into a binder as they are often covered in annotations by completion.

Transferring your bolts/nuts etc into small baggies with notes on the top significantly increases the density of that storage. Using storage bins such as https://www.uline.ca/BL_302/White-Corrugated-Bins lets you group them by category without becoming a mess.

Most of the above I implemented while living for 8 very very long years in a condo. Now back in a house with space but I still try to keep things compact and under control.

Bee:
Even if keeping a big shed and tools for ones declining years a small shed close to the house and facilities is a good idea, maybe only 7x5ft. Proximity to kitchen (for coffee) and loo for disposing of coffee. It could have a bench designed for sitting at, with a good window for day dreaming out of, and above all very good insulation and heating so it is no discomfort to actually use.

Tools - maybe a vice is nice but not essential as dogs and wedges suffice and the Japanese did without hence their saws. I think a small drill press would be the one key tool because with age controlling a hand drill safely and accurately would become more difficult. Everything else can be done, albeit slowly, with hand tools.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page