Workshop Tour

In Summer and Fall 2011 I was able to make a lot of exciting improvements to the workshop. First I upgraded the electrical service adding three dedicated 220V circuits for my compressor, dust collector, and my long awaited lathe, a Precision Matthews PM1236, which arrived in November after a 6 month wait! Also added lots of 20A 110 circuits. No more running into the house after throwing a breaker! In preparation for the new tools I also did some painting, ran dust collection pipe and hose and compressed air lines to several different work stations. I also had to re-organize the shop to fit the new lathe and added a 2HP 3600 RPM motor for 36 grit wheel while retaining the 1750 motor for finer grits and buffing. I also built a separate free standing briar rack.  

In March of 2010 I added the 36 grit wheel after visiting with Todd Johnson and Bruce Weaver for a few days. I now spend a great deal of my pipe making time at that station. The dust collection box is attached to my shop vac for now, but I have hopes of replacing that with a full blown dust collector soon . And I’d love to replace my 9×20 lathe with a Precision Matthews 1127VF sometime in 2011 (see above, yay!).

In Summer 2009 I reorganized after replacing the dilapidated garage door with a new insolated door that has a row of windows, so I have much more natural light. Included in the improvements was a new bench/cabinet, which was scrounged from one of the old science labs decommissioned at Murray State. I had to add a top, a side, and a back, but it’s maple with dovetail joints so it should hold up well. I also made a rack and a new shelf for lathe tools.