Hambleton Hobby - Workshop Build

[Paul Busby]

Hi All,

 

I posted some pics on the model thread recently that showed some progress of my workshop build.

 

They seemed to be quite popular, so figured maybe I would do a thread of the progress. Hopefully I do a better job of this than my RC build threads 🤔

 

Anyhoo, some backstory. I tried to buy a house recently, but failed at the first hurdle through being a limited company contractor... good luck getting a mortgage in this economy, regardless of if your books are healthy or not.

The house itself had a wonderful built in workshop... I missed out. Another one popped up, I missed out again.

 

Feeling quite dejected, and having started building some RC parts and selling them quicker than I could make them, I was desperate for a space that wasn't limited by the weather.... I talked to a good friend of mine who has quite a lot of land, and a few outbuilding they don't use much, and asked if I could use some space to set up a small workshop. At first, they said I could use an old dog kennel which I was over the moon with, but then we started to look at it and realised it was going to take an enormous amount of work to make it so I could actually use it in the winter.... they instead offered me to use one of the old shipping containers they have on their land that are only really used for storage... perfect. An entire 20ft container for myself... they are very good friends of mine, just to add, this generosity is not uncommon for them. Awesome family.

 

 

The problem, as you can probably see, is that the damn thing is a good 60 odd meters away from any electric. I talked to a friend of mine who does a lot of renovation/contruction etc... very much a "grand designs" type bloke if he could help me out... he was also happy to help whenever he could, inbetween other jobs.

We had a few chats with people about how to move it to the new location... which is here:

Basically opposite where it originally stood and much closer to anywhere i could wire up some leccy. It wasnt going to cost too much to get a crane in to do it, but the owner said her reletives could take care of it... their house, I'm not going to argue.

 

Only problem is this took a long time, things being as they are, people have to take work where it is, so it took a few months... admittedly I was also busy with other things so it wasn't the end of the world but it has meant that i missed slots with other contractors and now have to work around the second wave of this damn virus.... anyway.

In a hilariously Yorkshire farmer fashion they brought some machinery that was marginally well equipped to do the job and threw health and safety out the window... but got it into position. It was entertaining but the thing is level within a mm or 2.

 

Next up I had to wait a little while for my buddy to become available so we could start framing and such. I decided I wanted a personell door, and a window as the normal doors are super heavy, super awkward, and I wanted to feel like I was working in a room, rather than a metal box. The window was easy, picked one up at a local Wickes... the door however proved to be a bit more tricky. The oens that were quickly available had terrible reviews, and calling around local places, the quotes were all a few weeks... which I didnt have. I found a place online that had some "steel garage security" doors that sounded spot on, and no more expensive than typical uPVC doors, even if the insulation would be quite reduced. They told me 3-5 days, which if it had been 3, it would have arrived on time... it was 5.

 

It is what it is, so we cracked on with the window and framing anyway.

 

 

 

 

And this was the end of the first proper work day. Window and most of the framing done. Task for me whilst we waited for the door was to tidy up the expanding foam, seal up the window, change some of the woodscrews for rubber washer screws, and paint it.

First I sealed the thing up, but didnt get any pictures, then there was  short isolation period inbetween jobs due to my daughters cough (wasn't COVID in the end) and then the weather turned. We've had a lot of rain up here unfortunately.

 

The door did arrive on Monday and I got that assembled, along with attaching a handle to the window.

 

Then I got the inside of the window all masked up and got the frame painted. I opted against masking the outside, and instead just did this for the funsies

 

 

And then of course it immediately started raining after, so I left it covered up and will check on it again tomorrow, perhaps do another coat of paint if the weather is favourable overnight.

 

.... and that's where I am to now!

 

[Paul Busby]

Update number 2!

 

The good news is the paint held up well, and the window hasnt let a single drip of water through so far. I think I'm going to do a bit of work to the top of the frame to encourage the water to run off it rather than pool up on top... there is only so much a couple of coats of Sandtex can do!

 

Since then, while I was waiting for my contrctor to come and help me sort the door out, I had the electrician over to come and have a look, talk through my plan, and make sure it was all good... he was happy and gave me some instructions... I cracked on.... but at the same time we had a couple of deliveries:

 

 

 

The OSB and insulation has arrived!

