A new home for Workshopshed
There are some radical changes afoot for the Workshopshed. I am currently packing up the tools and materials for a planned move to a new location.
The process is quite useful in that it means that I have been finding stuff I forgot I had. Although will I remember when I get to the other end?
Declutter and review
The other good feature of this process is that I got to review all those pieces of plastic, metal and wood that I thought “might be useful”. Over the years some of them have but I’ve also got a lot of scrap that really didn’t need to be moved. I filled most of a hippo bag earlier in the year with my first pass on that. I’ve also been adding to the recycling and rubbish collection each week. There are probably bits that could be passed onto other makers so I’ll repeat this process at the other end. There were a few things that I didn’t want to move such as half-finished tubs of paint and varnish. So those have been left open to dry out and the back gate got an unexpected coat of preservative.
Gasses
After checking with the removal company, they unsurprisingly didn’t to move the bottled gasses I use for heat treatment and welding.
For the bottle of Argon, I use for welding, I transported that up a few weeks ago to be collected after the move. As it is an inert gas and to some extent a fire suppressant so I had no issues with transporting it. But it is heavy so I ensured it was well secured and not going to roll about.
I also had three different blowlamps of different sizes. The one that ran on lighter fluid was already empty but the butane and propane ones I’ve been burning off so that the canisters are empty before I move them. I would dispose of them but our local recycling centre is on appointment only and I also want to have a reference so I know what size replacement to buy.
I’m hoping to build a welding cart when I get to the new location so will be strapping the argon container to that. If I was using bigger containers of flammable gas then I’d look at putting together a gas cage so that the canisters could be stored outside.
I will, however, need to review ventilation before I do any welding. There is a big door on the new place which could be opened but I’ll likely fit some big fans for fume extraction.
Dust and chips
The other key thing I’ve noticed whilst packing up the shed is how messy it is. There’s metal dust, saw dust and chippings all over. At times that’s stopped me from working or I’ve lost small electronics components whilst moving. So another early project for me is the look at dust and chipping extraction. I’ve used a dust pan and brush in the Workshopshed, and I thought that was fine whilst I was in such a small location. On reflection I really need something better and I’ll definitely be reviewing that at the new location.
Check out a handy guide from the unclutterer on how to choose the shop vacuum cleaner that will help you to clean all hardwood floors and any other surfaces.
Lesson’s learnt
The Workshopshed has done me well over the last 12 years and I’ve learnt a lot about setting up a workshop in a shed at the bottom of the garden. But there have been mistakes made over the years which I don’t intend to repeat. As mentioned above, having a clean workspace means that I can do those fine-scale projects without worrying about losing parts. I’d also want to be able to do more electronics and computing projects in the workshop and not need a separate space for that. For that and the welding, I’ll need good fume extraction as the new place is brick build and hence less drafty than the Workshopshed was. For the dirty work such as grinding, I’d like to have a separate area if possible. I have thought about a welding curtain to provide temporary partitioning. Having a flexible workspace is a must for me and I’ll have to ensure good storage so that I don’t end up having to move things to get to materials or tools. I was getting there with the Workshopshed but many of the metalworking tools had nowhere I could easily use them. So there’s a bit of planning to do and before too long you’ll be hearing about my new adventures setting up a workshop in a shed at the bottom of a different garden.
Posted in: Shed
Tags: Cleaning, dust extraction, gas, Sponsored
Metal sculpture in brass, mounted on an 1800s French Coin
