Planning for my new shop space, my new smaller shop space, continues apace. I’ve sold most of the equipment from my old shop. I’ve completed most of the work to get out of the old space.
The Hitachi CB75 has been moved to the queue, and has been shorn of it’s motor, switch, and blade guard:
I didn’t remove those parts from the CB75 because of issues surrounding the transport and relocation of the machine, but rather because I am converting the saw to 3-phase power. More on that in a separate post to come soon.
The Kennedy tools boxes are a breeze to move, just a RORO (roll-on, roll-off) situation on a small scale:
A view towards one side of the old space – look, that jointer is still there!:
The previous comment is directed with a wink and a nod to a would-be buyer from a few months back who got cold feet and started to wonder if the machine was going to be in my shop were he to come and pick it up.
The machine is supposed to be picked up, by MIT, but that process is unfolding at a glacial pace. The requisition to buy the machine has been approved by the finance department there as of a couple of weeks back, but getting from that point to ‘check in hand’ or ‘check in the mail’ stage seems to require a lot more time yet. Hopefully this will be sorted out in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime it certainly isn’t in my way, but at some point storage costs could become necessary.
The super surfacer is up on blocks and extension tables removed:
I did a little work on the wiring yesterday to temporarily remove the tethered foot pedal operation unit, and have placed the surfacer on blocks next to the mill for the time being. I am planning to put this machine down the basement.
A view down of the far wall shows that the wood storage rack has been taken down:
Dealing with the myriad small bits of wood remains an open question. I might end up having a fire. What do you do with small sticks of avodire, mahogany and cedar? It’s a perennial problem in my shop, and will become more of an issue in my basement given the tighter confines. Where are all the pen turners and small box makers when you need them?
Here’s a view the other direction, showing the area around the Zimmermann mill where items are being coalesced:
As the mill isn’t going anywhere soon, I will be paying to store it in the near term. Eventually it looks like it will be taken apart and scrapped.
Early next week a friend will help me schlep a bunch of stuff home, and sometime in the next few weeks I will deal with the Hofmann mortiser and bandsaw, which are on the lighter, sub-1000lb. side. They will serve as warm ups, as such, for the heavier items which need to go down the stairs.
At this point the heaviest item is the Wadkin PP450 Dimension saw. I removed the extension table a few days ago, and man that sucker is heavy! It’s got to be at least 250lbs. The kind of thing where limb crushing accidents, were it to fall, are easily visualized. They didn’t skimp on materials with these saws, though the factory also didn’t do the most outstanding machining work otherwise, and seems to have accepted complacency in their product line as opposed to continuous incremental improvement. That’s my take on Wadkin – good bones, but some of the details could have been better executed. I think the economics of producing these machines at a higher quality level must not have made sense to the company at the time (early 1970s)
I’ll have to remove the main table from the saw, about the same weight as the extension I expect, and then the sliding table and carrier beam. Then I will pull the motor and trunnion out. The motor will be replaced at some point with a 240v. 60hz. unit, and the trunnion surfaces scraped if they need it. The saw base will be turned on its side for transport, as that is the only orientation which will allow it to fit down the basement stairs. It promises to be entertaining to move if nothing else.
As to whether the saw will be the heaviest and most difficult item to move, well that remains an open question. I’ve been looking seriously at a machine recently which is a good deal heavier yet.
Thanks for coming by the Carpentry Way. I’ve got another 2 or 3 posts written and illustrated on a few related topics, and hope to have these up in the near future. Thanks for your patience in the meantime.
Chris
l was hoping that the super surfacer would make it into the basement. lt seems to be your sort of machine. Double check the basement stairs and keep all body parts out of gravitational pathways to the floor. Best of luck with the move.
Tom,
the surfacer saves me a lot of labor, and yet does not replace the hand plane. Perfect world?
Hi Chris,
I have a cull of timber on a semi regular basis throughout the year. A lot of what I use is recycled so the small stuff is literally firewood by way of offcuts with defects- my mother in law ends up with three tonnes plus of bagged ready to burn wood for winter each year. If you have a woodturning club nearby or something like a mens shed (don’t know if this is such a thing in your neck of the woods, basically a community space for mostly men but really anyone to have a crack at making something or talk etc) then it might be a better option for premium offcuts which I am sure you have and are probably loath to burn . Heck there are many takes on using up leftovers, I met a carpenter throwing surplus 120x19mm 2-3m boards of jarrah into a bin because his wife threatened him (with what I’m not sure) not to take any more home. They were standard and better grade but he was delighted I could put them to good use for anything and a couple of hundred dollars saved is a couple of hundred dollars after all. Anything over 250mm length is hard for me to throw if decent grade because I often have to recut/cut and fit inspection manholes in floors for pest controllers and make period suitable housings for electrical meter boxes. You do get to a point though…. Having cleared a few workspaces good luck and I wish you a smooth transition.
I’ve had to get a bit ruthless, or mercenary with dealing with small bits of wood in the past number of years, otherwise I am drowning in off cuts. Some species, like ebony or lignum vitae, I save virtually every scrap no matter how small, but in species like avodire or cherry, etc., I’m less clingy. Sometimes I think it would be better if I made only tiny things, as I would be sitting on a lifetime supply as things stand right now. But then the fun of discovering new species and their working qualities would be lost to me, which is a tradeoff to be sure.
I feel for you that you have to sell/move/clean-up your shop, but I am glad that you are setting up a shop in your basement. Maybe craiglist the wood scraps? The whole lot for a few $$ or free? Courage and good luck with your move.
I had a woodturner take some of my fancier off cuts a year or so back, the material offered in exchange for the turner making me something. They made a set of ear-rings for my wife using Cuban mahogany, and a mechanical pencil for me with lignum vitae. The pencil mechanism however gave up the ghost almost immediately, so the pen has become another piece of junk on my shelf…
Chris- I have never written you before.I guess I am an interested bystander who admires your approach to woodworking and making things. I also greatly admire your fortitude. Perhaps you could find a local American Association of Woodturners Club in your area that would be interested in your scap wood.
I listed a bunch of cuban mahogany pen blanks on the International woodturners classifieds a while back, but have only sold two pen blanks since. I would have thought it might be of more interest, but I guess choices are pretty vast in that arena.
I have two Wadkin machines, one from the 1950’s and one that I think is from the 1970’s. The castings and finishing on the 70’s one definitely seem quite a bit rougher and echo your experiences. Very sad that the mill might not make it to a new owner, but that’s the way things go I guess. Best wishes in your new setup!
Sam,
thanks for your comment. It does seem like Wadkin gradually got worse over time, though again, I feel like my saw has good bones and is worth investing in a bit more yet. There’s more to a machine than how heavy the castings are of course, and my observations about their quality mostly orbit around the standard of their machining and some odd design quirks that they never seemed to try and improve, but thank god there are no electronics to deal with.