Another birthday and so another project, once more with something of a vintage feel!

For the recipient sewing was an enjoyable past time, this gave me an idea ‘why not upcycle an old sewing machine and make it into a lamp’? I’ve seen plenty of people using old paraffin blow lamps and jamming bulbs in the ends of them which isn’t quite my cup of tea however I thought the natural shape of the sewing machine lends itself well to being an actual lamp as well as providing a quirky hidden compartment for a special message (more on that to come later)!

Before continuing I’ll mention no fully working sewing machines have been used in my project. If it works as is, I don’t see the point in breaking something that works perfectly fine for its intended use to then butcher and use as something else. So only sewing machines destined for the recycling centre have been used.

The first part of the journey was to remove the old wooden base. This was just a couple of nuts and bolts on hinges. Some of the more stubborn nuts required 10 minutes after a squirt of wd40. I then began removing the internals from the base/bed of the main casting which reduced some of the weight of the unit but the next step reduced it vastly, separating part of the horizontal arm . This sounds quite drastic but as you’ll see this is where it instantly begins to look more lamp like (and it gave me another small side project which I’ll write up at a later date).

Using a long bladed hacksaw it took me approx 15 mins to cut through the casting though I now have a handy portable band saw which would make short work of the task. I also filed down the rough edges which in future I’ll use my Dremel.

Weight reduced, it was easier to clean the unit up and polish some of the silver accents. With the arm separated I was also able to test fit an E12 bulb fitting. In keeping with the vintage vibe I bought some braided wiring with a switch rated specifically for lighting. I fed this through the main stem and wired it up. A quick test to see all was safe and working so I turned my attention to a frame. Simple pine I had kicking around, slightly/artificially aged with the use of a little heat.

I predrilled some small holes for screws as I didn’t wish to split the wood. It also ensured I didn’t go off centre and with the length of the screws used this could have easily happened. Due to the weight I think I used 3″ wood screws as well as strong wood glue to keep the frame tight around the bed. Actually the good thing about most old sewing machines is the underside of the bed tends to have its own frame from the cast, suitable to butt upto the wood. In some areas I also joined the base to the wooden frame so its not just a snug fit holding everything in position.

On the outside edge of the frame I used two screws either side, top and bottom of the frame to ensure its held together well. Thinking about the orientation of the lamp and how a sewing machine sits normally I thought it would look good on a desk however space is always a commodity and more importantly when I first came up with the design I imagined it wall mounted and it was imagining it on a wall with a tear drop shaped Edison bulb that motivated me to make it because I liked it so much, I just hoped the recipient would too! As the lamp was intended for a wall I once again insisted on using some good long screws, neatly complementing the brass heads with solid brass cup washers as the screw heads would be forward facing. The only job left to do on the frame was to apply some furniture wax.

After all this it was a case of mixing some strong epoxy to keep the bulb fitting secure. It allowed me a little down time whilst the epoxy set so I wired up the plug and checked again for any issues.

Onto the hidden compartment! To the sewing enthusiasts it wont come as a surprise that I used the slide plates around the throat plate to install a temporary birthday message inside. Initially I was going to use a copper plate and stamp it with the message but I ran out of time however its something I may do on a future lamp. I could certainly see a number of these in a room with a vintage theme as décor and as a functional piece.

Overall I’m pleased with how it turned out and the recipient of the lamp was very pleased too however my only two regrets were 1) not finishing off the message in copper and 2) not finding a way of using the balance wheel to extend and retract the main bulb unit as an additional feature. I really wanted to get those done however it took most nights over a week and a full weekend just to complete as you see here. I’ll probably produce a few more and I may make them available in the shop and yes, all will be pat tested before going on sale if they do. Keep an eye out for future updates to see what I used the off cut for!

Hey all! So the monitor mount progress went well. Some may recall I needed to find a way of reducing the bolt holes in the brackets. This was an easy fix with liquid metal. A two part epoxy that creates a strong bond so once it was dry I just drilled it out so now its more suited to regular screws. Just to be safe I used two spacers to ensure it wasn’t going to move.

