Five-minute workshop jobs

IT IS often the way a spare few minutes is utilised now that can make all the difference later when the pressure is on. For instance, spending a few minutes each day keeping your workshop tidy will not have a significant impact on the day, but it can make all the difference when you need to fix a piece of machinery in a hurry.

Regular dressing with a dressing stick or a rotary dresser will clean the surface of the wheel and reface it to a square, flat face (inset).
With the wheel dressed, a few spare minutes can be put to good use sharpening blunt cold chisels or drill bits, but remember to cool often in a cup of water.
If you find hand-sharpening drill bits difficult, it may pay to invest in a ‘Drill Doctor’ or similar sharpening tool. These range in price from around $200 to $550 depending on the maximum size drill bit they can accommodate.
Wooden tool handles suffer over time as they dry out and become splintery. This is especially true for spades, shovels, axes and sledgehammers which get used outside. Wooden handles which dry out also often become loose. Mix up a brew of 50:50 boiled linseed oil and turpentine.
Give handles a liberal coating with an old paint brush. The turps helps thin down the boiled linseed oil, helping it soak into the handle. Don’t use raw linseed oil as it will take ages to dry, and may remain sticky. The boiled linseed/turps mixture should be dry in about a day.
Fill another spray bottle with a mixture of water and dishwashing liquid. Spray it around oxy-acetylene fittings and hoses to check for leaks. They may be small, but a slow leak will cost dollars over time.
While you are at it, check any reticulated compressed air system for leaks with the detergent mixture. The air compressor will cut in continually to maintain the system pressure if there are even small leaks. If you tend to leave the system on, this will cost electricity.
It also pays to check compressor oil levels and drain any moisture from reservoirs and water traps. These jobs are typically overlooked until a problem crops up.
Poor old hand files never seem to get any attention. They work so much better if they are regularly cleaned, by scrubbing along the serrations with a wire brush or file cleaning card.
Keep the mixture handy in a spray bottle. This mix works out at around $7.50 per litre.
If you’ve got some chalk, give the file a rub. The chalk dust will help the file shed any filings or dirt that may otherwise get caught in the teeth.
Bench grinding wheels will lose their flat face through normal use, making fine work almost impossible, such as sharpening a drill bit. In addition, they can become clogged with dirt and soft metal particles such as aluminium.

11 May 2017
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Josh Giumelli

If you spend five minutes or so each day packing away tools, sorting fasteners and other supplies, cleaning up mess and even simply sweeping the floor, it will keep your workshop in a state of readiness for when you need to get things done quickly.

In the May edition of Farming Ahead we look at a range of jobs that can be performed in five minutes or less. Naturally, cleaning and packing away tools goes at the top of the list, but there are a range of other small tasks that can be performed quickly which can save time later on.

In addition, if you have employees on your farm, then these tasks are a good way to make sure they use idle time productively. If you have a whiteboard in a prominent place, make sure it has a "to-do" list that is kept up to date.