# What do we do with our metal working tools



## jcdammeyer (Nov 18, 2022)

Today a few of us were discussing how we can use our wood shops to build all sorts of things for use around the house after admiring @David_R8 wood shop stuff.  Then I think @PaulL mentioned all the money spent on the lathe/mill etc. and how much is it actually used to build or repair anything.  At that point we started trying to remember what we did with the tools.

I mentioned some of my projects but I did forget this one.  My older son's girlfriend is a potter and her wheel suddenly stopped working.   I took it apart and found the bearings had water damage and were seized to the shaft and locked solid.  It's amazing it even worked at all.  Here the lathe came in handy.  I think the pictures say it all.

But the real question still stands.  I'm using my machine shop to build and enhance my machine shop.  But if I stopped doing that there are fewer things that it might be used for.  Now if I wanted to build clocks or small steam engines then it's part of the cost of the hobby.  But if there is no hobby what's the point of owning a lathe and mill for example?


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## David_R8 (Nov 18, 2022)

The last thing I made in my lathe were machined steel washers to go on Unisaw blade arbors. They are very difficult to find. Mine was stamped steel and completely dishes out so it was no longer doing it’s job.
I made one for myself and another for a fellow in Alberta. Got paid for that one which was a nice bonus. 
Prior to that I made about 100’ of garden fencing from 1/4” rod bent into loops with some decorative elements. But that was done with my MIG welder not my lathe or mill.

From my wood shop I’ve turned (literally) a half dozen bowls in the last month. Prior to that, I built cabinets for the shop and the stairs.
I have bookcases planned next.
And I have a commission to turn four handles for a very high end woodworking bench.


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## SomeGuy (Nov 19, 2022)

I was building an RC vehicle, so making parts for that (shafts, mounts, etc.).
I built some stubby speaker poles for my PA speakers.
I helped a friend trim back some case panels that would have taken a ton of grinding/heat damage otherwise.

I'm sure there will be more in the future, but that's in the first little bit less than a year. The rest of the time on it has just been learning how to use it, so making little fiddly things for fun.


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## jcdammeyer (Nov 19, 2022)

I used my CNC router to make the pattern for this and then cast one and painted it.  Haven't gone on with that project since I started thinking vacuum forming white plastic might be faster than casting and painting.  Especially for 100 or so.

The lamp directs upwards and the reflector is designed to cast a 4' diameter circle.  So there's a project with the CNC router and casting.  But not the mill or the lathe.


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## Susquatch (Nov 19, 2022)

This is a timely thread. 

I had a fellow drop by to talk about a municipal problem we are having. Afterward, he asked if he could see my shop. While we were there he asked what I used my lathe for. I couldn't think of a single thing that he would appreciate. After he left, a million projects came to mind...... I think he would have loved my GPS hardware most. 

I need to make a list and keep it handy for the next time someone asks.


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## phaxtris (Nov 19, 2022)

The lathe is what garners the "what do you make with it" question the most for me....I, like @Susquatch usually draw a blank, and end up telling them something along the lines of "I don't know, things that need to be round"

......and then after they have left a bunch of stuff pops in to my head

Eerily similar....

in reality, I use it to make whattever I need at the time, I do a fair bit of automotive/motorsport related work/repair, there always seems to be a special jig/line up bar/puller/whattever that you can buy for 100$ and use once, or spend 10 minutes on the lathe and make from scrap

My wife also seems to come up with things for me to make/repair for her or her people on a semi regular basis, cracks in a wheel chair Rugby chair one day, a different style knob for a steering wheel spinner next month, a simple piece of flat bar on a vehicle ramp to help flip it out, random little things

And of course I do use it all for buisness purposes, all though that is a smaller portion of the use


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## Dan Dubeau (Nov 19, 2022)

I've got a few good friends that I've known for since grade school.   35 ish years some of us have been friends, and are like brothers.  All are tradesman too (HVAC, Electricians), but none have crafty hobbies beyond home handyman projects, and side jobs.  Most are just playing sports, watching sports, and taking their kids to sports etc (I also do those too, so I get it).  I get asked that question a lot.  What do you _DO_ with this stuff. I make stuff, for other stuff, that needs things. People who make things, get it. People that don't look at you like you've got 3 heads. I've grown rather fond of my 3 heads over the years lol. My Wife is the same way with the fibre arts. We're weird to most people.

