Innovative Farm Shop

1994 - Volume #18, Issue #5, Page #32

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Over the years, Hoyleton, Ill., farmer Roland Beckmeyer has found a number of innovative ways to make his farm shop a more efficient place to work.
His work bench runs all along one wall and contains numerous drawers. A key feature of the work bench is the design of the diagonal support legs which run from the outer edge of the bench back to the wall. Beckmeyer does a lot of work sitting down and likes the unobstructed leg room the design gives him compared to conventional table-type legs.
Another handy feature of his workbench is the full-size overhead shelf that runs the length of the bench. It keeps all kinds of supplies within easy reach.
Beckmeyer covered another wall in his shop with hundreds of wood parts bins, making it easy to segregate parts from different machines.
He also built a rolling overhead hoist that's anchored to a point high up on the parts wall. An I-beam runs out from a hinge on the wall to an upright beam that rides on a pair of heavy-duty wheels. The hoist swings back and forth in a 180? circle and is fitted with a chain hoist that rolls back and forth on the overhead beam. When not in use, it swings out of the way to the side.
One nifty idea he had to eliminate tangles of electric cords all over his shop was stringing a light and extension cord across his shop on a steel cable. He attached small pulleys to a long length of electric cord - spacing the pulleys every 10 ft. - and hooked the cord up to a spring wind-up type shop light with an electric plug-in. The light pulls out easily to anywhere in the shop. When not needed, it rolls off to the side with the cord hanging in loops beneath the cable.
One other handy tool Beckmeyer built for his shop is an "anvil" made out of a chunk of heavy I-beam mounted on a metal stand made out of two lengths of pipe with flat metal crossbars on bottom.
He says the large flat metal surface of the beam lets him work on larger pieces than he could with a normal anvil.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Roland Beckmeyer, Hoyleton, Ill. 62803 (ph 618 493-7357).

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Innovative Farm Shop FARM SHOP Handy Hints 18-5-32 Over the years, Hoyleton, Ill., farmer Roland Beckmeyer has found a number of innovative ways to make his farm shop a more efficient place to work. His work bench runs all along one wall and contains numerous drawers. A key feature of the work bench is the design of the diagonal support legs which run from the outer edge of the bench back to the wall. Beckmeyer does a lot of work sitting down and likes the unobstructed leg room the design gives him compared to conventional table-type legs. Another handy feature of his workbench is the full-size overhead shelf that runs the length of the bench. It keeps all kinds of supplies within easy reach. Beckmeyer covered another wall in his shop with hundreds of wood parts bins, making it easy to segregate parts from different machines. He also built a rolling overhead hoist that's anchored to a point high up on the parts wall. An I-beam runs out from a hinge on the wall to an upright beam that rides on a pair of heavy-duty wheels. The hoist swings back and forth in a 180? circle and is fitted with a chain hoist that rolls back and forth on the overhead beam. When not in use, it swings out of the way to the side. One nifty idea he had to eliminate tangles of electric cords all over his shop was stringing a light and extension cord across his shop on a steel cable. He attached small pulleys to a long length of electric cord - spacing the pulleys every 10 ft. - and hooked the cord up to a spring wind-up type shop light with an electric plug-in. The light pulls out easily to anywhere in the shop. When not needed, it rolls off to the side with the cord hanging in loops beneath the cable. One other handy tool Beckmeyer built for his shop is an "anvil" made out of a chunk of heavy I-beam mounted on a metal stand made out of two lengths of pipe with flat metal crossbars on bottom. He says the large flat metal surface of the beam lets him work on larger pieces than he could with a normal anvil. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Roland Beckmeyer, Hoyleton, Ill. 62803 (ph 618 493-7357).

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