I now have workshop envy

[Biker]

Yesterday I was having a lazy day spending it chilling out having worked away for a couple of days and put in some long hours too. So Youtube got a hammering and this bloke's video channel caught my eye. Seems like a really nice chap too and not in the least bit pushy or condescending.
Anyway, he'd fitted out his truck as a mobile workshop for his business and his ideas are really well thought out. So for you folks with limited workshop space and some cash to throw at it you may find this video of interest. This is episode 5 of the final transition.

[video=youtube;iuhDERZbBeY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuhDERZbBeY[/video]

Also his mitre saw table and mobile work benches are superb too.

Enjoy!

 

[jackcbr]

Omg. That is brilliant. Think I'm going to be refitting my shed now, mind you, if I had a truck like that life would be a lot easier. Shame there are too many light fingered people around these days in the uk.

 

[Elen Sentier]

Arrrggghhh !!! that is sooooo neat!

 

[santaman2000]

Fantastic shop and video work. Thanks for sharing that. I see a few similar such shops around here, though not wood shops and not anywhere near that big. Nor or the ones I see anywhere near as well built as that one. And yet I always get the envy you describe Biker.

If you're thinking of doing something similar I can suggest a way to cut the cost a bit. Instead of mounting it into a truck, mount it into a trailer. They're usually quite a bit cheaper and have a couple of other advatages:
-The abily to leave it on the jobsite and take a cheaper mode of transportation to and from work for your daily commute (MUST be able to lock it securely though)
-If the truck breaks down you're more or less screwed until it's fixed; if the shop's in a trailer and the tow truck breaks, you can rent another one for the day to get it to the jobsite

 

[demographic]

Saw that a while ago, his ultimate workbench idea is very good.
[video=youtube;KnNi6Tpp-ac]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnNi6Tpp-ac[/video]

 

[jackcbr]

Ok, let's calm down here, breathe. You don't have the space, you don't have the time.

Do not go to the timber merchants.

Do not go to the timber merchants.

they deliver, right?

 

[demographic]

Thing is, quite a few of those ideas would be pretty good in a small shed also.

This blokes track saw table idea is a good as well, smaller basic table that takes up less space in the van but then expands to a full sheet size.
[video=youtube;Bpra92hsOFY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpra92hsOFY[/video]

 

[Biker]

Omg. That is brilliant. Think I'm going to be refitting my shed now, mind you, if I had a truck like that life would be a lot easier. Shame there are too many light fingered people around these days in the uk.

My thoughts exactly. I'm moving house again in the next couple of months and I really like that modular system he's worked out so I think I may just have to try it out.

Fantastic shop and video work. Thanks for sharing that. I see a few similar such shops around here, though not wood shops and not anywhere near that big. Nor or the ones I see anywhere near as well built as that one. And yet I always get the envy you describe Biker.

If you're thinking of doing something similar I can suggest a way to cut the cost a bit. Instead of mounting it into a truck, mount it into a trailer. They're usually quite a bit cheaper and have a couple of other advatages:
-The abily to leave it on the jobsite and take a cheaper mode of transportation to and from work for your daily commute (MUST be able to lock it securely though)
-If the truck breaks down you're more or less screwed until it's fixed; if the shop's in a trailer and the tow truck breaks, you can rent another one for the day to get it to the jobsite

Good point Santaman. He'd already had a trailer fitted out just as you described and for those reasons, but I think he got the truck and decided to fit that out too. I'm guessing he doesn't work alone but with a team of men so more than one vehicle could be used to travel to the jobs. I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable having such a lovely truck or trailer kitted out parked on my driveway with scumbag thieves sniffing around for an easy target. There are just such people in the world who prey on this very type. You can even buy stickers nowadays to put on the windows of your works van that says "No tools are stored in this van over night" this is to discourage the scumbags from breaking in to see if there are. A sad reflection of what current society has come to.

Ok, let's calm down here, breathe. You don't have the space, you don't have the time.

