Shop work flow

[nsfr1206]

Hi folks. I find when turning pens that I seem to do a lot of moving from place to place. Do most of you have stuff arranged down the bench ie blanks, bandsaw, drill press, glue station etc etc? Or do you do like me and go back and forth? Anybody have some good layouts for me to rearrange tools for better work?

 

[76winger]

If you're doing production work then you'll definitely want to consider optimizing your movements from place to place so you spend more time making pens instead of walking back and forth.

I do a lot of criss-crossing in my own shop, but I'm not making that much as once so it doesn't matter. What works best for me is to work on a few pens of the same type at one time. That way I'm cutting all the blanks to the same length together, so I don't have to keep adjusting the fence on my bandsaw.
Then I drill all of the blanks at once, Tops using one drill first, then bottoms using the other drill.
Then I do all the glue ups.
Then the barrel trimming and cleaning glue out of the insides of the tubes.
Then the turning and finishing.
Then final assembly.

This works good for me whild working in small batches. But if I were going to start doing a dozen or so at a time, I'd certainly want to further optimize by getting everything in order to create a more efficient workflow.

 

[OOPS]

+1 to what Dave just said. I do 3-4 of the same type of pen at once. I do them in stages, just as he does. I tend to do use poly for finishes, so my finishing is a separate step, done in the house, not in the shop. Don't need dust particles in the finish!

 

[dogcatcher]

I do every thing in multiples of 6. If I am making pens, I do 6 of a design at one time. If I am making weed pots I make either 6, 12, or 18 at a time. Game calls, the same, either 6, 12, 18 or 24. Platters, 6 at a time. The kind of wood may change, but that is all, I do not mix pen types, I start and finish all 6 before I go to another design or style.

This way I do all of the cutting at one place, all of my drilling at one time, then hit the lathe with all of the pieces ready to go. Just the motion of changing out the bushings or drill bits in the drill press is a waste of time making them at one at a time.

 

[GaTurner83]

I rearranged my shop for that very reason.I found that I was spending more time walking back and forth to do something than I was spending doing the task at hand.I lined the tools up I use the most,bandsaw,drill press,lathe.I have a roll around cart that I use for my glueing/assembly station and it sits between the drill press and lathe.I start at the bandsaw to cut my blanks the move to the drill press for drilling and then the cart for glueing then the drill press again for trimming the to the lathe.After everything is turned and finish applied.Then its back to the cart for assembly.

 

[nava1uni]

I have everything that I need for turning on a roll around tool box with drawers. I put two together and created a column with everything I need. It works great for me. All tools are clustered into a work area and things flow. Look at some of the shop pictures to get some ideas.

 

[gbpens]

My shop is set up for woodworking not just pen turning. In a manufacturing environment machines and functions are arranged in a linear or circular pattern to maximize efficiency. However, we are dealing with a handful of pieces or even one-offs. As long as my bench is, 11 feet, it cannot accomdate all of the necessary machines, tools, materials and supplies. Besides, these creaky joints need to walk around a bit.

 

[hewunch]

It's called exercise. My Doc thinks it is a good idea

 

[Sylvanite]

My shop is laid out with more concern to getting everything to fit under one roof than to work efficiency. I'm usually just happy that there is a path from the kits, past the blanks, to the lathe.

I'm with Hans - I get my exercise walking back and forth between machines.

Regards,
Eric

 

[jfoh]

So is your problems your shop is so open you have to walk too far between machines? I wish I had that problem. Most of us have the other problem. When your shop is too small it seems like half the time you are moving items to make space to do things. Many of us trip over things as we try to work. One solution is to double your shop size. The other is to get as organized as possible in how you do things. Clear plastic bins help me keep stuff straight and working smart helps.

My shop is super crowded, but highly organized. To make things flow in my shop I do things in as large lots as possible. When stabilizing I do it all day. Might end up with 50-100 blanks, maybe twice that many. Clean them up after cooking, curing, them all one time. Cut, drill, glue them all the another day. That way I use only one machine or one area at at time. Keeps the messes down to one easy to clean area. Cleanup should never take you more than ten minutes. Clean as you go, use good dust collection, keep things clutter free. When you are done, it takes ten minutes and clean it up and do not leave the shop unless it is clean. Much easier that way and you do not have to spend time cleaning before you get started. You can either clean after play or clean before play. When I use to have to clean before play I would put it off and hence not get to play very often.

