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From little things...*

3/24/2015

28 Comments

 
My shop is definitely what you would call 'compact'. At 1.7m x 3.8m, its not much more than a walk in wardrobe! I would say it is best described as like a galley kitchen... without any food. 

I walk in, and basically from a standing position, I can reach pretty much everything I need at any time. And although it is a bit tight, I have learned that I don't really need a huge amount of space. The scale of the work I am doing is quite small, so I rarely have a problem. When I do, I just take it out to the 'outside' area, and work there. There's barely a spare inch of wall or shelf space, but in truth I want for nothing. Everything except the band saw fits inside too, which keeps it out of our humid tropical climate.

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Before...
Picture
After.
To make such a small space work, I've had to become very efficient at storing things. A big part of that was the initial choice of work benches, which is what I want to show you today.

Before I set it up, I had a very clear picture in my mind that the shop had to be a comfortable place to spend a lot of time. I figured I would be spending a fair bit of time in it, so it might as well be pleasant. A big part of what I had in mind was a big, solid wooden bench; something really heavy, unique and long lasting.

I scoured the web for ideas, and found plenty of designs that were basically box structures, with lap joints, screwed and glued, and then some sort of basic wood board top. Pretty basic, and easy enough to put together over a weekend. However most of the designs had the weight being borne as a shear load by the screws. Probably ok for light duty, but I had in mind a milling machine that weighs 370lbs/170kg. I wasn't sure that these simple benches would cut it for something that heavy. Besides, they didn't really look that... enticing.

So already doubts were creeping in about these simple designs. I also wanted something with character. Something that would sit like a rock, handle being dug into with a screwdriver, hit with a hammer, chipped and knocked about. Not made from that cheap pine you see everywhere these days, but from a decent hardwood. I wanted something that would develop character as it aged over the years, and hopefully something that would last for decades.

And definitely no screws. All wood.

So I played around with some sketches, and did some research on how to do a good solid join without metal fasteners, and this is what I came up with:

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Oak dowel fasteners
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Horizontal "trusses"
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Similar idea for the ends
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Recesses milled for the mitered corners
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Milled grooves
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Glued and clamped in position. It aint movin!
I guess you could call the horizontal platforms "trusses". They're made from spotted gum, and the truss joins are fastened with oak dowels, tapped in and glued with PVA. They were then cut off and sanded back. The corners joins are all mitered, and I used a router to mill a pencil round on all of the exposed edges to make the corners safer. I also milled ornamental grooves into the legs to pretty it up a little.

The truss ends sit in milled recesses on the legs, so that all of the load is put onto the legs in compression, rather than as a shear force on the fasteners. I think this should be very strong. In fact It's probably over engineered a bit, but it's nice to know I can up-size my mill later, and not have to think about the bench. Besides, nothing too strong ever broke.

As you can see, it was assembled in position in the shop, so it's there for the duration.  The top is also spotted gum and the finish is linseed oil, which makes the shop smell kind of nice too.

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Mill bench
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The cleanest it will ever be...
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This bench ended up being dedicated to the mill, so I made another two. One running down the side of the shop, as a general workbench, and one for the outside 'dirty' area, that also has a simple woodworkers vise attached.

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The main working bench.
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Outside 'dirty' bench
So it's now a few years later, and of course the floor space remains the same. But the tiny little shop has well and truly flourished. What was a little flicker of an idea, has now grown into something that fills up most of my spare time, and brings me a lot of enjoyment. These benches were the very first things I made for my shop, and I couldn't have got started without them.

Thanks for stopping by,
Chris.

-----------------------------------------------------------
*...Big Things Grow. Paul Kelly.
28 Comments
Knut Eldhuset
4/4/2015 07:07:15 pm

Hi,

Great job fitting all of your tools in such a small space. I have a similarly sized part of my garage that I plan to turn into a metal workshop one day. I have been eyeing the same Sieg machines you have, too. Do you use your Sherline much besides as a polishing jig?

Keep the videos coming. They are awesome, and would be worth paying for.

