Shop Under Construction

Haley Bell

Haley Bell

Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
62
Well I'm finally getting a place to work out of the weather! No more packing electrical tools out and in or rigging temporary tarps. I'm pretty stoked about this project. My Dad and brother have been graciously donating their labor. I'll have to make them something very cool when it's up and running.

Where we live is pretty wet so everything begins with a gravel pad. Well actually it begins with logging and then milling lumber and, yeah you get the picture, Alaskan's do it the hard way :rolleyes: (no I don't forge my own nails, thankyou for asking)

This pic is my bro and I on the roof, we just put the flooring in last night, so there's been some progress since then.
 

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Cool! It's looking great.........and........it's a new shop for me to visit some day. Are you near Anchorage or Fairbanks? I'd love to visit your shop and share knife talk and hammer out a knife or two.
 
Actually I'm in SE, it takes a high tide and nice weather to get here so it's a bit of a pain in that respect. Bladesmith chit chat is certainly sparse around here (that's why I'm on Bladeforum), if you're ever in the Petersburg area look us up.
 
Happy to see you getting your shop under roof. That must be a great feeling.
Keep us posted on your progress.:thumbup:

Fred
 
Where you at in SE. I used to fish up there for years. Have a spot myself up George Inlet, South of Ketchican. Want to retire there. Most people don't have a clue what rain is. LOL. Most ares in SE average well over 100" a year.
 
ib2v4u said:
Where you at in SE. I used to fish up there for years. Have a spot myself up George Inlet, South of Ketchican. Want to retire there. Most people don't have a clue what rain is. LOL. Most ares in SE average well over 100" a year.
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You don't have to remind me about the rain:), I'm not too far from Petersburg. Lately it's been snow, every morning. What boat were you on and what kind of fishing were you doing? I've been fishing for awhile too, I might even know the boat.

On the shop, the tin is on the roof, siding finished today. I just got done wiring and insulating/vapor barrier (darn rain country) so I'm too tired to take pics.
Tommorow I'll post some of the inside and see if anyone has some grand ideas for how I should set it up before I go building shelves and workbenches.
 
Wells here's what she looks like from the front, there's an eight foot overhang to accomodate my coal habit and hopefully a propane forge someday, and to run outdoor stuff like the plas cutter.

Any kind advice on things I might have forgotten to put in the walls before I sheet them?

I do have a 220 wire run for the grinder and a air pipe run outside with a fan in it to suck the dust out. (I'm getting all health conscious in my old age;))
 

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Very nice. I'd love someday to build a dedicated building for smithing =) A well planned out small space is just as usefull as a cobbled together larger space that doesnt have outlets or windows or ventilation etc where you need it.
 
Haley Bell said:
....(I'm getting all health conscious in my old age;))
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Wow :eek: You're obviously not too old, but it's good to think of health and safety NOW, while you are still young.

If I knew I was going to live this long I would have done things a little differently :D

By the way, you and your family are doing a great job on your new shop/smithy :thumbup:
 
I used to fish on an old wood slab called the Dolphin. Nice old boat. Salmon siener mostly. Blue and white from Anacortes WA. Last year I fished was 1999. Couldn't handle the price no more. Spend plenty of time in Petersburg and some in Kake. We mostly did the Marston area, Hidden Falls, Tenekee and some Windham when we were on the north end. I really like that nick of the woods and love Fredrick sound. Did the crab thing way up a bit to, (Ramblin Rose 105' power scow) but thats was to nuts for me. Heard on the news some of the boys didn't make it up there recently. :( Enjoy you shop. keep the keel down, the pointy end forward and make some good blades bud.
 
I'm sure we passed by a few times, sounds like most of the same places. I fish on the Lindy, an old wood schooner. We used to supply Hidden Falls Hatchery with fish food, groceries and fuel every spring/summer. Here's a pic I took last season fishing halibut up by Yakutat.

Hope you make it to your retirement spot in Ketchikan:thumbup:

Thanks for all the encouragment on the shop guys, I hope to get the benches in this weekend.
 

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I got married on an old wood schooner (Lewis R French out of Camden Maine) nothin like being at the helm under canvas!

You asked if there was anything we would suggest before you close up the walls, maybe too late, but I would take those outlet boxes and make them quads, also I would put quad boxed outlets in the ceiling for power drops, there is never enough power sources, and extension cords are dangerous

looks like a nice shop

-Page
 
Quad boxes are a great idea, thanks Page, and it's not too late. I've got to let the green lumber dry before sheeting the walls. Here's a picture of one workbench, it's so clean it's disgusting. I've been gone for a week but wait 'till I move the rest of my junk in there it won't look so weird. My big excitement was getting my anvil resurfaced in Juneau. Adam DesRosiers was kind enough to weld up the corners and David Mirabile graciously let us invade his shop for an afternoon. Talk about getting inspired!! I've returned home laden with all sorts of shop goodies and grand ideas so I'll be pestering y'all with more questions soon.
 

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ummmm:o after hanging out with the guys in Juneau, I got talked into a KMG, which I haven't ordered yet. So if your Coote is just as good I don't want to hear about it okay:mad:
Naw, just kidding, I hope your setup works great.
 
Haley Bell said:
ummmm:o after hanging out with the guys in Juneau, I got talked into a KMG, which I haven't ordered yet. So if your Coote is just as good I don't want to hear about it okay:mad:
Naw, just kidding, I hope your setup works great.
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Hah! I'm sure me and the LOWLY Coote's will be just fine.:p:p

P.S. I'll be grinding.....TODAY!!:D:p:D:p
 
That is absolutely beautiful! But if I lived somewhere like that I'd never get any work done -- I'd just be sitting among the trees, awed. Wow.

Besides the deep overhanging roof, I really dig your floor! Bench looks great too. I'll sure second the motion for the KMG, I don't think there's a better machine for what we do anywhere. (Don't skimp on hp - go whole hog! I can't wait to build that 5 hp machine... :D)

Congratulations, and keep those pics coming!
 
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