@jumpugly
Thank you for the kind comment. I feel very blessed to be able to have this space.
The green one in the picture is not an old ShopSmith. I do, however, have a complete ShopSmith setup that I inherited from my late father. I really haven't used it much at all.
I've had the one in the picture for decades. I think the brand is something like Mighty Mite. Not fancy or top-end by any means, but it has served me well.
There is a Dremel Moto-Tool drill press in the picture just past the green drill press. I have found that to be VERY useful.
Dave B

Dave!!! Great set-up! Jealous of the drill press!!! Is it an old "Shop-Smith"?
Enjoy the cruise and send pix!!!!!
😀👍

@DWBrinkman What a nice spacious, luxurious and well equipped workshop area you have - something I could only dream of.

……and it is clean and tidy - and you have HEATING too!

I could definitely live in there - very comfortably too!

Your river cruise cabin may not be as good as your workshop - certainly not as well equipped with tools (!)….but it will have somewhere comfortable to sleep - and possibly a drinks cabinet too, so I guess you will be able to “rough it” before you can get back to it 😂

Enjoy your river cruise, it is something my wife andI have been discussing for some time, so we cant wait to find out how it went.

Bob.

@ChrisF
I've carved out a 15' X 30' space in my shed, that I heat.
It includes a 15' X 5' Utility Room with well equipment, a fridge, a toilet, and a sink.
So if I add a hotplate, I could live there if my wife kicks me out LOL.
The remaining 15' X 25' space isn't only used for hobbies. I also do lawn equipment repairs, household item repairs, etc in that space.
So it can get cluttered pretty fast if I don't stay on top of it.
But yes, I am blessed to have a nice space to work in.
Dave B

@DWBrinkman As I said earlier Dave, have a good trip. Feel free to post some nice photos as you go.

As Bob said we don't have many model shops here anymore but we are lucky to have many online suppliers which to be honest offer a much wider selection of things than a model shop ever could. In fact some of the model shops we do have do online as well which has saved them. I have loads of shortcuts on my tablet for these suppliers.

Wow, your workshop must be about four times the size of mine if not more! Though mine is the smallest bedroom.

Guys,

We leave tomorrow for a Rhine River Cruise ... so tidying the workshop wasn't on the agenda for this week (although it admittedly needs it badly).

A few thoughts/responses to the thread. We luckily have no such bad-tempered snakes around here. All we are likely to encounter are harmless Garter snakes. Far southern Minnesota, a person might encounter a Timber Rattlesnake if one is unlucky. I think we are just too cold for most snakes.

WE have basically one good Hobby Shop left "locally," that being Hub Hobby with 2 locations in the Twin Cities metro area 60-70 miles away from me. Not exactly "next door", but certainly accessible.

Regarding workspace pictures, you are going to have to accept some that are a couple of years old from a time that it was actually sort of picked up. Maybe later this year, I will do a "deep clean" and take current pictures.

You fellers are lucky; you won't have to hear from me for a couple of weeks while I am on vacation. (Well, maybe you will .... I will be bringing my laptop along :-) )
Keep the site "shipshape" in my absence ....

Dave B

@ColRay . Hi Col, we don’t have that many model shops left open in the UK any more - but we don’t have any Tiger snakes either, so I guess on average, we are a little better off as far as model boating goes? 😳

Bob.

Yes Bob but you have clubs for scale model makers and lots of model shops.
Oh and I forgot another downside , one that need an eagle eye is summers just around the corner and down on the south coast that Tiger snake season , real buggers always want a fight , not like the Dugites and Children's Python Col

@ColRay That sounds good to me Col - what an ideal place to live.

My workshop (shed) is over-crowded to the extent that I need to move something else to be able to work on whatever I wanted to do at the time - absolute chaos sometimes - but it suites me and it is so bad that the wife wont set foot in it. RESULT 😂

It has taken years to build such a comprehensive defensive mechanism - and like the “iron dome” - it works most of the time !

Bob.