Regards from Norway,
Knut

Reply
Knut Eldhuset
4/4/2015 07:12:25 pm

And now I found the page about the die holder for the Sherline, and I see you are quite happy with the lathe :-)

Reply
Chris link
4/4/2015 10:34:41 pm

Hey Knut,

Yes very pleased with it, and I use a Sherline motor and speed control to power the filing machine and to do the wheel/pinion cutting too.

Quite happy with the Sieg machines, for what they are. Check out the Weiss brand too if someone imports it in Norway. You may have to do a bit of digging to uncover the imported brand name, they are variously re-branded as Warco, HBM, Optimum etc.

Cheers,
Chris.

Reply
Ben
4/6/2015 08:53:33 am

I just finished watching all your videos and each one was fantastic. Not only is the machining work great, but the production value on your videos are on par with channels that have a million subscribers. Keep up the spectacular work - I can't wait to see the next video!

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Simon
5/31/2015 03:02:48 pm

Beautiful workmanship on the benches - your attention to detail is really amazing! Nice job filling up such a tiny space so efficiently :)

Reply
William
7/25/2015 03:52:04 am

Thanks for pointing me over here to learn a bit more about your shop. The woodwork is most excellent! Very impressive. Amazing that you accomplish all that you do in this tiny space.

Reply
Chris Brent
7/27/2015 10:41:44 pm

Thanks for the link from YouTube. Great to see what can be done in such a small space. Looking forward to more videos now that I'm all caught up!

Reply
Colton
9/27/2015 12:43:38 am

Thanks for sharing Chris. Love your videos!!
-universecafe (Colton)

Reply
Thomas link
10/13/2015 11:59:35 pm

I laughed out loudly, when i found this pictures in your blog, because I watched all you videos before! And it is really incredible, what kind of qualitiy you produce in your work and in your professional videos!

Thanks so much for them: they are inspirating and more interesting than most tv series or hollywood movies.

Thomas, germany

Reply
Chris link
10/14/2015 04:46:42 am

Hey Thomas,

Thanks very much for the kind words, its great to have you watching :)

Cheers,
Chris.

Reply
Andrew
10/30/2015 12:24:21 pm

Dear Chris,

Thanks for the videos, they have been truly an inspiration for a stay at home dad who misses being in a commercial machine shop. A question are you based in Queensland as you mention tropics and your accent is definitely aussie, and can you advise some god books on clockmaking for my workshop/man cave shelf? cheers from Adelaide South Australia

Reply
Chris link
10/30/2015 04:39:10 pm

Hey Andrew,

Yes QLD based, up the top end in Cairns.

The info for clockmaking is scattered over a wide range of books, but any of the construction manuals from either WR Smith, or John Wilding are an excellent place to start. Pretty much everything you need is in there to get started and make a successful clock.

http://www.iantcobb.co.uk/clock_construction_books.htmL

If you catch the bug proper, then you will want "Watchmaking" by George Daniels, and everything by WJ Gazely, as well as Donald De Carle.

Cheers mate, Chris.

Reply
Andrew
10/31/2015 10:39:59 am

Thanks Chris,

Already ordered numerous books thru Amazon and iantcobb in the uk. I used to work in machine shops supplying the Automotive and mining industries so fine tolerance machining is not foreign to me and I am looking forward to the next few weeks of deliveries, just one more question where do you source your raw materials from? cheers once again from Adelaide. P.S. All my videos will be posted on www.youtube.com/user/navcenter77 Thanks again Andrew

Chris link
10/31/2015 11:24:15 am

Hey Andrew,

Re the materials, I get the silver steel (drill rod) from Blackwoods. If you give them a call, you can usually get your local store to bring in the size you have found on the website http://www.blackwoods.com.au

For gauge plate and the other steels, I go O/S.

For high carbon gauge plate/flat stock I go to Precision Marshall in the US http://www.flat-stock.com/~store/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=T&Category_Code=PMGFS

For EN8 and suspension steel I got to Ian T Cobb in the UK: http://www.clockmaking-brass.co.uk/

It ends up hideously expensive, but there are literally no suppliers of flat stock high carbon steel here in Oz, that will supply the small quantities we use.

