- Joined
- Nov 23, 2014
- Messages
- 2,606
My shop resides in 32’ x 40’ of a 40’ x 96’ pole barn. The barn started out as a 10’ side wall, 40’ x 56’ building. Then reality hit, I needed more space! I added a 40’ x 40’ x 12’ addition to the back a few years ago for storing a Case 580 backhoe, M-F 35 tractor, Ford F600 dump truck, lawn mower, quad, utility trailer and about 9 full cords of firewood.
The 40’ x 56’ has a partition wall splitting it into a 40’ x 32’ shop side and a 40’ x 24’ storage side. There’s a 12’ slider door between the two, plus a service door in the bathroom. I have wood and metal in the shop. As you can see from the photos, the wood side needs a lot of organization.
My metal working machines include a Grizzly 14x40 lathe, Clausing 12 x 24 lathe, Rockwell 10 x 36 lathe, Atlas MFB mill, Jet JVM-830 knee mill, Delta surface grinder, Atlas 7” shaper, 4”x6” band saw, Tennsmith 37” stomp shear, Diacro 24” finger brake, HF 30” 3-in-1 sheet metal machine, Craftsman 15” drill press, couple of bench grinders, HF sandblasting cabinet, weld bench with stick, MIG, TIG, gas and spot welders. Many hand tools also.
Wood stuff includes a (disassembled) Craftsman lathe, 12” band saw, 15” planer, 10” table saw, 6” joiner, 10”/6”x48” stationary disk/belt sander, Grizzly 4-bag dust collector, 3 ¼ HP Freud router on a Craftsman router table, many sanders, routers, clamps, hand tools, etc.
I spent a fair amount of time last spring/summer organizing my metal shop. Nice to have a gantry crane when it comes to moving machinery (have an engine hoist too). Also nice to be able to actually find something within a few minutes instead of hours!
Project list (or as I candidly refer to them, my “list of good intentions”) includes (in no particular order):
Organizing my woodworking side.
Organizing the 12’ tool storage rack.
Organizing my stock storage rack.
Organizing my welding bench (notice the reoccurring theme?)
Repairing the power feed on my Atlas MFB mill.
Selling my Atlas shaper and Rockwell lathe (both work great, just don’t use them).
Tripod for a 10-barrel .22 caliber RG&G designed Gatling gun.
Storage box for the gun.
Radius turning attachment for the lathes.
Picking up a Bridgeport VS mill.
Miscellaneous Gilbert Erector reproduction parts (photos of some of the parts are attached).
I’m a Quality Engineer at the Lansing Grand River Assembly plant in Lansing, MI. When asked by co-workers what I do in my shop, I reply “anything I want!” A lot of my shop time involves making reproduction Erector set parts which I sell at shows/eBay/word of mouth. It works out pretty well as our 19-year old son is a dirty filthy capitalist and is learning to run the equipment that he’ll eventually inherit (or sell) and making a little coin to boot! Best thing about the shop is there is ALWAYS something to do! No worries about finding something to do during the days once I eventually retire!
The 40’ x 56’ has a partition wall splitting it into a 40’ x 32’ shop side and a 40’ x 24’ storage side. There’s a 12’ slider door between the two, plus a service door in the bathroom. I have wood and metal in the shop. As you can see from the photos, the wood side needs a lot of organization.
My metal working machines include a Grizzly 14x40 lathe, Clausing 12 x 24 lathe, Rockwell 10 x 36 lathe, Atlas MFB mill, Jet JVM-830 knee mill, Delta surface grinder, Atlas 7” shaper, 4”x6” band saw, Tennsmith 37” stomp shear, Diacro 24” finger brake, HF 30” 3-in-1 sheet metal machine, Craftsman 15” drill press, couple of bench grinders, HF sandblasting cabinet, weld bench with stick, MIG, TIG, gas and spot welders. Many hand tools also.
Wood stuff includes a (disassembled) Craftsman lathe, 12” band saw, 15” planer, 10” table saw, 6” joiner, 10”/6”x48” stationary disk/belt sander, Grizzly 4-bag dust collector, 3 ¼ HP Freud router on a Craftsman router table, many sanders, routers, clamps, hand tools, etc.
I spent a fair amount of time last spring/summer organizing my metal shop. Nice to have a gantry crane when it comes to moving machinery (have an engine hoist too). Also nice to be able to actually find something within a few minutes instead of hours!
Project list (or as I candidly refer to them, my “list of good intentions”) includes (in no particular order):
Organizing my woodworking side.
Organizing the 12’ tool storage rack.
Organizing my stock storage rack.
Organizing my welding bench (notice the reoccurring theme?)
Repairing the power feed on my Atlas MFB mill.
Selling my Atlas shaper and Rockwell lathe (both work great, just don’t use them).
Tripod for a 10-barrel .22 caliber RG&G designed Gatling gun.
Storage box for the gun.
Radius turning attachment for the lathes.
Picking up a Bridgeport VS mill.
Miscellaneous Gilbert Erector reproduction parts (photos of some of the parts are attached).
I’m a Quality Engineer at the Lansing Grand River Assembly plant in Lansing, MI. When asked by co-workers what I do in my shop, I reply “anything I want!” A lot of my shop time involves making reproduction Erector set parts which I sell at shows/eBay/word of mouth. It works out pretty well as our 19-year old son is a dirty filthy capitalist and is learning to run the equipment that he’ll eventually inherit (or sell) and making a little coin to boot! Best thing about the shop is there is ALWAYS something to do! No worries about finding something to do during the days once I eventually retire!
