# Building my last shop



## NCjeeper

So moved to our dream place and have to build a new shop. Bought a 40x60x14 red iron I beam building. Should have plenty of room coming from my old 850 sqft shop.
I will show the progress in this thread.


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## mikey

Beautiful place ... hope all your dreams come true!


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## NCjeeper

Thanks.


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## Janderso

God that's beautiful country. I love Virginia, Pennsylvania.....
I'm happy for you, Very happy.


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## DavidR8

I'm completely envious!
Definitely following this build


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## Stonebriar

Looking forward to seeing your progress. I miss your youtube content.


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## Joeman77

I'm sorry, but chances are, if you're not dead, this probably isn't your last shop! Every time I think I'm there, "there" needs to be bigger! But I am looking forward to watching your progress on You-tube.


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## westerner

I know I really enjoyed building my shop. The planning, the envisioning the future, the just plain old "What DO I want"? was a real treat. 
Savor the experience


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## NCjeeper

It hasn't been a smooth road to just to get to this part. Nobody wants to work or will call you back. Fired the first contractor I had.


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## tjb

Got some bad news, Tom.  Shop's not big enough.  Looking at the list of machines on your sign out, you've barely got enough room already.  And just imagine what you're going to get once it's built.  How does the saying go?  "The amount of stuff accumulated is directly proportional to the amount of space available"?  Keep us posted.

Congratulations.  It's gonna be great!

Regards,
Terry


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## NCjeeper

tjb said:


> And just imagine what you're going to get once it's built.


Yep. Already have my eyes on a stomp shear, horizontal mill, and a HBM. Just trying to work out the shipping details and wait for the pad to be poured.


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## external power

I'll be glued to this awesome thread.


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## NCjeeper

external power said:


> I'll be glued to this awesome thread.


Thanks.


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## Pops

NCJeeper

I started out with a 25’ x 25’ shop quite a few years ago. I added on another 25’ to that. Then a few years ago another 25’ was added. Now I have that building plus ANOTHER 25’ x 70’ building. Believe me you never have enough space!!

Barry


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## NCjeeper

^^^
Wow. Right now my wallet says I wont be adding any more room.  This projects is getting way over budget already.


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## Pops

I stick built these buildings. Only have a concrete floor in one building. The other is mainly for storage and my metal supply. 


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## NCjeeper

Got some grading done yesterday and today.


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## external power

Keep the pictures coming please!!


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## NCjeeper

external power said:


> Keep the pictures coming please!!


Will do. Our Lull broke down on us today first thing. Radiator puked. Rental company couldn't bring out another one until tomorrow. So we didn't get much done. Hopefully tomorrow we can get some rafters and perlins on once the new machine gets delivered. Rain is coming Friday.


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## NCjeeper

So the rental company sent out a service tech and he repaired the lull. The crew made some progress on the roof rafters.


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## Stonebriar

So when do they pour the concrete floor? After the frame or siding/roof installed?  That's quite a drop from the road to your front door.


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## NCjeeper

Probably pour the pad once the building is done. Yeah the grad from the road o the shop I stepper than I would like. Unfortunately mother nature didnt give me much to work with. Will have to put a full length trough drain in front.


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## NCjeeper

Finally some nice weather and a little progress has been made. Last week and a half has been awful. Either it rained, or snowed, or 50 mile an hour winds. Job site has been a mess.


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## BGHansen

NCjeeper said:


> Finally some nice weather and a little progress has been made. Last week and a half has been awful. Either it rained, or snowed, or 50 mile an hour winds. Job site has been a mess.
> View attachment 307203


At least the porta-potty is still standing!

Bruce


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## NCjeeper

BGHansen said:


> At least the porta-potty is still standing!
> 
> Bruce


Actually the winds were so bad one day that the port a potty blew over on its side. We drove some rebar in the feet so hopefully it will stay up right now.


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## NCjeeper

Finally making a little progress. The weather has been horrible. Either rain or snow every few days. The job site just doesn't have a chance to dry out. It has been a mess and the crew hasn't been able to work.


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## NCjeeper

Not much new to report. The roof is on but that is it. Job site finally dried out enough to work a few days and the rains came again. Rained yesterday, today, and continue into tomorrow. Up coming for cast is nice for 2 days and then more rain.


