Advice with workshop setup

Hi,

I could really use some good advice on how to set my work are up.
Right I can’t afford to rent studio space. And I don’t have a
garage, so I am setting up in my home. I have my kitchen and I have a
space on my top floor that I use for sewing. In my kitchen my DH
built me a workspace. I have included pictures, they really explain
my situation better than my words.

I am looking on advice for the best configuration of my work station
(s). Should Is it ok to use my workbench area to solder, polish and
saw? Or should I build a ventilation system in the upstairs window
or the kitchen window. I just bought a Gentec setup with the hose,
regulators, tip. Is it safe to store the oxy tank and propane tank
in the house. I could store it in the shop (PicG) but there is not
adequate heating/cooling for summer winter. Should i get arrestors
or can I do without? Anyway, I have a lot of questions. But I would
really appreciate it if you could look at the photos and give me
advice for setting up shop based on the pictures.

Thanks very much,
Ceah

My own workbench is in the corner of a room. As can be seen from the
following photo, the polishing and soldering areas are, essentially,
part of it.

Regards, Gary Wooding

Dear Ceah,

Looks like your DH is giving you the raw end of the deal. I don’t
believe he understands just how industrial a metalcrafting setup
actually should be. And, he has all of the prime industrial locations
in the house and is leaving you with crumbs.

  1. Changing locations between upstairs and downstairs is going to
    drive you NUTS.

  2. First off, NO WAY should you use a conventional bottle-fed torch
    rig inside a house. You’d pretty much void your homeowners insurance
    doing that. Best you can do would be to use a butane soldering iron
    in
    torch mode.

You should save the heavy torch work for that brick patio. In fact,
you could probably get your DH to create yourself a torching station
out of spare brick and concrete.

  1. Using a rolling wooden cart for polishing? Soldering? You must be
    kidding. Too fragile, and not steady enough.

Here’s what I suggest:

Give your DH some hell!!!

DEMAND at least an entire room for your crafting, either indoors or
outdoors, failing that, have him buy an outdoor steel shed for you,
if he is unwilling, tell him you are going to SHARE his job space
otherwise and you are going to take up two walls out of his four.

If he objects that his job space has to be exclusive, say, “tough…
then only half that floor space is exclusive to you. We’re MARRIED,
by God, and WE SHARE EVERYTHING.”

My DW pretty much has the entire living and dining room area devoted
to hercrafts, in exchange I was allowed to use the outside shed for
myself rather than for household storage.

Good luck,
Andrew Jonathan Fine

Ceah,

You need to pose a hypothetical question to your insurance agent;
“What effect does having a torch with (your gas here) gas inside my
home have on my insurance?” As mentioned, it could void your
insurance, depending on the gas. Also, keep in mind that propane is
heavier than air, so it sinks. It can literally “puddle” at the
lowest point of a structure, until it might build up enough volume
to be ignited–say, by the flame on a water heater. Natural gas, on
the other hand, is lighter than air and will dissipate normally.

Bottom line; you dont want propane inside your house.

David A. Stitt
North Canton, Ohio

Thanks to everyone for you great advice. Everyone was very helpful to
me and I do really appreciate it. Thanks for the advice Andrew, I
appreciate it. I do want to apologize if I said anything to give the
impression that DH is not being fair to me. I actually have all the
space in the house for my various crafts, all made possible by the
hard work of my husband to build the things that I need. So he really
is a thoughtful, sharing person. We do have limited space though, and
we are making the most of it. Thanks again to everyone. Im sure I
will have a lot more questions to come and I do appreciate anyone
taking the time to respond : )

Ceah

Ceah,

Your husband seems very handy and helpful. Maybe you could plan to
add a shop next to the storage area on the back of the house. The
common wall of the storage room and the shop could be made of
fireproof materials to help with any insurance problems plus you
could set it up for your needs. This wood be a much larger cost but
my be well worth it in the long run. Something to think about.

Rick McC