For brass I use either www.georgewhite.com.au, or www.georgeweston.com.au depending on stock availability and price.

Lastly, local machine shops for aluminium and all sorts of mystery steel, brass, bronze etc.

Cheers,
Chris.

Reply
Richard Bussiere
12/5/2015 03:02:26 am

Hi Chris
I watched your two new videos this morning and then followed your directions to the tiny but nonetheless efficient studio of yours. I am more and more impressed by your working methods and attention to details, this including your woodworking and film-making. Be assure that you are one of the few and that most of us, even if we tried real hard, would be incapable of such brilliant realisations...
Cheers from Québec Canada.

Reply
Chris link
12/8/2015 05:38:09 am

Thank you very much for the kind words Richard, I very much appreciate your support.

Cheers,
Chris.

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richard westerfield
12/6/2015 10:30:32 am

i think i have a smaller shop but not buy much I did not think any one would build one I was wrong good luck in tight spaces
Richard Westerfield

Reply
Chris link
12/8/2015 05:40:02 am

Hey Richard,

Yes its tight alright! I've got the odd bruise from collecting lathe hand wheels from time to time!

Cheers,
Chris.

Reply
John Bywater
12/10/2015 07:50:11 am

Hi Chris.
Just wanted to say having been a professional engineer all of my life ( I started at 15 and am now 62) how much I appreciate your skills and ability to produce totally captivating videos. I live in Huddersfield and had the pleasure of meeting Robert Bray at his works where he spent two hours showing four of us around his works ( Sinclair Harding) I'm sure you would be fascinated so if your ever in the UK be sure to book an appointment. Robert worked for a local firm called Reliance gears so you will be able to see where his skills came from on there website. Once again Thank you and keep up the good work. John B.

Reply
Chris link
12/10/2015 11:25:34 am

Hey John,

Thank you very much for the kind words and encouragement, I appreciate it. I'm a huge fan of the Robert Bray's clocks. Absolutely stunning work, beautifully presented.

Cheers,
Chris.

Reply
Dan
5/28/2016 07:30:11 pm

I heard you mention in some of your videos that the shop is small, but holy mackerel! Where do you put your apprentice?

Reply
Chris link
5/28/2016 08:32:47 pm

I think I'm destined to fly solo for some time to come!

Thanks for stopping by Dan :)

Cheers,
Chris.

Reply
Ethan
6/2/2016 01:28:27 pm

Hi Chris,
You have two clock frames in the 'after' picture. Are you making two identical clocks at the same time?

Reply
Damian
3/11/2017 12:40:05 pm

G'day Chris,

The whole family is binge-watching your channel!!

Is there any chance you're going to do a making of video? I'm sure lots of people would like to see how you make your videos.

Reply
tom
8/7/2017 12:40:12 am

Hi Chris, I love the videos, I am looking forward to a workshop tour, especially a closer look at some of the unique tools you have. I'd also love to hear some tips for people like myself who will be setting up a workshop at home, Items, tools and fit outs in your workshop that you can't go without and maybe things you might add if you were to do it all again.

Thanks, Tom.

Reply
Tim Hollingworth link
8/10/2017 08:22:40 pm

Hi Chris
I have watched your clock making videos, which are truly amazing.

As a professional cameraman for 30 years I am stunned with the closeup camera work. I was going to ask, who the camera person is but seeing your tiny workshop it's clearly you.

Finally can you show everyone how you achieve the circular tracking shots in such a tiny space. I think the camera must be on an arm attached from above somehow. I imagine you designed and created it yourself. Would be great to see a behind the scenes video.

Well done sir, keep up the inspiring work.
Thanks, Tim

Reply
Pol
2/14/2018 07:10:01 am

G'day!

Reply
Ivy Peck link
12/10/2020 11:10:13 am

Hello mate ggreat blog post

Reply



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