Ideas garage shop space benches heat and lighting

MarkM said:

View attachment 242386 Yes power is a concern. I have a fair bit of 120 outlets through the garage and will be adding another complet panel for 220 on the other side with a 60 amp circuit a 20 amp and also a 30 amp. I ll be able to run the equipment as long as I think about things as I am a one man shop. Winter with the 220 heater drawing 26amps at max plus the welder will be my most draw at once with a small kick toe 110 heater close to the floor facing the lathe. I do plan to cnc a rong fu rf 31 down the rd so I will have to consider what is run at the time. I just hope my girfriend doesn t want to do any laundry at the same time as the house only has 100 amps. Over time the lights will be converted over to leds. Ready to get wired up now with the panel 6 gauge cable and vfd sitting on the bench and thanks Glenn!

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That #6 teck cable was definitely the more expensive route. You could gone with 1 1/4" conduit and 1/0 aluminum cables for the same price. And the aluminum would have given you more headroom in that 60amps with no loss over the distance.
Food for thought.
I wish I had a detached garage. Then I wouldn't get complaints that I'm vibrating the whole house.

Hello all! Been awhile but still plugging away and making progress. Insulated and vapour barriered some more walls and ceilings. Added a great 6000/3000 watt heater with a thermostat and have my vfd wired in with it s branch circuit disconnect with it s 60 amp j fuses then to the motor. Just the control inputs left with the vfd. All over kill with all being done with teck cable and three phase wiring even the disconnect is full industrial and three phase though I only needed single phase to the vfd and heater. I Don t know where I ll be and may need the three phase with more machines at a later date so I thought shell out some more money now rather than have to buy new down the road. Thought about this for a few years and am only doing it once. So everything is hopefully for life.
Rich your shop looks great. It s alot of work but just keep the nose to the grindstone. Noobcanuck the panel is screwed to some studs through some half inch fiber board. I don t really know about the panel and code here but New Brunswick is way behind the rest of the country with anything and did tell the electrician make sure it all meets code. Not too worried if it isnt I just want to make some chips.
Heres a few pics and some of the lathe finally having its cosmoline cleaned off and one of the ribbing under the one peace stand. The stand is one of the features I love about the lathe. So far no metal chips found on cleanup just a tight compound that needs to be taken apart and cleaned properly before I move it any more. Can t wait finally have a proper electrician to help with the control inputs. Taught at the local college and now is the go to guy at the Nuclear plant down the road. Our schedules will meet a week from today so hopefully I ll be runing in a week.

Also, you won't trip that 100a main in the house with just usage. You could run every single electrical item in the house and shop and not trio the breaker. The main 100a is rated for 20,000a RMS, where regular breakers are only rated for 10,000 which is why they pop with over draw.
You could have run 100a to the garage without a problem.

Didn want the conduit and aluminum. Wanted copper and the teck cable for its durability and the fact it deals with moisture way better. Forklifts down at the port drive right over them and I ll be digging it all up and taking everything with me. On the east coast condensation is a huge concern. I don t think you can beat teck cable for what I want.

Hi Guys,

I just picked up a couple of these:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=44590&cat=1,43456,43465,44590
(to replace a similar unit that is >20 years old with shot contacts for the heater)
I had been trying to get one for _years_ but they usually sell out quick in the fall when it starts getting cold.

Not great for light, but the heater is fantastic. That is, if you have a small spot you want to heat.
I have one pointed at the front edge of the welding bench, and will mount the other on the ceiling pointed to the front of the other bench.

There's nothing like picking up a hammer, ratchet or wrench from the bench and having it warm in your hand.
Also standing in the warm spot (even for a just few minutes) makes doing jobs more pleasant.
They will not heat a giant space, but for spot heating nothing beats it.

-brino

I was looking at some older posts and remembered this one. Was curious how your lathe is doing MarkM? It sure looked awesome in the earlier pics. Curious how it has treated you and how it looks now? Anyways wishing you the best and love seeing updated pics of how the machine looks after a bit of use.

