Future Workshop Planning

[Petey83]

So I am moving house this summer and as we start to look at properties the number one thing on my list is a garage to convert into a workshop.

At the moment i have a lovely collection of Fetool power tools including the track saw and an MFT3 as well as a festool midi and some good hand tools (planes / saws / gauges etc). i also have a miter saw that i am happy with.

I am looking to take a bit of money from the profit we make on the flat to outfit the workshop (assuming it already has power there) so budget is circa £2500 - £3000. I am thinking of the below but would love to hear peoples views.

£650 for a half decent induction motor PT
£450 for a sjobergs work bench
£650 for router table (UJK bench top), router lift and Hitachi M12 router to go in it
£350 for chip extractor and ducting
£400 a bandsaw
£200 - 300 for buying sheet goods to make cupboards / miter saw station etc

this leaves £200 - £300 contingency money for other bits and pieces i may find i need to get things up and running (new sockets in workshop / better locks / security on the door etc etc)

In terms of what i want to do it will be a bot of everything - reclaimed timber furniture, smaller hardwood projects such as boxes and chests and some sheet good stuff as needed.

i did think about a table saw but at this stage think the track saw covers a lot of it and the bandsaw would be a bit more versatile but please feel free to prove my thinking wrong.

cheers
Pete

 

[AJB Temple]

I have a Sjoberg. You won't really get much for £450. Make one and make it solid.
£350 is not enough for good extraction. At the very least get a 1 micron filter.
Delay bandsaw purchase until you can get a decent sized one.
You need to spend some money on lots of sockets and good lighting.
Buy more wood.

 

[John15]

Regarding dust extraction, it's best to have a high pressure low volume machine for your bandsaw and sanders etc (fine sawdust), and a low pressure high volume machine for your planer thicknesser (larger chips). Record and Axminster carry both types.

John

 

[Petey83]

Well i already have a Festool Midi so that covers the high volume fine dust requirement for now. May invest in a dust deputy to help make the bags last longer.

i was unsure about bandsaws as i have never owned any machinery before so its all new to me. In regards to the bench i did think about building one but part of me wants to buy one to save time as i will have a lot of other stuff to make... maybe i should revise my spending on that and look to one of the better axminster or sjobergs ones around the £700-£800 mark..??

in terms of the machines i was looking at links below may help people understand what i have been looking at.

bandsaw - http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ho ... saw-508205

PT - initially this http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ho ... ser-501250 but may cut elsewhere to get this as seems a lot more sturdy http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ho ... ser-101142

chip extractor -http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-hobby-series-awede2-extractor-filter-cartridge-package-deal-717657

router table, torn between the bench top UJK and the pro UJK... or i make one and just buy a better quality lift and fence etc.

this is the improved bench i am now considering -- http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-pr ... nch-508223

 

[beech1948]

petey83,

Sjoberg and the Axi benches are made down to a spec and are unlikely to be as strong a one you make yourself. I can sympathise with the get it up an running fast approach but this is cash you can spend elsewhere.

As a beginner you need something like this
http://www.picnicpark.org/keith/woodworking/workbench/BobAndDavesGoodFastAndCheapBench-ne.pdf

This sort of bench will last you 20 yrs+ and the 10 or so pages of info are pretty detailed in trerms of making so have a go at making one and reserve your cash for other things.

Al

 

[AJB Temple]

Good post on the bench Beech. The point I was making about benches is that they look better than they really are. So what appears to be a thick top is only thick around the edges. The vice mechanisms are not great. The benches are bolt together and this inevitably affects stability and rigidity. If you want a good bench then it needs to be heavy and with rigid joints. This will help your work now end (planing for example is a lot easier with a big solid bench).

I have looked at the Axi and Sjobergs benches that they have in the Axi Sittingbourne store. The small ones are not worth having really, and the big ones are OK.

Personal thing: do you really want a tool well? They accumulate shavings and tools hide in them. My next bench will not have a tool well!

Trend Mk III router table is not bad for the money. Lift is easily dealt with by a scissor jack.

 

[Zeddedhed]

Personally I'd build my own bench.
You can build a dreadnought class monster from fence posts and 4 x 2. The trick is to use loads of glue, timberdek screws and keep it heavy.

Benches with huge dovetails and the like look great but don't really work any better. I beat the living daylights out of mine and they just suck it up.
If you can upgrade the top to Sapele or something heavy and dense then so much the better, but a softwood bench will last for years.

