Working practices

[RogerS]

I fitted a new kitchen in my flat last year. Part of the instal needed the fabrication of alternative cabinets and over two visits to back home (where the workshop is) I re-engineered and built the cabinets. Not particularly time-efficient.

Moving on to now, I'm refitting the bathroom (hiding all the pipework behind false walls etc) and about to embark on fitting a new kitchen and bathroom in the flat above mine (total refurbishment project). As my intention is to make this one source of revenue I came to the conclusion that ferrying stuff back and forth between home and flat (240 mile round trip) was not cost-effective and so I decided that everything should be done on site.

So the thicknesser (Delta) is on site and also the Ryobi table saw. Now both of these could be considered contractor/site machines and so it makes sense that I've done what I've done. But now, of course, back home in the workshop I have no thicknesser (not that much of a problem) and no table saw. And my car is boot-space challenged and so it's not feasible to load these back up at the weekends (and anyway I'm a bit of a lazy b****r and would rather leave them on site)

So what do you guys do (especially those of you who do this for a living)? Have you got a separate TS for site work and keep a 'better' TS in the workshop?

Do you keep some tools specifically for site work (I'm thinking maybe a ROS for sanding plaster etc...and another one for sanding down your latest piece of hand made furniture)?

So I'm curious as to what folks do?

 

[jasonB]

I'm lucky in that most of my work is local.

For site I find that a cordless circ saw and straight edge will do 95% of what a site TS will do but all the main machining of carcases is done before I get to site anyway.

I do have an Elu flip over saw but it tends to stay in the workshop most of the time, bit on the heavy side, have a separate mitre saw so not worth taking the Elu just for rip cuts.

Jason

 

[tim]

At the risk of repeating Jason's words again, I do the same. I make as much as possible in the workshop and do only final fitting on site.

I have a big DW SCMS and it makes my heart sink when I know it needs to go on site - technically portable but no fun to get upstairs.

Even though I have done some distant work, it still makes sense (to me) to make all the stuff and then rent the appropriate vehicle to take it to the site.

Cheers

Tim