DIY home workshop
All carpentry and improvised tools used by a masterful owner in everyday life should be neatly stored in one place. For these purposes, you need a well-equipped home workshop, where each thing has a strictly designated place, all fixtures and tools are laid out on their shelves. In the workshop it is convenient to make something with your own hands, to repair broken things, but in order for the work to take a minimum of time, it is important to properly equip this space.
Where to equip a home workshop
A corner for a tool can be allocated anywhere in a house or apartment, but it is much more difficult to attach a small woodworking machine, a workbench with a vise, an electric planer, a grinder and other equipment. With a small amount of tools at hand, when there is no separate room, you can find some space in your own apartment. Of course, it is unlikely that it will be possible to equip a full-fledged carpentry workshop in a small-sized apartment of a typical layout if there is no specially designated room for this. Therefore, you will have to find another place to place machines and tools.
A tool working in a home workshop, being right in the apartment, will interfere with both its family and neighbors living behind the wall, unless it is used occasionally and for a short time. In addition, the voltage required to operate the tool may cause power outages. When working with wood, sawdust, shavings and fine wood dust are formed, which are difficult to completely remove after working on the machine. The likelihood of a short circuit or sparks during machine operation sometimes creates a fire hazardous situation in the apartment. That is why the workshop with equipment is taken out to a non-residential premises.
1. If woodworking equipment is used frequently and makes a profit, and it becomes so much that it is no longer possible to place it at home, then you will have to find a separate place for this. This is especially true for machine tools and other equipment that requires enough space to work. It could be:
- unused summer kitchen or veranda in a private house;
- a small own or rented garage with electricity;
- attic or basement of the house;
- an empty room in the basement of a high-rise building;
- a dedicated extension to the house;
- one of the rooms of a large private house with a separate entrance;
- solid outbuilding - home workshop: video.
2. In the absence of an alternative, in the form of a farm building or a garage, a small amount of household power tools can be marked out at home. Home workshop in the apartment can be located:
- on a specially equipped glazed balcony (it is convenient when there are two of them in the apartment at once);
- on the loggia (equip one side wall with shelves);
- in a well-lit pantry (on racks);
- in a spacious hallway (allocate one built-in cabinet for tool storage);
- in the kitchen (pencil case or cabinet only for the master, lockers in the soft kitchen corner);
- in the corridor in built-in wardrobes and on the mezzanine (not very convenient, but effective);
- in a niche, capitally equipped for storage, under the stairs of the first floor (next to the apartment).
Let's make a reservation that in the indicated places it is convenient only to store the tool, but it will be much more difficult to use it if there is no space. For any workshop, at least 2.5 - 5 sq.m of a separate room is necessary. For these purposes, it is most advisable to use a loggia, but, again, neighbors will complain about the noise of the instrument. If this is a temporary matter, and you do not have to work for a long time, then you can refer to repairs, but you will have to simultaneously look for a separate room. For example, if you have friends who have an empty garage next to their house at their disposal, agree on an inexpensive lease or for minor repairs.
Attention: If several good machines and expensive power tools are stored in the garage, then it should be insured along with all equipment. Especially if there is a possibility of fire, flooding, theft and other reasons for the disappearance and damage of home workshop equipment and stored property! A light portable power tool that is used periodically is best stored at home - in the pantry or on the mezzanine.
If you are going to earn extra money by renting workshop equipment, strict accounting is important. A special ledger must be kept under the leased instrument, where the date and time of issue, the amount of the deposit and rent, the deadline for return, the name of the client (passport data and registration can be) are clearly indicated - so as not to search for your property.
How to organize space in the workshop
When choosing a place for a workshop, it is important to take into account the minimum area, without which it is impossible to fully work. The workshop space, ideally, should have several functional areas:
- a place for machines near the outlet;
- rack or shelves for accessories and small tools;
- a corner where a cleaning tool, a container (box or bucket) for production waste is stored;
- various attachments for the home workshop;
- hanger and shelf for overalls;
- free area for storage of finished products;
- hanging cabinets for small parts and fixtures;
- a place to store raw materials and materials for work.
In the center of the workshop and at the working surface of the equipment, it is necessary to have enough space for the master and his assistant to move freely if help is needed. The area occupied by the machine or workbench is multiplied by 2 - this is the coefficient of the minimum working area. Plus, you need a place for free movement, change of working equipment and small tools - this is still at least 2-3 sq.m.
Workshop heating and lighting
When arranging a home workshop with your own hands in an unheated room, it is important to consider heating in the winter, if there is work all year round. Heating appliances will be needed to maintain comfortable working conditions. This is also important in order to periodically warm your hands, especially when working with metal, even if you have work gloves. Room heating will be needed when the workshop is located:
- in an unheated garage;
- in the attic;
- in the basement of a private or multi-storey building;
- on the glazed loggia;
- in an attic or loft.
Attention: A room without insulation and proper ventilation, which is heated periodically - this is high humidity, condensation and the creation of conditions for the development of fungi and mold. Dry and sufficiently warm air is favorable for storing power tools and metal products. Dampness gradually deteriorates the instrument, electrical outlets, wiring.