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## Stonebriar

Hang in there Summer is coming.


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## NCjeeper

I don't think my wife can wait that long.


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## NCjeeper

We got one wall up yesterday. Snow storm came in last night.


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## middle.road

Quick! Add radiant floor heating before you pour.
40x60'? I'd give that a try fer sure.
Nobody wants to work anymore - what's with that?
The one exception to that is the neighbor had a BA horse barn put up a few years ago and I gotta say that the crew from AL was top notch.
They did not messed around and hauled arse.
The only hiccup was the area where he put it. Looks like it was part of an long gone smallish lake.
The Lull sank down to it's front axle. Took a bit to get it out. Had to bring in a few tons of 3/4" gravel to stiffen the area up.


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## NCjeeper

Unfortunately no money for radiant flooring. Project is way over budget as it is. Wood stove and kerosene will be the heat sources. 
Actually the erection crew I ended up hiring is out of Tennessee. They drive from home everyday. Its a family operation. They don't work very fast but they are reliable and experienced.


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## middle.road

NCjeeper said:


> Unfortunately no money for radiant flooring. Project is way over budget as it is. Wood stove and kerosene will be the heat sources.
> Actually the erection crew I ended up hiring is out of Tennessee. They drive from home everyday. Its a family operation. They don't work very fast but they are reliable and experienced.


*DRAT* Dang budgets! Always getting in the way.
That is my dream - to have radiant floor heating. In the bathrooms as well as in a shop.


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## BrentH

Nice build so far!

I only exist in a 730 sqft shop but it is nice and cozy as I did put in the Radiant floor -  even if you just ran the tubes for now and took on the heat source etc later you are still killed in the budget?   I just did my neighbors 3 shops (about 2250 sqft total).  Tubing runs about $230 US (x3) and an 8 branch manifold is $220 US....not sure what you are doing with the floor (wire mesh/insulate) but you could probably get the tubes in the floor for a grand plus time?  

I know.....the cash flow......You will still have quite the enviable  work  space ......40 x 60 ....WOW!


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## NCjeeper

Thanks Brent. Yeah I have to pinch pennies were I can so no radiant heat floor. Just got the electrician's estimate. It's about 3 grand more than I thought. Even with me working as his helper to save some bucks.


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## NCjeeper

Forgot to mention. Guy from the power company was supposed to stop by today but the snow storm nixed that. Not sure what it is going to cost me to hook up power to the building.


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## middle.road

NCjeeper said:


> Thanks Brent. Yeah I have to pinch pennies were I can so no radiant heat floor. Just got the electrician's estimate. It's about 3 grand more than I thought. Even with me working as his helper to save some bucks.


[Something] + $3K?! 
Goodness. What all are you putting in? Is it all conduit?
And is that the third quote from somebody?


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## NCjeeper

Putting in a 400 amp service. Everything in conduit. There will be some long runs of heavy gauge wire. Lots of outlets and plenty of lights since I don't have any windows or skylights.


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## middle.road

400A for the shop and I'm assuming 200A for the house (unless of course the house is already done...)
Let us know how much the utility is going to hit you up for.


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## rwm

I am just curious why you would want 400 amp service. Seems to me you would likely run one tool at a time? Under what circumstances would you use close to 200 amps?

Robert


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## NCjeeper

I want the expansion capability for larger machines like maybe a horizontal boring mill. The cnc plasma table and set up I am buying can pull 80 amps if cutting 1" plate. Add the air compressor running with it pulling up to 20 amps there goes 100 amps just running that machine.


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## matthewsx

I built a 40x60 commercial building a few years back. We had natural gas service so I put one of those radiant tube heaters up high and it worked great. Pretty economical too, don't know if it would be affordable on propane but it sure did a good job getting the whole space up to temp in a hurry. 

1ohn


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## NCjeeper

middle.road said:


> 400A for the shop and I'm assuming 200A for the house (unless of course the house is already done...)
> Let us know how much the utility is going to hit you up for.


House is already done. It was built in 1985.


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## NCjeeper

Well good news. The power company rep just left. He said they would set 2 new poles, transformer, and above ground lines at no charge.   
If I wanted the lines buried it would cost me. Even got permission from the weird neighbor across the street to pull power access off of the pole on his property.


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## NCjeeper

Wall #2.