 

There isnt much I can do with these at the moment, so they're sat in a barn staying dry.
I started chucking the wires into the frame work.

 

Working by the light of a battery powered lamp 😂

 

 

As part of my other job is broadcast systems where the wiring is almost alway immaculate... I couldnt very well just throw the cables in and call it a day... it had to be tidy.

 

 

 

The electrician upon inspecting some of my cabling did question why I bothered making it so neat...

 

Anyway... the day came, we had some reasonable weather and my contractor swooped in with his angle grinder and table saw.

 

 

 

 

Man this was a pig to do... tip for anyone in the future, if you buy a steel door, don't cut threshold to be tight/flush to it's frame... give it some room and then shim and foam it in later.

 

But we got there in the end... it's not perfect but I reckon it should be ok.

 

It took a lot of bracing to hold it in the right place though!

 

But we got there, and started chopping up the insulation

 

 

 

Most of these panels did come back out to allow me to get on with the wiring... which seemed like a never ending challenge, but after a lot of fiddling about, changing the plans, then being told by the electrician that the way I have done the lights is a bit odd... I got there...

 

During the wiring and before putting the insulation in and taping it up, I also cut a hole so I can have an extractor fan... this is just for when I'm working with some nasty fumes, to make sure I can move the air through. I'll be using a respirator where necissary anyway, and In the future I may well use this for more advanced "air quality" devices, but for now... this will do. Note that the hole isnt a very good circle, because cutting corten steel with a dremel is not something I have a lot of experience with, but it's not too bad and a bit of building adhesive/sealant sorts the issue out. It will also have expanding foam around it later too.

 

 

 

I do like getting network cables tidy... even if these is only a few.

 

Poking holes in the insulation and spray foaming some of the more awkward holes as I go... everything labelled so I can fix problems later, should they occur (hopefully not)

 

 

Was nice to get these panels back in and reclaim the floor space... I know it looks a mess in there, but that's just what happens when you're doing 5 different things at once. I do a good organise and clean up every other day to make sure things don't get out of hand... that probably would have been the time to take the picture in hindsight..

 

 

 

 

There will be a little half width network cabinet in here which will probably house a cluster of mini PCs/Raspbrry Pi's for controlling the CNC machinary. I have wired up the speaker wire (orange) and also some FST for the RCA connectors to the amp... or should I say amps 😉

 

Im thinking of having a machine area/office divider so there will be 2 speaker zones.... but not in the short term.

 

I also pulled in some USB and monitor connectors from the cab where I will have a desk.

 

 

Pretty chuffed at this bit of the job:

 

 

Although I didnt take photos after all the insulation boards on the sides were in and taped up... it is done.

 

And now I need to cut the remaining insulation for the back wall and ceiling, then I can start boarding it up. Hopefully this week will have at least started that job.

 

Today I made a vortex bin for my vacuum cleaner... but didnt take a photo of it for some reason. That should allow me to do the job withouth making a horrific mess, or going through 50 vacuum bags.

 

Looking at the photos, I know it really doesnt look fantastic at the moment, but hopefully you can see things gradually taking shape.

 

Update number 3

I'll try and bring the updates a bit quicker now that things are moving.

The Insulation was an utter pig. I did not enjoy this part of the job, but part of this was to do with my circular saw being UTTER garbage. It was the cheapest one money can buy from Argos, bought a few years ago for a quick job and then sat in a box doing nothing much. Boy oh boy, did it make me suffer.
There was no point measuring anything, you might as well jam the saw open and throw it at the thing you want to cut and hope for the best! Anything you might be thinking about how to deal with a saw that isnt calibrated, and has no calibration options... believe me a tried it and I would still end up a few mm off, and at an odd angle...

 

One board, in a particularly warped rafter got me so annoyed, it got some...

 

 

Anyway, I'm a FIRM believer in the phrase, "a bad workman blames his tools", and I was being a bad workman by persisting to produce poor results and getting frustrated with myself by using bad tools... so I ordered a new saw.

... only that didn't go well either. I ordered the very well reviewed Makita DHS680Z - I have the batteries, so why not?

