So for almost a year, since late October last year I have not done any woodworking whatsoever. For some time my interest in metalworking has been increasing and I started with a lathe. Then I lucked into a mill of suitable size and of a brand I wanted. A Deckel FP2 is the model, german toolroom mill.
It was not in good shape when I got it. Table had seized and a tapered gib galled up, took a week to free it up, and lots of internet help and tips. I've spent all my time until last week or so on this single project. It went from this:
To this:
And with that I started reorganizing the shop. First and foremost is protecting these metalworking machines from wood dust.
First thing is to get as much outside as possible!
Moving things around are a lot easier than they used to be, because one of the things I made for the mill renovation was a modified 2 ton shop crane. I widened the legs so it'll go around a euro pallet, then I also made low profile half-length legs that allow me to maneuver in the shop much better. It's been GOLD.
I am moving my woodworking bench to the garage door
My bandsaw gets moved to the other side of the room and turned around, no problem with my trusty crane and two helpers:
Then the metal lathe gets moved.
The trick is to doing it safely is to only lift it so it doesn't really lift from the air, but enough that it becomes easy to move it with a crow bad. It takes longer but is safer.
On position next to the mill, the Deckel mill is operated from the side, so I can operate both machines from the same side.
With the metalworking machines in place I moved some furniture around, the welding bench and my all-purpose dirty as heck bench gets moved into the small room next to the mill, where the lathe used to sit. My shop is an L-shape and maybe 34 m2 or so. Still the welder will be mobile so I can roll it outside for anything that is not TIG welding.
And then I proceed to make a new tool wall for my hand tools, I use a piece of 12mm plywood and I paint it white.
Then I move the dust collector, this project stalled out a while ago too. Homemade Pentz cyclone.
Then with the final piece moved it's time to put up the separation between the metalworking and wood working section, a whole lot of PVC sheeting:
So far I think this is working really well. So well in fact the air and temperature of the two areas differ noticeably. I think I will need to get two heaters come winter.
And now I am finally getting back to working on the cyclone, starting with a filter box. The small hole is 160mm and it will went outside. I will make this a feature you can turn on or off depending on the weather, but venting outside saves the filters, they have a total of 22 m2 filter area.
And some blast gates.
And while I am at it I used up some scrap to make tool holders for the metal side too
So that's my shop for the moment. I think I need some more shots that show the overall layout...
It was not in good shape when I got it. Table had seized and a tapered gib galled up, took a week to free it up, and lots of internet help and tips. I've spent all my time until last week or so on this single project. It went from this:
To this:
And with that I started reorganizing the shop. First and foremost is protecting these metalworking machines from wood dust.
First thing is to get as much outside as possible!
Moving things around are a lot easier than they used to be, because one of the things I made for the mill renovation was a modified 2 ton shop crane. I widened the legs so it'll go around a euro pallet, then I also made low profile half-length legs that allow me to maneuver in the shop much better. It's been GOLD.
I am moving my woodworking bench to the garage door
My bandsaw gets moved to the other side of the room and turned around, no problem with my trusty crane and two helpers:
Then the metal lathe gets moved.
The trick is to doing it safely is to only lift it so it doesn't really lift from the air, but enough that it becomes easy to move it with a crow bad. It takes longer but is safer.
On position next to the mill, the Deckel mill is operated from the side, so I can operate both machines from the same side.
With the metalworking machines in place I moved some furniture around, the welding bench and my all-purpose dirty as heck bench gets moved into the small room next to the mill, where the lathe used to sit. My shop is an L-shape and maybe 34 m2 or so. Still the welder will be mobile so I can roll it outside for anything that is not TIG welding.
And then I proceed to make a new tool wall for my hand tools, I use a piece of 12mm plywood and I paint it white.
Then I move the dust collector, this project stalled out a while ago too. Homemade Pentz cyclone.
Then with the final piece moved it's time to put up the separation between the metalworking and wood working section, a whole lot of PVC sheeting:
So far I think this is working really well. So well in fact the air and temperature of the two areas differ noticeably. I think I will need to get two heaters come winter.
And now I am finally getting back to working on the cyclone, starting with a filter box. The small hole is 160mm and it will went outside. I will make this a feature you can turn on or off depending on the weather, but venting outside saves the filters, they have a total of 22 m2 filter area.
And some blast gates.
And while I am at it I used up some scrap to make tool holders for the metal side too
So that's my shop for the moment. I think I need some more shots that show the overall layout...