One of them (the Electrician) loves watching the shows on history channel where they restore stuff, and loves watching the guys making tools, and parts in their shops to restore things, but its almost comical to me that he hasn't made that jump yet, that _HE _also can just do that. Every time he comes over, and I'm out in the shop doing stuff, I'm waiting for the light bulb to go off and for him to have that ah ha moment, that I am one of those guys.....and he can be too......It'll happen one day, but for the time being I almost enjoy the comical disassociation. I am forever a student of human behavior. I was over there the other day and showed him a pic of my forge I just finished and he asked "why'd you build that". Because I wanted to, do I need a better reason?

Another thing I find interesting is that I work with guys like that.  That are also machinists/toolmakers, and engineers.  Once they leave the shop, they leave it there.  Sometimes I wish I could the same, and I do go through phases where I want nothing to do with it when I come home, but some of them find it nuts that I even have a home shop, and do this stuff in my free time too.  Perhaps they are right, and I'm the one who is nuts.  

I just like making and learning new things.  I've never had a hard time coming up with things to make.  I come up with ideas at a far greater pace than I can finish them.   Sometimes when I get an idea for something I want to make, and It's almost like I go down a list in my head.  Do I have the tools to do that?  Do I have the skills to do that?  Do I have the knowledge to do that.  If I can answer yes to those questions, I go make/do it.  If I answer no, I acquire the knowledge, I gain the skills, or I build/buy the tools.  While it may seem completely random to some, I am very goal oriented and focused.   It's just that some of those end goals have a lot of twists and turns in the road, Intersections with other goals, and other stops along the way.   Some of those projects are years in the making.  My project "list" feels like an internet browser with fortyseven thousand tabs open.  But it's all part of the journey.  I do eventually close some of those tabs 

Enough internet for now, I'm heading out into the shop to do some casting and finish lining my forge.  So I can eventually make stuff with it  Maybe close some tabs, and open a few more lol.


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## historicalarms (Nov 19, 2022)

When i bought my machining tools I was still a working man and thought that "if i learned how to use these things while still working, when i retire I can have a side hustle of gun building for myself and others...well, that didnt work out as planned, I built a few things for myself that go " bang" but never got the confidence in my ability to do for others on a commercial basis...so I built a thousand and one Jigs to use to make other stuff that I cant even remember what the "stuff" is now.
      The "bang things I did finish include a # of cannons from table top size to full size civil war replica's that require a car hauler to move to the range. There are a couple others that i am very proud of, one a multi barrel rifle built entirely from scratch of my own design and my pride & joy, a single shot Rolling Block with a 32" tube scope, built up to be an exact copy of a rifle a very well to do buffalo hunter might use in his daily job ( built around an 1871 RB action). 
    Now most of my lathe/mill work is for stuff the wife wants done for around the house (furniture leg repairs etc) but when I need some reloading die altered or piece made to size brass with I really do enjoy that now.

    Ohh i almost forgot...I did build a small replica of a WW II artillery field piece with an interrupted thread breach system(just to see if i could do it with my rudimentary machines). The gun part of it is pretty much done now except for the flash disperser for the end of the barrel...will build the carriage in the spring.


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## curmudgeon (Nov 19, 2022)

jcdammeyer said:


> But the real question still stands.  I'm using my machine shop to build and enhance my machine shop.  But if I stopped doing that there are fewer things that it might be used for.  Now if I wanted to build clocks or small steam engines then it's part of the cost of the hobby.  But if there is no hobby what's the point of owning a lathe and mill for example?


Building and enhancing a home hobby machine shop is a legitimate hobby in its own right.  Carry on...