Well as it turns out this ALSO wasn't calibrated well out the factory. Good news here is you can calibrate this saw, the bad news is they overtightened the angle gauge, so even after it was calibrated, it wouldn't indicate those measurements because as soon as you tighten this up in the correct spot, it pops back into it's original position. Now if this happens on a saw I have used for a while and has started to get sloppy - fine, just contact Makita and get a replacement guide... but na... I sent it back.

I'll come back to this later... for now, let's talk about what I did get done. Or rather show you...

 

This was the end of Friday. I finished the last board, did a little bit of cleaning up the dust and mess, then clocked out for the weekend. Of course, the whole weekend was consumed by choosing the correct saw.

 

I came back to it this morning and without the Saw (again... will come back to it) I didnt want to start cutting up the OSB as this is what will be seen. At least the scruff insulation job will be covered up, the OSB is going on nice!

So I gave it a really good organise and broght in some of the old furniture that will be tiding me over until I'm bringing in a bit more cash, and I also decided to quickly bash together a caddy for my cyclone so it's a bit more usable. Once again, I havent done a good chronological job of documenting this... but you should get the idea.

If you were ever wondering how well they work, really well:

 

My plan was to make a hole to drop it through, not big enough to go all the way, then have a frame going up with the vacuum on top, but I changed this plan. In hindsight I should have planned better as it got bodgy. THis is one of 2, and is just to get me up and running so I just bodged it until i made it.

 

 

Don't want to mangle up the vacuum, so best to take the wheels out and do some measurements to make locating points in the caddy.

 

There we go... note, they're not actually quite a square, one is offset. I will need to take some different bolts as there is different depths in the holes.

 

As you can see, I cut some slots out for the hose and button access.

 

Now I also need to build something to stop the barrel flopping about seeing as the vacuum is in the frame now 🤦‍♂️

 

I'll design and build the next one... with my saw... that's arriving tomorrow.... but first, here is the workshop at the end of the day... back to being a bit messy, but it actually feels like my workshop, even though I havent wired in the sockets or put the walls up.

You can probably see, I put a lot of faith in Makita. The Circ saw is the only one that's let me down. This Mitre saw, whilst small, is wonderful to use. Since being taught how to correctly use it to avoid breakout, I'm getting a kick out of every single cut.

You can see the cyclone I used to keep the insulation dust contained, as well as clean up the container in the background.

 

So back to the saw. Since getting into this, I have been watching a lot of online videos of folks in workshops talking about how to actually do stuff, and it's really difficult o see how you do things without having a tablesaw, and a bandsaw, and a this and a that, and another thing....

 

But then I watched this series:

And after seeing him create incredibly effective ripping and crosscut jigs, I immediately ordered the Scheppach tracksaw (which, if you look on Ebay, is going for pretty cheap at the moment... spoiler alert... at the end of the series he recommends you buy the Triton saw if you want to buy a cheapo. 🤦‍♂️

 

So of course I cancelled my order and bought the Battery powered Makita DSP600 😄... Damn these Makita batteries. After a bit of deep thought I just decided features like soft start, speed control, and the automatic torque control would be of benefit if I cut aluminium and plastic.

 

I did cheap out and buy the Evolution  ST2800 track kit though to bring the total cost down to a much more manageable level.

 

This should make a big difference to getting this thing finished, and then the ongoing project of actually cutting sheet materials down and turning them into parts. (I still need a high(is) end bandsaw)

 

Update number 4

So once again I left it ages between updates, but I figured I have reached a significant turning point in the project, so there is actually something to look at.

 

Gotta saw the Plunge/Tracksaw is the best tool I have ever owned... I almost want another one so I can have one dedicated to wood and one for Plastic/Alu... don't have the money just yet though.

 

I'll start off with a shot of my janky-ass dust collector... man this was a bodge. Definitely going to revisit this for something more permanant. Better than pulling both things about seperately though.

After getting the first wall up, I had to wait for the replacement track for the saw, went original Makita stuff this time and it arrived immaculate and dead on straight. Joining the two bits of track together wasnt such a great experience though, they only provide you with one connecting bar and it really needs 2. Fortunately there is a cheaper alternative, the "Excel" bars are identical and pretty cheap, come in pairs too...

 

In the mean time, whilst waiting for this delivery, I started putting the fixings on the wall.