Rather than struggle with lifting the entire thing I just lined it up roughly, bolting the top bracket only to the wall. As the rest of the unit could then slide on I was able to mark the wall with the holes in the lower bracket, remove and drill. The issue I found with drilling breeze block however is the drill wants wander where ever it wants, so I used a large punch and trusty hammer to create enough of a divot that its ‘mostly’ drilled level. Given the types of brackets I’m using and the fact the actual bracket unit is adjustable there’s a bit of play anyway for levelling so I wasn’t too fussed, I just wanted it on the wall and functional.

Plenty of room to get my hands behind and mess with the quick release mechs for the arms and if I want to take the whole lot off, its two hex grub screws! Couldn’t be simpler!

The mount brackets and tubing cost approx £15 delivered but I received the mount itself for free, with a monitor. I was donated two tv screens so for a near enough completely free project I’m pretty chuffed with how its turned out….speaking of which….here are some final pic’s for you!

As I’ve got a Chromecast set up to the one monitor alls left to do now is find a suitable place for a docking hub, keyboard and mouse so I can hook up my laptop in there.

Although I spend a lot of time staring at monitors I have until recently only had one in my workshop but I’ve found having Youtube channels on as background noise quite helpful not only because I learn from them but it also inspires me as well as encourages me to continue making things and gives me creative idea’s and ways of accomplishing what I want to.

So, I’ve made a change and instead of settling on just the one monitor I am instead replacing it with a mount that can hold 3. Yes 3! Now I wouldn’t have really thought I had an issue with the one but a friend kindly donated me this mount and simply I can’t say no to free stuff! It also helped him create some space too I hasten to add! However, this mount was desk mounted and because of its width its going to take up a lot of valuable workspace and having accepted it before getting it home to size up I’ve been pondering ways to wall mount it.

Due to its design (a tube system with quick release features to change the height of the monitors) its going to cause some issues though hopefully not for long. My friend also kindly gave me a free monitor he had going spare which is great as that upped my count to two displays…..although one was a tv screen – perfectly fine, I can still use this with my chromecast and watch youtube stuff on whilst working away on the other two monitors.

The obvious thought was to use some scaffolding type connectors and tubing but again my friend came in with an answer on that too and dropped me a link to a really useful site as the sources I had in mind were much too big and his site gave the added option of different diameter tubing and fixings. I chose this over actual proper office equipment basically because it was much cheaper and effective but in keeping with the slightly industrial look I’m after for the workshop.

I’ve created a small gallery below to show the progress which in short consisted of cutting up some tubing leaving enough to insert into the 90 degree mounts and wall brackets but also bring the whole unit away from the wall enough to get to quick release handles. Another great benefit of these were the each had grub screws for a perfect fit so all I had to do was tighten it all up. Next up is filling the mounting holes with liquid metal, wait for it to go off and re-drill for smaller screws (instead of the half inch bolts that they were apparently made for. Once this is done I’ll also be using large spacers to spread the tension on the wall brackets, after all it just needs to be solid when screwed to the wall. Further updates to follow

As you may have seen in previous workshop posts I’ve been busy learning to weld, making frames, creating a workspace and now I have some hefty industrial storage too!

Thanks to a kind donation I was gifted two large architect drawer units. They were located in a cellar and not being used and the owner thought I could put them to good use, they were right! With a little elbow grease and an extra pair of hands I now have a superb matching set of units creating both a fantastic work surface and ample storage that I can wheel anywhere around the workshop or place under my workbench!

Each unit holds 4 drawers the same as the above image. They measure a staggering 33″ by 47″, the width is literally half the width of my workshop so it’s complete fluke that both units now fit side on to one another with approx 20mm either side to the wall. Yes I like to mix up my measurements!

Speaking of the drawers, these were looking a little sorry for themselves. Thankfully rust was minimal, partially down to the fact they’d last been used as storage for gun spares and repairs so they had oil all over them! The cellar they came out of was actually a shelter during the war for a local village! I feel its important to keep note of these sorts of things, sometimes they may or may not be of interest to others but I find the heritage of things interesting myself. Anyway, with a good weather day I cleaned off the oil, gently sanded back any rust and then waxed each drawer followed by the units themselves.

The frame was something I drew up. These units were stacked on one another originally and one actually had a similar metal base but it was the most rusted part of the lot (luckily!) so I decided not to keep it as it was beyond saving. I say ‘not to keep it’ I of course still have it but haven’t decided what else to use it for yet! I took the height of my breakfast bar unit as that’s where I made most small projects to date and it was a good working height. I then took the height of these units, measured the extra distance needed and began cutting some steel box section, doing sanity checks with a friend who helped. I’ve really enjoyed working with box section and as it happens I have some of it spare too so watch out for more metalwork projects!

