Firefyter-Emt
Well-known member
There are still a few of us cheap yankee's here in New England... I am one of them. 
The thought of blowing huge piles of cash on stuff blows my mind when you can find much better stuff if you look. That's not to say that good cash can not be spent on good stuff, but in moderation! Then there is the true New Englander spirit to be able to just do anything and everything! So there you have it, a true New Englander's workshop... one of the dwindling true yankee's that can fix things, build things with their hands, and does not fear a Nor'easter! 
I have been inspired to put some work into my modest shop and get it into a much needed refurb. Over the last few years stuff has piled up a bit and projects are getting behind. At this time I have three major tools and a project tractor in limbo. Then there are a few tools that deserve some love and paint that were brought home and pushed into service without even a new coat of paint! Last week I pulled some tools out, started cleaning some clutter and moving around the layout of the shop.
The back wall of my 22'x25' shop has my lumber rack which may have a couple of the brackets moved over to the right to center it on the wall.
This is my pre-1940's Delta wood lathe. She was a 11" x 39" that was modified with some 1.5" riser blocks, and a newer cam lock tool post, to make it a 14" swing. She was restored a few years back after picking her up for $100.
To the right of that is my free (yes, free) mid 1940's Delta Uni-saw. A friend of mine moved and could not take it with him. The motor needs some work, and I am missing the blade nut. But for those who know, that is the cast iron goose egg on top of the saw. And next to that is my 1950's King Seeley era 10" table saw. That saw will be sold off once the Unisaw is finished. The Uni will be placed where the Craftsnam is now. I did pay $200 for the Craftsman saw, but that saw opened up a relation ship with a nice lady that I helped out selling her father in law's wood shop. I brought home many "extras" for all the help, and she made much more than she would of. A great day for everyone! Oh, and hiding behind the Craftsman saw, cowering like a little girl, is the one and only import tool in the shop. It's a free generic planer that was given to me. It fits nice under the saw extensions and is out of the way. It does not get used often, so it's a great place to hide it.
This is an older photo, but a good photo of the Craftsman saw. It came with the base and a ton of tooling, and a pair of solid oak 8' long roller outfeeds.
Hiding over in the corner is my 1950's Walker Turner 15" drill press that I picked up for $40 and restored. She is a dream to use and just has one divot in the table from a drill bit. I did find the original belt cover and have it in primer, but it needs a LOT of TLC to make it look good.
Working your way clockwise, my Snap-On tool box (which really needs to be repainted to it's former glory, and the top cleaned off!) I bought that new back in 1991 right out of high-school. After the last interest padded payment was made, it cost me $4100.00
Hiding over next to the tool box, in her new home is "Martha"... Martha is a curvy beauty from the tail end of the 1800's. Born around 1895 in Worcester, Mass to the FE Reed company, she weighed in a bit over 500lbs and was four feet long and swings a fine 10". She came to me as a rescue mission from the grandson of the original owner who lost his home and it had to go. A friend of a friend put us together and we had just less than a day to save her from scrap. The cost was the price of a good home... Martha comes with all the change gears, the original steady rest, three chucks, two face plates, and a keyless chuck with a patent date during the Civil War. (or as Mama always said, the war against Norhtern Agression)
When I get a chance, she will be restored back to her satin black color and I would LOVE to ditch the added jack-shaft and motor and set up a mini line shaft just to run the lathe. The electric motor either on the ceiling, or in the attic with the existing pulley set up mounting on the ceiling, and connected with a leather belt.
When you look at things like nuts and bolts, they were all hand made on this lathe. The locking bolt for the steady rest still shows the "X" mark and the center hole on the head when they held it in a lathe to cut the threads. Just awesome to see.
Well... that's what has been cleaned and organized. The rest is yet to come, but I will share the stuff that is buried!
