I have many places to plug in, in the ceiling. Some have reels plugged in to them, some are switched and lights plug in to them it makes it easy to change fixture to your liking.
Small workshop layout
- Thread starter cluttonfred
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Receptacles: spend a tiny bit more and get good ones. They'll grip the prongs of the plugs better and hold up to a lot of plugging and unplugging. And please don't use the "stab in" spring- loaded prong back-wired type connection to hold the conductors.
If practical, it is nice to have an independent HVAC setup for the work area. Keeps dust and noxious odors out of the living spaces and is especially nice to be able to control the temps independently if doing epoxy work. It also reduces noise transmission into the house. A window AC unit is cheap. I'm not a fan of heaters that vent combustion gasses into the occupied space, regardless of how safe they claim to be (at best they will pump a lot of moisture into your working space.).
If practical, it is nice to have an independent HVAC setup for the work area. Keeps dust and noxious odors out of the living spaces and is especially nice to be able to control the temps independently if doing epoxy work. It also reduces noise transmission into the house. A window AC unit is cheap. I'm not a fan of heaters that vent combustion gasses into the occupied space, regardless of how safe they claim to be (at best they will pump a lot of moisture into your working space.).
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In my build area I have two types of power receptacles. most when the lights are turned on and only two outlets that stay on full time. This is handy if you decide what plug in works best for your needs. I have found that it's nice when all tools are powered off when you leave the area unless your charging batteries or just need power while you have left for a project that can't go without power while gone. This will leave a certain amount of risk factor while gone. I do depend much on surge protectors.
Nah....... BOTH.
I also like to string 2 circuits to a double outlet box - one for each outlet.
Second the outside electrical. I'm adding 220 so the compresser can go outside. Going to try PEX for the airlines. I've broken PVC in the past. gets your attention - Fast. A second storage tank at the end of the line may be needed with the smaller diameter PEX.
But cordless devices are cutting down my need for both AC and air.
Tiger Tim
Well-Known Member
I thought I had a big workshop but the more tools I put in it the smaller it gets...
I believe the significant pressure drops in PEX installations typically occur at fittings, since they fit inside the tubing unlike copper or PVC (and fittings normally cause a pressure drop anyway, even without the smaller diameter). It normally doesn't cost much to go up one increment in diameter. Also, bending the tubing itself rather than using elbow fittings can help a lot.
Overall, I am a big fan of PEX.
I can make Ebenezer look like a spendthrift.
I've got a hundred feet or so left from a past project and a tank from an old dead single stage. I'm considering burying the PEX to connect 2 buildings to the same compressor. I can only use air in one building at a time.
You are right about the PEX fittings. They are pretty small compared to the same size copper or PVC.
While on the subject of plumbing: I've also seen a shop plumbed for acetylene and oxygen using copper pipe and quick connect fittings. The local building inspector signed it off in a commercial building. Switching to propylene would seem to be worth the effort for the added safety of a plumbed welding supply?
That moves one more collection of "they take up space" things out of the way.
"The Virus" has curtailed our meetings too. Hopefully we can push by this one with enough time leftover to brace ourselves for the next attack from China.
Acetylene and oxygen plumed in the building. Oh, my !
Back in about 1974 I was working in a large coal fired boiler building project that was plumbed with Acetylene and Oxygen from huge tanks a good distance away from the building behind blast walls. During the night an acetylene pipe developed a large leak on the ground floor. In flowed over to the elevator shaft. All of this was under construction and the elevator shaft was covered with sheet siding up to about 200' in the 400' building.
That morning I took the temporary freight elevator on the outside of the building to elevation 219', got off and walked the catwalk out to were I was working the day before to get a hammer that I had left out on a huge air duct. Climbed over the handrail and walked a steel beam out close to the air duct and got on the duct and walked a few feet and bent over to pick up the hammer. That is the last thing I remember, slag falling from a welder up in the building set the acetylene off. Blew the sides off the building up to where I was at, with only the building steel framework left. Bent steel beams and twisted the steel stairways beside the elevator shaft, etc. I regained conscience a little latter and the building was still burning. I made it to another stairway on the other end of the building and made it out . Another concussion and lost most of my hearing in my left ear. Broke windows in building a mile away. Wife heard the news about the explosion on the radio that morning.
No acetylene and oxygen plumed in a building for me.