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## Susquatch (Nov 19, 2022)

Dan Dubeau said:


> I've got a few good friends that I've known for since grade school.   35 ish years some of us have been friends, and are like brothers.  All are tradesman too (HVAC, Electricians), but none have crafty hobbies beyond home handyman projects, and side jobs.  Most are just playing sports, watching sports, and taking their kids to sports etc (I also do those too, so I get it).  I get asked that question a lot.  What do you _DO_ with this stuff. I make stuff, for other stuff, that needs things. People who make things, get it. People that don't look at you like you've got 3 heads. I've grown rather fond of my 3 heads over the years lol. My Wife is the same way with the fibre arts. We're weird to most people.
> 
> One of them (the Electrician) loves watching the shows on history channel where they restore stuff, and loves watching the guys making tools, and parts in their shops to restore things, but its almost comical to me that he hasn't made that jump yet, that _HE _also can just do that. Every time he comes over, and I'm out in the shop doing stuff, I'm waiting for the light bulb to go off and for him to have that ah ha moment, that I am one of those guys.....and he can be too......It'll happen one day, but for the time being I almost enjoy the comical disassociation. I am forever a student of human behavior. I was over there the other day and showed him a pic of my forge I just finished and he asked "why'd you build that". Because I wanted to, do I need a better reason?
> 
> ...



That was pure joy to read @Dan Dubeau .  I think you wrote that about me. 

I'd bet your shop is neater and cleaner than mine though......


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## whydontu (Nov 19, 2022)

Jeez. Where to begin? 

Custom pipe fittings for the prototype flow meter I’m building with a couple of mad scientists.

Bought a New Hermes old-school engraving machine a few months ago, making jigs and fixtures and learning how to do proper engraving.

Built a small CNC engraver, realized it was crap, added a laser module, jigs and fixtures.

Trying to design the perfect multi-bit screwdriver. No plastic allowed. 

Custom enclosures for one-off music synthesizer modules. 

And as my old employment contracts stated, other duties as assigned


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## YYCHM (Nov 19, 2022)

All kinds of Stuff


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## jcdammeyer (Nov 19, 2022)

I found something that was made for the household in a metal shop.




To be honest although I made it, the build of the meat tenderizing hammer was not done in my shop.  

Dial back to Grade 8 shop at Hillcrest Jr. High in Edmonton.  The teeth were done with a shaper.  The steel rod and threaded holes done with tap and die.  The handle on the metal lathe.  I was 13 at the time.

Let's just say it's a bit older than xx years.


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## Dan Dubeau (Nov 19, 2022)

Susquatch said:


> That was pure joy to read @Dan Dubeau .  I think you wrote that about me.
> 
> I'd bet your shop is neater and cleaner than mine though......


Thanks, I'm sure we all have similarities which is why we all gather around common watering holes like here.

But I don't think I have a very clean/neat shop.  I mean, I know where everything is, if that counts (sometimes).  And I like organizational projects (on a big kick of those lately), and having a home for everything but I'm a "messy worker".  I do like putting stuff away at the end of a job though, and sweeping up.  It's just that there is always so many jobs on the go with parts and pieces all over, it really never happens all that much.   I'm envious, and can appreciate people that have nice clean and bright lab like shops, but that's not mine.  Not even close.  It's a constant work in progress.....


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## Chicken lights (Nov 19, 2022)

Dan Dubeau said:


> Thanks, I'm sure we all have similarities which is why we all gather around common watering holes like here.
> 
> But I don't think I have a very clean/neat shop.  I mean, I know where everything is, if that counts (sometimes).  And I like organizational projects (on a big kick of those lately), and having a home for everything but I'm a "messy worker".  I do like putting stuff away at the end of a job though, and sweeping up.  It's just that there is always so many jobs on the go with parts and pieces all over, it really never happens all that much.   I'm envious, and can appreciate people that have nice clean and bright lab like shops, but that's not mine.  Not even close.  It's a constant work in progress.....


