One room tool house…Tmac1956

[tmac1956]

All:

I thought long and hard (well at least long) about this before deciding to post something. There are so many real shops here that mine is pretty sick in comparison. However, I can pride myself in at least one thing… and that is that I’ve been able to cram so much into one room. Anything else that I get will necessarily go into the garage.

So… here it is – such as it is.

[tmac1956]

Part 2..

[david pierce]

Tom,
Shop looks great. It is probably a good idea to not have the vice on the bed all the time. As long as the weight is centered and not hanging on one end of the bed you should be ok but I would keep it off when not using it. If the vice or any heavy accessory was hanging on one end, it could warp the mill bed over a period of time. Always keep the bed centered as yours is when not in use. I am sure that everyone who has jumped into this knows how quickly one can spend thousands of dollars. If our wives only kenw!!!!!
david

[tmac1956]

daivd:

Thanks for that advise. I’m about to mill something today, but I do remove it when not in use just to get it out of the way. However, I’ll make a ritual out of it now.

Thanks!
Tom

[Bob Tascione]

Tom,
I didn’t see this yesterday. Really nice setup! Is this all in one room?
I’m curious about the microscope in the first pic. I like the size of that one. Got any details on it you can pass along? Like power, where you got it from and maybe how much they run?
Thanks for posting!
Bob

[tmac1956]

Bob:

Yep – I shoved it all into one small bedroom.

The microscope is a 20x-40x Amscope that I bought from Sears. Here’a link to the specs. (The price may have changed a little since I got mine)
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM6383289707P

I also bought the digital camera attachement. The resolution’s not very good. If I had it to do again, I would have spent a little more to get a better one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NC9OMK/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks!
Tom

[willofiam]

Tom, very nice and well organized, YOU HAVE A GREAT SHOP!!!, From what I understand there have been many great watchmakers who had very small space to work in. A large area with all the best tools does not mean good work is being done. How long have you been working on watches? do you work on clocks also? Impressive Tom and thanks for sharing, William

[willofiam]

I have found these amscopes on craigslist for 20 – 60 dollars

[tmac1956]

@david pierce wrote:

Tom,
Shop looks great. It is probably a good idea to not have the vice on the bed all the time. As long as the weight is centered and not hanging on one end of the bed you should be ok but I would keep it off when not using it. If the vice or any heavy accessory was hanging on one end, it could warp the mill bed over a period of time. Always keep the bed centered as yours is when not in use. I am sure that everyone who has jumped into this knows how quickly one can spend thousands of dollars. If our wives only kenw!!!!!
david

Yes. Either I’m a good lier, or she just humors me and it hasn’t reached critical mass yet.

Tom

[tmac1956]

@willofiam wrote:

Tom, very nice and well organized, YOU HAVE A GREAT SHOP!!!, From what I understand there have been many great watchmakers who had very small space to work in. A large area with all the best tools does not mean good work is being done. How long have you been working on watches? do you work on clocks also? Impressive Tom and thanks for sharing, William

William:

I’ve started playing around about a year ago I think (It’s when I first joined here). I started trying to service my collection of pocket watches and just got hooked. I haven’t even opened a clock yet as I just don’t feel that I have enough knowledge for that. Additionally, I just don’t have the room for them at the moment. I do plan to move in that direction at some point. Maybe when I retire (at 72) I could start trying to make a little money doing this. I just love this stuff and would like at some point to be able to do it full time.

I guess I’m sort of in the same position as David has recently described. I teach at a post-secondary community college and I’m just trying to get through the thing alive (tons of stress). Having spent about 20 years of my earlier life in the structural engineering field, I have SOMETHING of an understanding of metals – nowhere near the level that David and Bob have. I do hope to buy a bigger lathe at some point. Then I need a vertical band saw, and a large belt sander, and a Bridgeport milling machine, and a welding set up, and an hydraulic press, and probably before then… a divorce. 😮

Your shop looks like a professional one. You do this for a living correct? It’s incredibly nice.

Thanks for your input as always…
Tom

[willofiam]

Tom, I hope a divorce doesnt come with the tooling (I think your kidding), my wife says if it makes me happy then she is happy, She knows that there are tools I need to accomplish certain tasks, AND even if I do buy and dont need or made a mistake, I can usually resell and get my money back. I do work on clocks and pocket watches full time. I started on pocket watches about a year ago and really enjoy the change up from a clock to a watch. both are rewarding to work on but each has its own world, many tools will cross over from one to the other and it looks like you have almost everything you would need for clocks, William

[tmac1956]

A few more that got cut off in the other photos…

[tmac1956]

[Bob Tascione]

The microscope is a 20x-40x Amscope that I bought from Sears. Here’a link to the specs. (The price may have changed a little since I got mine)
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM6383289707P

I also bought the digital camera attachement. The resolution’s not very good. If I had it to do again, I would have spent a little more to get a better one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NC … UTF8&psc=1

Thanks Tom. The Sears link worked and tells all but the Amazon link doesn’t seem to be working for me. Maybe it’s my location. No problem though. That definitely looks like a nice microscope for the money. One other question…is that a little stainless ultrasonic cleaner sitting next to the scope?

Bob

[tmac1956]

Bob:

No – that’s a little Crock Pot pickler. I think its really made for heating dip at parties or something, but most jewelry makers use it for heating pickling solution.

Later,
Tom

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