Setting up a "Men's Shed" - what power tools, machinery etc?

[zodiac]

Hi, myself a couple of other volunteers, are looking to set up a Men's Shed in our town. It's essentially a permanent communal workshop with all the toys which members can get together and make use of, if anyone hasn't heard of them yet. If you have then you're ahead of me !

I myself tend to buy more "affordable" power tools and have not used any particularly decent machinery but I'm sure plenty of members here have so I thought this would be the best place to pose this question

I have the beginnings of a list based on what I think would be needed, and you can get perfectly serviceable power tools from Screwfix etc for lowish prices but I would like to go for some above average stuff with better life expectancy now rather than poor performance and the chance that I would be correcting my thrifty mistakes somewhere not too far in time.

Can anyone provide recommendations so that I can start to cost this all up please?

eg. Table saw in the several hundreds region, sliding compound mitre up to 300 ... that kind of thing ?

Any thoughts and opinions are very welcome at this time so please feel free to comment, I'm an amatuer woodworker myself and far from know it all !

Standard 13A mains is all that is available at the proposed workshop space.

TIA

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've read about these, and on the face of it they seem a great idea. I can't see how they can work, though. How do you prevent "borrowing" of gear? How do you sort insurances? Who puts in what in finance or goods? Who owns what? I know that if I took my own tools there to use, I certainly wouldn't leave them there - I couldn't keep hold of them when I used them working with people I knew. I'd like to be proved wrong, but I just can't see how they can be more than a social club.

 

[Bodgers]

Putting aside any of the issues of viability, I went shopping for you. Here is my estimate at a power tool based wood shop setup for core set of main power tools. These are currently available tools that aren't the best, but may suit a group of serious hobbiests...

(If you are doing this on the cheap you are probably better taking the advice of many of this forum that recommend buying the traditional older brands (Startrite etc) used and then refurbish to suit your needs.)

£1100 - Decent 250mm Tablesaw (SIP 01332)
£500 - Small 305mm bandsaw (makita lb1200f)
£1000 - Larger 405mm bandsaw for resawing etc (Record Power BS400)
£1300 - Thickenesser/planer - Axminster Trade AT107 or AT129
£1500 - Dust extractor, air filter and duct work
£500 - Tracksaw and tracks - Dewalt
£300 - Drill press - Axminster
£250 - Air compressor and brad nailer (SGS compressor, Maikta brad nailer)
£400 - sliding mitre saw - Metabo 305mm

In addition to all these I assume you are going to need a range of hand tools, storage/racks, work benches and various supplies...





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[zodiac]

I've read about these, and on the face of it they seem a great idea. I can't see how they can work, though. How do you prevent "borrowing" of gear? How do you sort insurances? Who puts in what in finance or goods? Who owns what? I know that if I took my own tools there to use, I certainly wouldn't leave them there - I couldn't keep hold of them when I used them working with people I knew. I'd like to be proved wrong, but I just can't see how they can be more than a social club.

I understand what you're saying totally. I did think of taking all my gear to get it started pending funding but what happens when someone breaks it?

It started in Australia and there are over 1,000 of them there so it must work!

 

[zodiac]

Putting aside any of the issues of viability, I went shopping for you. Here is my estimate at a power tool based wood shop setup for core set of main power tools. These are currently available tools that aren't the best, but may suit a group of serious hobbiests...

(If you are doing this on the cheap you are probably better taking the advice of many of this forum that recommend buying the traditional older brands (Startrite etc) used and then refurbish to suit your needs.)

£1100 - Decent 250mm Tablesaw (SIP 01332)
£500 - Small 305mm bandsaw (makita lb1200f)
£1000 - Larger 405mm bandsaw for resawing etc (Record Power BS400)
£1300 - Thickenesser/planer - Axminster Trade AT107 or AT129
£1500 - Dust extractor, air filter and duct work
£500 - Tracksaw and tracks - Dewalt
£300 - Drill press - Axminster
£250 - Air compressor and brad nailer (SGS compressor, Maikta brad nailer)
£400 - sliding mitre saw - Metabo 305mm

In addition to all these I assume you are going to need a range of hand tools, storage/racks, work benches and various supplies...





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Thanks for the shopping trip, this is exactly the kind of input I need at the moment

I'll grab some popcorn ready for the debate about what people would change from this list lol just kidding

 

[Markvk]

don't forget router /table axminster UJK stuff is nice, I also know that one of our forum members had an axminster 10inch table saw with sliding table in excellent condition that's hes thinking of getting rid of, so how about putting an ad in the for sale wanted section? it would also help if you could make a few suggestions of what you might think be a good addition to your shop. and then members who have this kit can point you in the right direction.

you might also want to think about a lathe, you can pick up a union graduate on ebay for £5/600
and maybe a scroll saw, nothing fancy I got a second hand axminster one for £20.
sanding and finishing need some thought.
it goes on and on and on.....

Mark

 

[zodiac]

I was thinking of some axminster stuff as I know people rate certain products of theirs highly, I just have no experience with their stuff to know what is the good stuff.

I'm sure some second hand machines are a good idea as I've seen advice in the past saying you can get a better quality second hand item for the price of a not as good brand new one. Once I know which ones of course I can see who's got one to sell maybe

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Who funds all this?

 

[zodiac]

Who funds all this?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_shed

We would look to get funding / grants from the lottery and anywhere else possible but there's a bit more info on the Wikipedia page. 25 have set up in Wales already and the lottery have looked upon them favourably most times I believe but I don't have facts and figures it's just what I've heard.

