Workshop and Facilities

Garage/Workshop Fire, Before Fire Fighters Arrived

I had the unfortunate experience of having my large detached garage being burnt down. Probably caused by an electrical fault according to the chief duty fire officer. We were tended by three fire appliances at one time and created chaos by closing a busy main road for around one and a half hours.

I lost just about all of my tool collections which went back to my early apprenticeship days, about 50 years now. I also lost my models and tools that I had made or was in the process of building with the exception of a small vertical boiler oscillating steam engine built for a grandson. On top of this I lost all of my machinery including a benchtop milling machine, lathes, grinders, compressors and a host of woodworking equipment.

The upside now is that I have a chance to plan my workshop from scratch and equip it with compatible machinery which I had not done before, so the first part of the blog will be concerned with building and equipping my garage/workshop which may help some others starting out which is effectively what I am doing myself.