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## middle.road

Suggestion: (If those are insulation 'bats' up in the ceiling)
I was in a welding shop a while ago and the owner was in the process of installing what I would call 'stingers' in order to keep the batting in place.
He was using 1/2" EMT and it was a bit of a hassle with all the stuff he had in the shop.
They were sagging and even coming loose all over the place.
That's East TN weather though - YMMV.


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## NCjeeper

We are taping the insulation seams with Gorilla tape. You think I might need something more positive?


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## BrentH

Depending on the insulation  there should be a tape provided or recommended for the seams.  When I built a few of these type buildings, one had a fiber re-enforced seam tape that matched the insulation perfectly and pretty much disappeared when applied.  Other insulation had a silver cover and had a similar tape but it was super sticky and more like a foil.  The tapes were part of the insulation package.  Not sure of the "stick to it" life of Gorilla tape for a permanent install?


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## NCjeeper

Yeah we got one roll. Used that up already so we got the Gorilla tape with reinforcing material in it. Hopefully it will hold up.


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## external power

Can't wait to see concrete truck footage


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## NCjeeper

Heck me either.  It has been a mud pit for most of the week. We have had more rain. Crew is out there working now. Hopefully pour concrete end of next week?


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## BGHansen

Last chance to put in that heated floor . . .   I worked for IBM in Charlotte, NC back in 1982 and unless the climate has changed drastically, I don't think a heated floor would be your best option anyhow.  I recall having to wipe the inside of my windshield every morning from May through November on my drive to work until the defroster heated up because of the condensation.  Might be best to have forced air heat to keep the air moving.  I've got a couple of ceiling fans in my shop that run 24/7 during the spring and fall when things start sweating in the job.  Really does a nice job keeping the condensation off the cold cast iron.  

You are going to love the space, hope the weather cooperates and you get some cement down.  Great looking area for a shop!

Bruce


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## middle.road

Double, heck triple check the vapor barrier under the floor. And then keep an eye out for any mishaps or tears during the pour.
Also I was wondering while watching your vids, would a french drain between the road and the building be out of the question?
I'm thinking of the run-off coming up against the front of the building.

My floor 'sweats' so bad in spring it drives me up the wall.
Too bad we can't send some of this rain out west or down-under. We're saturated here.
I can't imagine trying to pour a pad in these conditions.


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## NCjeeper

Hey Dan. Plan on either French drains or a channel drain in front of the door. I will need something for the heavy rains.


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## Stonebriar

I am looking forward to seeing some progress.


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## middle.road

NCjeeper said:


> Hey Dan. Plan on either French drains or a channel drain in front of the door. I will need something for the heavy rains.


I'd go deep depending on what your 'perc' is there.
I'm battling drainage that starts on the other side of the road and comes our way at over 2-3 down.
I have a feeling from the couple of holes I've dug that they built up the roadway over years past and despite there being a proper drainage ditch
on the other side of the road going away from us, the ground is getting saturated and then it hits the 'clay' layer and heads towards us.


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## NCjeeper

We received an inch and a half of rain the beginning of the week. The site wasnt dry enough to do any work until Friday. The crew started on the back of the building. Supposed to be clear and cold all next week so hopefully we can make some progress.


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## NCjeeper

We made more progress. It was pretty cold last week and the mud was frozen so the crew pushed ahead. Today is Monday and we got an inch of rain over the weekend. supposed to rain on and off all week. We were hoping to get the pad formed up and pour concrete this week but that is not happening.


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## external power

Bring on the concrete trucks....Looking good.


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## middle.road

NCjeeper said:


> We made more progress. It was pretty cold last week and the mud was frozen so the crew pushed ahead. Today is Monday and we got an inch of rain over the weekend. supposed to rain on and off all week. We were hoping to get the pad formed up and pour concrete this week but that is not happening.


I tried to block the rain from coming up your way, really I did. . . 
We're soaked down here, I can imagine how it is up by you. Though down here it isn't freezing - yet.


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## ddickey

Man you guys get a lot of rain down there.


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## NCjeeper

Yeah it has been ridiculous. Hopefully work 1 day this week. And if this project couldn't get more fun I just got an email that my electrician/plumber cant do the work now because of some health issues. So now I have to find someone else. Fun fun.


