Work Areas

[steve mason]

go2tex;

I have use casters on my saddle stand for years with no problems, there are a very heavy duty locking caster, the stand does not move at all while I am working on the saddle. I have used the locking casters on a cement floor and I now use rubber horse trailer mats on my shop floor, did not make a difference on how well the stand stays put. I sure do like the rubber mats as they a much less fatiguing on my back when I am standing all day, another good benefit is when I drop a tool on the floor I do not worry about the edge getting damaged.

In regards to lighting, I was just talking to a local braider this week about this very subject, he has started use some lights called "T8" and said they are much better than regular fluorescent lights, they give you more light, less shadow and no flicker like some fluorescent lights do. Now I have not used them yet but i am going to try them out. I did Google "T8 lights" and found some info on them.

[barra]

http://studio-productions-inc.com/white_pa...o_lighting.html

The lighting topic has gotten me thinking because mine is attrocious so I got to thinking about better use of the lighting I have. This got me to thinking about reflecting the light to where it is most wanted. I have started searching on the net under efficient lighting and then under photographic sites. I'm going to play with this idea further.

Barra

[Rod and Denise Nikkel]

And now, for something completely different: Here are some pictures of our tree making shop, for interest's sake if nothing else.

The wood working part is 20 x 16. It is dominated by the 32" bandsaw in the center of the floor. This saw is designed to saw logs into lumber. We need height for the jigs used to make the cuts on the bars for the fork and cantle to fit into. We use a 1/4" furniture blade on it so we can make the tight turns we need inside the gullets especially. The table tilts so we can cut at different angles, and the blocks in front of the bottom door are used to keep all those angles consistent.

Behind the bandsaw is the modified belt sander. Rod uses the wheels at the bottom of the belts to shape the wood - the small one on the right for gullets and the larger one for everything else he does. It is amazing how much wood this thing will eat very quickly. Hanging on the wall to the left of the sander are the jigs used to make those all important cuts in the bars. And to the right is the 12" jointer/planer combination machine. You "joint" on the top, then the tables flip out so you use the underside of the same blades to "plane" or thickness the wood.

Moving around the room, you come to the glue corner. There is a Wade fork in the glue press, with the layers for another Wade being laminated side to side in the clamps sitting on the bench to the right of it. On the wall to the left are jigs used to cut the cantles at different angles. Behind the glue press are patterns and other marking out tools, (plus the stack of orders waiting for us to get to them) while under the bench are specific sizes of laminated forks ready to mark out sitting behind stacks of wood pieces that have been cut, planed, thicknessed and edged and are awaiting their turn at the glue press.

Moving along the wall is the large workbench. The next orders Rod is working on are on the cards hanging at the back of the bench, while the parts for those orders that have been marked out or already cut out ready for shaping sit underneath. This bottom shelf is also where Rod also stores his side grinders. There are more patterns and more marking out tools on the wall here as well.

Behind the door is the drill press Rod uses for metal horns, and a second glue press with a set of bars in it. The drawers and cupboards contain other hand tools, small pieces of wood for horn caps, and other odds and ends. The vise on the stand gets dragged all over the shop and to the cement pad outside when the weather is nice. Rod clamps the wood in the vice, which can twist and turn all directions, and goes at it with a carbide wood carving disc on a side grinder, sending dust everywhere. Summer, when he can work outside, is much nicer in the shop.

Through the door way is the 10 x 16 "rawhide room", which right now only contains the Great White Shelf (aka the freezer where the hide is kept until needed) and the small room with the furnace and hot water heater, etc. In the summer, making rawhide is an outside job. Below freezing (November to April here) Rod uses the rawhide room. It's walls are plastic sheeted to keep them dry. We try to fill the freezer in the fall before it gets too cold so that it is at least late January before he has to make rawhide inside.

Past the doorway is the wood stove in front of storage shelves for horns (getting low at the moment) glue, varnish, etc. On the back wall is the starting point for all the trees - lumber. Different woods are on the different racks. Below the wood are trees in varying stages of drying sitting on 1" thick, totally flat pieces of marble, weighted, wrapped and "pounded" as needed.

Summer plans for this year include adding an extra 12 feet out the north end of the shop to make room for a much better dust collection system. It will have a separate small room for the cyclone, and a "dirty room" for Rod to do his grinding in. It will also give us room for more bench space so Rod doesn't get in my way quite so much. Dust is what kills or stops the careers of a lot of tree makers, so we are looking forward to drastically decreasing the amount of it that we breathe. The last picture is just to prove that, in order to cut down on the dust, Rod works outside as often as he can. It was taken on March 24th of this year.

PS. As for what we do with our scrap - we use it to lower next winter's heating bills!

[Go2Tex]

Hey Rod and Denise, what's the best way to store trees so they don't warp before they become saddles?

[Rod and Denise Nikkel]

Go2Tex,

We'll start a new thread (Storing Saddle Trees) to answer your question, so we don't change horses mid-stream - or topics mid-thread. Whatever...

Thanks, Denise- post is here:

http://www.leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1180

~~Johanna

[Johanna]

Hmmm...I think some of you "tidied up" before you took pictures. And where are the coffeepots? Do you guys all have to go back into the kitchen for a refill? Seriously, those of you who are designing work shops, running water is a big plus, like many members have mentioned. Also, don't underestimate your electrical needs. It is better to have too many outlets than not enough! I notice many of you take advantage of natural light, too. It's great to be able to adjust your lighting specifically for whatever you are working on- maybe someone could start a new thread about what has worked (and not worked) with different styles of lights for them? Keep the pics and descriptions coming. I'm enjoying seeing the hidden lairs of leatherworkers (even if I think you guys all got out your brooms for the "show and tell! )

Johanna

Pics of my shop:

http://www.leatherworker.net/forum/index.p...findpost&p=4635

[Don101]

tidy up just a bit my wife comented that its not been so tidy in here for ages LOL .. as for the coffee i get it brought to me from the wife at regular intervals when im in there, Don

[K-Man]

I agree, Johanna, that sufficient outlets are necessary. There are approximately 10 - 110v outlets and 2 - 220v outlets around my shop .

Edited June 22, 2007 by K-Man

[barra]

This is just an experiment with the camera. Sorry I'm a computer numpty.

Barra

[barra]

Ok now that I "think" I have the flash on the camera worked out. Here goes take 2. I have plagiarised ideas from everyone who has described their workshops. I think I have it user friendly although I don't have the space I would like. The door to the house plus the garage roller doors have eaten into useable space. I have hung patterns and the peg board off of one of the doors (I don't use it). There is another roller door out to the patio that is the real pain. I only have 2 power points, so have power boards going off in 2 directions. They are by the singer 132k6 that is covered up by crap, next to the temporary shelves made of plastic crates.

One thing that I have used a fair bit of is self adhesive velcro. I don't use it on a tool directly but will stick it to a pouch before adhering it to something. The round knife holder on the front of the drawdown stand for example is stuck on with adhesive velcro.

Ideally I would like a large cutting out bench in the middle so I can walk all around it and my main bench like a large square with one side missing. This will place me in a recessed area, allowing me to have stuff within easy reach on 3 sides of me.

There wasn't room for these 2 pics in the last post.

[leathernut]

lol.if you guys could see my set up.tv tray my marble tools all slide under the couch.wife works days on the weekend and and nights during the weekday.i have to make a makeshift shop when im home with my 2 yr old daughter samantha .she actually holds some of the tools[dont worry nothing sharp she could hurt herself with]and will actually pass to me.my real shop is in the basment.i will take some pics when i can...

Edited June 24, 2007 by leathernut