Do not go to the timber merchants.

Do not go to the timber merchants.

they deliver, right?

They do indeed deliver, just imagine that lovely smell of freshly sawn wood and woodshavings wafting through the newly kitted out shed.

Thanks for that other video Demographic, that looks pretty good too

 

[demographic]

You can even buy stickers nowadays to put on the windows of your works van that says "No tools are stored in this van over night" this is to discourage the scumbags from breaking in to see if there are.

Yeah, totally counterproductive stickers though aren't they?
Thief sees them and thinks, what's in there?
Who really removes all the tools out of their van every single night then puts them all back in at daft O Clock in the morning before setting off to work?

Signwritten vans are a bad idea in my opinion, especially for chippies who have possibly the most tools that are saleable to the DIY market.
Pointless breaking into a plumbers van cos they have one SDS drill, the cheapest cordless they could find in Screwfix and their day to day tools are a bag of scrap.
Sparkies pliers, screwdrivers and hand tools aren't really high on the list and although the test gear is very expensive Bob down the Dog & Duck wouldn't know what to do with them.
Plasterers gear looks very secondhand in about a week and not worth much at all secondhand.

Chippies tools? They love those.
I have a massive toolsafe in the back of my Transit to slow em down a bit.

Thanks for that other video Demographic, that looks pretty good too

The Paulk bench looks great but its eight foot long and wouldn't fit in the back of my van with the toolsafe in there, a shorter Paulk style bench with that setup on top would do nicely as I can often get a sheet of ply on site and as the strengthening ribs are upright its not the end of the world if I rip a couple of mm too deep, easy enough to cut some more.
I've recently been working with a lad who has loads of Festool gear and after fighting it for ages I can feel a TS55 tracksaw in the pipeline, well when I can afford one.
They really are so much better than my Hitachi ripsaw that its a real time saver. Just wish they were a bit cheaper.

Edit, Just thinking that if the strengthening ribs in that bench were ripped to the same height as the cutting height of my chopsaw I could put my chopsaw within them and they would work nicely as supports for long bits of timber I'm cutting with the chopsaw. Better than bits of CLS and packers anyway.

 

[santaman2000]

.......You can even buy stickers nowadays to put on the windows of your works van that says "No tools are stored in this van over night" this is to discourage the scumbags from breaking in to see if there are. A sad reflection of what current society has come to......

I like the sticker I saw in the window of a shop in Las Vegas years ago (we won't mention just how many years. LOL) It said, "WARNING! These premises are protected by random shotgun patrols 3 nights per week. You guess which nights!"

 

[Biker]

I like the sticker I saw in the window of a shop in Las Vegas years ago (we won't mention just how many years. LOL) It said, "WARNING! These premises are protected by random shotgun patrols 3 nights per week. You guess which nights!"

I still think a sign like this ought to be fair enough warning and the person posting it exempt from the full weight of the law if they're posted clearly enough. Just substitute trespasser for thief

So know what you mean Demographic and I do take my tools out of my car if I happen to need to take them back to the job the next day. Too much money invested in them to risk losing them, even here in rural France. There's no way I'd even think twice about leaving them in there overnight in the UK. Yeah that 8'x4' bench is a tad big, but it suits his needs. I like the fact it breaks down almost flat and yet is still rock solid. I'll just have to cope using my 30 year old B&D workmate. Have to agree with you about those track saws too, they do look sweet. I like those Festool clamps he puts into the 20mm holes in the bench top. I priced some of those up last night online and $30 for two exc P&P was a bit pricey, so I might buy some cheaper F clamps and see about adapting them to fit.