Spend the money where it will really count, such as the Bandsaw. The Record BS range are good value and are fine for most work. Look out for deals at shows.

You're right about the the table saw. Since getting my bandsaw I use my TS less and less.

 

[MBcarpentry]

Just to add the the work bench debate, I picked up the Axminster monster m bench brand new (there top of the range bench) at a bargain half price as I too at present don't have the time build one and needed a bench fairly quickly ( would definitely not paid the rrp on it) The top is fairly solid but as said the junction between top and legs was not the best and I did a bit of fettling to make this better, the front vise is garbage and racks terribly ( I intend to remove this all together and fit a bench crafted moxon vise in its place) the tail vise is good and handy. On the whole if your not in a mad rush for a bench and have some time on your hands spend the money you have for bench on materials and build one ( I will build my own when I eventually get some spare time maybe in retirement lol) and as said the smaller benches arnt worth having.

 

[Petey83]

so it looks like i will be building a workbench then which should save em a bit of money to invest into a better bandsaw.

does anyone has any recommendations on vices to buy for the self build bench?

 

[Zeddedhed]

Record 53 second hand on eBay

 

[ColeyS1]

Did the budget change in the end for this ? I'd be inclined to spend a decent amount on good quality reliable machinery, as it's something that's gonna speed things up and make life much easier. Perhaps the money you're gaining by making your own bench, you could add to your extraction budget ? Working safely, has to be near the top for priorities.
Cheers
Coley

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Petey83]

Did the budget change in the end for this ? I'd be inclined to spend a decent amount on good quality reliable machinery, as it's something that's gonna speed things up and make life much easier. Perhaps the money you're gaining by making your own bench, you could add to your extraction budget ? Working safely, has to be near the top for priorities.
Cheers
Coley

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Yea the budget went down to almost nothing when we found blue asbestos under the floor in the house that cost £4500 to remove!!. Bandsaw is pushed back to next year, PT and chip extractor came from Axi in a package deal that the other half pod half of for my Xmas present and I stuck with the CMS table for use use with my Festool routers. Main priority is to finish getting the garage insulated to an acceptable standard and maybe replacing or covering the asbestos cent bord roof. Dust extraction will be my CT26 for fine dust but I still need to set up fixed ducting. Ended up with a dewalt mitre stand as space I had didn't lend itself to a fixed mitre saw station. Bought a cheapish drill press from Warco as wanted that for making a few shooting related bits and pieces with Aluminium.

Bench is being made by me now as you know and clearly I've diverted money into expensive planes, chisels and saws

 

[MikeJhn]

Did you or your mortgage lender have a full structural survey carried out when you bought the house, if the surveyor who carried out the survey did not test for asbestos they could be liable for the cost of removal, take this up with your mortgage, or insurance company, you can't loose anything by trying.

Even the previous owner could be liable if they knew it was there and did not declare it.

Mike

 

[Petey83]

Did you or your mortgage lender have a full structural survey carried out when you bought the house, if the surveyor who carried out the survey did not test for asbestos they could be liable for the cost of removal, take this up with your mortgage, or insurance company, you can't loose anything by trying.

Even the previous owner could be liable if they knew it was there and did not declare it.

Mike

Been down every route possible and it ultimately ends up being our cost. We had a full survey done but the asbestos was on lagging on pipes under the floor so would not be picked up on any survey as would have required lifting carpet and floor boards to find and even then it was part of a composite type pipe lagging thy even the Asbestos surveour said they had not seen before. The worst part about the whole thing was it was actually made from white asbestos but tested positive for blue asbestos as well as a result of cross contamination from the manufacturing process as they never used to clean machines between batches apparently. The fact it tested positive for blue more than doubled the removal cost and meant we were not allowed in the house for a week. We also had to replace the entire sub floor downstairs as they ripped up 90% of the floor boards and cut most of them so badly it was impossible to relay them so we had to replace with T&G MR chipboard throughout.

Here's what we came home to when we were allowed back in - apparently cutting on the joist was an alien concept to them.

(Album)
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u3xj2rriuqf7 ... WM5Da?dl=0

 

[Superstrat]

If it helps, I have the Axminster HBS310N Bandsaw and have found it to be ideal for my small shop.

Axminster includes one of their Axcaliber blades to replace the one that comes installed in the machine which, once installed, makes a world of difference.

I have used it for re-sawing ash boards and it has coped very well. Very happy.