# Ed Suttons Workshop (pics)



## Mr Ed (11 Sep 2008)

The F&C readers among you may have spotted my article starting off the 'Makers Workshops' series in this months F&C. I took loads of photos for the article, but it the end it could only be 2 pages and only a couple of the images were used. I thought I'd post a few on here to flesh out the missing detail if anyone's interested.








































Cheers, Ed


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## OPJ (11 Sep 2008)

Nice workshop, Ed, thanks for sharing. You know... With that kind of space, I'm sure you could afford an even bigger table saw!! :wink: :twisted:


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## Ironballs (11 Sep 2008)

Nice catalogue pose on the first one Ed 8)


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## wizer (11 Sep 2008)

Nice space, looks very clean and pleasant. It must be a nice place to work.


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## Mr Ed (11 Sep 2008)

Thanks Ironballs, considering the gratuitous cheesy shot, I think 'catalogue pose' is probably the least offensive description you could give it!

I agree Olly, I've been thinking for a while that the space needs a larger table saw to do it justice. Budget not currently available I'm afraid, but also the Kity does pretty much everything I need and has not let me down in 7 years . Some day soon though....

Thanks for looking, Ed.


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## Ironballs (11 Sep 2008)

Must admit I am jealous of the space and light, if I want extra light I have to open the garage door. On the plus side this then gives me a lovely view of the Pennines, on the downside if it's windy like it was today then planing boards is like being in the middle of a snow/sandstorm.

Having seen your editor's workshop again this issue I'm surprised he hasn't commandeered yours :wink:


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## Mr Ed (11 Sep 2008)

I think geography is on my side with that one- its a hell of a drive from Wiltshire to Derbyshire for a bit of workshop time.

Ed


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## shim20 (11 Sep 2008)

awsome nice w.shop, seems empty though for some strange reason. need a nice big tool cabinet on the wall and a few other things.


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## Mr Ed (11 Sep 2008)

Probably looks empty because I tidied up before the photos were taken (well who wouldn't?).

When I'm in the middle of project there's a lot more stuff spread around. That said I try hard to maintain a clear and tidy workspace as I get really inefficient when there's too much stuff lying about.

I used to have all my planes and other handtools arranged on the shelves on the back wall, but I got tired of everything being coated in dust so now they all live in the red cabinets under my bench.

Cheers, Ed.


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## Paul Chapman (11 Sep 2008)

Great shop, Ed 8) Thanks for posting the pics.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## joiner_sim (11 Sep 2008)

The workshop looks so bright! With lots of space to actually work in with bigger items!


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## stewart (11 Sep 2008)

Nice pics, Ed. Love the light open space you have - haven't got round to reading about your workshop yet - a bit of bed time reading coming up.


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## PowerTool (12 Sep 2008)

Very nice,bright and spacious - but no sawdust :shock: :wink: 

Andrew


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## MikeG. (12 Sep 2008)

> The F&C readers among you



What does this stand for? I'm afraid I don't read any magazines..........(well, apart from the New Scientist)......... I presume F&C is a magazine??

What a lovely workshop!! Don't listen to the others(!!!)...........I reckon the most important thing in a workshop isn't all the kit you've got.............it's all the space you've got. 

What was the original purpose of the room/building?

Mike


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## Mr Ed (12 Sep 2008)

Thanks Mike.

F&C is Furniture and Cabinetmaking Magazine, which I am an occasional contributor to.

I'm pretty sure the original use of the room was a workshop. Its at first floor level above my double garage and utility room. The previous owner had a collection of vinage motorcycles and I think used the first floor to store and work on them. The lifting beam you can see is over a motorbike sized trapdoor in the floor. I used it to get my bench in and one or two other items to avoid them having to come up the stairs.

I agree with you that space and light are essential commodities in a workshop.

Cheers, Ed.


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## MikeG. (12 Sep 2008)

When you were being shown around this property before you bought it, did the estate agent actually manage to drag you out of the workshop and into the house?

I guess the only down-side is that if you make a substantial piece of furniture you need to dangle it in the air on a chain for a few minutes to get it out of the workshop.....which could be a bit nerve-wracking!!!

Mike


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## filsgreen (12 Sep 2008)

Nice shop Ed, thanks for the tour.


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## Rob_H (13 Sep 2008)

Great workshop, Ed. Fantastic space.


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## Mr Ed (13 Sep 2008)

Well Mike, there is some truth in what you say...

We were looking for a house with a decent workshop (or I was anyway) and there's surprisingly few when you actually start looking. This house was way above our budget but it was in the village my wife grew up in and was a house she had always loved. It had been on the market for 12 months as it was just too big a project for most people who looked at it. I looked at it and walked away as well, but when the price dropped in the following months it became a realistic proposition.

I've done masses of building work and am now nearing completion. The one area that needed no work was the workshop. Having a funtional workshop on site throughout a refurb project has been a godsend and I would do the same if doing it again. Having said that I am not planning to do it again, I spend all week building and to do it all weekend is a bit much. I need to get some woodworking done!

Cheers, Ed.


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## Karl (13 Sep 2008)

Nice workshop Ed - I really enjoyed the article, and your additional pictures have put some flesh on the bones, so to speak.

Inspired me to have a change round of the layout of my 'shop. 

As a general question - I noticed from your pics that you don't have a dust extraction pipe going to the crown guard on the Kity. Do you hook one up when in use, or just rely on the rear extraction? If the latter, does it work well for you? I only ask as my recent table saw acquisition has no connecting hose for the top DX (ie to connect it to the larger diameter rear DX). I was thinking about bunging the crown guard DX, and just relying on the rear DX. 

Cheers

Karl


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## Mr Ed (13 Sep 2008)

Hi Karl

Glad you enjoyed the article. It got heavily edited between me writing it and it appearing in the magazine so good to hear it still made sense.

I've never connected the crown guard dust port, originally because I didn't have the equipment to do it, but in time I found it was OK without it. I rely on the Karcher vac pipe stuck into the rear dust port - this is OK, but a fair bit of dust gathers inside the bottom of the machine. Periodically I clear this out. The shop vac I have has a power take off, so it comes on and off with the saw.

Some people (I know Woodbloke did) have blocked the rear dust port and made a hopper on the bottom of the case to connect from there. My saw sits on a stand with a solid metal top, so I cannot do this without major modification. I have toyed with various ways of improving it, but its OK, so I'll probably leave it and upgrade to a better saw one day.

Cheers, Ed.


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## hpl (13 Sep 2008)

What a great space to have for your workshop Ed, and so neat and tidy. Looks relaxing to work in with all that space and light. 

Johnny B


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