 

Made sure the hole for the exrtractor was good after quite a bit of measuing. It's a couple of mm low, but it's good enough.

Like a glove...

More fittings up and wired

 

I'd also been putting this job off... getting all the cables through for the mini-rack

 

Done it now though, and as you can see I got my track and got back to business getting the boards on the walls. Some went up easy peasy and some of them were a pig. The floor boards are all a bit warped and the frame is also not exactly perfect, so there is a lot of "fettling".

 

 

 

I'm really happy with how the window came out. A more exerienced wood worker might have done it all in one bit and fit it on, but for me, breaking it down into smaller pieces was definitely the right approach.

 

As you can see I have left a panel off at the back, this is where the armoured cable will come in, but my Electrician hasnt given me any instructions for the hole...

 

 

Another window shot

 

After a while I gave up waiting for my Electrician, we will just have to work with what I have done, as I can't hold out forever, I need to get these ceiling boards up.

 

To help me get the ceiling boards in, I needed something to hold it up. It wasnt going to be possible with one man as it is, but even with 2 men, we definitely needed some additional support. Here is my board holder upperer

Place has got a bit messy with me moving boards in and out, but its looking pretty good.

 

 

 

The gaps arent exactly great, it's all a bit of a mess, again due to the warped frame, but I have some filler, thin strips of scrap and some mastic to tidy it all up... then the next step is to get all the electrics fully wired up and get the electrician in to check/test and  get the armoured in.

 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Paul Busby

[Paul Busby]

--Reserved--

[Paul Busby]

--Reserved--

[Paul Busby]

Update number 2 is in!

[Stormbringer]

looking good mate and nothing wrong with tidy wiring/cabling less chance of probs further down road or if a prob does occur easier to sort out 🍻

[Paul Busby]

I actually think it might make things difficult, as I can't just pull a cable out, I have to take the whole wall apart [emoji848]

I need to get better at taking photos as I go as well. Try and get some more detailed shots of what I'm doing as general shots of a room aren't all that interesting.

I'm just much better at planning and then cracking on with something than I am documenting progress.

Tbh, a lot of what I have done so far has been dull and tedious outside getting the frame in.

I can tell you though, pinning cables into the back of the frame, when there is literally millimeters to get any tools in is a challenge... 100 points for anyone who can guess how I did it.

[Tingting44]

this is very cool! following

[Fuzzock]

2 hours ago, Paul Busby said:

I can tell you though, pinning cables into the back of the frame, when there is literally millimeters to get any tools in is a challenge... 100 points for anyone who can guess how I did it.

 

Blood, tears and a few choice words? 🤬

 

Looking great so far!

 

Ian...

[Paul Busby]

 
Blood, tears and a few choice words? [emoji2959]
 
Looking great so far!
 
Ian...

There was certainly all those things!

I had to use a mini crowbar [emoji38]

Actually a super useful tool, so glad I bought it.

[Nick]

Great work so far!  Can you build me one?

 

[GMballistic]

Great stuff @Paul Busby . 

Love DIY jobs like this and personally I find it so satisfying so hope you're too. 😉 

[Paul Busby]

On 19/11/2020 at 09:36, Nick said:

Great work so far!  Can you build me one?

 

Yeah, I mean not just me... but the contractor I worked with has been teaching me a lot whilst doing it, and If someone genuinely wanted one built... pretty sure we would take the job. I've certainly invested in the tooling!

 

I know you're kidding but I'm trying to widen my Horizons as Brexit comes ever closer 😄

[Paul Busby]

Also... I have added an update

[Paul Busby]

Argh... my new Saw isnt going to arrive until the evening, so no huge updates today

[Paul Busby]

Definitely can't blame the tool if I mess it up now...

[Paul Busby]

I'll do a better update later in the week, but I have started getting the board's mounted to the wall.

Stupid track that I bought for my plunge saw is bent though.

Can't believe I didn't notice it when I unboxed it, but one of the pieces was so bent it's unusable. I came to rip down one of the big sheets and I couldn't get the track together flush at all.

Once again, buy cheap, buy twice. Don't buy the Evolution Tools track.
Fortunately I ordered off Amazon, so it's minimal fuss to sort out.

 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Paul Busby

[Paul Busby]

Update 4 in!