"jumpugly Oh for some work space, I live in an one bedroom A frame house , okay it's really a cottage if truth be told Col"

That's just a minor downside.
The good part is the little A frame is just a 60 second walk from the harbour and a really nice beach that's on the edge of a sand-shoulder

My Avatar is a tiny section of a photo of me driving a 5 inch gauge railway engine at one of our exhibitions.
We used to advertise as a Model engineering exhibition and not many came to see us. We decided "engineering" put people off and did some consulting and the following year we advertised as 'The Big Model Show'.
It was exactly the same exhibition but the people came! The right advertising can be very effective, also we hired the Automobile Association to put up signs around the area, this worked well and after the 3 year agreement we found out where the AA bought the signs from and bought our own, It is much cheaper in the long run! I coordinated the show for many years with lots of help of course, I stepped down this year but as the load was well spread out it continued seamlessly without me. It was great just wandering around without anyone telling me the toilet paper had run out or the lake is leaking, etc!
I hope some of the members on this forum managed to visit as it is now one of the biggest shows of its kind in this part of the country.
We will be doing it again so keep the last weekend in September 2027 free!
Roy

@ChrisF
I have the same problem, only with the difference that your boats are a bit smaller...
I had delusions of grandeur back then, and my largest model is the Mississippi stern-wheel steamer at 130 cm (51").
My wife wasn't all that thrilled, but once she got to help out, I was given a spot in the guest room.
From now on, only boats up to a maximum of 70 cm are allowed...
I can manage that, I still have a Pegasus in the basement that fits the bill.
It’s like an addiction... but as long as they’re just models 😄😄
Now that winter is here, there is time to rearrange the apartment a bit and get rid of things you don't need.
In the spring, the beloved spring cleaning will take place anyway, giving you another chance to move things around.
If men help out with this—that’s for sure—a great deal can be achieved.
Purely from my own experience.
Your Oldtimer Michel-C.

When I was a very young lad perhaps 11 or12 the family house was a 2 up 2 down and kitchen house. My work space was at the top of the stairs where there was also a small 'landing', I sat on the top stair and the landing was for my bits and pieces. Happy days, I used to make and fly those 20 inch span rubber powered aeroplanes at around 2 shillings a kit. I was later allowed a folding table in the back room as long as I had done my homework.
I think my father was secretly delighted with the models but he only ever grunted!
It's my brothers 84th. birthday must give him a call today.
Roy

Hi ED make the most of time. Enjoy and do the things you want to do especially finishing on-going projects, I am doing the same. Captain Tom had the right idea "Quote" Tomorrow will be a better day! Good friends and laughter will extend your own time as well.
Roy

Ed best of luck with your morning at your club Col

I’m off to the club this morning, have not been for over two months. Now that I am feeling fitter again I will be tidying my workshop as well. As well as getting rid of some stuff.
I must catalog the motors that I am selling and may even sell/ give away/dispose of some of my projects. Then get my head down and finish those works in progress. 🫣

jumpugly Oh for some work space, I live in an one bedroom A frame house , okay it's really a cottage if truth be told Col

@Steves-s
LOL Steve! My room is deceptively spacious in these pix. I also have two closets full of my stashed kits and I am running out of room quickly as my projects have gotten larger and larger. Honestly, the place keeps my brain active and soul creative. I am sure it's the same for all of us. 😉

jumpugly
I am really envious of your workshop and two stools to sit on.😍😍 And all that space.

I could really do to get the vacuum cleaner in mine, but if I dragged it up the garden path to the workshop, it would take one look at it and rush down home and hide back under the stairs!.🙂.
Poor Henry 🤐😭...

HA!!
Obsessed? NO! - I'm not obsessed! There are other guys.......

Thought I'd throw in my two bits...from both sides. And I just cleaned up the place!
🤣

@zooma Don't go there Bob!

@ChrisF …..on the other hand Chris, you now have an even greater opportunity to add more to your stash…….

😂

Bob.

@DWBrinkman It doesn't get done very often Dave but prompted by having to move stuff for our friends to stop and now I've got the extra table/shelving in it should stay tidier for longer. When you are busy using it you don't to notice it much or if you do ignore it! I've moved the Fairey Swordsman back into the guest bedroom but the others and Tx are being kept elsewhere now.

Enjoy your trip and I hope you don't have to use the bus too much due to low water levels. Our neighbours have done a number of river trips and enjoyed them. Hoping to do one ourselves at some point.

Chris

I have posted pictures of my workspace in the past, after I had tidied up a bit.
I would be totally embarrassed to post a picture of it's current state.
Chris, you have been an inspiration to spend quality time cleaing and arranging my own "back yard" so to speak.
That will have to wait a bit, however, as we are preparing to embark on a Rhine River Cruise (and likely bus ride??) 10/10-10/20.
Dave B

That's it all sorted now, well until I decide to do a major revamp in the future. Even got the vacuum cleaner out and as well as the floor did the window cill and everything on it. Ready for re-commencement of painting and building.

@ColRay. I may be quite like a modern day serf…..but sadly, not as tidy as a medieval one 😳

Bob.