The simplest way to heat is to use an electric heater or an oil cooler. It is much more efficient to use a fan heater, since it has a directed flow of warm air. A convector or infrared heater is also suitable. But all these devices use a lot of electricity, and it takes time to create the right microclimate. In a warmed room or with central heating, a working microclimate is stably maintained.
High-quality lighting is not just comfortable conditions for working and making home-made fixtures for a home workshop. This is another important safety requirement - with poor visibility or insufficient lighting in the workshop, the likelihood of domestic injuries increases. Troubles from using a power tool in low light occur about 40% more often than in comfortable conditions or with additional illumination of the work surface. The best option is to additionally equip the place at the machine or workbench with a lighting device.
Tip: If you have to work all day in a closed garage or basement without natural light, it is important to provide interior lighting with the right spectrum that is good for your eyesight. Doctors say that combined artificial light is most suitable for the eyes - universal neon (fluorescent) LBU lamps in combination with conventional incandescent lamps. The flickering light of energy-saving lamps and neon lamps alone is not suitable for permanent illumination of the workplace.
When illuminating the work area, it is important to provide diffused light so that there is no sharp shadow, distorted proportions and sizes. It is also important to consider the total power of the electricity consumed so that the machine, heater and lighting fixtures do not spontaneously turn off due to overload. It is better to install several sockets - to distribute the load.
If the connection of electricity to the home workshop is only in the plans, then it is important to consult with a specialist so that there are no such problems when the equipment is fully loaded. To illuminate an ordinary garage, one incandescent bulb from a manually thrown cable is enough, and for a home workshop, the load on it will increase significantly.
Important rules for arranging a home workshop:
1. Each machine tool and power tool must have its own designated place and free access to the working plane from 2-3 sides.
2. Free space should be twice as much as the space occupied by the equipment.
3. It is better to keep an expensive power tool that is not currently in use in a separate cabinet, especially if numerous customers and visitors drop into the workshop.
4. The floors in the room must be level and hard for the stability of the equipment.
5. It is important to observe all fire safety measures, make grounding of machines and equipment, install a powder fire extinguisher.
6. The room must have ventilation and a low level of humidity.
7. It is desirable to have sufficient soundproofing in the workshop.
8. Daily cleaning of the workplace is important for health, it is better to use a powerful vacuum cleaner to remove dust and small debris, and a rag must be at hand to remove oily contaminants.
9. It is advisable to separate garbage containers - for wood trimmings and metal waste, as well as separately for other garbage.
10. It is advisable to have a small supply of drinking water in a closed container in a conspicuous place in the workshop.
11. Paints, varnishes, stains, solvents and other technical liquids should be stored separately. They must be removed as far as possible from heating sources, places of possible wiring short circuit and open flame.
12. It is important to remove all waste in time - throw away used containers from flammable liquids and technical lubricants, hand over scrap metal and throw away unnecessary containers.
13. A bucket of dry sand should be in the workshop - it will be needed to extinguish the ignition of a machine or power tool. For the same purposes, you can use a tarpaulin, a thick blanket or old outerwear - to block the access of oxygen to the flame.
14. Upon completion of work, the machine and the workbench must be cleaned, since the accumulated sawdust and technical oils contribute to the spread of fire.
15. In any workshop, in a conspicuous place, there must be a complete first-aid kit (dressings, tourniquet, hydrogen peroxide, iodine, brilliant green, anesthetic, plaster and medical glue for small cuts).
Remember: Cluttering your home workshop is a potential life hazard and can cause fire and suffocation! When using chemical components, use a respirator and goggles!
Necessary accessories for a home workshop
If you have a home workshop, do-it-yourself equipment can also be added to what you already have. The base is a desktop, workbench or other convenient plane where you can fix the necessary fixtures.
1. Workbench - there is a locksmith and carpentry, it is twice as long, and you can make it yourself - video.
2. A woodworking machine is the basis of a carpentry workshop. Sometimes they are made by hand, but it's easier to buy ready-made inexpensively if it will be used often. For episodic work, it is reasonable to contact the carpentry shop for blanks. Often a lathe is also used.
3. Vices and clamps are the main devices for holding the processed materials.
4. Necessary set of hand tools for woodworking:
- a set of chisels;
- plane;
- hand drill with drills in the set;
- feathers for large diameter holes;
- hacksaws;
- square and tape measure;
- hammer and mallet;
- pincers, pliers, etc.
5. The most common power tool:
- drill driver;
- angle grinder (grinder);
- jigsaw;
- circular electric saw;
- manual electric milling cutter, etc.
6. To work with metal, you need:
- hacksaw;
- chisel;
- a set of files and files;
- anvil;
- metal scissors;
- a set of taps and dies of the main types of thread plus drills for metal.
Nails of various sizes, screws, self-tapping screws and other fasteners should be sorted in a separate box.
Today, a multifunctional universal power tool with removable nozzles is quite in demand, which successfully replaces several units of power tools of different directions. The home master should also always have a complete portable tool box at hand.