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## NCjeeper

Getting the gutters installed. Of course it started raining on them.


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## middle.road

NCjeeper said:


> Yeah it has been ridiculous. Hopefully work 1 day this week. And if this project couldn't get more fun I just got an email that my electrician/plumber cant do the work now because of some health issues. So now I have to find someone else. Fun fun.


Oh, come on!
Time to spread some 'Sage' spice around the area... 
Honey read somewhere that it gets rid of evil spirits. 
I bought (6) cans. (2) ea. for the attic re-furb, for the basement work, and for the shop.
Kind of, maybe, sort of worked...


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## NCjeeper

I probably should buy a sack of it.


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## NCjeeper

We finally had a few dry days so the site wasn't so muddy yesterday. Started on the piping from the down spouts. Man my lower back is sore. Been many a moons since I swung a pick axe. Of course they are calling for rain the next 8-9 days.


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## Janderso

Looking good. How much of that land is going to be reinforced concrete?
Beautiful country. I love Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania......The winters are a bit cool for this California boy.


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## middle.road

Yeppers, we're socked in for the next few days. Not proper weather for putting up a barn.
Time to check the basement and make sure everything is off the floor.
Man I could go for the ~70° we had the last two days - ALL-THE-TIME. 
I was actually able to walk through the yard and clean up downed branches and such without soaking my boots.
(this is where, I believe, @mikey & @Aukai chime in...)


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## Aukai

We've been pretty darn cold her at night,middle 60s, but get to the 70s during the day


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## NCjeeper

Janderso said:


> Looking good. How much of that land is going to be reinforced concrete?


For now just the slab inside the shop and a few feet extending out from both large doors and a 3x3 pad right in front of the walk in door.


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## NCjeeper

middle.road said:


> I was actually able to walk through the yard and clean up downed branches and such without soaking my boots.


 Yeah I got the apple trees trimmed up while the weather was decent.


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## middle.road

Aukai said:


> We've been pretty darn cold her at night,middle 60s, but get to the 70s during the day


(note to Admin: we really need a 'humorous SMAK' icon for the Like button...   )


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## Aukai

If you want to see a ski resort without snow, be in Hawaii when it's in the 50s, Ski jackets everywhere....


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## middle.road

I'm seeing some purple on the radar up in your area. How's it by you?
We got pretty well hammered. Basement is a flood zone. Coming in the NE corner and of course the drain is way over in the SW corner...
A previous owner had dug out and poured the basement by hand.
I don't think they owned level but at least the water is 'kind of' making it's way towards the drain.
I've been trying to figure out how best to put in a sump hole.


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## NCjeeper

Stopped raining here for the moment. Rain gauge says 2" so far. Glad I got the gutters and piping down. That sucks your basement is a swimming pool.


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## stuarth44

NCjeeper said:


> So moved to our dream place and have to build a new shop. Bought a 40x60x14 red iron I beam building. Should have plenty of room coming from my old 850 sqft shop.
> I will show the progress in this thread.
> View attachment 305917


great view, will you have a monorail? here is my lil shop did it myself, cathead?


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## middle.road

NCjeeper said:


> Stopped raining here for the moment. Rain gauge says 2" so far. Glad I got the gutters and piping down. That sucks your basement is a swimming pool.


Was there any major run-off from the road?

Don't have a rain gauge, I really should get one, but the 5" tote I had by the pump house is filled up along with the firepit out back.
Airport reported over 4" for the last 24hrs.
Luckily no pooling to speak of, couple of inches in one low spot, but it comes in one end and flows to the other.
Unfortunately there is just a _few_ items in the path. Everything is up on 2x's or better, but I didn't plan it very well and they cause 'flow' problems.
Going to need to put in a sump hole, and I am so not looking forward to that endeavor.


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## NCjeeper

Not sure about the run off from the road. I haven't been down there.


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## NCjeeper

No work today.


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## stuarth44

NCjeeper said:


> No work today.
> View attachment 312942
> 
> View attachment 312943


wowee


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## DavidR8

Yuck. This winter has been lousy 


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## NCjeeper

You are not kidding Dave.


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## middle.road

Hunker down and make some hot cocoa & toss some logs on the fire. (if possible)
I'm sitting here surfing the latest posts putting off going down in the basement to clean up the mess...  