The below image doesn’t show the castors I put on these which added extra height of course, so I also took this into account when making the legs. The swivel castors were fairly heavy duty with the front facing ones having brakes and the back free wheeling.

Its a simple design but effective, allowing me to slide the units in and be held in place under gravity. There’s no welding them to the frame or drilling holes in the units to bolt to the framework. Although it could be a little difficult, if I ever wish to remove them, this way I can too. I cleaned the runners to a bare metal finish, waxed them and them to top it off greased them too so each drawers glides out nicely even when full of tools.

The worktop was an 18mm moisture resistant melamine. I was going to go with 22 but I figured this would sit better in the frame, giving a small lip on the front and back of each unit but allows me to brush off any debris either side. Forward thinking! Both units had enough top support so that the middle of the worktop would not bow under heavy load. Before dropping the worktop into place I again had used a wood glue to seal the surfaces and sides. This made it a little darker but gave it some extra protection. At some point I will likely add a thin steel plate to one as a proper tough work top area for the bigger tools to be used on.

The final touch was adding in some foam sheets to a) prevent tools from scratching the drawers and prolong their use and b) it looked good and b) I’d hoped it would hold the tools tidy and in place. It didn’t ….but it finishes the interior of them well. With that, there’s not much more to say except thank you to their donors and my friend Dave who helped with the lifting, some welding (even though he welded one bar back to front!) and all generally assisting with the build!

Ever since I moved into my own home I’ve wanted a proper workshop. Somewhere to hide away and play with projects, tinker around on cars, mess around with electronics and generally just build shi*……that most importantly wasn’t somewhere that was a) my kitchen or b) living room. It turns out that car projects can be a lot of fun but it isn’t great for space or room to work on multiple projects.

Again those that know me will know I used to love Mini’s. We’re talking proper mini’s! Old skool mini’s, none of this BMW stuff. I’ve had 3 over the years amongst other cars. My first car in fact was a Mini City E, fondly referred to as ‘Felix’ (due to his reg) but after 22 years of working on him and just 4 years spent actually driving him around I decided to call things a day and let a new owner have some fun. It was a hard decision but one that I’ve come to think was probably for the best? Big projects are great dont get me wrong, car projects especially but when you have to work for a living and are busy keeping other cars on the road sometimes you need a break away and put efforts into other things for your own sanity!

So where’s all this leading? Well, to a proper workshop space! Once Felix left the driveway for the last time there was a massive gap where he’d been but onwards and upwards! I soon set about planning removal of an old work surface and creating some much needed storage and a better workspace. First of all was sketching up a plan of sorts so on a bit of notepad paper I drew up a frame work to support a new table top surface.

After various designs and taking some measurements it was out with the old. Turns out there was some hefty angle iron propping up this work top so that’s been put to one side for now until I decide to turn it into something else!

For a short time the workspace was just a dumping ground but after the old surface was removed I purchased some 25mm x 25mm x 2.5mm mild steel box section to weld up a new frame.

Not forgetting an old heirloom I checked the framework was level as I went. I pre-drilled and countersunk the rails I’d cut on a bandsaw and given the potential load, I ensured it was mounted to the wall in plenty of places. The beauty of bolting it all to the wall first was it allowed me to weld the rails in situ. It wasn’t like I had a big enough flat surface already to do it! The back and front rails rest on the top of the two outer rails and then I cut a few additional rails to support underneath. Each of these in turn had an additional mount to weld to the back rail and the front rail just allowed me to weld the two together.

Welding and risk of fire set firmly aside I was able to then drop the new work surface in. 22mm moisture treated melamine to be precise. Despite being treated I still decided on using some gorilla wood glue to act as a sealer. This was done on all edges as well as both sides of the surface.

All in the new worktop probably cost me more than just a wooden framed one would have but I prefer working with these materials and wanted to improve my welding skills.

Overall I’m happy with the new work surface and its continued to be incredibly since installation. The build was actually inspired by the storage solution you’ve no doubt spotted with the rather industrial looking architect units. And they are UNITS! More on these in a future post!

Want to know more about the work surface, materials or construction? Drop me a line!