Bob it has been said some of us have the tidiness of medieval serf. Col

@zooma I've been very selective with photographing in there! I've still got to sort out stuff from my mother's and what our two sons left behind! Good job there's only the two of us and we aren't downsizing! I've really got to get to grips with it one day!

Rest of the house is very tidy which is why I'm getting away with it, for now!

I am very impressed…..and a little envious of your tidiness .

Sadly it would take a lot more than a couple of units and shelves to tidy my workshop (shed)……..but an extension could help 😂

Bob.

Before I cleared the bedroom of boats (apart from the three on top of the wardrobe) I fitted a couple of shelves between the units supporting the worktop in my workroom so that I could better store some of my stuff. After our friends left, rather than just moving boats etc. back out of the workroom and into the two bedrooms I decided to get another storage unit that my yachts and other plastic boats could be kept on with additional storage space under which I have used for my plywood and some Proxxon tools and toolboxes etc.

Still some sorting out to do but it's getting there - squeezing a quart into a pint pot, but it's nice and warm in the winter!

@ChrisF I am sure it will be fine.

Bob.

@zooma Hi Bob, thanks for all the info.

Nothing should be out of alignment as it had a cossetted ride home and was then carefully moved into position. No rust as in the house. I did put a drop of oil on the bearings and read the manual.

I did run it without the table. So once I've cleared out the workroom again I'll have another look at it, check the tension and that everything is aligned as it should be and refit the table and try it again.

Chris

@ChrisF

Hi Chris,

Any excess noise would be a concern and should be checked as your bandsaw should run smoothly and quietly.

Did you remove the heavy cast table when the machine was still in the boot of your car?

When you refit the table, you should also check the tension on the blade as it was made “slack” ready for you to transport it and it needs to be re-tensioned before it can be run.

Also check the blade guides to ensure that they are still correctly adjusted as they can also run a little noisy if they are run when they are out of adjustment.

If the guides have not been moved or bumped in transit, they should still be OK.

Given the amount of time that has passed since you collected the bandsaw, (several months) it may be a good idea to check that all the bearings are still clean and rust free, and lubricate them if necessary?

The handbook that went with the bandsaw is a helpful basic reference to refer to before using it for the first time, but I found more detailed information about setting-up, adjusting blade tension, tracking, general maintenance and blade changing etc on some of the very helpful online bandsaw sites.

As a matter of interest, did you remember about the blade being loosened for transport and did you run the saw without re-tensioning it and without the table re-fitted by any chance?

If you run the machine with a slack blade it will be noisy and the blade may not track very well. Running the bandsaw without the table fitted wont help much either as the machine is not designed to be run without it fitted.

With the blade correctly tensioned, the blade rollers correctly adjusted, and the heavy table fitted, the bandsaw will run well as long as the bearings are still clean.

The heavy duty table is a structural part of the bandsaw. Running the saw without the table fitted may cause the frame to vibrate more and sound louder?

Also check that the blade is still central on the rubber drive tyres that are on each drive wheel. These tyres are not flat but domed to allow the blade be “tracked”, but if the adjustment has moved the blade can run over to one side or the other and will not run as smoothly as it should .

It is also good practice to pull the blade around by hand occasionally (make sure the machine is switched-off and disconnected from the mains first) on a machine that is not being used for some time to prevent the blade gaining a “set”.

A “set” can occur if a blade is wrapped around the drive wheels in the same position unused for an extended amount of time.

Pulling the blade around a little to move it into a new position now and again when a machine if left idle for months is a good idea.

A small bandsaw blade that is left without being run for months or years could slightly mould itself over the drive wheel shapes and may not run quite as smoothly when run again for the first time? If this is the case, it may “self heal” and straighten itself out again when it is left to run under the correct tension for a while, or the blade can be changed for a new one.

I am sure that once your bandsaw is fully built and correctly adjusted that it will run as smoothly as it did when I run it in my workshop before you collected it.

If your bandsaw still runs noisy once the table is refitted and the blade is re-tensioned and turned over as few times, give me a call or we can meet up and check it over together.

I am sure you have a good machine that will cut accurately and run well without being noisy once it has the table refitted and the blade correctly tensioned.

Bob.

@Ronald When I come to use the bandsaw I will obviously fit the table and it can stay on as it won't be moved. Frames are fine if you have room in the workshop and can move it out of the way when not using it - I don't have the space for that.

@zooma I have run the bandsaw but without cutting with it and found it really noisy. I checked the wheels etc. and everything seemed Ok but was a little concerned about the noise.

