Building my bike workshop

[Is Vic There]

Love it.

[j.wilson]

Well, I've laid the cobbles to the concrete ramp, this now sits flush with the door.

With a few tons of gravel on the drive- it all looks neat and nice.

[j.wilson]

Inside, Iv'e laid a new floor- this is bathroom flooring.
Went down nice and is waterproof- the only problem is that it is quite skiddy- stand up a piece of wood against the wall and if its even at quite a small angle it will slip down.

I've trimmed the hole for the ramp with some white plastic angle.

I built a bench for my lathe. I got a great deal on some damaged tool cabinets from Halfords and put them under. I built the bench quite high so it was easier to work on and added a wheeled drawer under each cabinet for metal scraps.

The bench to is 50mm MDF covered in some white hardboard. Later thoughts have inclined me to use laminate flooring instead. I trimmed the edge with a bit of hardwood- actually just a bit of B&Q decking.

The panel at the bottom under the lathe is an access port where all the swarf falls down behind the lathe.

I painted my vice white- but realise I have fitted it too close to the lathe to get my sheet bender in it- ho hum.

[j.wilson]

For those still curious about my loft storage-

The ceiling.



Drop down the lights on each side-



Then push the central storage section to one side leaving a 2ft opening to access the storage. Pushing the centre section the other way gives access to the other side.

[Ginger Bear]

Bloody hell JW............

............ Some peoples houses ain't that posh! I love it!:up

[nealblath]

bloody hell................I think I need some tissues!

[Rich]

Make a catch tray for under the lathe and a splash back, you will use suds sometime.

[j.wilson]

Good idea Rich, I put just a piece of hardboard there for now- but something water proof would be better and a tray even better still. I'll do that when I recover the bench with laminate flooring.

The windows are double glazed, and I put blinds at them- but with the dust in there I figured it would be better with another sheet of glass on the inside.

I asked at the shop- but the cheapest was 6mm laminated glass.
I build a wooden frame around the window recess and then fitted the glass with a little wooden trim to hold it in.

Lastly I made a slot in the top header so that the control string for the blind can come thru.

The blind is between the glass sheets now.

[j.wilson]

In the corner I made some storage for my cans and bits and pieces.

I wanted to try to be able to put stuff away as best as possible- to keep the dust out.

So I kind of made these verticle drawers.
4 in all. Each with a different arrangement of storage in them. I used 800mm full extension drawer runners.

Below I have made a number of "trolley carts"- each one storing different types of stuff. The end one (which will have a curved front to matach the drawer above) will hold my welder.



I kerf cut a piece of MDF and then backed it with some fibreglass to make a curved door.

[j.wilson]

A local hardware shop closed down last year and I picked up some metal pegboard displays along with some hooks. I hung two sections on the wall and put all my power tools on them, and added a door to take more tools.

I hung the door on swivel castors (with the wheel missing)- one at top and bottom. Cheap and strong. I'm gonna hang a folding chair on the bottom of the door and put a white board on the top half. - I've painted a big clip frame glass white aon the back and will stick it to a piece of MDF to make a white board that wont stain.



Note- I've put my cross cut saw on the bench- and lowered it so that I can get a long liece of wood on it. With it in the 45 deg position it sits out of the way.

I have plumbed the cross-cut saw and a hose into an extract system. Shop vac extractor and some drain pipe. I added a couple of blast gates so I can direct the suction to each direction.

Finally I added a remote control for the extract plug- this allows me to press the button on the plug or press the button on the remote control when I want the extract to switch on.

This is an ideal place too for my pillar drill as it allows me to drill big things and to saw big things without them getting in each others way.

I've used laminate flooring for the tops of these benches- and I'm really pleased with how practical that is.

[j.wilson]

Shop vac under the corner of the bench.

[j.wilson]

One thing that has been really useful is my multi function bench.

Made from some aluminium profile and 3/4 MDF it makes a good project bench when combined with "extras".

I have fitted a track saw track to a hinge so I have a good panel saw, plus there is a cut out at the end of the bench over the removeable plate in the ramp.
I'm gonna hang a router in here so I have a router table, and circular saw so I have a table saw and a jig saw so I have a fret saw. More of that another time.

[Baldylocks]

OMG! I was in awe of your bike building skills......now I see your workshop and I feel inadequate!

I built my own but was so eager to get my bikes in it I didn't do the details like you have you are truly a Guru! I was going to post a pic of mine but not now! mine looks ok from the outside but no way compares to yours....

[tonyzx12r]

**Stunning** I thought I was organized but you put me to shame.

You could always make a living building workshops

[j.wilson]

Thanks Baldy and Tony- its been a labour of love- and I'm getting a bit weary of the chore of working on it.

I've still got a pile of old shed junk under the car port that i have to go thru- and some of the stuff I've still got to squeeze in the shed there is no room for.

I just put my head down and keep pushing- forceing myself to do something each evening- although I've had to stop for a bit in March as I ran out of money.

I took the photos after an evening where the chore was to tidy up- that was cheap and actually made me feel a bit better about things.