Hello, newbie with a project.

[pmagowan]

Hi all,
Just wanted to introduce myself, I have been browsing for a while and got loads of useful information. I am about to start a largish project as part of the refurbishment of my house. I have to DIY it due to cost and I like to keep busy. I will be building a workshop/garage about 6m wide by 11m long to house the tools and then I will need to equip it. I suppose this will be the first project to get myself started but I have 30 odd sash windows to replace so I need somewhere to work. I was, up until now, trying to work in my dining room with random B&Q style tools but they are not up to the job and everything seems a lot harder when you don't have the space or equipment.

Any hints and tips on building the garage would be most gratefully recieved. I intend to use ICF's (insulated concrete forms) and have a lean-to roof as it will be along one side of the house. I was thinking about cladding in cedar or equivalent. I only have single phase electric. Once the structure is up I intend to start woodworking mini-project #1, a workbench island unit. My idea so far was to have a table saw and a router table built in at either end of a bench using the same fence. In front of this a standard workbench which would double as outfeed table. Still very much in the design phase and I don't even know what tools I need. I was thinking in the region of £5k for tooling, at least to start. The windows are my major concern so: router table, band saw, table saw, thicknesser/planer, extraction etc are on my mind.

I guess that is enough to get started with. I would be happy to take photos when work starts if people would be interested and of course I would be most appreciative of any advice.

Thanks
Paddy

 

[Mar_mite]

If your building box sash windows you can get all the various parts from a good timber merchant. You don't really need a router table, bandsaw or a planer thicknesser. You could do it all with hand tools, a good bench and a vice. a table saw would be handy though. Keep us posted.

 

[Mar_mite]

If your building box sash windows you can get all the various parts from a good timber merchant. You don't really need a router table, bandsaw or a planer thicknesser. You could do it all with hand tools, a good bench and a vice. a table saw would be handy though. Keep us posted.

Oh and sash clamps.

 

[dann]

As mentioned you can buy parting and staff bead from a merchants and the box can be made from standard off the shelf PSE so really a table saw would be the only thing you really have to buy

 

[Mar_mite]

You can buy it all, bottom rail, meeting rails top rail/stiles and cill/pully stiles for the box. Just ask in the timber merchant.

 

[pmagowan]

Thanks guys
The windows are a bit weird because I am fitting 3G. Most of them will no longer have the box as I don't want them to open (ventilation will be through MVHR). I will have the odd opening one for fire safety but I have not decided how to make them yet. 3G is heavy and I want to keep the sash style but for efficiency it might need to hinge. I am not sure if I will be able to buy suitably sized sash blanks and surely it is more expensive than making from rough timber. Remember, I need a good excuse to buy all these tools

 

[nathandavies]

how about a used combination machine from ebay, you get a lot for your money, and if you get the right one they are surprisingly good.

 

[pmagowan]

I looked at combi machines and did some research. The impression I got was that you sacrificed quite a lot to have it all squeezed together into a compact machine. I am not going to be particularly limited for space and I am thinking about all the woodwork I will be doing in the future. Ideally, for money reasons, I will focus on the major tools I need first but keeping aware of the need to grow for the future. I would worry that with a combi machine I would need to sell it later to get more versatile individual machines. Of course, if the right one comes up on eBay it may still be an option.

 

[Mar_mite]

What's 3G?

 

[pmagowan]

Triple glazing