Shop Renovation 2020 Project Part 2 – Walls and Windows and Floors oh my!

 

Okay, I wrote this post months ago, and took the photos - it was one of those 5am writing things.  And then I have let it sit, unpublished for far too long.  

The world is an upside down place these days and I'm struggling to make myself do the things I want to do.  I love making for Elfworks, but I'm lousy at the marketing and promo stuff.  Lately I've even been lousy at the making.  But I'm still here, and here is some kind of update on what's been happening over the past months.... 

Yes, here it is months later and I've written nothing more about my Very Exciting Shop Renovation. I confess, I've had my hands firmly in the dirt trying to grow things, and lay groundwork for other projects for almost all the intervening time. In my defense, this is all part of the larger Elfworks picture, but has not gotten me far in the shop.

I mentioned that my partner Darrell had done all the actual building of the space. While it is hard for me to let go, it was a wise decision. He is a much better builder than I am, and has a lot more experience. The result being that my shop is very awesome. Not fancy, not shiny, but awesome. Much of the wood that was used was recycled from other projects, so it is a patchwork in many ways, but that had its advantages too (besides lowering the cost.)

Darrell started by framing in the walls, then the floor. The floorboards were laid, but not attached while he worked on walls and insulation and wiring (yes, that's right, insulation!!) The ceiling was framed in – we are dropping the ceiling to make it easier to heat...not like I need head room! The window on the northwest wall was framed in – positioned to allow light in from the window in the outside wall of the building. And then it got even more exciting.

Once the walls were up, the floor got finished – Darrell put a little bit of insulation under the floor and the boards got screwed down. The larger pieces had been loosely placed on the boards for layout and positioning and got moved back into their homes. I made measurements and did chalkmark layout of the rest of the space.

We had talked about bench space, something I've never had much of with the result of always having to shift tools and projects, well, off of other tools and projects frankly. Never having had it, I wasn't sure how much of it I would need. I listened to the voice of experience, and opted for more rather than less. There was a scrounged steel counter that was laying around, but when I looked at it it seemed extremely imposing and space consuming. I mentioned that I am small, looking at the counter what I saw was wasted space where I would inevitably pile things and continue my bad habits.

Solution? Rip it in half and make 2 narrow sections rather than 2 large sections. I love that we are metal people. Deciding on its height was also a big challenge. I am so used to having everything the wrong size that this was a big learning curve. Once the height was settled, sturdy framing set it firmly in place, and a leg vise, appropriately adjusted for height, was attached. (The attachment bracket of the leg vise was a partial decider on the height.)

 

 

I went outside one day and found Darrell atop a ladder, pulling boards from the outside of the building. One of the things we had talked about was light – natural light. While it is true that natural light can be difficult in a smith's shop – the colours always changing depending on how the light falls, I knew I needed it. I find it too hard to work in a dark space and light where there are no windows is always somehow, inadequate (for me.)

 

  Solution? The original solution was that window I talked about on the north wall. On further discussion, Darrell suggested we could put windows on the top of the south wall of the building and put a clear panel into my ceiling to allow for more light.

 Again, there were a number of scrounged windows waiting for use, so they got put into play. While it was a big job, I cannot tell you the difference it has made, not just in my shop but in the shop as a whole.

 Suddenly the world is lit up with those 2 windows in that wall. And my shop in particular practically gleams when you enter. Although we did install a ceiling fan overhead light, as well as making provisions for other lights where needed, during the day they have become almost redundant. Suddenly the shop that was already so exciting became a real joy. Working there will be an easy task, and I know that I can adjust to changing light, though there will be some tasks that will be more challenging with it.

 

 

 

The boards for the walls were chosen and placed with thought to texture (or lack thereof.) This meant that I could turn one full panel and one of the panels above my fantastic new benches into chalkboard. They are already covered in lists of “to do” - largely custom hooks to give my stakes permanent storage places under my benches...off the floor.

The wheeled metal frame that used to hold my propane forge was customized and given new life as a stand for my swage block and bench plate. The casters allow me to leave it stored against the wall or move it into closer proximity to the forge on my lovely wooden floor.

The propane forge now sits on a plate covering the firebox of the coal forge – allowing for me to switch to coal on larger or more curved objects (though the ventilation is not in yet.) The coal forge – a portable table style sits atop a metal plate, which gives me extra space for cooling pieces, still on the floor as is my longtime habit, but well out of the way of my feet.

The forge itself is positioned so that I can either use my anvil, my leg vise or step down and use my BAAT Hammer with ease. It will take a bit of getting used to that it isn't in the corner, but the placement is much better, especially with the changes in equipment.

An old freestanding wire basket style shelf has been repurposed as my hammer rack, also holding many spare sets of tongs and a few other pieces, nestled in the corner where my forge used to be. And steel is now stored in a rack on the west wall, neatly sorted (well, mostly) rather than a mass of buckets with random odds everywhere. Longer pieces are stored just outside the new shop space against a wall. Everything is safely chained off – and I can actually see what stock I have. Not surprisingly I have more than I realized. And now I'll be able to find it rather than assuming I don't have any and buying more. It will also serve as a reminder of the projects I'm supposed to be doing...things I bought stock for, stored it and then forgot about it, project and all.

