Well, 2020 has come to a close and I probably share a common opinion of ‘glad that one is over!’
However, it has actually been a very productive year for me in the workshop and at my desk.
Firstly, at my desk – I took advantage of a TAFE NSW offer of free courses during COVID and undertook a course in website design. The end result was this website, which has been up and running since late May and which has had over 800 visitors. I know this is a relatively small number, but at least some people are looking at my work.
In the workshop I completed a large number of projects – often pushing myself into construction elements I was new to or cautious about trying. I’ve been fortunate to have several friends who wanted items made, so I have had some commission work. And as always, my own family provided a fair level of demand. I have also branched out into toy making and enjoy the freedom of design in making a toy where imagination reigns supreme as opposed to a piece of furniture that must meet particular requirements.
As always, I really enjoy the design aspect of my projects and working out how i can best achieve a quality end result with the most efficient use of materials.
I have also been putting a lot of effort into my actual workshop. As mentioned in my bio, my workshop is actually our triple garage. At the start of the year it contained a trailer, lots of caravan gear, my wife’s car, multiple pushbikes, assorted items being stored (or of junk) and all my workshop gear. To work on anything more than a basic project involved moving my wife’s car out of the workshop and moving equipment into positions where it was accessible – then packing it all up at the end of the day. I sold the trailer & several bikes, sorted out some of the accumulation of ‘junk’ and started to organise the workspace. Perhaps unfortunately with regard to space, I also continued to add to my equipment.
My business consultancy background come to the fore here, because I had specialised in process improvement and a methodology called ‘Lean’ (of which I’ll write about more in a future blog). I started working on having a set place for everything, clearly labelling things and minimising (or at least simplifying) movement. My hand tool shadow boards were cleaned off, reorganised and new tool outlines painted. my power tools were each stored in custom boxes of which I made more where needed and added big clear labels. All large workshop equipment was put on casters and positioned so they could be easily pulled into a working position. My timber scraps (of which there are lots) were consolidated from boxes in several places into a single new trolley. My drills were hung in a new, easily accessible, rack and the batteries with their chargers put on a dedicated ‘charger’ stand.
I also considered workplace health and safety and adapted many of the power tools to be able to be connected to either my ShopVac or large dust collector.
The end result is that to tackle a small job, I generally only have to move several pieces of equipment and for larger jobs I still have to move my wife’s car out – but can get right onto the job without any fuss. I’m also finding that I’m tending to use the right tool for every job because it is easy to get to it rather than managing with whatever tool is easiest to access.
So with 20220 ending and still COVID issues around, I’m praying that 2021 does end up being a better year for all and that I continue to develop my skills and enjoy myself in the workshop.