Steve's workshop - Painting the outside walls

[Wizard9999]

Steve

Was reading elsewhere that Mike G has had to replace the breather membrane on his new workshop roof as it has been exposed to UV for too long and he had water coming through his roof. Made me think of you as, unless I have missed it, the sides and rear of your workshop aren't clad yet. May be worth checking to make sure everything is still weather tight.

Terry.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Good point, but all is well AFAIAA. I do hope to get the cladding sorted before the end of August. My original idea was to use the Glasroc suggested by the BCO and painting it with Snowcem. But the Snowcem needs temps above 10C and dry weather. Until quite recently it has been getting well below 10 at night, and then when things did warm up we've had thunderstorms.

But now I have found a better alternative. It doesn't need the Snowcem, I can use standard masonry paint.

I just need to get this flipping patio finished. I'm fed up of treading sand everywhere.

 

[Racers]

Thank you Pete, that is great. What day can you make? Charlie has booked Thursday and Friday as hols - he never takes his full complement, apparently.
He's a star, too.

As ever there will be unlimited bacon butties and cake. Until it runs out, anyway.

It will have to be saterday Steve.

Pete

 

[Wizard9999]

Good point, but all is well AFAIAA. I do hope to get the cladding sorted before the end of August. My original idea was to use the Glasroc suggested by the BCO and painting it with Snowcem. But the Snowcem needs temps above 10C and dry weather. Until quite recently it has been getting well below 10 at night, and then when things did warm up we've had thunderstorms.

But not I have found a better alternative. It doesn't need the Snowcem, I can use standard masonry paint.

I just need to get this flipping patio finished. I'm fed up of treading sand everywhere.

Good to hear, I guess being on the sides and somewhat shielded by fences your's gets less direct sun than Mike's roof.

Hear what you're saying re temp, on Friday I actually lit a fire it was so damn chilly in the evening. July 21st and the fire burning, crazy! So if the Snowcem alternative can deal with colder nights that is good news indeed.

Terry.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Over the last couple of weeks I've been working on my drill press table in between the rest of the stuff. My old table did not take kindly to spending two years in a barn with pigeons.

It consists of a base board that is bolted to the machine's cast iron table, and a bed that slides to and fro on top of it. The fence itself can part to go round the column of the DP, which means I don't sacrifice any depth of throat at all and I can use small drills without the chuck fouling the fence.

So the base and bed are cut out and sanded:

The slots are made by dropping on

You have to be careful when dropping on; it's a good idea to use a back-stop to stop the workpiece from kicking back. It also helps to drop on in exactly the same spot each time, as I was taking out only 2-3mm each pass.

There are also rebates and V-grooves to cut

It's best to make the fence in one long piece, if you can, and then cut to length

The slots for the fence were again made by dropping on. I'd got a rather more substantial back-stop this time.I also fitted a limit stop to ensure that both halves were the same.

When gluing up it is vital that the fence is glued dead square

The fence extensions are made in the same way

 

[Steve Maskery]

A couple of nuts are embedded into the underside of the sliding bed

and the baseboard is bolted to the machine

I routed some grooves for the T-track, but it needs only to be 7mm deep in the bed, as I am going to build it up with a layer of 7mm MDF. The two outer pieces are screwed down, the centre piece just sits between the T-tracks and is sacrificial.

So this is the finished fence

I remembered it worked really well, so I've made it as a straight copy of its predecessor. But I'd forgotten that I'd got the Bristol levers too close together at the back. One works unimpeded, the other does not. I wish I'd remembered, it would have been an easy thing to alter. Heigh ho. But it does all work and it makes drilling holes a lot easier.

The bananas work well but I need to make a new stop. This fence is a tad taller than its predecessor and the stop doesn't quite reach the bed, so thin stuff can slip underneath it. But that is for another day.

 

[The Bear]

I remember this fence in a magazine and have been meaning to make one for years.

