Musings on building a workshop and a new machine...

[Web Goblin]

Irving,
how are you getting on with your planning?
Is your warco MD30 the same as the Major milling machine? If so how are they?

[irving2008]

Irving,
how are you getting on with your planning?
Is your warco MD30 the same as the Major milling machine? If so how are they?

MD30 is roughly equivalent to the later Warco Minor (it was rebadged) which they no longer sell and is smaller than the Major, but not much. Table I think is the same size 680 x 180 or thereabouts but the column is 95mm rather than 105mm or something like that...

re workshop, I've now got costs for materials down to £6300 by virtue of overestimation of the cu meterage of the foundations... been looking at sectional concrete buildings as an alternative as the quote for that came in at under £4000 installed plus base but I am worried it might be a compromise too far... will need extensive mods to the roof to make it insulated (by default they are not nor do they have draught proofing!) and would need to insulate the walls too, plus you can't drill into the walls (else it invalidates the 10y guarantee) so not sure how I'd fix electrics (dont want the socket strips on the benches) plus got VFD for mill, Emergency Stop for whole workshop by door, etc. And I want my whiteboard for scribbling on, wall hanger for the bikes, etc etc.... waiting on a couple of firms to explain how they do that... in the brochure it shows offices made of the stuff with plastered walls but nothing on the walls :(

[i2i]

Walk in cold rooms may be an option for your build, you can pick up reasonable sized ones with failed or redundant coolers for next to nothing. One went on ebay last week that was 6m x 4m for £800.

[i2i]

Not the most secure buildings but watertight and well insulated. They normally come in sections of a standard size that lock together so you can probably extend as and when you have the panels.

[Jonathan]

Not the most secure buildings but watertight and well insulated.

That makes it ideal to have a de-humidifier to stop things rusting.

And I want my whiteboard for scribbling on

If only I had a free space on the wall for my whiteboard!

[irving2008]

Interesting idea, the cold store.... but no way SWMBO will allow something looking that bad in the garden... I'd earlier suggested a 1/2 container (though that would have needed a crane to lift it in, so the panel idea works better) and I'd have to work out a way to fit windows and a decent door. As you say, not exactly secure either.

[i2i]

Easy to put windows in, just cut hole with a jigsaw, then clad it all over in t&g.

[irving2008]

Easy to put windows in, just cut hole with a jigsaw, then clad it all over in t&g.

Its a thought... how would you fix the T&G? and that would make it more secure as well. Seems these panels can be bought for as little as £10/sq mtr and for a 6m x 4m x 2.5m high I only need 53 sq mtr or so, thats under £550... so worth thinking about...

Would need to put a roof on it as these things are not generally intended to be standing outside unprotected from what I've researched. But I reckon thats just some 4 x 2 trusses and some OSB and then some metal cladding so relatively cheap. In fact the form on eBay that sell the panels also seel the roofing 4m x 1m sheets £16, so the claddng for the roof is 7 or 8 sheets depending on overlap or under £128


Anyone any idea how these fix together? And would they be strong enough to hang things from the walls (I reckon it'll be OK to fix trunking etc to). I can't find much about their construction online.

[i2i]

the fridges have camlocks that pull each panel together, but i doubt the panels you're talking about have this. I had one of these fridges outside for a year with no problems.

[irving2008]

No they dont, they're just 2mm ali skins over 100mm insulation, held together with self-tapping screws... it would need some sort of timber frame. I've not seen the cam-lock ones advertised

However I've just been to look at a sectional concrete workshop and I think it could be made to serve and it is cheaper... not massively so, been quoted £4848 for a 6m x 4m but it would need some additional work doing to line it. The base is definitely cheaper, been quoted £700 for a 6m x 4m 6" thick as against nearly £2,000 for 'proper' foundations.

Lookng at the way its constructed its just cast panels and although the basic full height panels are stock, they cast the rest specific to the job for openings, etc. Obviously they have moulds with movable sides. The roof is identical to what would be used for a block/brick construction except what they offer as standard is very crude and would need to be augmented.

Which got me thinking... if you've pouring concrete, how hard would it be to cast your own panels??? a wooden base, some shuttering, a 'lid' to form the indent and some strategically placed rods to create the bolt holes to pull the panels together... If you were doing it specifically, you could cast in bosses for wall mountings including fixing studs and all sorts of useful stuff... how hard can it be?

Anybody any experience with casting concrete?