Everything Man

Random projects from an alchemist's workshop.

Friday, 1st April, 2016

After getting my workbenches built and installed, I wanted to make some improvements to clean up the shop space a little. I got some storage bins that (mostly by luck) exactly fit in the bench shelf. These give me some pseudo-drawers that can be used as project storage space, and pull all the way out so they can be carried around. I also added some bins in the corner for trash, sharps, and wood scrap.

To improve the functionality of the bench a little, I added a mechanic's vise to one corner. For better organization I put up a pegboard for hand tools, got myself some little drawers for hardware, and moved in an old bookcase for the tools that are too bulky to live on pegboard.

Thursday, 31st March, 2016

After finishing the shop floor, I wanted to build myself some workbenches. The first was going to stay an open bench, and the second was going to gradually get filled up with bench-mounted machine tools. I spent a few days sketching out designs until I had something I was satisfied with.

Original bench designs
Garage cutting station
Saturday, 26th March, 2016

I’ve appropriated a nook in the basement to become my shop / makerspace / scrap depot. (Sidebar: why is “mad scientist” a thing, but “mad engineer” not?) When we bought the house most of the basement wasn’t wired for power, so the first order of business was to get an electrician in and add some outlets. I considered doing it myself, but a) I didn’t want to have to jump through all the hoops to get it permitted and inspected, and b) I’d rather not die or burn the house down. So electrician it was.

Next I wanted to do something about the floor. Originally the floor was covered in old carpet, laid directly on the subfloor. I didn't want to have a carpeted shop floor because it eats sawdust and chips and becomes dirty and uncomfortable pretty fast. I also wasn’t thrilled with the idea of getting rid of the carpet and working directly on the subfloor because it’s expensive to replace and I didn’t want to damage it. Clearly the next order of business was to refloor this corner of the basement.

Monday, 14th March, 2016

I’ve been looking for a good notebook I can use to sketch out ideas and plans. I wanted something sturdy enough to survive hard use in the shop, which would lie flat without trying to close up on me while I was working in it.

My first stop was Amazon.com. The best option seemed to be a hardcover, spiral bound, sketchbook. Definitely a possibility, but not as sturdy as I’d like. Looking in brick-and-mortar stores around me I found something similar at both Staples and Barnes and Noble. In each case, the price worked out to be around 16 cents a page. While at Staples I noticed that an 80-page sketchbook was almost the same price as a ream of 11”x17” paper. If I used the whole ream at half size, it would give me 10 sketchbooks worth or paper at a whopping 1¼ cents per page. I’ve done some bookbinding in the past, so the next logical step was to make my own notebook. A trip to Staples and an old T-shirt netted me everything I needed in terms of materials.

Wednesday, 2nd March, 2016

When I was a kid and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said I wanted to be an “Everything Man.” I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I had the idea. Old enough to realize that growing up to be a saber-toothed tiger might be problematic, but young enough that I didn’t see the issue with trying to do everything. Other kids all seemed to want to grow up and be firefighters, or astronauts, or president. Don’t get me wrong, those all sounded like good things, but they were all so limiting. How can you only want to fly spaceships? What about when you want to invent machines or write books or cook doughnuts instead? Clearly it was better to be an Everything Man.