NCjeeper said:


> No work today.
> View attachment 312942
> 
> View attachment 312943


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## NCjeeper

Surfing E-bay myself. So much to buy and so little money.


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## deakin

"building my last shop"
i've done that too. several times
and it's never big enough (well one was but i didn't build it)


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## NCjeeper




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## middle.road

Quack, Quack, Quack. Weather only water fowl would enjoy.
I can imagine what the shop site is looking like this afternoon.


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## NCjeeper

middle.road said:


> Quack, Quack, Quack. Weather only water fowl would enjoy.
> I can imagine what the shop site is looking like this afternoon.


I know right. Supposed to rain all week. Clear weather Friday & Saturday and then start raining again for the next 3 days at least. I think I am going to smash my thumb with a hammer cause it will make me feel better.


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## middle.road

NCjeeper said:


> I know right. Supposed to rain all week. Clear weather Friday & Saturday and then start raining again for the next 3 days at least. I think I am going to smash my thumb with a hammer cause it will make me feel better.


nah, no need to do that. In a couple of months you're going to have a fine shop, with plenty of 'under-cover' space.
I've got the trailer full of stuff from our friend's place that we weren't able to unload last night.
And the tarp failed around 2PM this afternoon.
Neighbor called around 8:30pm last night and told me to stash the ZTR in his barn - so I don't have to worry about that getting all wet.
I've got to come up with a place to store it. The 'garden' shed only has a 5' door. -hehe


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## NCjeeper

Right now I feel the Amazon rain forest is drier than my place.


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## NCjeeper

Shop supervisor giving me the eye for not working in the snow today.


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## mattthemuppet2

that is a seriously adorable dog. I rather liked your pics of a snowy back yard - I miss that. Instead my weather today was cold 20mph winds and rain. Pretty miserable to ride into, that's for sure.


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## NCjeeper

mattthemuppet2 said:


> that is a seriously adorable dog.


Thanks. She is a rescue.


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## mattthemuppet2

aww, even better. Wouldn't get my rescue out in the snow, my wife even puts a t-shirt on her when it's 68F *inside *


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## BGHansen

mattthemuppet2 said:


> aww, even better. Wouldn't get my rescue out in the snow, my wife even puts a t-shirt on her when it's 68F *inside *


Maybe you can build a heated dog house; aka air conditioned dog house like Jim and Tammy.

Bruce


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## mattthemuppet2

snow isn't much of an issue here in central Texas  She's a couch dog, her favourite spot is lying on the couch right next to one of us.


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## NCjeeper

Well no forward progress to report. We are just waiting for it to dry out so we can start on the concrete. It was starting to dry out and then we had rain 2 days ago. Today a snow storm rolled in. My poor shop.


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## middle.road

Oh, but the scenery is nice.   


NCjeeper said:


> Well no forward progress to report. We are just waiting for it to dry out so we can start on the concrete. It was starting to dry out and then we had rain 2 days ago. Today a snow storm rolled in. My poor shop.
> View attachment 315038


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## NCjeeper

The dogs think so. LOL.


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## Dhal22

I've been in construction my entire life and have never seen a concrete floor poured after the building is erected.   I'm a plumber by trade,  watcha putting inside plumbing wise?  I hate corrugated drain pipe,  especially under concrete.


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## Dhal22

The rain has been ridiculous the last 3 months btw.


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## NCjeeper

Dhal22 said:


> I've been in construction my entire life and have never seen a concrete floor poured after the building is erected.   I'm a plumber by trade,  watcha putting inside plumbing wise?  I hate corrugated drain pipe,  especially under concrete.


Yeah they do that a lot especially for pole barns. I have 2" pvc run for a sink that is it. Probably hard to tell from the picture but the corrugated pipe is on the outside of the wood forms and will be just covered with dirt eventually.


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## Dhal22

Keep the corrugated clean,  it will get so infested with sediment it becomes easier to remove it than clean it. 

Always run 3" drain pipe under concrete,  just reduce it to 2"as you come up through the concrete.


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## BGHansen

Dhal22 said:


> I've been in construction my entire life and have never seen a concrete floor poured after the building is erected.   I'm a plumber by trade,  watcha putting inside plumbing wise?  I hate corrugated drain pipe,  especially under concrete.


