Workshop additions

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Dominic
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Workshop additions

Post by Dominic » Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:03 am

Hey, Before Xmas i am complaining about dust and mentioned installing better dust extraction.
I was also wanting to create a decent finishing room. Well this job turned out to be bigger than ben hur.
What I ended up with is pretty cool. I had this dusty dark space under the house which you can see in the pic is now a workshop extension for some of my machines. The bench is on top a retaining wall and is 4.5m long. In between each pillar is a bay with power and dust extraction outlet. i used PVC piping to my extractor. Ducting also runs into my normal workspace through the wall. I got a whole bunch of old shop lights from the salvage yard for 5 bucks each.
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I need to move the machines around a bit so i made ducting out of dryer hose which is strong enough but folds up into a really small space out of the way, unlike plastic ducting. I just cap the inlet when not in use instead of using blast gates. The inlets are at bench level so I can sweep crap up into them easily.

Image

The white door at the end is to my new spray room. It is great to have somewhere clean to do this stuff and not have move everything. It is also in between 2 pillars (about 2m wide but is about 3 metres deep).

I just framed it it pine and filled it in with giprock. An explosion proof fan was going to be over $1000 so I decided to use positive pressure on the advise of the spray paint shop guy. The room is totally sealed. The lights are outside and shine through clear PVC from the side not the top. A fan pressurises the room and blows the fumes outside through 2 300mm ducts at the end. It works brilliantly. The fan clears the air from spraying in about 15 seconds. You could take you mask off after that if you wanted to. Hard to take photos.
I also made a turn table out of a lazy susan. I sit the guitar on the legs which are tall enough that spray does not bounce up underneath. I put a disc on top to rest the neck on it.

I have done 3 guitars in there now that had been lining up. I hated finishing before because it was such a hassle to make a space somewhere. Now it is easy. Dom
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Kim
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Post by Kim » Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:22 am

Excellent Dom,

Well thought out and a good use of space...positive pressure? What size fan/fans do you in-feed with and how do you filter the intake to the fan/fans to prevent airborne contaminants?

Cheers

Kim

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Allen
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Post by Allen » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:35 pm

Nice looking work area. Working in an enclosed area like that would be a real pain without dust extraction. Has it made a huge improvement?

Do you spray the entire body in one go, or flip it over when its dry and do the other side?
Allen R. McFarlen
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Hesh1956
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Post by Hesh1956 » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:53 pm

Looking good Dom - nice job on the shop expansion.

I will be building a completely new shop this fall in a new house and I may ping you for some advice M8.

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Allen
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Post by Allen » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:57 pm

Is the new workshop going to get white carpet this time around Hesh?
Allen R. McFarlen
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Kim
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Post by Kim » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:49 pm

Allen wrote:Is the new workshop going to get white carpet this time around Hesh?
He'll need some kind of carpet Allen to soak up the drool, Hesh has never been able to concentrate on anything with his mouth closed, even chewing his food, ain't that right Heshter :D

Naaaah! just kidding, I am just jealous that Hesh has managed to knock out at least 1/2 a dozen masterpieces in that room with white carpet and it still looks like a show home. My shop floor on the other hand is near 2" higher with spilt crap and shavings after just 1/2 a guitar :cry:

Cheers

Kim

Hesh1956
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Post by Hesh1956 » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:52 pm

Well I bought a new house and have a 1,588 square foot basement with 8 foot ceilings that is all available for me to build a new shop in... :D

The basement is already carpeted and it is off white..... but I will have to build some walls, run some AC, so I can contain an area for proper RH etc.

I hope to be moved, have the shop built, and start producing guitars full time in January 2009. Needless to say I am as excited as I can be and although I enjoyed my life in corporate America for over 25 years I am sure that I will enjoy building guitars much more.

So I will finally have an opportunity to approach shop design with a clean slate, more room than I can use, and a desire to set myself up for a very high level of production.

Sorry for the high-jack Dom my friend.

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Dominic
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Post by Dominic » Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:03 pm

Kim, the fan is a centrifical fan so is good with back pressure and is 200watts. You can see it above the door in the photo.
The spray shop guy told me that using positive pressure was better than sucking the air out because sucking it leaves spots of dead air. I can feel the draft on my legs in there and the fan in at the roof so it works well.
I have not filtered in incoming air yet. Doesn't seem to be a problem but it would be easy to do.
Allen, No this is a luxury extension. I have another whole section in the garage where my car used to park. I actually have enough room under the house to dig out a workshop about 10m x 4.5m. If i do that I can park my car inside again.
in the spray booth I have been doing either the top first then flipping it over when dry and doing the back and sides. I put a bit of paper towel under the rubber stops to prevent marks.

Hesh, no worries. i have gleaned heaps of ideas from you and others so ping away. I am sure to have made mistakes I can help you avoid.

I think black carpet would help show up the spots better than white though.
Dom

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Bob Connor
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Post by Bob Connor » Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:13 pm

When's the house warming party Hesh? :lol:

Bob

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