How to remove an asbestos roof

As part of the shop re-modelling exercise I needed to get "professional" help in to remove the old asbestos roof. I was expecting people wearing space suits with breathing gear but instead got these two guys.
I would never have climbed up onto that roof never mind walked about on it.
They had no safety equipment AT ALL apart from steel toed boots!
I don't even think they brought a ladder. At one point the younger guy is up on the roof making a phone call!

YeeeeeHaaarrghh!

Have a look at this YouTube video I uploaded and you can see what I mean.


I'll give them some credit though. They removed everything, cleaned up thoroughly after themselves and the whole lot was completed in 2. 1/2 hours. They did say that the amount of asbestos in the roofing sheets was minimal and they were composed mainly of concrete - hence no protective clothing required.
Now there definitely is no going back and I have to continue the project until it's finished.

There is an HD version available from this link too.

Oh Dear! What have I started???

Shop Transformation Part 1

So the builder started with an empty shop, complete with a previous owners bored childrens' graffiti on the concrete panels, to new blockwork internal skin in just 4 days. The pictures speak for themselves:

I've never seen this shop so empty!

I didn't see any of the graffiti as your eyes just got used to it.
Once there was nothing in there it's glaringly obvious

Old shop clear out

So the big old shop emptying exercise has begun. As you may (or may not know) I currently have mobility problems due to a dodgy hip and this has caused no end of problems for me. Thank heavens for cocodamol and my employers VPN!
Anyway I have been able to pack up all my stuff into various boxes from a sitting position and move them into temporary storage (our dining room!) with help of my darling wife who has done most of the physical work and kindly gave me permission. We also have filled countless waste bins with 12 years of detritus. We even went to the local rubbish dump and got rid of the old petrol lawnmower. It had seen its last blade of grass earlier in the year and I knew its life was at an end when the metal of the bodywork exploded in a shower of rust when first started it up in the first part of the season.

The temporary storage area (our dining room)

Earlier on yesterday I had discovered that all my expensive parallel clamps, that I had put into a cardboard box raised from the floor by timbers in the back yard and covered with a "waterproof" sheet, were basically floating in rainwater! So much for the sheet! I got them all out and using some Boeshield T9 and a rag dried them all off. I then liberally coated all the clamps with the Boeshield and we took them indoors to the temporary storage area. I got my waste wood-chip collection bin and placed them all vertically in it. I also dried off a whole raft of F clamps that had also got wet. The whole lot (suitably cleaned) is now in the dining room and fortunately not damaged or rusted.

Drawer pulls for the chest of drawers

During a period of ongoing illness I got a little down with lack of shop time. My wife suggested I go out and finish off the drawer pulls for the chest of drawers and just do what I can without over exerting myself.

I went out and spent a few hours over a weekend with the bandsaw and the oscillating spindle sander and made 10 drawer pulls. They are made from oak and sapele and finished off with General Finishes Enduro Var. I was pleased with the results. I also spent another night making a drill jig/fixture ready to hold the parts for the pilot holes. Then I will transfer the holes to the drawers and screw them in place. Here are a few pictures.

Original Sketchup design

Pulls waiting to be fitted

Pulls temporarily fitted with Blutack

The stepped rear face on the original Sketchup drawing didn't quite work on a test piece I made so on the final pieces that feature has been omitted. The lump on the very front of the pull has come out well as per the specification I got from my client and I'm pleased with it.

It doesn't show very well on these photographs but the contrasting sapele against the face of the drawer makes the entire drawer pull seem slimmer.

I also retained the template I made so I can reproduce these again should I need to. The pieces are much too small to be made safely on the router table, I know as I broke a couple early on in manufacture using the router, hence I went down the band saw and sanding to a line route. I then finished off most of the radii with a round over bit and a little hand sanding. They feel right in the hand and a friend said they look organic as if they had been taken straight from a tree branch.