Apartment workspace/ shop

G

gmwilkes

Joined
Jul 13, 2011
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So, I've put this off for way too long. Stacy did me a huge favor to get me started on my venture but life got in the way and I had to put it off (for a couple years). Now I'm able to dedicate some time to making my first knife and the only problem I'm running into is a work area. I live in an apartment with a decent back deck area. I've found plans for a solid wood folding table to build and use for my workspace. The top will be made using 2 pieces of 2x10 that are about 36 inches long and will meet flush in the center.

My next item to get will be a vise. My question is, what size do you guys recommend for my area constraints but still be usable. I plan to make a filing jig to help get my grinds and angles correct and consistent.

Anything else you guys can think of that will be helpful for being a compact/ mobile workspace?

Thanks for your help
 
Besides where to put stuff and extra time spent moving stuff around, the big problem is how to deal with dust & noise. Some Dupont Tyvek suits really help, and for $7, they do an awful lot to help prevent you from bringing metal dust, sharp swarf chips, grease, and other nasty stuff you'll get covered in back in to your living room:

https://www.amazon.com/DuPont-TY122...?ie=UTF8&qid=1471584336&sr=8-3&keywords=tyvek

The only downside is that they can be hot in the summer and your neighbors may think you're doing the Breaking Bad thing.

A good little shop vac or blower, broom, etc. is a must, too. When your shop is tiny and attached to where you live, it has to stay clean (or your significant other will take your creations and use them to chop you into bits when gets a steel splinter while walking around your living room barefoot).

Consider covering the deck with something around where you'll be grinding/filing. Otherwise you will get some serious rust stains from the dust. Or just be careful to vacuum or whatever.

Lastly, think about what you can do to become super organized and have all your tools ready when you need them. I've done quite a bit of fab & metalwork work in pro machine shops & wood shops, in garages, and recently, on a balcony in Los Angeles. When working on the balcony, I have to be about 100x more organized, since I can't just trudge through the apartment covered in metal dust in order to grab the file I forgot.

Probably not the answer you were looking for, but just my two cents.
 
I would say a 5" swivel vice with a nice sized "anvil" area on the back. The footprint isn't that much bigger than a 4" but the increased area on the anvil is helpful for peening and the such.
 
Thanks, I didn't think about the dust/ metal fragments that would be a result of my filing work. Makes sense to probably put a plastic liner on the deck to catch my shavings and a vacuum to clean up anything else I may have missed.

I'll look into a 5" vise. I may end up pulling the one from my great grandfathers old house and see if it'll do what I want. Just thinking that wing nuts are gonna work best for mounting on the collapsible table so that I can quickly remove it
 
Definitely use what you got. It will give you an idea of what is important to you when you upgrade.
If you decide to get a new one and need to move it regularly, I would get a clamp on Wilton. I think the biggest size is a 4" with 3" being the most common. The price really seems to jump up when you get into the 4" models.
 
I found this Columbian D45 in my great grandfathers garage. Seems plenty big for what I need to do, it's a 5 inch. Plus there's some sentimental value because it was my great grandfathers.

Now to get some bolts and wing nuts to hold it down when I get the table built. I'll probably bolt it on the center for stability and to hold the two portions of the top together.
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I did some quick searching online and it seems these were consumer grade in the 60s but after seeing what it compares to with Harbor Freights options, id say it's a good find.
 
consumer grade in the 60's made in the USA means it is a hell of lot better than anything Harbor Freight carries nowadays I would bet--it looks like a pretty stout vise--is it a 5" ?
You will need some pretty serious bolts to hold it stably--I don't think wingnuts are a good choice--if you need it to be portable per se, than I would bolt it to a piece of 2xwhatever and then clamp that vise/board assembly to your table/bench--I've done that temporarily a couple times, and it can be surprisingly stout that way. Good on you for getting that from your grandfathers stock!
 
I may do that mount to a 2x6 and then when I need it I'll clamp it to the table. Didn't think of that.
And thanks Carlson, it seems to function fine and as far as I know, no welds or anything. I may end up taking it apart and painting it to make it a little nicer.
 
I think you will like that vise a lot, pay attention if you are buying items like vise jaw pads for it--a lot of those are made for smaller vises, like 4". I personally use 5" vises and like them much.
 
Thanks. I'll keep that in mind when I need to buy them. I'm hoping to be able to do quite a bit with it.
 
look at what items can be used sitting and what is best used standing. you could put a 9" bandsaw and a table top drill press on the floor under the work surface, put them on top to work, then away when done. I use a 2 drawer filing cabinet as one leg of my main table. the drawers are big enough for 2 corded drills, a finishing sander, a 3x21 belt sander, 2 angle grinders, and my dremel set. for the other leg, I have 3 stackable metal storage drawers(kinda like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/Diebold-Saf...598158?hash=item27fd4fecce:g:1wsAAOSwBLlVLFLN) with a 4 wide 2 high small drawer unit on top of that (kinda like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Drawer-Me...927078?hash=item25c14e5866:g:vjIAAOSw5dNWs6ml). I go to Goodwill and get silverware organizers to use with drill bits and small hand tools. I found an old tackle box (kinda like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Pla...693439?hash=item33bd81343f:g:la0AAOSwHoFXtO6K) for hardware, dowel pins, drill bits, what have you. i found one a drill bit organizer, (http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUOT-LETTER...815277?hash=item43d71d116d:g:MAsAAMXQHU1RwdMJ) for drill bits and taps.
I spent quite a few years on aircraft carriers doing aircraft maintenance. I learned you keep the tools you use most often within easy reach, things you use once a week are harder to get to, and things you use once a month in your case, may end up in a closet in the house.
scott
 
I appreciate that. Some of that I will be able to incorporate to my small workspace, some will wait til I have a more dedicated work area, bc for the time being, this will be a space I put up and take down each time I work at it.

I think I just need to buy a house......
 
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