My biggest argument for an organized shop is to know when something is missing or misplaced. I really like having homes for stuff to keep things efficient. But then you get interrupted mid-job or gotta drop the tools to get back to paying work and chaos ensues 

There’s no right or wrong, except I do lean towards more organized- if buddies need to use my shop a universal system works better 

So I think that’s a factor- is it “your” space or is it “shared” space


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## Dan Dubeau (Nov 19, 2022)

My buddy has had a good chuckle before when he needed to borrow something and I told him in great detail where it was and how to get it from my garage when I wasn't there.  I told him to either put it back exactly where it was when he was done, or just give it to me and let me do it.  That's how I remember where stuff is.  Once someone else moves it, I start walking around in circles......."it was RIGHT HERE" 

I'm gradually working towards a nice and organized shop.  I spent the day out there putting up a couple shelves, and building a mobile vise stand/hammer/tool rack.  Not what I set out to do when I went out there (that's another story), but I shifted gears and just start working on other stuff that needed do'in.  Also moved in another drill press/stand from the barn, and moved my bandsaw to a more useable location.  Little by little its starting to become a functioning shop.  Maybe one day I can actually work in it, instead of on it lol.


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## Chicken lights (Nov 19, 2022)

Dan Dubeau said:


> My buddy has had a good chuckle before when he needed to borrow something and I told him in great detail where it was and how to get it from my garage when I wasn't there.  I told him to either put it back exactly where it was when he was done, or just give it to me and let me do it.  That's how I remember where stuff is.  Once someone else moves it, I start walking around in circles......."it was RIGHT HERE"
> 
> I'm gradually working towards a nice and organized shop.  I spent the day out there putting up a couple shelves, and building a mobile vise stand/hammer/tool rack.  Not what I set out to do when I went out there (that's another story), but I shifted gears and just start working on other stuff that needed do'in.  Also moved in another drill press/stand from the barn, and moved my bandsaw to a more useable location.  Little by little its starting to become a functioning shop.  Maybe one day I can actually work in it, instead of on it lol.


I haven’t been home in a month and today was a “wtf was I doing” cleanup day. I don’t think I accomplished much, plus two friends stopping in to socialize didn’t help, but that’s ok too. 

I envy the guys that can putter in the shop every day for an hour or two, when I’m gone the shop is a fleeting memory


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## Dan Dubeau (Nov 19, 2022)

I wish I could putter for an hour or two through the week and actually accomplish something, I'd get way more projects done, but I still have too much stuff all over the place right now without a home, I end up just spinning around in circles moving stuff from place to place.  I'm not there yet with organization, but getting much closer.  I need a couple more long days like today to get some more shop storage projects done, so that I _CAN_ go out there, and just work on projects and finish things. Instead of moving stuff around for an hour, just to do 30 minutes worth of work. I was hoping to be all done before the snow came. I DID get close though. Within tolerance. 

Another problem is welding/fab projects.  I've got a lot of those on the plate right now, but I don't like doing them at night before I go to bed and sending fire babies all over the place (shop is attached single car garage), which is when I get the most of my free time.  So they tend to stack up, take up space, and accumulate until the weekend.  Then the weekend comes, and either I don't get shop time, or I don't feel like welding, or worse, I get sucked into one of those house projects the Wife kindly reminds me about every few months or so.   That's how projects stack up and take months to finish.  It's pretty easy for a week to go by, then another.....I had an entire summer of that.  Still trying to catch up.


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## David_R8 (Nov 19, 2022)

Dan Dubeau said:


> I wish I could putter for an hour or two through the week and actually accomplish something, I'd get way more projects done, but I still have too much stuff all over the place right now without a home, I end up just spinning around in circles moving stuff from place to place.  I'm not there yet with organization, but getting much closer.  I need a couple more long days like today to get some more shop storage projects done, so that I _CAN_ go out there, and just work on projects and finish things. Instead of moving stuff around for an hour, just to do 30 minutes worth of work. I was hoping to be all done before the snow came. I DID get close though. Within tolerance.
> 
> Another problem is welding/fab projects.  I've got a lot of those on the plate right now, but I don't like doing them at night before I go to bed and sending fire babies all over the place (shop is attached single car garage), which is when I get the most of my free time.  So they tend to stack up, take up space, and accumulate until the weekend.  Then the weekend comes, and either I don't get shop time, or I don't feel like welding, or worse, I get sucked into one of those house projects the Wife kindly reminds me about every few months or so.   That's how projects stack up and take months to finish.  It's pretty easy for a week to go by, then another.....I had an entire summer of that.  Still trying to catch up.


