Lockdown Hangar clearance!

[Mike.K 60]

With the recent sad passing of my Father, the lockdown and an urgent need for a Hangar clearance, I bit the bullet hard. Some twenty five models have been built in my work area over about the last two and a half years. Despite small and regular clear out sessions, the chaos, dust and general bedlam rose on an almost exponential scale to a near unworkable situation. Something had to give. Over the years, my Fathers filing system had expanded to bursting point. His art work from previous years flowed out of the plan chest and his collection of watercolour paintings and books had approached a volume of material probably found in The Tait Gallery. Only last year I had all his books off the shelves in order to fit stronger wall fastenings in place. I feared the near half ton of books would suddenly part company with the wall and I`d get hit on the head and in the nuts by a coffee table sized Renoir compendium weighing a couple of kilograms!

I`ve spent the last three days shredding documents, disposing of three builders sized wheel-barrow loads of old magazines, bound volumes, cardboard, hardened tins and tubes of artists paint, broken tools and sweeping off tons of balsa dust from every horizontal surface in the place. All got swallowed by the roving municipal six wheeled rubbish gobbling diesel powered crocodile in just a few seconds. Thanks Tandridge Borough Council! I`ve promised them further supplies of time expired junk next week.

The working area now seems huge. Where the coffee table books once sat on the shelves, all my knives, screwdrivers, drills and other gear essential for building, now lurk in containers, pots, small boxes or old metal biscuit tins. At long last, everything comes easily to hand. Its a massive improvement and although the effort was exhausting, the end result is very pleasing and not before time. Once Rob receives my Steen Skybolt kit from Perkies on Tuesday, I can get going on it in comfort. This time I`ll be able to place the new model on a table in the middle of the room and get a full 360 degree walk round access instead of having it balancing precariously balancing on a table piled high with a ton of building gear already on it whilst working at awkward angles.

Mike

[Trevor 25]

Sorry to hear of your fathers passing Mike. The workshop looks great!