The new shop is getting organised, slowly, but I still have to find homes for a lot of stuff... and there are so many questions....
For example, should I keep the little bandsaw or the grunty cold cut saw with the 10" HSS blade?
The laminated top has been made for the workbench, 2" of solid MDF, the bench is levelled and screwed firmly to the wall and I wonder if I should put this sheet of thin(ish) aluminium as the bench top surface? I could fold it over the edges and up the wall a bit.
My lathe is still sitting on its wooden feet, at least they stop it from falling over but they do nothing for rigidity etc. I had planned on a concrete bench for that and a couple of the smaller machines but I still need to find someone who can make a smooth top, and what happens to coolant on a smooth concrete top?
I do like the lathe height where it is 4" or so up off the floor, so, as an alternative, would a slab at floor level be an advantage? The supplied lathe stands would still be in the picture but despite what I have read online they look pretty sturdy to me.
The new mill looks very smart but now I need strong shelves to store the bits and pieces I bought with it, the dividing head for example I can hardly 'store' on the mill table but maybe the vice and the rotary table could live there.
Besides, it would be nice to have a suitable parking space for the lathe 4-jaw which I really, really, do not want to lift up from the floor ever again! Maybe I should make a 50kg shop crane on wheels? (Oh dear, another item on the project schedule.
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Meanwhile, as I say the shop is built and it looks very nice, I am getting kitchen cupboards and a sink bench built at one end, there will also be a small computer area there and I have my own washing machine (ex the other house) for overalls and for getting a second life out of shop rags. The cupboards will also be taking some of the overflow from kitchen storage. Maybe I can make a little footstool so that I can pee in the sink? Ha ha!
We still need a drive laid and fences built, I have also ordered a garden shed for garden stuff and things that I might feel safer stored out of the house, welding gas etc. The garden shed will be in a 6x6 metre walled off area (walls 2 metres high) where I can do welding and burn paint off stuff etc without upsetting anyone or burning the house down.
Then there is lounge furniture to arrive, ordered weeks ago. Curtains ordered but the people who are making them are in what remains of Christchurch after the recent 'quake'. Bedroom furniture was being made there too but showrooms had it in stock so they are supposed to be sending that, but no sign of that arriving yet!
When the foundations for the fences are in we can get the ground levelled for a lawn and concrete poured for a patio. Sun shades have been ordered, again from a Christchurch company but they are in good shape and are keen for work.
I still have to bump my ute over a deep kerb because the contractors who where supposed to build the kerb crossing are busy in Chch!
When I see this money going out I have to remind myself that all the money I will ever earn is already in the bank so there is no such thing as 'saving up' for something. Besides, the banks have just reduced interest rates following a government adjustment to aid the Chch recovery.
Retirement is such fun. Meanwhile, I bet those I guys I left in the office are just sitting around surfing the 'net and hoping for a project rebuilding Tripoli airport.