There are still things to be done – a stack for the woodstove has to be installed, ventilation for the coal forge put in, doors to the space to be built an attached, but the place is a joy to work in. I haven't gotten very far just yet. There is a lot of new to get used to, everything has new homes – shelves and racks and a level of organization that will take some fine tuning and a lot more familiarity before it achieves the efficiency it promises. And I have been mostly trying to “make hay while the sun shines” and all that...true enough.

But I can tell you that I've had inspiration for 3 new large projects since this adventure began – larger than any of the things I've attempted yet. This is a space where I can see things happening, and keep track of what I'm doing. Not that the previous spaces were to blame for that lack – that was all on me. This space though, and the time ahead where I am here and not travelling to and fro to that other life that is on hold for the forseeable future...well, I have much hope for the undertaking of great adventures.

Shop Renovation 2020 Project Part 1 – Laying the Groundwork.

Yes, my shop is being reworked yet again. For those of you who know me it may seem like I spend more time reorganizing my spaces than working in them. And that is a fair judgement. Some of that is because I face very specific challenges in any workshop. For those of you who don't know me, I'm small. My partner likes to describe me as “all of five foot nothing” but he is being generous. By several inches. I don't know my exact height out of spite. It is the question I am asked most often bar none “How tall are you?” I am slightly taller (maybe a quarter of an inch) than my mother ever got to. But she carried herself better. I am somewhere just under 4'10” ish. I think. But I know I don't reach the lofty height of 5'.

So yes, nothing is the right size for me. And it makes it harder than I realize. I have always just adapted, no big deal. Except that it turns out it is a huge deal sometimes. The first time my partner saw me work he was amazed that I managed to get anything done at all. By that time I'd been smithing a few years and had my own setup for a couple of years at least. It was all stuff I'd managed to procure with the help of friends, and cobbled together in my city backyard. I'd adjusted what I could, but I didn't have a chainsaw and wasn't going to buy one just to cut down the stump my anvil sat on. I dug stuff in a bit where I could, and it seemed to work alright.

My partner, Darrell Markewitz, is an excellent teacher for all things smithing and history – particularly of iron and Viking Age, and iron smelting / experimental archaeology - especially as it relates to the Viking Age. He is one of a small handfuls of teachers I would recommend if you are interested in Blacksmithing – and he, in particular tends to focus on body dynamics as it suits the individual. He is not a great bear of a man himself, though he is tall (especially compared to me). He was constantly told he could not do this because his build was too light. Long after many larger smiths had dropped out due to injury he is still going. He has figured out a thing or two.

Needless to say, when he first saw me working he was (slightly?) appalled. I scoffed a bit and said it was fine. Not just a bit of my attitude comes from trying to prove that I can carry my weight, and yours (once upon a time, literally) in spite of my size.

When we (many years after we initially met – probably more than a decade?) ended up together and I ended up moving here to Wareham, he was determined that my shop would fit me better. So that was one thing. And it did. It fit me better than it ever had before. But I knew that I still didn't know enough to know what I wanted it to be. 

 How I was really going to work in the space. What I really needed rather than just thought I wanted. So it has remained a semi-permanent space that is somewhat less cobbled together. I argued to keep the dirt floor that I had so carefully dug all those damn rocks out of (though inevitably more appeared with the frost heave, but less, and much slower.) It was a better fire retardant, I didn't have to worry about dropping things on the floor or things cooling on the floor. I could dig things in a bit, mold the floor a bit, change things with ease.

All those points were true. I have now opted for a wooden floor, level, predictable, less inviting to the cat and other wildlife. I suspect it will be a bit warmer (a very tiny bit). Also easier to move heavy equipment over without a corner suddenly digging in, or a rock saying hello. Also better for keeping the equipment that is not in constant use (like my awesome stakes) in better condition because even if it is on the floor it is not in the dirt and significantly less damp.

As I mentioned, when I initially moved in in 2014, (or sometime shortly after I moved in) before any of the equipment went in, I dug into the floor somewhere between 18-24 inches removing all the significant rocks I could find. Many of these were a tad large (like the size of a milk crate) and there were even more that were head sized (mine), fist sized (not mine), and a lot of large pebbles, with even more small pebbles. I did what I could to tamp all the dirt back down and level it, but you can imagine that with my great weight that wasn't the best of jobs. In the intervening years the floor has decided on its own unique character, changing every year, or every month, or every day. Equipment that was leveled on bricks and blocks and such has slowly sunk, inevitably crookedly, and in need of constant readjustment. So, I changed my mind about the floor. And that was the 2^nd of the big undertakings of this shop renovation. (Well, truth be told, he did the framework for the walls before he started the floor, but that was a bit less of a big deal apparently.)

The first? Emptying the shop of all that equipment and stock. I am very grateful to Darrell for undertaking this while I was still working over the winter. His argument was that he had to do it a) because he is bigger than me and b) he needed it to get moved in such a way that he could still get at everything he needed to elsewhere in the shop. I am somewhat ashamed to say I didn't put up much of an argument.

Incidentally, Darrell has undertaken pretty much all of the construction work with some minor help from me. (For example, I helped to level the dirt floor again for the stringers that run under the floor.) His argument (again?) - He is taller than me. It is, I am slowly being forced to admit, a valid argument. I am learning, after decades of being on my own and making do, that my size does actually sometimes make things harder. I am learning to accept help without it feeling like I have to do it just to prove I can. And I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to struggle less. Maybe that is the real first big job, but that one is mine alone.