@zooma my bandsaw has a steel stand that sits in a wheeled frame. One end has wheels that swivel, are raised or lowered to allow the bandsaw to be moved around the floor.

Regarding the table, to make it lighter, consider cutting a wooden work table replacing the cast iron table. The trunnions can be removed from the cast iron table and mounted to the wooden table.

Trunnions are for Table Tilting, the curved shape matches the cradle on the bandsaw frame, enabling the table to tilt up to 45 degrees right and often 5 to 10 degrees left.

Good quality bandsaws can be a bit heavy to move around if they are substantially well built.

From an operating point of view, a bandsaw (like a milling machine) works better if it is heavy as it is a lot more stable.

Some of the more recently produced bandsaws that are at the lower end of the price range have started to arrive with less solid tables fitted to them.

Some of these “less substantial” tables may be still cast from iron, but they are thinner, and/or have a cast in pattern underneath to try to make them as rigid as possible.

Other (usually less expensive) bandsaw tables may be made from alternative materials to make the machine lighter to transport and to lift on and off of the workbench, but all of the larger machines have a good solid cast iron table - and this makes them heavier to lift.

When Chris has had a good breakfast and eaten some Weetabix, he should be able to lift his bandsaw up onto a table or a bench and re-fit the table so he can discover just how useful his bandsaw really is.

He will then discover that his bandsaw will run almost silently and cut very cleanly without the need to develop extra strong fingers to stop the wood that is being cut trying to lift itself up off of the table - a bandsaw pushes the work down onto the table as it is being cut and is much easier to control!

Oatabix is a good alternative for anyone that has an allergy that prevents them eating wheat 😂

Bob.

@Ronald Because it's cast iron and weighs a ton! Made it easier to transport the saw from the car, upstairs and onto the bench.

When I collected the saw Bob had had his Weetabix ( don't know if this translates but a breakfast cereal that increases your strength!) and lifted the saw straight into my boot!

Many saws tend to have lighter weight alloy tables now.

@Ronald Thanks Ronald! Bit more than I was expecting though!

@ChrisF
Drum Roll

@zooma
Upon closer inspection the bandsaw has no table attached to it. Why is that?

@ChrisF Thats a fine looking band saw I spy there Chris👍

I don’t own a table saw, but have read this thread with interest.

Bob.

This thread appears to have split off from the Table Saw thread, but no matter.

Anyway drum roll !!! Ronald, you're needed! Room has been de-Faireyed apart from three on the top of the wardrobe.

Workroom will be out of commission for a few days though!

Can't even swing a Manx cat in there now!

@ChrisF. I also used one of those large heavy duty powered hacksaws in the school metalwork shop in the late 1960’s, but the machine that Ed has is much smaller.

Ed’s small powered hacksaw could be good for cutting off short lengths of small bar stock before turning them in the lathe, and shorter lengths of small size flat and square steel, brass and alloy section etc. when making smaller parts.

I often found that cutting off the small pieces of metal that I needed to turn in the lathe, or fashion into something was the most physically hard and time consuming part of the manufacturing process and so I tried to find a small powered saw that would work.

A small horizontal steel cutting bandsaw would probably be the best option these days as small powered hacksaws like Ed’s don’t really exist as new machine tools anymore.

Now that my right arm is no longer fully functioning, picking up the hacksaw is much a much more painful experience and so no new model engineering projects will be attempted unless I can find a small affordable steel cutting bandsaw………but I have not found one yet.

Bob.

Last time I saw and used a powered hacksaw was when I was doing metalwork at school - it was a much bigger one though.

I've got one of those round fret saw blades as well somewhere. Rarely use my hand held fret saw though. As you say allows you to cut in different directions without having to move the blade round.

@EdW I really like the look of that power hacksaw.

Nice and compact and perfect for reducing the length of bar stock before machining 👍

Bob.

@EdW Hi Ed,

ABRAFILES.

I have used those round fret saw blades since I was introduced to them by my metalworker master when I was at school.

If I remember correctly they are called “Abrafiles” and they can be bought in different lengths.

I have used them in a coping saw frame and a fret saw frame and find them superb for cutting out shapes as they cut in every direction.

I have not tried to find them in a size to fit my Hegnar scroll saw, but having been reminded about them and their usefulness, I think I should take a look to see what sizes that are available in.

Bob.

"Those Immortal Words!"

Oh DEAR I have cut a finger. Need a bandage quick smart Col

Ed and I use an old bread knife for some of what I make Col

Chris Okay I see the classic bathtub float test Col