Plumbed O2 doesn't bother me but I was quite surprised that the shop used plumbed acetylene - AND - that it was inspected and approved. I saw no special fittings or monitoring equipment. May have to stop by someday to see if the system is still in use. I drive by it most every day.
Hephaestus
Well-Known Member
Heavy shops up in the oilsands have it. the clusters that feed them always scared me... totally not what I expected.
Pretty sure it was in iron pipe and I know there was a ton of flashback arrestors and stuff on them.
Air reservoir. Upsizing Supply adds storage without taking floor space. If you have access to larger pipe, PVC, HDPE(check SDR for rating), or other, it can be capped, tapped, and placed in attics, crawl spaces, and unused spaces. Pex/PE can be heat molded relatively easily with a little time to custom angles without fittings. Use hot air gun or a torch, warm with continuous movements on all sides, till the surface turns matte, barely shiny, wait for the heat to soak in, repeat holding it up letting gravity bend it over, heating enough lenght for the entire bend. Have a bucket, and wet rag handy. Use the rag to contract the inside leaving the outside hot. gently bend to the desired angle, plus about 10-15º. Place in cold water to freeze in place. Can be done with PVC too, though stretching thins the outside and weakens it more.
JimCrawford
Member
I built my Taylor Monoplane in a standard UK house garage of 2.75m x 5m - about 9ft x 16.5ft, although I wouldn't recommend it as spacious! At first at my parent's place where the fuselage was 'stored' in the lounge doing service as a coffee table while the wings were being built in the garage.
Much later in my own place with a similar size garage I decided I really need a bit more space as I couldn't get the rudder and the engine on and still move around. Getting planning permission to extend the garage towards the street was never a viable option so I made a temporary extension that was on wheels and telescoped into the garage. I attach some photos. The first is of the aircraft fuselage being moved into the garage. The green box to the right is the rolling extension, when pushed back to the front of the garage it provided much needed extra space. The second shot shows the Taylor tucked into its home. The steps to the left are part of a walkway over the stbd. wing root which was the only way to get to the back of the garage. The walkway also provided a platform to work in the cockpit. All the benches are on wheels to allow them to be shifted around. The third shot is of the extended garage from the inside, this time with my glider (LS4) fuselage in for its 3000 hr check. The garage doors are held wide open by an add-on roof and the extension goes beyond that. The whole gives about an extra 10 feet and when not required the extension is rolled into the garage and the doors closed. You wouldn't know it existed. I did get some flak from the locals as it isn't the usual thing to see in the refined city of Oxford but I could demonstrate that it was temporary by wheeling it up and down the drive so it managed to survive for several years.
Much later in my own place with a similar size garage I decided I really need a bit more space as I couldn't get the rudder and the engine on and still move around. Getting planning permission to extend the garage towards the street was never a viable option so I made a temporary extension that was on wheels and telescoped into the garage. I attach some photos. The first is of the aircraft fuselage being moved into the garage. The green box to the right is the rolling extension, when pushed back to the front of the garage it provided much needed extra space. The second shot shows the Taylor tucked into its home. The steps to the left are part of a walkway over the stbd. wing root which was the only way to get to the back of the garage. The walkway also provided a platform to work in the cockpit. All the benches are on wheels to allow them to be shifted around. The third shot is of the extended garage from the inside, this time with my glider (LS4) fuselage in for its 3000 hr check. The garage doors are held wide open by an add-on roof and the extension goes beyond that. The whole gives about an extra 10 feet and when not required the extension is rolled into the garage and the doors closed. You wouldn't know it existed. I did get some flak from the locals as it isn't the usual thing to see in the refined city of Oxford but I could demonstrate that it was temporary by wheeling it up and down the drive so it managed to survive for several years.
That's genius.
That is a really nice setup, especially if the plan is to leave it against the wall and rotate the tools and drawers to the front as needed.I'm a wee bit more generous with tool centre space than VB
VBs approach probably responds to local conditions. Had he fabricated something from plywood, he would have needed to dispose of a panfull sawdust, with all the attendant forms and permits in his area ("there are glues and aliphatic compounds in that waste? Attach form CEPA 55-B.). Since instead he rescued the furniture curbside from going into the trash truck, he got landfill offset credits that he sold to Elon Musk. He probably got enough money to buy all the tools you see.
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