[TheForge] Small shop questions

[Bruce Freeman]

Bettina,

As long as you're going to the expense of putting in a concrete floor, put anchor points in the floor for tooling.  Square tubing (to mate with square pegs on the tools stands)  is best, as it provides anti-rotation in a single connection.  Round tubing (with round pegs on the tools) works also, but requires two connections for anti-rotation.  Ideally, these should all be connected together by rebar in the concrete.  The idea is you put all your tools on wheels, then wheel them to where you want them and peg them down.  I've seen such a system, but don't have one myself, so can't give you better advice than this how to construct it.

A wind-powered cupola (exhaust gizmo on the roof) may NOT be sufficient for venting combustion gases from a gas forge.  This is a very serious issue.  Carbon monoxide in combustion gases KILLS.  I use an exhaust fan of the sort used in attics.  I leave at least a window wide open while this is running.  An alternative would be to use a hood over the forge itself, with powered exhaust.  This would obviate ventillating the entire building, but in the long run I don't know that it would make much difference.  (In principle, the heat of the forge could provide the power for the exhaust, as is usually done with coal forges, but I haven't seen a design that I'd trust for such a thing.  I HAVE seen hoods with powered exhaust over gas forges.)  

Others have advocated the use of drywall (= "sheetrock" = "gypsum board") on the walls.  That was my approach, too.  However, drywall should never touch the floor (leave ~1" gap) because it wicks water and is destroyed by the water.  To cover the gap (and because I had a wooden sill extending into my concrete floor) I used quarry tile to finish the bottom corners of the building.  This is cheap and easy to lay, and provides that extra bit of protection in case a red hot chunk of metal bounces into an obscure corner.

I'm not sure I know what you mean by "cleaner area".  For some work, like polishing with a buffing wheel, it's absolutely essential to have a clean area to work.  One small piece of grit on your wheel and there goes yourf work!  However, buffing does not have to be done in the shop, proper.  My mother did her jewelery buffing on a wheel in her porch room, surrounding the buffer (like a two-wheel grinder, but with buffing wheels) with a large cardboard box and a plexiglass shield to confine the splatter of the oily buffing compounds.  So you could possibly set such a thing up elsewhere.  Alternatively, such a system could be used in reverse - to keep the buffing wheel clean from an otherwise dirty shop, simply by providing a means of covering the buffer "box" when it's not in use.  Even neater would be to adapt the "Murphy bed" concept (the bed that folds up into the wall) and tuck the buffing apparatus away in a cupboard when not in use.  Does this help?  Or have I missed the point completely?

BTW, if all this seems too much work for you, just pay Andy Vida's  travel expenses from Vancouver, WA, and he'll work like a slave for free.  (You may have to feed him.  Alpo will do.)  If he shirks, just beat him * but not too hard or he'll get all excited.  (This worked for us when NJBA held its latest anvil repair workshop.)

Bruce
NJ

>>> kbwehner at msn.com 8/11/2004 8:52:02 AM >>>
A few months ago members of The Forge kindly gave me advice on setting up a basic shop.  It's taken a while, but we are now at the point of actually building the shop.  Although I had hoped for more....I'm ending up with a 15' x 20' shop with some additional outside space that will be under cover.  Before we move forward, I was hoping for some more advice.

(1)  The shop is will have a concrete floor (I know that's a debatable issue, but I like concrete) and will be stick built.  It has 8' walls and will have some windows & a cupola for venting.  I was also able to position it to get a good breeze from prevailing winds.  I primarily use a gas forge (very similar to the one Gabe showed that he's building....in fact mine was from David Lisch).  I also have plans to eventually add a side draft coal forge or a bigger gas forge for larger pieces.  So, the question is, should I have any concerns about using a fairly small stick built structure for the shop?  

(2)  Given the small space, I don't plan to divide it up to separate the "cleaner" area from the forge.  Does anyone have tips on maximizing the space utilization?  At the ABANA conference someone suggested making workstations are movable as possible by putting everything on wheels. 

As always, your thoughts would be appreciated.......
Bettina