 

[mind_the_goat]

I've read about these, and on the face of it they seem a great idea. I can't see how they can work, though

The concept is similar to a makerspace, of which there are many popping up over the UK, and hundreds worldwide. Generally they rely on something called 'trust', It can work very well, it's not going to perfect and some loses may occur but generally it works a lot better then you might expect. an element of self policing will occur to as members will not want their shared tools disappearing.
The thing I would be more concerned about is ensuring no one can use a tool until they have been given sufficient training in it's use, that might be harder to manage.
If was me I would think very hard about including a table saw at all.
These generally, in the UK at least, seem to be aimed at the older gentleman, Scrollsaws should probably on your list as they would be usable by those less mobile members. Also have you thought about laser cutters and 3D printers ?

Also it sound like you have not had much of a conversation with any other Men's Shed groups, would start there first, will save you making many mistakes and incorrect assumptions

 

[zodiac]

I've read about these, and on the face of it they seem a great idea. I can't see how they can work, though

The concept is similar to a makerspace, of which there are many popping up over the UK, and hundreds worldwide. Generally they rely on something called 'trust', It can work very well, it's not going to perfect and some loses may occur but generally it works a lot better then you might expect. an element of self policing will occur to as members will not want their shared tools disappearing.
The thing I would be more concerned about is ensuring no one can use a tool until they have been given sufficient training in it's use, that might be harder to manage.
If was me I would think very hard about including a table saw at all.
These generally, in the UK at least, seem to be aimed at the older gentleman, Scrollsaws should probably on your list as they would be usable by those less mobile members. Also have you thought about laser cutters and 3D printers ?

Also it sound like you have not had much of a conversation with any other Men's Shed groups, would start there first, will save you making many mistakes and incorrect assumptions

As to the last point, we had a meeting with Men's Shed Cymru yesterday and this is all "game on!" but I see that it could look like I had a random idea to open one this morning lol

I had thought of going with a Saw Stop table for the very concerns that you have. I'm not sure how good they actually are though.

 

[pcb1962]

I had thought of going with a Saw Stop table for the very concerns that you have. I'm not sure how good they actually are though.

You would have to import it yourself, and it does not have CE approval, the idea is probably a non-starter for all sorts of reasons including those.

 

[zodiac]

Missed one but out, I am going for the hackspace / makerspace activities and equipment also, 3D printer, laser cutter etc but I thought I'd ask about the woodworking machinery here.

 

[zodiac]

I had thought of going with a Saw Stop table for the very concerns that you have. I'm not sure how good they actually are though.

You would have to import it yourself, and it does not have CE approval, the idea is probably a non-starter for all sorts of reasons including those.

Ah well, not that then. Just individual training before someone is allowed to use it.

 

[Droogs]

Just a thought as to the grade of tools you should be looking to aquire. Although the users of each piece of machinery/equipment will be ametuer/hobbyist the total number of hours run on each machine will not in all likely-hood equate to that of a hobbyist. As the machines are to be shared the average number of hours run will probably equate to those of a proffesional /trade workshop, therefore you should seriously consider only purchasing trade or professional grade machinery. Indeed you may find that any insurance cover you get will require the machinery to be of this grade.
This then will lead you into many issues with regard to being qualified to use and also with regard to your trainers and their training possibly being required to be(at least initially) from the manufacturer and having an element of train the trainer programing in place.

 

[loftyhermes]

Loads of info here, http://menssheds.org.uk/ and here, http://www.mensshedscymru.co.uk/ hope that's of some help.

 

[DiscoStu]

To my knowledge this is only for retired people - certainly in my area. Seems very ageist to me!


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[AES]

I have heard of this organisation before, and in fact looked at them to see if the equivalent exists here in Switzerland (it doesn't as far as I can find out).

Here's a link:

http/menssheds.org.uk/

It seems it's a place for "retired blokes" (not sure about ladies) to get together and make stuff (some apparently do metal as well as wood), and that includes making stuff to sell for charities and to swell their own funds, plus refurbishing their tools & gear, etc. Stops a lot of retirees feeling "bored & useless" apparently, and it seems that in some cases, local sheds can qualify for grants from local authorities, etc.

As someone already said, it seems the idea started off in Australia and apparently there are quite a few successfully up and running in UK.

I was interested basically because when (years in the future I hope!) I can no longer use my own shop (which contains a fair bit of stuff, but none professional quality except for a scroll saw), I'll need to leave all the stuff to someone rather than give my wife the hassle of getting rid of it - we have no children or anyone else suitable.

But I lost interest when I couldn't find any Men's Sheds here.

I can see a number of difficulties re finance, insurance, H&S, etc, etc, as already raised by posters above, but from the sound of things some of the UK sheds have got things sorted, so subject to those cautions, it seems like a good idea in principle at least.

AES

P.S. NO, I don't want to try and start one here

Edit: Sorry, my post crossed with loftyhermes.

 

[zodiac]

Loads of info here, http://menssheds.org.uk/ and here, http://www.mensshedscymru.co.uk/ hope that's of some help.

We met with the men's shed guys yesterday, much of this project is in place hence it's time to choose tools

 

[zodiac]

To my knowledge this is only for retired people - certainly in my area. Seems very ageist to me!

A lot of them do seem to mostly have retired members, that is true. Ours will be aimed at old and not-so-old members as in my opinion there are people of all ages who don't have a shed, garage etc but would love to do some woodworking, metalworking, craft, etc.

The aim is to have a hackspace/makerspace element and equipment, and to have the toys for that as well as woodworking tools.

For the kids we would like to set up a "computer club" element, sort of like CoderDojo's https://coderdojo.com/

As long as safety is maintained at all times, the old boys can be taught tech skills by the kids and the kids can be taught a little woodworking, engineering etc by the older guys ... this will bring generations together and help promote mutual respect and understanding also. Think "old people are boring" and "bloody kids these days" and you can see what this could help to eradicate