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Some of the most enjoyable time I spend is the time I potter around the
workshop. Woodworking is a great pastime that whiles
away the time better than any other hobby I have ever done...and let me tell you
I've had a few! There's nothing quite like taking
a piece of timber and turning it into something useful, or better still,
beautiful.
Of course anyone can go out, buy a shitload of power tools, new hand tools
and buy some premium timber. The challenge for
me has always been in finding an old plane at a trash'n' treasure (or swap
meet), finding a piece of timber that looks like it's been
through two world wars and turning, planning and shaping it into something
really special. My biggest kicks are when I can recycle
something to do what its maker never intended. For example, my
woodturning lathe chisels stand was actually a remnant from an
Ikea junk pile...its original use was as part of a bookcase but I saw past what
it was for what it could be. Why did I do that?
I have a horrible confession to make................(drum role please!)...........I'm a hoarder............there I've said it and I'm not ashamed!
I think that most men who "tinker in their sheds" prefer not to throw out
ANYTHING because we all know that ONE DAY that 2
metre length of bike chain will be really useful and we can put all the doubting
Thomas's in their place. I know cause I do! Much of
what I collect most men would throw out. I just think rather than
fill up land fills with piles of stuff I could have reused I will recycle
and keep both myself and the planet a little happier.
I am a Radio Broadcast Engineer in my job and as such, I am constantly trying to
think outside of the square to fulfill solutions to tricky
problems. I think that the engineer part of my brain has been
supercharged (much like the Tim "the tool man" Taylor character in
Home Improvements). My first question to myself when I need something is
can I make it? If you think you can,
Don't buy
it - make it!
A lot of my inherent stinginess comes from the fact that while my wife
understands my hobby, she doesn't understand the need for
variety and diversity. I'll give you an example...a couple of
years ago I purchased a compound mitre saw from a large chain supplier.
It was an ex demo unit, 12" cut,1500 watt motor, generally all right. It
was a shing-phong-ping brand (which is to say, any strange name
Taiwanese made cheapy) which I purchased for $40 Australian! Sure it was
missing the blade, blade guard, the trigger lockout and
the flanges that held the blade on but I figured that somewhere there would be
someone to sell me the missing bits. Sure enough there
was a supplier to sell me the missing bits, including a 100 tooth tungsten
carbide blade for an additional $50. So for $90 Australian it
was a pretty good buy. Lasted about two and a half years before the (non
repairable) motor went up in smoke. I give my wife the sob
story and to my surprise tells me we can go and buy one to replace it.
WooHoo! Well we head down to Bunning's (big chain of
hardware stores much like Home Depot) where I find a Ryobi that will do nicely
for about $300. At this point the wife informs me of
the plot I have fallen for, and I have to do all these things around the home to
"pay it off". No problems as it was worth it. Fast
forward 4 months when plans for my birthday are taking shape. "what would
you like for your birthday" wife asks? A bandsaw I replied..
"But I just bought you a saw a few months ago"..........yes...but it's
different....."how is it different, don't they both cut wood?"
Yes.....but differently and for different uses. Typical view....won the
battle and I have my bandsaw .
The single, biggest conundrum I faced when setting up my workshop was what to do
for dust collection. I remembered that ancient
Chinese proverb that went "If a young woodworker wanted to be an old woodworker
best invest in a dust collector" or something like
that.
I read, re-read and perused so many dust collector sites on the web I had
seriously talked myself into a monster cyclone (all homemade
of course!) that I was convinced I needed. This, even
though I had a 4" 1 Hp top/bottom bag unit that I had used only by connecting
it to whichever piece if equipment that I was using at that point.
So after my head was filled with static drops and the need to plumb
everything in 6" steel pipe and what airflows were needed, I thought that I
would give it a go. With 4" PVC drainpipe. Even though I
had read so many sites saying you needed steel pipe or if you used poly pipe
that static drain wires were needed. Then I found a site
where the bloke said that that was all shit and that Poly/PVC was fine and he
had been using it for 10 years -no sparks / electrocution
or fires had taken place. Good enough for me and what's more there are
hundreds of different fixtures / adapters available for the
stuff and its about 5 times cheaper than metal. You can also get "Y"
fittings, screw on airtight caps (inspection ports) and joiners and
reducers / enlargers to match existing dust ports on planers/ shapers/router
tables etc.
The other really good thing is that the adapters and fittings are flanged so
that you put it together by sliding the pipe into the fittings
until it stops and you throw one screw in the joint, then wrap the entire thing
in duct tape. Airtight, smooth and moves it all around my
workshop. I made a useful air filter for the really fine stuff by
purchasing a filter for a commercial unit and making the unit myself with
a homemade box with 3 four inch computer style fans that suck the air through
the filter. See below:
Initially I used just the dust collector as it was supplied, which worked
well...of sorts. The problem is that once it gets a bit full it doesn't
work as well and its a pain in the you know what to be emptying the stupid ass
clip bags that they supply with the dust collector. So I
decided to make my own "mini cyclone" out of a 60 litre drum and some fittings.
It works well, trapping the big bits and most of the
fine stuff. Previously you could see a lot of dust emanating out of
the bangs, whereas now hardly any dust escapes. I will put the
design for the mini cyclone on the
don't buy it
page.
Works like a little ripper and its much easier to empty than the bags. I
have made several adapters and jigs to place/catch dust in its
many forms and most can be built using off the rack bits from the local plumbing
supply house.
Below is my solution to collect chips/dust when I am woodturning. It sits
just behind my toolrest and the extractor connection sits on
the bottom of what can be described as a square sided funnel. Doesn't look
very elegant but, hell, it works like a little ripper.
Several of my best functioning machines and gizmos are things that I built in
the workshop, for the workshop. Visit my
Don't buy page
for some tips on what and how to make it.
Below are some pics that encompass my workshop - that of a lot of stuff in a very small space - you can see for yourself.
