JasonPAtkins
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2010
- Location
- Guinea-Bissau, West Africa
Hey all,
I'm a naturally cluttery person who enjoys starting projects more than finishing them. I've grown to appreciate a bit of minimalism at home, and while a "bush" machinist like me can't avoid stocking every possible reamer, tap, and die I might need, that doesn't mean things need to be messy (I hope).
So, I'm interested in suggestions. My shop is has open windows for ventilation which unfortunately also let dust blow in. That can't be avoided, at least in my current setting, but I would like less things sitting out so that it's easier to clean the dust when it does come in. So, ideas are welcome! (For context, we have a dusty, hot, dry season and then a humid (everywhere and inside everything) rainy season. Rust is a real problem, but especially in the rainy season.
1) Tooling. I've gotten this pretty much under control with a combination of file cabinets, Akro bins, Lista cabinets, and a homemade (closing, because of the humidity) tooling cart for my NMTB40 mill toolholders. I think I've got this and fasteners organized about as well as they can be in my current, cramped space.
2) Lathe accessories. I have a homemade box to hold my whole set of MT drills, on a jobbox behind my back as I work at the lathe, then most of my toolholders are either on the lathe apron or in one of the lathe's built in drawers. Chucks, dogs, reamers, mandrels, etc, are in the lockers behind (in the middle of the room).
3) Mill accessories. Most (extra hold down tooling, indicators, 123 blocks, angle blocks) fit in the homemade tool cart I made, which has a standard craftsman toolbox sitting on it. However, constantly in the way and preventing good sweeping around the foot of the mill, I have a spare vise, rotab, 15" troyke, and dividing head sitting on the floor because I can't figure out how to store them well. I've seen some people have a little pedistal of heavy pipe standing vertically with little tables for each of these things that rotate around and allow an engine hoist to pick or return a given item. I like this idea but haven't gotten around to making one that would hold the 500# of fixtures I have.
4) Stock. Fortunately we have a shipping container dedicated to holding structurals and sheet goods, and then I have a cart that holds most of the little short bits that I find at the scrap yard which are my machining stock.
5) Work in progress, or things waiting to be repaired. I think this is the biggest problem for me. I don't have enough space to put WIP in bins or hang all of it, so it ends up getting stuck wherever. My nice 5x10' welding table is always half covered in not-welding projects. In addition to machining, I also do a lot of fab and operate inside a vocational welding school, so there are constantly half finished student projects around in addition to mine.
I'm nervous about doing so, because almost all of my posts get someone chiming in saying "clean up that machine", but I'm posting some candid, not cleaned up, "this is what my shop often looks like" pictures.
Oh, and my shop also serves as the maintenance bay for the building and vehicles of the school, explaining a few of the other things laying around.
Anything constructive is welcome, as long as you keep in mind where I am. I do have the possibility of another shipping container late this year coming over, which could bring some equipment I have waiting in MI, as well as more storage if that's what I need.
Some of the stuff is obvious "just throw it away" kind of stuff. Others are "just make time to finish it and get it off of the table". I fear, however, that the main one is "you don't have enough space for the equipment you have". I could dedicate half of my shop just to having adequate open space to operate the tube bender, angle iron bender, and punches.
I can't get 2 of the 3 photos to attach, and the forum smashes photos down pathetically small anyway, so here's a link to the album:
Shared album - Jason Atkins - Google Photos
I'm a naturally cluttery person who enjoys starting projects more than finishing them. I've grown to appreciate a bit of minimalism at home, and while a "bush" machinist like me can't avoid stocking every possible reamer, tap, and die I might need, that doesn't mean things need to be messy (I hope).
So, I'm interested in suggestions. My shop is has open windows for ventilation which unfortunately also let dust blow in. That can't be avoided, at least in my current setting, but I would like less things sitting out so that it's easier to clean the dust when it does come in. So, ideas are welcome! (For context, we have a dusty, hot, dry season and then a humid (everywhere and inside everything) rainy season. Rust is a real problem, but especially in the rainy season.
1) Tooling. I've gotten this pretty much under control with a combination of file cabinets, Akro bins, Lista cabinets, and a homemade (closing, because of the humidity) tooling cart for my NMTB40 mill toolholders. I think I've got this and fasteners organized about as well as they can be in my current, cramped space.
2) Lathe accessories. I have a homemade box to hold my whole set of MT drills, on a jobbox behind my back as I work at the lathe, then most of my toolholders are either on the lathe apron or in one of the lathe's built in drawers. Chucks, dogs, reamers, mandrels, etc, are in the lockers behind (in the middle of the room).
3) Mill accessories. Most (extra hold down tooling, indicators, 123 blocks, angle blocks) fit in the homemade tool cart I made, which has a standard craftsman toolbox sitting on it. However, constantly in the way and preventing good sweeping around the foot of the mill, I have a spare vise, rotab, 15" troyke, and dividing head sitting on the floor because I can't figure out how to store them well. I've seen some people have a little pedistal of heavy pipe standing vertically with little tables for each of these things that rotate around and allow an engine hoist to pick or return a given item. I like this idea but haven't gotten around to making one that would hold the 500# of fixtures I have.
4) Stock. Fortunately we have a shipping container dedicated to holding structurals and sheet goods, and then I have a cart that holds most of the little short bits that I find at the scrap yard which are my machining stock.
5) Work in progress, or things waiting to be repaired. I think this is the biggest problem for me. I don't have enough space to put WIP in bins or hang all of it, so it ends up getting stuck wherever. My nice 5x10' welding table is always half covered in not-welding projects. In addition to machining, I also do a lot of fab and operate inside a vocational welding school, so there are constantly half finished student projects around in addition to mine.
I'm nervous about doing so, because almost all of my posts get someone chiming in saying "clean up that machine", but I'm posting some candid, not cleaned up, "this is what my shop often looks like" pictures.
Oh, and my shop also serves as the maintenance bay for the building and vehicles of the school, explaining a few of the other things laying around.
Anything constructive is welcome, as long as you keep in mind where I am. I do have the possibility of another shipping container late this year coming over, which could bring some equipment I have waiting in MI, as well as more storage if that's what I need.
Some of the stuff is obvious "just throw it away" kind of stuff. Others are "just make time to finish it and get it off of the table". I fear, however, that the main one is "you don't have enough space for the equipment you have". I could dedicate half of my shop just to having adequate open space to operate the tube bender, angle iron bender, and punches.
I can't get 2 of the 3 photos to attach, and the forum smashes photos down pathetically small anyway, so here's a link to the album:
Shared album - Jason Atkins - Google Photos