 

[demographic]

I still think a sign like this ought to be fair enough warning and the person posting it exempt from the full weight of the law if they're posted clearly enough. Just substitute trespasser for thief

So know what you mean Demographic and I do take my tools out of my car if I happen to need to take them back to the job the next day. Too much money invested in them to risk losing them, even here in rural France. There's no way I'd even think twice about leaving them in there overnight in the UK. Yeah that 8'x4' bench is a tad big, but it suits his needs. I like the fact it breaks down almost flat and yet is still rock solid. I'll just have to cope using my 30 year old B&D workmate. Have to agree with you about those track saws too, they do look sweet. I like those Festool clamps he puts into the 20mm holes in the bench top. I priced some of those up last night online and $30 for two exc P&P was a bit pricey, so I might buy some cheaper F clamps and see about adapting them to fit.

I can see how his bench would be great to use, its just that I don't have enough space to carry them about so its just not happening. if I had a seven and a half ton truck kind of space I'd be wanting that setup.
I love the design, just not the packed up size. Its too much for the space I have in the van to carry it about.
The one with the sacrificial ribs for doing cuts on is very like it but those ribs are great.

I don't think Festool make anything that's cheap, pretty much everything they do seems to be three times what I'd normally pay for something off another company. Only some of it looks to me like it will save enough time to pay for its self but I do quite a lot of ripping boards down and I think the tracksaw might manage it, plus its nice to use nice stuff.

 

[Biker]

.... plus its nice to use nice stuff.

+1 on that comment. A couple of years ago I bought myself one of these Dozuki saws

for fine cuts and a real pleasure to use on all sorts of jobs such as scribing cuts on skirting or architrave mitres it is a joy. If you haven't tried one, you're missing out. I rarely use my tenon saw now and retired my Dovetail and Gent saws.

 

[dean4442]

Saw a sign once which read "Due to the recent economic downturn we will be dispensing with the customary warning shot"

Colin

 

[demographic]

+1 on that comment. A couple of years ago I bought myself one of these Dozuki saws

for fine cuts and a real pleasure to use on all sorts of jobs such as scribing cuts on skirting or architrave mitres it is a joy. If you haven't tried one, you're missing out. I rarely use my tenon saw now and retired my Dovetail and Gent saws.

Tennon Saw?

 

[Biker]

OK Mr Philistine, I get what you're saying.

 

[santaman2000]

I can see how his bench would be great to use, its just that I don't have enough space to carry them about so its just not happening. if I had a seven and a half ton truck kind of space I'd be wanting that setup....

Yeah he's using a pretty big truck. But the bed of an ordinary pickup is deliberately sized to fit a 4'x8' sheet of plywood laid flat (about the same size as most full sized work vans) And his table top is exactly that dimension before breaking apart for packing (and I expect it's transported on the side where it onlt takes about 2'x8' Just what's the size of your van's cargo area?

OOPS! Sorry. I just realized you're probably talking about the permanent work bench in the truck itself. I was thinking of the big two piece one in the second video that he said he pulls out and uses outside on the job site.

 

[demographic]

The bed of my van is sized to carry a full sheet of ply, but its got a massive toolsafe taking up some space in there as I have to fit all this...

Into this box. If its not in the box its got a lot more chance of growing legs and walking off.
I have a different van now but its the same shape with less windows.

I could fit those Paulk Ultimate workbench tops in there to take them from site to site at a pinch but there's sometimes materials to carry as well. Something that takes up less space would be better.
On big sites its not so bad cos I turn up, commandeer a room in the building by putting a lock on the door and then things like my stools and odds and sods get locked in there over night when I'm away.
The times when I'm working in peoples houses on private jobs are the worst and I figure the smaller the job the bigger van I need cos I'm moving from place to place every day or so and need just about every tool I own with me.

 

[Everything Mac]

Saw a sign once which read "Due to the recent economic downturn we will be dispensing with the customary warning shot"

Colin

Im back offshore at the minute and it took an age to load the first minute of that video, but what I saw looked good. I've no doubt that the ideas could easily be adapted to ones space/needs etc etc.


I was trying to keep my shed as minimal as possible but then I went and rebuilt my vice stand and filled the rest with bags of charcoal. = zero space to play with.