Hey guys I have been meaning to revive this thread. I had to put a roof on and take all the panels down and re insulate as I had drips coming through my light sockets. We had over seven inchs of rain one day and high winds and a few more inches. So it exhausted my funds or I should say put me further in debt and took most of my time dealing with the insulation.
Noobcanuck the lathe has been great. Way over my budget but glad I pushed out on the lathe. Accurate and parts well which is a good indication of a machines rigidity. When I got it the trucking company put the face plate under one corner on the skid and took some time to get it level. Six months of coaxing to get the twist out. I added a bench for my grinders but again not finished.
Added a mill drill. Yes a round column but very happy with it. Got the power down feed and the extended column which gives me 26 inchs between the table and spindle. Very pleased with it and I Can put out decent work that is accurate. Spent some time machining the crappy vise that came with the machine. Good for a quick and dirty vise. It s square and accurate now.
Went with 8 guage tek three phase tech cable for a bigger welder down the rd. And enough length to reach anywhere in the shop. Done with welding plugs. The heater is also done with three phase cable. Never know where I ll be and may go to a rotary phase one day with more machines.
I have done a few things to the shop but it s mostly been getting back to where I was with the rain damage. I ll be more active with this thread. The drywall was cut eight inches from the bottom and replaced to deal with the water. Here are some pics.

I'm going to use a min split in my shop for heating and cooling.. I bought my house in June and have no heat or cooling in the shop. I just completed a power upgrade so I have 200 amps in the shop and 200 for the house. Today my Mr Cool 36k DYI install mini split arrived. I've never used a mini split before and have a thread on where to place the inside air handler. I looked at other ways to heat and cool the shop and this seemed to be the best and most efficient way to both heat and cool. This unit is a completely self install unit and has really good reviews on it.

After I get it installed I'll post on it. I'd like to start working on it this weekend, but my pesky customers sent me a bunch of parts to machine. Don't they know I have a new toy to play with??

https://iwae.com/shop/36k-btu-16-se...t-pump-split-system-wall-mounted-ha11723.html

Good day all. Time to check back into this thread. Made some progress. Put the tool box in the corner by the stairs and moved my main bench eighteen inches towards the stairs. Reinforced the bench and added shelving and a place for collets drills chucks and tailstocks. Added a welding cart giving access to a small but rugged bench for my vise and such.
Always looking for ways to make it warmer on the cheap as the shop seems to take it all. Tool my casing from my tech cable and ran it along the door frame and some foam on the door for a good seal.
Added some welding blankets hanging from the ceiLing to the floor to cycle the heat in my area. Has made a huge difference both in bringing my area up to temp and keeping my own little cacoon warm.
I want to be able to weld and grind and not expose machinery to dust and also to be safe so i cut my machinery off by adding a third blanket and reroute the one behind the bench. Managed to keep some lighting as well. Acces to my welder under the stairs is direct and no fussing. I have to consider fumes dust and such in a small area. I ll give them the respect and wear a respirator until I can mangage the dust but its safe and It s safe and I don t have to worry about my lathe or mill. Plan to build a welding slash assembly table on casters. Hers some pics and also of my Toyota on the other side.
The work with the insulation has paid off huge. Even when it is -20 celsius i can be very comfortable. Shut the heat off and return the next morning and the shop still hovering at zero celsius. Now with the fire blankets not long at all bfore the chill,is gone.

Managed to add some bracing to the back of my main bench. I can actually use a hacksaw now and not have items fall off the bench. Added a lower corner shelf for my lathe steady folllow rests and enough room for my faceplate and four jaw. It frees up the spot where my faceplate is. Room for more toys for the mill.
Finally mounted my clamp down kit on the wall behind the mill. I needed a spot to place my vise handles amd not have to look for them on the bench in a mess. I Also made a small shelf for when I am working on the mill. I needed a place to put my micrometer drill and such and not have them fall on the floor or get damaged . Left the back part open for my 8 inch beam Caliper or longer tooling like reamers. This was given to me starting my apprentiship from my mentor and it is the one I will use when precision is needed. I have two other calipers. Mitutoyo digital and dial and I still go to the beam caliper when it gets serious. I am getting to be one of those older fellas I guess.
Mynnext project is to build a mobile welding / assembly table. It hase to be narrow with some fold out features to give a better work envelope. Any thoughts or pics of something similar.
When I started this thread I was hoping people would chime in on some of there unique ways to improve there garage shop situation. So please feel free.