Hiding in here is a wonderful Walker-Turner 16" band saw full of 1950's art deco goodness! She is sitting on the original cast iron base and fully in use, but not restored yet. Good tires and new Ligum Vittae wooden blade guides make her a dream to use. In the corner is my restored (but dust covered) Craftsman 109 series metal lathe that was my grandfathers. Then there is a Parks wood planer hiding in there... an old hand crank record player that seriously needs to go. It was only placed in there for "tonight"... someone will be down to get it. Three weeks later!
Also in the mix is the snowblower for my tractor that will be done soon. Lot's of tractor parts that have been sandblasted and primed, hang from my door tracks.
Off to the other side is a real mess... Just stuff everywhere and I can't even work! My free sandblast cabinet (just add some paint and new glass) and hidden from view is a Rockwell/Delta VS drill press. 17" with a machniest table and hand crank. Another free tool just because it was three phase! I plan to just swap on a new motor, no need to run a converter, it's already a VS drill! Then more piles of stuff that was not put away when done, heck there is a 10hp Tecumseh motor hiding on the workbench! Oh, and my almost free Mig welder... it DID need a new toggle switch for a couple bucks to fix it.
It's a nice little Hobart gas mig with a rolling stand and all.
Next to that is a seriously heavy duty Black & Decker bench grinder on a nice oak stand. The stand came free with that table saw I mentioned. Once of the free things that came home with me. One drawer is loaded with about a dozen non-carbide sawblades, all sharp and in the ORIGINAL cardboard sleeves!
The tractor is normally in the tractor shed with the rest of my equipment, but I brought her in to work on it a bit. She's a 1972 Massey Ferguson 12 which does the mowing and plowing. This winter the plow will be traded for the original snowblower I picked up once it's painted. I also have another 1971 hydrostatic version that I am restoring. As seen by all the parts hanging around. Those really need to be stored somewhere better (or painted and on a tractor!)
And still more stuff cluttered and needing to be re-organized, some Jeep parts, more clutter. I also need to build some doors for the wall cabinets and just overall clean this side up! Oh, and more tractor parts....
The thought of blowing huge piles of cash on stuff blows my mind when you can find much better stuff if you look. That's not to say that good cash can not be spent on good stuff, but in moderation! Then there is the true New Englander spirit to be able to just do anything and everything! So there you have it, a true New Englander's workshop... one of the dwindling true yankee's that can fix things, build things with their hands, and does not fear a Nor'easter! I have been inspired to put some work into my modest shop and get it into a much needed refurb. Over the last few years stuff has piled up a bit and projects are getting behind. At this time I have three major tools and a project tractor in limbo. Then there are a few tools that deserve some love and paint that were brought home and pushed into service without even a new coat of paint! Last week I pulled some tools out, started cleaning some clutter and moving around the layout of the shop.
The back wall of my 22'x25' shop has my lumber rack which may have a couple of the brackets moved over to the right to center it on the wall.
This is my pre-1940's Delta wood lathe. She was a 11" x 39" that was modified with some 1.5" riser blocks, and a newer cam lock tool post, to make it a 14" swing. She was restored a few years back after picking her up for $100.
To the right of that is my free (yes, free) mid 1940's Delta Uni-saw. A friend of mine moved and could not take it with him. The motor needs some work, and I am missing the blade nut. But for those who know, that is the cast iron goose egg on top of the saw.
And next to that is my 1950's King Seeley era 10" table saw. That saw will be sold off once the Unisaw is finished. The Uni will be placed where the Craftsnam is now. I did pay $200 for the Craftsman saw, but that saw opened up a relation ship with a nice lady that I helped out selling her father in law's wood shop. I brought home many "extras" for all the help, and she made much more than she would of. A great day for everyone! Oh, and hiding behind the Craftsman saw, cowering like a little girl, is the one and only import tool in the shop. It's a free generic planer that was given to me. It fits nice under the saw extensions and is out of the way. It does not get used often, so it's a great place to hide it.
