Mostly, we talk about bows, but bows get made in shops and I love when guys post about their shops, so I thought I'd share what I've been up to in mine.
I've been feeling kind of lazy since I finished Chocolate Moose. I started a new bow, but I'm taking it slow and looking around the shop to see what things bug me in the shop. Gotta do that every now and then.
I have new machined aluminum lam sleds coming. That's a nice improvement and seemed to prompt me to look for others.
I rearranged a couple of tools and gave myself better access to a storage alcove I have. Built a new long board wood shelf up high on the back wall, which let me clear off a lower shelf in a more accessible spot to make a junk shelf… a place where I can just set stuff that normally ends up on top of the bench or on tools or otherwise in the way until I get around to a general clean up, which, of course, is never as often as it should be. Great bonus, in moving the wood, I found a couple of pieces of juniper, a 6' plank of osage and a plank of quilted sapele, all of which had found their way to the back of the stack and kind of been forgotten.
Had to go out to lunch, so I made an exploratory trip to my favorite wood store, where I found they had just gotten in a big bin of 6/4 to 8/4 bubinga cut offs from a furniture factory. I picked out nine nice pieces that will provide at least a dozen risers, maybe a couple more if I'm careful with the layout and cutting. Average price per riser will work out to something like $6 or a bit less!
Being on a roll, I asked what else was bugging me. Pencils… I buy them by the dozen but I can never lay my hand on one "right now!" So, I made and put up a little holder for a dozen pencils right over the bench top. Who knows, maybe I can even train myself to put the one I just used back in the rack instead of down on the bench to be covered by sandpaper, rubber gloves, rulers and whatever.
What else? Oh, yeah, I've been thinking about improving my layup pad. I've been using a piece of 1/8" aluminum strip backed by a cut of thick rubber truck mud flap. The aluminum has taken a lot of pressure over the course of 30 bows and the mud flap is softer than I might like. I'm becoming suspicious of the edge pressure. So, I called the local metal supplier and will be picking up a new 1/4" aluminum strip and a 3/16 steel strip. One or both of them should work well. Ah, but what about the mud flap? Well, who makes pressure pad stuff? Gasket companies! A little internet research… Yes! There is a major gasket development and manufacturing company right here in the neighborhood. They cover everything from gaskets for car parts to blast furnaces. I called and explained what I needed and how it was to be used and they were right on it and I will be picking up a strip of what they recommend, cut to form size. This is a plastic material apparently about the hardness of a car tire. Sounds perfect.
For the cherry on top of this "shop sundae", I've come up with the money to upgrade my drill press, a little bench top model. A trip to Grizzly will take place sometime in the next month or two when my wife has to go up to Bellingham to measure a boat for one of her upcoming jobs.
Now I'm sitting here with a pipe and coffee, contemplating life… Ah, it's good!
Topic: A General Improvements Time in the Shop (Read 643 times)