Mark

 

[Steve Maskery]

Well if this inspires you to get on with it, I shall be pleased. Just work out the geometry of your Bristol levers first! The general design is excellent, EIISSM.

 

[The Bear]

Steve my workshop is in storage at the mo following a house move. But I will do it one day.

Mark

 

[Melvb]

What are the vee grooves for, I am guessing something do with registering location and keeping them in line, but how?

 

[damo8604]

I love reading this thread, I can't wait to get my workshop built so that I can start furnishing it with super cool tools!

I won't post a WIP thread yet as so far I've only built a retaining wall to act as 'posh shuttering' for my concrete slab pour but once my timber arrives I'll get posting

 

[Steve Maskery]

What are the vee grooves for, I am guessing something do with registering location and keeping them in line, but how?

Ah yes, I missed that bit out. Sorry.

They are diamond keyways. A square-section key is glued into one half and slides in the other. It keeps the two parts aligned and sliding nicely without jamming. I use that technique a lot in my jigs.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Here you are, you can see the diamond keys here:

They allow the extensions to slide over the fence, and the fence halves to slide over the bed, and the bed to slide over the fixed bed.

You do have to make the keys very accurately. If they are too big the two parts will not mate properly, if they are too small then the two parts will slide any which way and there will be no accuracy.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Today we have mostly been levelling the hardcore.

We had to dig out a wall. This was an out-house originally, and we thought we could simply go over it, but actually is was an inch or more too high, too high to ignore.

I've been riddling the dirty sand so that we can use it again

Ray has been getting the hardcore to the right level. It means we can take some out from where it is too high and use it where we need to make up.

Tomorrow, I'm going over to Ray's to collect a Whacker. We'll whack the new stuff before we sand it.

The rest of the blocks are arriving Friday next week. My mate Charlie is helping on Friday, and Pete and my brother Brian are helping on Saturday, so all being well it will be done by Saturday week. I do hope so as I am fed up with sweeping up sand inside the house.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Steve, is Ray on the payroll or do you have a photo of him in bed with Elvis Costello, the Nolan Sisters and Red Rum? I accept I'm being a nosy git so feel free to tell me to jog on. Just slightly intrigued at the nature of the relationship given the staggering amount of effort he's put in

 

[Steve Maskery]

He is a saint, is he not? I am not the only beneficiary of his skills and goodwill. He has done this sort of work, in the mining industry, all his working life. He misses his working life and has a number of "cases" he takes on. I am fortunate to be one such.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

What's his address

 

[dc_ni]

Have you told Ray he has a fan club? :lol: :lol:

 

[Steve Maskery]

Yes!

 

[Steve Maskery]

Today I went over to pick Ray up and we came back with a Whacker. There are a few areas of hardcore where we have laid new, and so Ray whacked them whilst I made a couple of screeding boards.

We started at the tap end

Ray did the screeding and I carried the sand

Halfway and we had to reset the angle iron

With one bay completed it was more whackering

Meanwhile, I was attending to my front path. It was originally laid with wooden retaining boards at the sides, but, of course, they have rotted and the blocks have spread, allowing weeds and soil to fill the considerable gaps between them.

So, whilst I have access to a whacker, it seems like a good idea to re-lay the front path too. I lifted the blocks and dug out for some concrete edging strips

Ray trimmed the concrete up by the wall for me, but there is no photo as the air was thick with dust and I was keeping my eyes well out of it.

I was hoping to get the edging cemented in today so that I could sand and put the blocks back tomorrow or Saturday, but we ran out of time. Actually, we have run out of sand as well. Ray reckons we will need another 4 bags.

So the back looks even better, even if the front suddenly looks a lot worse.

I've been left with strict instructions to Keep Off The Sand.

He is back on Tuesday, all being well. I really want to get this done ASAP, now, as I am fed up of the sand and I really want to get the cladding of the workshop done before "summer", such as it is, runs out. Ha.