What should I put in my Workshop

[Dangermouse]

Usually the first thing a woodworker puts in his workshop is a calendar of scantily clad young ladies ! ( or gentlemen ) :wink:

 

[Jelly]

Usually the first thing a woodworker puts in his workshop is a calendar of scantily clad young ladies ! ( or gentlemen ) :wink:

Ernest Bennett (sheffield) the saw doctors, offer a fine variety of just this type of calender free to their customers.

 

[heimlaga]

Jelly made a rather good point about the planer/moulder. I would never make do without a planer/thicknesser for shorter runs or parts that have to be very straight but if I was to extend my machinery list with one machine that would definitely be a planer/moulder. I have thought about buying one myself but I have no space for it and no large enough fuses to power it from.

 

[Jelly]

Jelly made a rather good point about the planer/moulder. I would never make do without a planer/thicknesser for shorter runs or parts that have to be very straight but if I was to extend my machinery list with one machine that would definitely be a planer/moulder. I have thought about buying one myself but I have no space for it and no large enough fuses to power it from.

Even a 4-side planer would be a useful addition to most large workshops... In the case of making garden furniture though, a moulder being able to make planed and eased posts/beams and bullnosed and rounded boards in a single pass is advantageous.

 

[Guggs]

If you are planning to invest that sort of money into a workshop then invest in rebuilt solid British machinery . European machinery wont last plus its resale value is very poor .
Get in touch with the lads at Calderbrook woodworking machinery and they will put you on the right track . Wadkin , Dominion and Sedgwick machinery will go on and on and on ..........!
Not only that you will have change to purchase the most important aspects ......... tooling , saw blades and planer knives .

 

[Hardwood66]

Usually the first thing a woodworker puts in his workshop is a calendar of scantily clad young ladies ! ( or gentlemen ) :wink:

agreed

 

[JohnPeel]

I don't know about the calender, my wife would not go for that one. Remember that my workshop is in the garden. When I was 21 in Australia, I went out with Australia's playboy of the year, maybe I should hang the centerfold picture I still keep safe. No, I dont think that would be a good idea at all. I will have a big screen TV though and great stereo to pump out some music to work to.

But anyway, I really like some of your ideas, like cleaning rough sawn timber and having the right equipment to do that. And the spindle moulder. I dont know whether I like the idea of a Radial Arm Saw though, and dont know whether it give me much more than a really good double bevel sliding mitre saw. But maybe I should look into that a bit more, I dont know.

I also like the idea of making a trap door in the side of my workshop to allow longer wood to be cut.

 

[JohnPeel]

Im also told that it is cheaper to buy planed tongue and grooved packs of flooring or cladding timber from some of the big hardware supermarkets, than it is to buy un-planed wood from a timber merchant. Is that true? One guy told me he buys the tongue and groove and trims off both edges to leave straight wood that is planed, seasoned, and cheap.

I suppose it depends on what you want to use the wood for, but that sounds like the way to go for pine items at least.

 

[bowled00]

Unless you can do the power supply yourself I'd think about getting an electrician to set it up or at least check it out, otherwise things may go pop!

 

[sbk]

Sounds like you should have a bed in there also ! I would.

 

[JohnPeel]

With regard to electric, I have to get someone in to change the CU in the house, as it doesnt have any slots left to allow for the power to be supplied to the workshop. I had a builder friend around yesterday, and he dropped his Micro Digger off for me to play with for a couple of weeks, so I will be getting started digging a trench from the house to the workshop. Once I have spent a couple of days getting learning to use the thing.

I will dig the trench starting at the corner of my house and in line with the mains water supply. That way I will be able to create a trench that will be home to both the mains water and the armour cabling. I know, water and electric in the same trench, but both will be supper insulated and I am advised this will be OK. I guess I will find out if I light up.

 

[John51]

If you tried to borrow £30k from a bank to make this happen, what would they say?

With £60k of equity maybe but what about £10k of equity? £5k?

In other words, if people with lending power see you as a bad risk without equity, it just might be true that your venture is not viable. You have enough capital to make just about anything in wood...who is going to buy it?

It might be true that having the mini digger gives a better income than your workshop. imo find the customers first, then make what they want to PAY for.

ime people pay highest for electronics, then metalwork, then woodwork. I can buy furniture from a high street store cheaper that I can buy that timber.

I know that I'm losing money buying tools but I do this for a hobby but it's your money.

If you're doing this for a hobby, then fill your boots but please don't kid yourself that there is a good income at the end of the rainbow. Been there done that albeit not with wood working.

btw It would please me greatly for you to prove me wrong.

 

[rdesign]

ok stay away from the stores to start with in a recession and if u have access to 3 phase power get 3 phase industrial machines your stable diet would be a table saw, planner/thicknesser (seperate machines if you have the space) bandsaw big enough to take a resaw blade, festool rotex for rough work rustic down to smooth just smoth get a 3 or a 5 random orbit from festool also their jigsaw, domino and if your intrested in sheet material a track saw. dust extraction as said and a dewalt chop saw your big expenses would be the table saw, planner, Thicknesser, band saw and possible a lathe but all these good quality second hand should be doable for 6 to 7 grand and 4 to 5 on hand power tools and 2 on hand tools to get ya started keep the rest to get stuff when u need it. woods expensive so is finishing especially if u wanna spray finish. research it is all i can say and goodluck and i'm jealous.

 

[JohnPeel]

John51, thanks for you reply. I know what you mean, it's a worry that I wont earn the money back that I have spent on everything. My thought is that if I can just earn the basic pre-tax allowance, and then anything else I earn will pay back the money I have invested (capital). So in the end the tax man will be paying for the tools.

I have been self employed all of my life, and at one point had a building company for 25 years, and in that time also became qualified in accountancy so I know what I can claim for and how to get around things. I know how to market, and I am also qualfied in web design, so a good website will be created. As you can see, I am fully clued up with regard to running a business. The only thing is, Im not clued up with regard to running a woodworking business.

With regard to who I might sell things, I will of course use Ebay and Amazon, and my own website marketing will be important. My website will include pages related to Grounds Maintenance, Tree Removal, and outdoor timber structures such as Decking, Pergolas, and pretty much anything anyone wants me to build for them. For example, check out the bridge I built a last week.

[urlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iupiOOxf9I][/url]

I havent got a clue what I am going to make in my workshop, but small things to start I think, like welly racks, spice rack, things like that. So you see I am not just putting all my eggs in one basket, but hoping to do so much more. And like I say, if I can earn enough to get the tax man to pay for everything, even better.

 

[JohnPeel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iupiOOxf9I