Shop Tour


	A Tour Of The Shop ...


	Ventura Historic Ships' facility includes our spacious 5,000 square foot indoor shop and an outer fenced yard of equal size. This outer yard is currently occupied by "Tamerlane", a 65-foot Sparkman and Stephens motor sailer which is currently undergoing a complete restoration from the keel up, as well as several large lumber stacks with lengths of up to 40 feet for two of the current projects.

All of the larger woodworking machines are from an earlier era, restored and in perfect working order, including an Oliver 14" table saw from the 1950's, and a second Oliver 14" table saw about 1940 vintage (left).

The 12" Rockwell jointer is from the 1950's, and the 18" Powermatic planer is from the early 1950's. (Below)

The 1940 vintage Oliver 36" band saw stands 9 feet tall and has a 10 horsepower direct drive motor driving a 2 ¼" wide carbide tipped blade, which is nearly twenty feet long. This saw is capable of cutting through heavy dense timbers up to 16" thick with ease. Many of the hand tools below date back as far as the 1830's.

Visitors to Ventura Historic Ships often remark that the shop resembles a tool and woodworking machinery museum, and indeed it does. But nostalgia aside, the main reason we are so equipped is because the old machines were made in a time when "heavy duty" and "industrial grade" meant just that. They have the power and vibration free operation not found in modern machinery, regardless of price, and the many antique planes, chisels, and other hand tools contain high quality steel and other components that no longer exists in today's off-the-shelf, uh, stuff.


	Also, we use these tools from a bygone era because much of the work we do is from a bygone era, and hardly a thing is made today that is suitable. For lighter work, the smaller machines consist of two Delta 14" band saws; these saws are located nearly eighty feet apart, so that one is never more than about forty feet or so away from either saw to make a quick cut.


	My old 1948 Craftsman 12" band saw, which I acquired in 1973, was fitted with a 12" drive pulley to slow the speed by about 80%, and, with a bi-metal blade, allows cutting through metals with ease. Recent cuts through 3/8" bronze plate barely warmed up the material or the blade. The third table saw, a 10" Delta, is fitted with a 60-tooth blade, perfect for lighter materials, plywood, and veneers. The Delta 13" planer (below) is used primarily for fine finish work and thin pieces requiring a smooth surface.


	Dust control. For the larger machines, we've installed a Grizzly dust collector system, which services the two larger table saws, the jointer, the large band saw, and the Powermatic planer. All of these machines have a remote control switch for the dust collection system mounted near the on-off switch to save steps. In a large shop, this alone can save a lot of time.




	The smaller machines have their own dedicated Shop Vac wired directly so that the vac comes on when the machine is turned on. Most of these smaller machines are on mobile bases so that they can be easily located in the vicinity of the work or stored out of the way when not in use. Each employee is required to have a complete set of his own tools, safety equipment, and power hand tools appropriate to their skill level. Ventura Historic Ships also provides a full line of hand and power tools as a back up to the employees' tools. The steam box runs on 220V three-phase electricity and is capable of steaming frames and other pieces up to fourteen feet long.


	We have two lofts totaling about 500 square feet for storage of lumber, hardware, patterns and parts. A store room was added beneath one of the lofts for fasteners and supplies which will be needed on projects in progress. Longer term and bulk storage of materials are located in the Tuff Shed at the far east end of the yard.


	Inside the shop, the south east corner has been designated as a small metal working shop, complete with an 1800's vintage 70 pound anvil, a 1930's vintage vise, a drill press, bench grinders and buffers, the metal cutting band saw, and various other metal working tools.


	Along the south wall, there is 60-foot long work bench with woodworking vises. Along the west and south west wall, there are two 30-foot long benches with woodworking vises, and along the north wall, there is a spar bench which was built laser straight. We are capable of building spars over 90 feet in length.




	Because larger vessels are repaired and restored in the outer yard, we will soon be installing a large canopy of approximately 3,800 square feet for protection and so that work may proceed regardless of weather. There are two offices, the one in the back containing the desks, computer, fax machine, and all the usual office equipment, as well as a drafting table. The front office acts more as a lunch room with a coffee pot, refrigerator, microwave, etc.

While a large shop is a great advantage, one of the drawbacks can be the simple act of having to walk quite a ways to get to a tool or supplies. To this end, we have endeavored to streamline the shop in many ways, and one method is to have several "stations" where everyday items are stored or mounted to the walls; for instance, there are no less than three full sets of wrenches and sockets, and four stations where such items as glue brushes, grinder discs, hammers, crow bars, tape measures, pencils, pencil sharpeners, five dust collection remote control units, four push brooms and large dust pans, and extension cords, all mounted on the walls so that a worker is never more than about 25 feet from any of these items. Also, shop made tool carts for each employee are provided, as well as a large clamp cart which can carry over 150 of the larger clamps so that when framing or planking a large boat such as "Tamerlane", clamps and tools can be quickly moved and returned efficiently to the shop in less than a minute.

As can be seen from the photos, Cho Cho San, the boat inside the shop, is 42 feet on deck with a 12 foot beam, and hardly makes a dent in our space.

Thanks for touring my shop!

- Doug


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