I feel your pain. I so feel your pain. After six years in this space I feel like I'm finally exorcising the previous occupant and making the space my own.


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## Tecnico (Nov 19, 2022)

jcdammeyer said:


> I used my CNC router to make the pattern for this and then cast one and painted it. Haven't gone on with that project since I started thinking vacuum forming white plastic might be faster than casting and painting. Especially for 100 or so.


I don't know what you're using to cast these but with a little home shop thermoforming experience behind me I think you can turn them out relatively quickly thermoforming something like ABS sheet.  I built a crude radiant oven using surplus domestic oven elements for my experiments.  If get the size of your reflector right then it could be heated in a domestic oven (when the kitchen manager isn't around(?) or maybe just score an old stove on drive by day.

All I used for the vacuum source was a shop vac and it provided enough differential pressure for the job.

Cool looking lamp by the way.

D


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## Tecnico (Nov 19, 2022)

Dan Dubeau said:


> Another thing I find interesting is that I work with guys like that. That are also machinists/toolmakers, and engineers. Once they leave the shop, they leave it there. Sometimes I wish I could the same, and I do go through phases where I want nothing to do with it when I come home, but some of them find it nuts that I even have a home shop, and do this stuff in my free time too. Perhaps they are right, and I'm the one who is nuts.
> 
> I just like making and learning new things. I've never had a hard time coming up with things to make. I come up with ideas at a far greater pace than I can finish them. Sometimes when I get an idea for something I want to make, and It's almost like I go down a list in my head. Do I have the tools to do that? Do I have the skills to do that? Do I have the knowledge to do that. If I can answer yes to those questions, I go make/do it. If I answer no, I acquire the knowledge, I gain the skills, or I build/buy the tools. While it may seem completely random to some, I am very goal oriented and focused. It's just that some of those end goals have a lot of twists and turns in the road, Intersections with other goals, and other stops along the way. Some of those projects are years in the making. My project "list" feels like an internet browser with fortyseven thousand tabs open. But it's all part of the journey. I do eventually close some of those tabs


@Dan Dubeau you're not nuts!  I don't get the designers/machinists/engineers that don't do hands on things after hours, for me it's a good way to relax after a days work and IMHO it separates those who do it for a job and those who do it as a passion.  One of the things I asked techs & engs. when I was doing interviews was what they did after hours and the ones that did those after hours things generally came out better on the job because they knew first hand how things worked or could figure it out.  

I could have written your second paragraph too, it seems a common thread in the group here, so many projects, so many new things to learn and so little time.  I feel I'm in good company here, it's a bit different in the outside world when you get the blank look when you say you have a lathe and a milling machine!

D


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## ShawnR (Nov 20, 2022)

Great posts Dan, and others. Good to know (and the reason I am here) is that I am in good company.

This comment stood out.....kind of my Standard Operating Procedure too



Dan Dubeau said:


> .....
> Another problem is welding/fab projects.  I've got a lot of those on the plate right now, but I don't like doing them at night before I go to bed and sending fire babies all over the place (shop is attached single car garage), which is when I get the most of my free time.  ....



In my career, I attended more than one structural fire at night in which the homeowner was grinding, welding, doing plumbing in a wall the previous day/evening, etc.

I would not sleep if I was to be working late grinding, welding and then off to bed. You can do it a hundred times, but when the "not your day" card comes up, .....

A friend of mine, also a firefighter, did a "test" one time, ground a bunch of sparks into a pile of sawdust, nothing happened. But then, I have caught my own shop coat on fire, so one never knows.   Treat it like it will go up.

Something to consider is a fixed temperature sensor or rate-of-rise sensor in the workshop. A smoke alarm would not work due to the fumes from welding, etc, but at least a fixed temp sensor would give an earlier warning than smoke from the eaves. Especially with those with attached shops.

Some notes on them.




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Be safe.


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## Dan Dubeau (Nov 20, 2022)

It's always a constant concern, and I try and do a lot of welding outside when I can.  I have a workbench off the back of the garage, and will eventually pour a slab and build a lean to for cutting/grinding/plasma and sparky messy work out there where I don't have to worry about it.  

