How do I downsize my workshop?

[woodbrains]

This is the thing I don't want make anything at present. I Like talking about woodwork and sharing experience but I shudder at the thought of having to go out and spend 10s probably hundreds of hours to make some proper work. Happy knocking out something quick and rough like the Log shed I posted recently but precise work that you have to slave over no longer appeals. Wish I could change how I feel about it as I can do it and have the tools and the skills but not the love or passion required that is so evident in others on here.

Think the basic problem is I am never pleased with my work and never have been.

Hello,

OK I see. In that case, sell it and don't think about trying to replace its capabilities with other tools, that is self defeating. If you want to do other types of woodwork, and have the energy, try the hand tools only route. Obviously with some help from a bandsaw, I would always have one I'm not a masochist! There is fun and satisfaction about more carpentry type work and rustic furniture.

Mike.

 

[Beau]

This is the thing I don't want make anything at present. I Like talking about woodwork and sharing experience but I shudder at the thought of having to go out and spend 10s probably hundreds of hours to make some proper work. Happy knocking out something quick and rough like the Log shed I posted recently but precise work that you have to slave over no longer appeals. Wish I could change how I feel about it as I can do it and have the tools and the skills but not the love or passion required that is so evident in others on here.

Think the basic problem is I am never pleased with my work and never have been.

Hello,

OK I see. In that case, sell it and don't think about trying to replace its capabilities with other tools, that is self defeating. If you want to do other types of woodwork, and have the energy, try the hand tools only route. Obviously with some help from a bandsaw, I would always have one I'm not a masochist! There is fun and satisfaction about more carpentry type work and rustic furniture.

Mike.

Think you are probably right Mike

Just sell it and see how it goes. Also agree about there being satisfaction in carpentry type work. You knock something up in no time and don't to worry about ultimate precision. A mm or so makes no odds. I defiantly want to keep tools enough to do carpentry work.

 

[No skills]

Sometimes an interest or passion or hobby just dies for you, I've had a few and occasionally miss some - but most I would not go back to. Sell the big stuff, the new tools you've listed are knocking on 3k to buy BUT if you got the bug again it's 3k spread over months or years rather than one big payout.

Jmo

 

[RobinBHM]

This is the thing I don't want make anything at present. I Like talking about woodwork and sharing experience but I shudder at the thought of having to go out and spend 10s probably hundreds of hours to make some proper work. Happy knocking out something quick and rough like the Log shed I posted recently but precise work that you have to slave over no longer appeals. Wish I could change how I feel about it as I can do it and have the tools and the skills but not the love or passion required that is so evident in others on here.

Think the basic problem is I am never pleased with my work and never have been.

Are you holding because you think uou may return to it as a job in the future or you think you may return to it as a hobby? Or are you holding on because you havent quite come to terms with that fact it isnt something you really want to do as a job?

I think you will feel much happier once youve made decision and made some positive steps. Why not clean up the machine and photograph it ready for sale first. Then thatll give you something yo focud on

 

[Beau]

This is the thing I don't want make anything at present. I Like talking about woodwork and sharing experience but I shudder at the thought of having to go out and spend 10s probably hundreds of hours to make some proper work. Happy knocking out something quick and rough like the Log shed I posted recently but precise work that you have to slave over no longer appeals. Wish I could change how I feel about it as I can do it and have the tools and the skills but not the love or passion required that is so evident in others on here.

Think the basic problem is I am never pleased with my work and never have been.

Are you holding because you think uou may return to it as a job in the future or you think you may return to it as a hobby? Or are you holding on because you havent quite come to terms with that fact it isnt something you really want to do as a job?

I think you will feel much happier once youve made decision and made some positive steps. Why not clean up the machine and photograph it ready for sale first. Then thatll give you something yo focud on

Thanks Robin

Snag is I am dyslexic numpty. No qualifications to my name and current line of work is very physical and not getting any younger. Like the idea of keeping options open but at the same want to move on and use the space better. Woodwork is my only fall back at present. It's never going to be a hobby but can earn me a crust.

 

[meccarroll]

This is the thing I don't want make anything at present. I Like talking about woodwork and sharing experience but I shudder at the thought of having to go out and spend 10s probably hundreds of hours to make some proper work. Happy knocking out something quick and rough like the Log shed I posted recently but precise work that you have to slave over no longer appeals. Wish I could change how I feel about it as I can do it and have the tools and the skills but not the love or passion required that is so evident in others on here.

Think the basic problem is I am never pleased with my work and never have been.

Are you holding because you think uou may return to it as a job in the future or you think you may return to it as a hobby? Or are you holding on because you havent quite come to terms with that fact it isnt something you really want to do as a job?

I think you will feel much happier once youve made decision and made some positive steps. Why not clean up the machine and photograph it ready for sale first. Then thatll give you something yo focud on

Thanks Robin

Snag is I am dyslexic numpty. No qualifications to my name and current line of work is very physical and not getting any younger. Like the idea of keeping options open but at the same want to move on and use the space better. Woodwork is my only fall back at present. It's never going to be a hobby but can earn me a crust.

