Yesterday we finally started the move into our new workshop. Construction still isn’t complete, but it is complete enough that I could move the furnace (melting pot) and the spin caster in and put them in place.

I ran the gas line and the air lines on Sunday, and by the end of the day was able to set the two pieces of equipment in place. The gas line went very smoothly, no leaks – a really good thing for a gas line! I did need to fiddle with the air/gas mixture. In the old shop, we ran off small tanks, and I could never get the gas pressure just right. In the new workshop, we are running off the main tank, and the pressure is as low as it should be (no more sooty flame either).

The air lines are not quite done. There are a couple of small leak in the manifold – but I kind of expected that as I didn’t have all the right pieces. A quick trip to the hardware store and about 10 minutes worth of work and I’ll be leak free!

One of the really nice things about the new setup is that we can expand to a second and even a third spinner without much effort (ok, going to 3 spinners will b a wee bit of work, but not all that much. If all goes well, by the end of 2007 we should have a second spinner in place – that will help speed up production, especially where larger figures (54mm) are concerned.

So, by tomorrow, we should be able to restart production. It will be nice to get back to casting figures, especially in a nice workspace. For the past week or so we could not cast at all due to low temperatures (below freezing is bad).

Next up will be the center bench – can also double as a wargame table if we ever need a second table. Then, I’ll be building new mold racks, so I can store the molds in the workshop, in an organized manner. After than some stock bin shelves will go up and the last piece in the workshop itself will be the order counter – mainly a countertop with a computer terminal, so we can lookup figure and mold information without leaving the shop.

By next weekend, the office and the wargame room should be ready for painting and carpet. So, by the end of the month the office and shipping room should be ready to roll. Then comes the wargame room. New Year’s weekend should see the (beginning of) the construction of the new sand table for the wargame room. Guess I need to decide between 12, 16 and 18 feet on this. The table will be 5 wide and somewhere between 12 and 18 feet long. The sides will be just 5 or 6 inches high. The goal is to have the table ready for the first of the workshop weekend games in February (date to be set in early January).

The last workshop space to be redone will be the mold making room. This is located in the basement, and it will be reorganized as soon as the shipping room and shop are setup.

By summer, we will have our resin casting shop completed, or at least fully operational. This will be located in the space that housed our workshop. The actual used space will be smaller and thus easier to insulate and heat.

Well, anyhow, now you know what I was up at the weekend. Still plenty more to do, but closing in on getting caught up.