This is an older photo, but a good photo of the Craftsman saw. It came with the base and a ton of tooling, and a pair of solid oak 8' long roller outfeeds.
Hiding over in the corner is my 1950's Walker Turner 15" drill press that I picked up for $40 and restored. She is a dream to use and just has one divot in the table from a drill bit. I did find the original belt cover and have it in primer, but it needs a LOT of TLC to make it look good.
Working your way clockwise, my Snap-On tool box (which really needs to be repainted to it's former glory, and the top cleaned off!) I bought that new back in 1991 right out of high-school. After the last interest padded payment was made, it cost me $4100.00
Hiding over next to the tool box, in her new home is "Martha"... Martha is a curvy beauty from the tail end of the 1800's. Born around 1895 in Worcester, Mass to the FE Reed company, she weighed in a bit over 500lbs and was four feet long and swings a fine 10". She came to me as a rescue mission from the grandson of the original owner who lost his home and it had to go. A friend of a friend put us together and we had just less than a day to save her from scrap. The cost was the price of a good home... Martha comes with all the change gears, the original steady rest, three chucks, two face plates, and a keyless chuck with a patent date during the Civil War. (or as Mama always said, the war against Norhtern Agression)
When I get a chance, she will be restored back to her satin black color and I would LOVE to ditch the added jack-shaft and motor and set up a mini line shaft just to run the lathe. The electric motor either on the ceiling, or in the attic with the existing pulley set up mounting on the ceiling, and connected with a leather belt.
When you look at things like nuts and bolts, they were all hand made on this lathe. The locking bolt for the steady rest still shows the "X" mark and the center hole on the head when they held it in a lathe to cut the threads. Just awesome to see.
Well... that's what has been cleaned and organized. The rest is yet to come, but I will share the stuff that is buried!
Hiding in here is a wonderful Walker-Turner 16" band saw full of 1950's art deco goodness! She is sitting on the original cast iron base and fully in use, but not restored yet. Good tires and new Ligum Vittae wooden blade guides make her a dream to use. In the corner is my restored (but dust covered) Craftsman 109 series metal lathe that was my grandfathers. Then there is a Parks wood planer hiding in there... an old hand crank record player that seriously needs to go. It was only placed in there for "tonight"... someone will be down to get it. Three weeks later!
Also in the mix is the snowblower for my tractor that will be done soon. Lot's of tractor parts that have been sandblasted and primed, hang from my door tracks.
Off to the other side is a real mess... Just stuff everywhere and I can't even work! My free sandblast cabinet (just add some paint and new glass) and hidden from view is a Rockwell/Delta VS drill press. 17" with a machniest table and hand crank. Another free tool just because it was three phase! I plan to just swap on a new motor, no need to run a converter, it's already a VS drill! Then more piles of stuff that was not put away when done, heck there is a 10hp Tecumseh motor hiding on the workbench! Oh, and my almost free Mig welder... it DID need a new toggle switch for a couple bucks to fix it.
It's a nice little Hobart gas mig with a rolling stand and all.Next to that is a seriously heavy duty Black & Decker bench grinder on a nice oak stand. The stand came free with that table saw I mentioned. Once of the free things that came home with me. One drawer is loaded with about a dozen non-carbide sawblades, all sharp and in the ORIGINAL cardboard sleeves!
The tractor is normally in the tractor shed with the rest of my equipment, but I brought her in to work on it a bit. She's a 1972 Massey Ferguson 12 which does the mowing and plowing. This winter the plow will be traded for the original snowblower I picked up once it's painted. I also have another 1971 hydrostatic version that I am restoring. As seen by all the parts hanging around. Those really need to be stored somewhere better (or painted and on a tractor!)
And still more stuff cluttered and needing to be re-organized, some Jeep parts, more clutter. I also need to build some doors for the wall cabinets and just overall clean this side up! Oh, and more tractor parts....
What do you mean by "yah", "esplane".
