Year in review 2024
Spring is thought of as a time of renewal and for Workshopshed 2024 it certainly was. January was spent packing up the workshop and organising a move to Suffolk. The move went smoothly enough although loading the house and workshop into a very large van took most of the day.
The latest workshopshed is long and thin, split into 2 rooms. But there’s room for benches down one side and storage on the other. The space is being shared with materials for house projects and storage for boxes whilst we sort out the move. Despite a massive clear out before packing it is still a major downsize to move from the big house and double garage in Scotland. But we are very happy with our choice.
The main focus for the workshop has been sorting boxes and organising. Although there have been some minor upgrades such as a bollard to improve the front door security and a new light in the studio section. Also some ivy has been removed from the inside of the roof and a flap added to waterproof the door. Some of the old wiring has been removed but sorting out power for the front workshop will have to be a priority next year. The studio side of the workshop is where I’ll be doing my electronic projects and recently a new bench has been ordered.
Making
The first project of the year was completed before moving and that was to combine metal offcuts into a welding cart. The company that had supplied my previous argon canister had gone bust in 2020 and transporting a big canister was problematic so the empty tank was disposed of before moving. I’ve yet to replace that but have a potential supplier in the local area. I hope to weld a small steel book case for my new office, the tube is quite thin so the TIG welder is probably the best choice.
The previous owners of the shed had left me an old table which was upcycled into some industrial style shelves. The remaining wood won’t go to waste with a plan to turn that into an adjustable saw horse.
There has also been an ongoing project this year which should be completed in the spring, more on that later.
Repairs
The house we’ve moved into has needed lots of work so a lot of my free time has been used cleaning, redecorating and doing basic repairs. The bigger jobs we’ve brought people in to do but those often led to more small jobs such as filling in some wall chasing or replacing a brick after a light switch was moved. What started as a small job turned into a much bigger one after a wall needed replacing after a cupboard was removed. So plastering has been added to my list of skills this year. My father has also been repairing and extended the life of his power washer.
Trips and Visits
This year we made two visits to Southwold to see Tim Hunkin’s under the pier show. We had visited in March, only to find it was still going through it’s off season repairs. So we headed back later in the year and were not disappointed. There’s a great range of wacky machines and we even got a bit of a workout.
I also managed to visit two maker spaces, the local one which is due to move locations early next year and the South London Makerspace which was having an open day. Also having an open day was the local model railway association, irma who showcased their excellent making abilities.
Videos and Writing
There were no videos this year as the move and house have taken priority. Element14 Presents have also been going through some changes so didn’t push me for content. But I have been working on a rugged pc project and have a few more ideas for videos for next year. Once the electronics bench is redone, I’ll be able to start filming.
This year saw changes for a few magazines too, HackSpace magazine has merged with MagPi and Model Engineers Workshop will be becoming part of Model Engineer. And over in the USA Digital Machinist magazine has stopped publishing.
Plans for 2025
As mentioned above, I’ve a bookcase to weld and some electronics projects to film. And there are many more interesting places locally to visit.
I’ve been asked to look at a record player and see why it makes a funny noise rather than music, so that should be a fun repair. Might need to grab a cheap record from a charity shop for testing as we don’t have any. There’s also a big saw to fix up and then use around the garden.
Currently there’s paint drying on a new bench for the studio so that will be getting installed in the new few days. Not quite sure what I’m doing with the workshop electrics yet but there is definitely more old wire to strip out. The new Workshopshed seems to be working out ok and I’ll continue unpacking and sorting in the upcoming year. The critical projects on the house are also coming to completion so it could be an interesting new year for Workshopshed.
Posted in: Yearly Review
Tags: 2024
Metal sculpture in brass, mounted on an 1800s French Coin
Always a pleasure to read your year end review and optimistic look at the future.My list of 2024 achievements is rather short! Kept our 17 year old car running by keeping a close eye on possible problems, got it serviced regularly and fitted with all weather tyres. Painted the shed and did a bit of sorting to try a get more workshop and less storage. Got some help in to rescue my wild wildlife garden. A few less jobs done each year each year as decrepitude creeps in!