Smart storage, when you outgrow your workshop

Disclaimer: You are about to see some pictures from my garage/workshop. This in no way represents good practice nor should the rest of the team be judged by my standards. Do not try this at home. Remember cleanliness is next to godliness. Now let's talk shop saftey and smart storage.

A machined surface is a surface you make using your machine. Hopefully with some degree of precision. A machine surface is a somewhat flat surface on your machine where you can store tools, parts, rags, catalogs, fast food, etc. Preferably under a big pile of metal chips. Sometimes your machined parts can become the storage space for other parts and projects. That's a practical way to save space. The fun part is when you finally dig in to the pile of parts you have and find all the neat things you have been looking for. So really, slacking with the cleaning up is just like giving you a surprice christmas every now and then. If you know what to look for you can see more than a few ongoing, well not completely abandoned, projects.

Oh there's one of my flathead blocks under my soon to be bass cabinet under some Ford Model B engine parts. At least the stack has wheels and can be rolled.

Other Ford parts on my washing machine

In a recent blog entry I showed you some machining of our flywheel. To do that I had to fire up my trusty old Warner & Swasey turret lathe. And by trusty old I mean old... and not that trusty. Make  no mistake, it will turn big chunks of solid metal into tiny chips in a heartbeat. But the clutch drag in neutral and the difficult to stop 50+ kg chuck sometimes worry me. But hey, moving the forward/reverse lever slightly to reverse the chuck is held stationary most of the times.

Poor old Bridgeport

 I really like older machines with all the knobs, wheels and levers. Big heavy castings, functional design, useful damn nice looking and a lot of space to pile up parts. But what really want to say is that I'm in desperate need of a larger workshop. Much much larger.

OK enough of the stupid rant . Enjoy the horror.

Using my MIG weld as a cart for my TIG welder. How's that for weldporn?

What is this neglected machines? Hardly anything stored on them. 

Until next time: Eat, sleep, salt slush, repeat.