About 10 years ago when I first got my welder I was really concerned about it and did a similar experiment as your friend.  I piled up a bunch of dust, and other stuff I typically keep in my shop.  I started grinding and throwing sparks directly into it, as well as welding sparks, to see if I could light it up.  Worst I got was a bit of smouldering that quickly extinguished itself.   It gave me some peace of mind, but I still know it's a danger, and don't like to do it.  I also sweep up frequently and pay attention to where I'm throwing sparks.  Oily rags WILL light up easily though, so they go in a can outside.  

I've also caught my coat on fire lol.


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## jcdammeyer (Nov 20, 2022)

In my foundry/welding area I put up the cement wallboard and then onto that put ceramic tiles.  The ceiling has a vent hole out the side to which I was going to put a fume hood with fan evacuation.  Project #42.  So for now I run the foundry outside.  
If I was going to do more welding I'd add a couple of curtains from PA or KMS that I could put up.  But for now I cast outside.   The natural gas line is long enough so I can just get it out the door.


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## phaxtris (Nov 20, 2022)

It's not so much the sparks from grinding as it is the "bombs" and "rollers" that get the fires going...so any piles of rags/sawdust/whattever withen like 10 or more feet can be a problem...the sawdust and rags under a tool box are fair gamr

Sometimes those fires don't get going for an hour or more ...they smolder for a good while before enough heat builds up for a flame, so checking in on an area you were welding in, especially a garage that may have flammables is definitely a good plan

I always check up on the garage before bed if If I was doing any MIG or stick welding....those rollers go a long ways


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## Chicken lights (Nov 20, 2022)

phaxtris said:


> It's not so much the sparks from grinding as it is the "bombs" and "rollers" that get the fires going...so any piles of rags/sawdust/whattever withen like 10 or more feet can be a problem...the sawdust and rags under a tool box are fair gamr
> 
> Sometimes those fires don't get going for an hour or more ...they smolder for a good while before enough heat builds up for a flame, so checking in on an area you were welding in, especially a garage that may have flammables is definitely a good plan
> 
> I always check up on the garage before bed if If I was doing any MIG or stick welding....those rollers go a long ways


Yep. Been discussed here before but always a good reminder. No torches, grinding or welding at least 45 minutes before closing shop is a good rule of thumb, although it’s been posted there were a couple fire that took over 4 hours to start after the jobsite was shut down for the day


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## Darren (Nov 20, 2022)

This was one of the reasons that I opted to go with a 6" high curb all around. After welding/grinding, I always wait an hour or so. Gives ample time for a beer.


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## Dan Dubeau (Nov 20, 2022)

It's not a time chiseled in stone, but I generally try and shut the welding/grinding down by about 8.  Then I clean up, or head in and shower before bed around 9:30-10:30.  I'll always go out into the shop and have a look around then, and do a double check that my bottles are tightly closed.  Gas ain't cheap.....

I'd love to cover the lower half of my walls with some corrugated steel some day (it's osb floor to ceiling right now) but don't really want to put too much effort or money into this space right now.  I have a few old buildings to come down in the spring, and I'll try and salvage some of that steel if I can.  I think that stuff would look cool and rustic in the shop.


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## boilerhouse (Nov 21, 2022)

I worked at a place that made a lot of combustible product, and were pretty anal about hot work permits for cutting , soldering or welding.  Key points were; moving combustibles away if possible, having extinguishers or hoses on hand and ready, fire watch up to one hour after hot work, then spot checks for the next 3 hours.  I still try to follow that in my shop.


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## historicalarms (Nov 21, 2022)

I have pretty much only one steadfast rule in my shop, no welding or torching at all not even a spot tack inside. The building is a 50 yr old wood structure with equally old dust bunnies/sawdust that could be anywhere. The only sparks that happen inside are in a purpose-built welding shroud that has been turned into a bench grinder station, sparks are controlled to a small space top, bottom and 3 sides. the only direction open is where I stand so they have to go through me first before they can do any damage.


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