Work Area Improvements - New Pic Added 5-16

Dick in Seattle · May 10, 2011, 11:50:00 AM

My oven has spent the past few years on the shop floor. As those of you with big ovens know, that's a space waster. I've wanted to move it from the main shop back into a furnace room but there was too much impact on other stuff and I couldn't make it work. Last week I finally just got at it with a "we'll solve the new problems later" attitude. The result is I now have a very nice glue up room...

Here are pix of the new work space...

This area, along the wall, was where the oven and forms storage was. These machines were still there, they just stuck out almost 2' more...

Here you can see the effect of gaining that floor space. I suddenly feel like the room is WAY bigger! At the back of the space, you can see the furnace room door, with the target...

Stepping into the furnace room, the new layout bench covers the whole wall to the right, with the two cabinets sitting on it. There is more than enough space between the cabinets for a layup. There will be racks on the wall for my sets of pin and C clamps. You can see the oven at the back over the target.

Oven open...

Arrow workbench, to the left of the oven. Herman the Javelina supervises. Finished arrow sets are sorted by spine and stored above.

Bow wall. My newest industrial sewing machine has encroached on the space, but I'm allowing it because 1. I have no other room, and 2., it is currently engaged in making leather bow cases.

Greg Szalewski · May 10, 2011, 01:05:00 PM

Nice setup Dick. That is a fine looking shop you have there.

Butch L · May 10, 2011, 04:24:00 PM

WOW, Thathsss.....sorry had to wipe the drool away, That's a good looking amount of free space to move things as needed to work. Jealous to say the least. Have fun.

Butch L

JSMOFFITT03 · May 11, 2011, 07:17:00 AM

Nice set up, I just built my oven and put it on rollers. The top of it sits rougly 36" off the ground which is about the same as all the other benches and tables in my garage...

Dick in Seattle, I just sent you a PM with some questions....

Jerrod

Dick in Seattle · May 11, 2011, 08:31:00 AM

Jerrod... PM answered. I've seen a couple of ovens built into workbenches... neat approach and I probably would have used it except that I built my woodcarving bench many years ago when I was doing carousel horses and ventriloquist figures. Nowadays I could wish it was a foot or two longer, but I'd never replace it. It's been the heart of my shop work for too many decades....

StoneAK · May 11, 2011, 08:36:00 AM

I built my bow oven onto a storage shelf in my garage it turned out nice. Your area looks great

Mike/Columbia Basin · May 11, 2011, 10:27:00 AM

That looks great Dick but where are your trophy rocks from Moses Lake?

Dick in Seattle · May 11, 2011, 06:29:00 PM

Mike... Here's my rock trophy. It had to go in the backyard. It's a Pope and Young rock record. I got it fair chase after a long stalk and am very proud of it, though the neighbors haven't exactly been pleased.

PS: Packing it out was a nightmare!

Dick in Seattle · May 16, 2011, 11:32:00 PM

Couple more days of work on the new glue room. I added 3/4" ply surface to the whole length of the 14' work bench, increasing the shelf depth 6", plus a support system for storage/access to all of my layup clamps. Believe me, that had to be heavy!

From left: pin clamps with hangers to increase depth - 3 way clamps for gluing up risers - upper level is C clamps - lower is pin clamps without hangers. The pin clamps are used on one type of forms, the C clamps on my aluminum bar form.

I think I'm ready to actually do a glue up in the new facility. I have a couple of bows to build, then I'm going to attack the sawdust collection and air quality issues in the shop.