Hi Robin,

You write that you are dyslexic but there are no obvious signs of that regarding your conversations on here. I think we all suffer hangups at times, loose interest and sometimes wonder what the point is and maybe you have lost some interest cabinet woodwork. If you like the carpentry side of woodwork (constructing large outdoor items etc) then power tools are a good option because you can use them outdoors or indoors. Power tools are great for carpentry work, and may be an alternative to your Felder provided that is the way you want to go forward in woodwork.

Just remember that if you get rid of your machinery and ever want to make a set of bedroom or kitchen cabinets it's going to be an awful lot harder without machinery. Before you sell that Felder, decide what it is you want to make in the future and set yourself a target to make it in the near future. Then see if or how often you use the Felder, it will be an indication of how much use it actually is to you when you do woodwork. And if you don't really need or use it, then think about selling it and replacing it with what would be useful.

Mark

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

Hi Beau,
Have you seen the post from Chip Shop, he is looking to buy a Felder Universal for around 6k right now, maybe it's worth talking to him. Perhaps you could look at the jet 250 or 310 PT in axminster (currently on special offer) and possibly, if you want compact tools look into the festool CMS range (you essentially use the same table for the router, track saw as table saw (CS 75 gives a pretty decent 3" cut) and other accessories if necessary. It is small, light and portable, not cheap, but you would get plenty of change from 5-6k. Festool stuff tends to have a good resale value so if you ever got into serious production again, or just found you never used it, you could always sell and not loose too much cash.
Paddy

 

[heimlaga]

If you have debt on the Felder you should of cause sell it and pay the debt but we all live in a time of uncertainty and selling off production capacity be it production machines or a workshop or a piece of farmland or woodland just to free up money for consumption may prove very unwise in the long term.

Living a rather bumpy life myself I have found that a versatile production capacty is a good insurance against a life on eternal minimum benefits in a two room flat in a drug ridden housing estate.
-When i became totally uneployable as a construction engineer because I first refused to pay the mandatory bribes and then sued my employer to get my unfaid wages I fortunately owned some log house carpenter's tools I had found at the municipal dump and at an illegal dump out in the woods. Log house carpentry became my new trade and a way out of unemployment.
-When my back started going downhill my woodworking hobby could be tured into a good side income as a joiner using cobbled together old machines.
-Then my back broke down. After 3 years of sick leave ans financial hardships I am on the mend and soon healthy enough to start. Unfortunately totally unemployable once again. Fortunately the old debt free machines still exist and besides my training I use the little work capacity I have to patch together more machines. Potential customers have already started calling and asking when I am healthy enough to start.

Karl Marx once spoke of putting production capacity on the hands of the people. His intention was to do it through revolution and requisition and that method proved to have lots of flaws.
I believe in accumulating enough debt free production capacity in and around my home to always be able to produce something and not be totally reliant on unreliable employers. If many enough had that sort of productivity we could build a much more resilient society with less poverty.

 

[Beau]

If you have debt on the Felder you should of cause sell it and pay the debt but we all live in a time of uncertainty and selling off production capacity be it production machines or a workshop or a piece of farmland or woodland just to free up money for consumption may prove very unwise in the long term.

Living a rather bumpy life myself I have found that a versatile production capacty is a good insurance against a life on eternal minimum benefits in a two room flat in a drug ridden housing estate.
-When i became totally uneployable as a construction engineer because I first refused to pay the mandatory bribes and then sued my employer to get my unfaid wages I fortunately owned some log house carpenter's tools I had found at the municipal dump and at an illegal dump out in the woods. Log house carpentry became my new trade and a way out of unemployment.
-When my back started going downhill my woodworking hobby could be tured into a good side income as a joiner using cobbled together old machines.
-Then my back broke down. After 3 years of sick leave ans financial hardships I am on the mend and soon healthy enough to start. Unfortunately totally unemployable once again. Fortunately the old debt free machines still exist and besides my training I use the little work capacity I have to patch together more machines. Potential customers have already started calling and asking when I am healthy enough to start.

Karl Marx once spoke of putting production capacity on the hands of the people. His intention was to do it through revolution and requisition and that method proved to have lots of flaws.
I believe in accumulating enough debt free production capacity in and around my home to always be able to produce something and not be totally reliant on unreliable employers. If many enough had that sort of productivity we could build a much more resilient society with less poverty.

Great post =D>

Nice to be able to pick and choose at present but no idea how Brexit is going to pan out so think you have probably convinced me to hang on to it for a bit. I my no longer enjoy making furniture but if it became essential pretty sure I could just get on with it. So many folk put up with jobs they don't enjoy that on reflection I am spoilt having options.


Sounds like you have had a proper rough time puts my trivial problems into perspective. Glad your backs on the mend and long may that continue.

All the best
Beau

 

[Mr T]

I can't quite work out where your workshop is, at home of remote. Is there chance you could rent it out on some basis, perhaps to a maker starting up, a bit like a bench share?

Chris