After trimming the ends the blanks go into plastic bins for storage sorted by kit style. Right now I have 300-350 blanks glued up. Easy to do any pen when ever needed as I have ready to turn blanks. Every pen style has a small plastic bin for bushings, notes and related stuff that is either in the bin with ready to turn blanks or sits right on top of them. Turning a pen style is not a treasure hunt for what is needed to make a pen. I like notes because over the years I have found that I like certain things or hate certain things about most pen kits. So any tricks that I have learned are written down and right with the blanks. There are even a few turned samples that I can measure to duplicate the exact shape I am after.

Unless it is a special order I buy 20-50 or more of the same pen kits at a time. They all get stored in clear plastic bins, labeled on the end. I always buy extra brass tubes. Pick up 50 of them and it makes it much easier with my system and extra tubes are cheap. Screw ups are not a big deal when you have extra tubes on hand.

Raw blanks are mostly stored in clear plastic bins as well on shelves. Well maybe a thousand or two are in clear bins, the rest are in large Rubbermaid bins. When I started this madness I heard the person with the most toys or the most blanks wins. I may not be first place but I am in the running.

 

[76winger]

It's called exercise. My Doc thinks it is a good idea

I thought that's what the treadmill and bicycle was for! :biggrin:

 

[76winger]

I do every thing in multiples of 6. If I am making pens, I do 6 of a design at one time. If I am making weed pots I make either 6, 12, or 18 at a time. Game calls, the same, either 6, 12, 18 or 24. Platters, 6 at a time. The kind of wood may change, but that is all, I do not mix pen types, I start and finish all 6 before I go to another design or style.

This way I do all of the cutting at one place, all of my drilling at one time, then hit the lathe with all of the pieces ready to go. Just the motion of changing out the bushings or drill bits in the drill press is a waste of time making them at one at a time.

The other good thing about this approach is we're usually buying supplies in those quantities and thus get a little quantity discount!

 

[dogcatcher]

It's called exercise. My Doc thinks it is a good idea

I thought that's what the treadmill and bicycle was for! :biggrin:

The treadmill and bicycle are for you to hang clothes on.

 

[nsfr1206]

It sounds like you are in the front. My shop is basically 28x44 with an upstairs that is mostly storage. Problem is, I have about a complete wood shop, a huge metal lathe, a small metal lathe, and a milling machine in there. Plus a bunch of stored wood. And other things. So it's kinda full. Would like to get rid of some tools....

 

[Displaced Canadian]

Saw an article about a shop that was a real looker. It was 40'X70' and had all the tools one could think of. When looking at the blueprint of the layout it was terrible. To build anything in that shop you would spend more time walking than working. Sometimes large shops are like large kitchens, they look pretty but nobody would want to work in them. My shop is a single car garage. I have 2 16"x32" tables, chopsaw, tablesaw, and router table are on wheels, and a 8' counter for the lathe and sharpening stuff. When I start to work on any project I arrange my tables, chopsaw and counter form a semi circle around me to minimize walking. I would say the the secret to organization is gorilla racks for stuff and portable benches for work flow. We all need to thank the caveman who invented the wheel.

 

[raar25]

Sorry I am cursed to fit into a small basement so there isn't far to walk no mater what I am doing. But I agree with everyone, it will save time if you work in batches to reduce set up and walk distance. I do my jobs moving from station to station with areas dedicated to a specific purpose,

1. prep on main work bench in center of shop
2. cutting blanks band saw
3. drilling
4. back to the prep area for gluing and trimming/squaring
5. turning and finishing on the lathe with buffer immediately next to the lathe
6. assembly station
7. photo station by the stairs heading out of the basement

I have also started keeping all of my consumables at point of use so for instance I have CA bottles on the work bench and the shelf above the lathe and at the assy station. So no walking across the basement to get the glue or finish material or paper towels which are never where you want them to be when you only have one source. Of course drills and mills are all organized and labeled at their point of use as well.

 

[butchf18a]

All oneneed do is organize around their available space and needs. What works for me in a 28'x48 space is unlikely to work for someone else. If a developed methodology is Impractical, change it. If it is broke, fix it.