Around here in Michigan it's typically done with footings, then walls, then the slab last (home construction). Pole barns are typically poured with the poles, perlins and siding in place except for maybe a panel or two for the cement truck chute. Use a couple of tongue and groove 2x6 skirt boards at the bottom for attaching the bottom of the siding on the outside and the form for concrete on the inside.

Bruce


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## NCjeeper

Dhal22 said:


> The rain has been ridiculous the last 3 months btw.


Yeah it has.


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## NCjeeper

Sorry nothing new to report. I did get the second drain dug and finished. This weather pattern of a few nice days followed by a few days of rain is just frustrating. If I could get 2 weeks of nice weather it would dry out enough to get the concrete pad done.


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## NCjeeper

Here is a view of the homestead. We have a break in the rain right now.


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## Boswell

Nice place Tom.


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## middle.road

I tried to keep it down here by us, really I did...


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## middle.road

*Creedence Clearwater Revival: Who'll Stop The Rain*


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## middle.road

And so, the Gremlins in charge of bad humor got me.   
Shortly after posting this the Mutts needed to go out, and after I let them out I could hear the sound of water running into the basement drain.
The basement is seeping again.
Guess I really need to prioritize putting in a sump pump. . .


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## NCjeeper

It rained pretty hard here last night. Rain gauge today says we got an inch. I imagine Dan you got hit by the same storm.


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## NCjeeper

On a more positive note. Here s today's view from the top of my road.


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## middle.road

Spotted Tom's Dream vehicle in the wilds of East TN yesterday...



	

		
			
		

		
	
...and no, it ain't the Buick.


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## NCjeeper

I have heard about the elusive concrete truck, but I just cant seem to find them. Glad you got proof.


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## middle.road

So when did you want to pour some concrete?   
OK, it is TIME for some '*spring showers*', Mother Nature can knock it off with these *deluges*. 
We got over 4.5" in less than 24 hrs. Floated the railroad ties out back by the culvert.
Luckily the terrible stuff past way South of us. 
Tractor shed took a hit. Looks like I'll have to be re-roofing it.
This is keeping me from making chips!


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## NCjeeper

Yes please no more rain. Geez. We got nearly 3 inches from the storm. Looks like a swimming pool inside the building right now.


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## Boswell

Maybe if you start calling it a boat shed it will stop raining


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## NCjeeper

^^^
For sure! Rain, rain, and more rain. We set a record in April and with the virus keeping everyone locked down we have not made any progress in a long while. Fingers crossed May will be a lot drier and sunny and we can get some work done.


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## NCjeeper

I know this thread has gotten boring because I haven't made any real progress. We had 4.5 inches of rain last week and 2 inches last night. With summer right around the corner we should get some hot and dry days so we can get done. I did have the power company show up today. There are setting the poles and running the wire.


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## middle.road

POWER, POWER, POWER! -Progress!
Today Electricity, tomorrow the Slab!


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## NCjeeper

Actually next weeks weather is looking pretty good. Fingers crossed we can dry out and start work again.


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## BGHansen

Great


NCjeeper said:


> I know this thread has gotten boring because I haven't made any real progress. We had 4.5 inches of rain last week and 2 inches last night. With summer right around the corner we should get some hot and dry days so we can get done. I did have the power company show up today. There are setting the poles and running the wire.
> View attachment 325655


Great!  Now you can run a sump pump!  

Bruce


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## RandyWilson

NCjeeper said:


> Yes please no more rain. Geez. We got nearly 3 inches from the storm. Looks like a swimming pool inside the building right now.




A few years back we were building a mother in law suite... now referred to as the servant's quarters. It was spring. No sooner were all the footings and perimeter dug than it started raining. And raining. And raining. The trenches all filled with water. The poor contractor had everything covered with tarps and blowers in the trench trying to dry it out. Days. Weeks.  Me, being me, went to the dollar store and bought a few blow-up pool toys. Anything that looked like a moat monster.  Under the tarp they went.   The next day when he lifted the tarp for a check was the first time I've seen the contractor crack a smile in weeks.


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## matthewsx

You are running conduit under the slab so you can have power at stations in the middle of the shop, right?

john


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## Janderso

Beautiful place for a shop. Beautiful place to live.


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## Boswell

I was 19 years old and a buddy and myself decided to go into business roofing houses. We lined up some work and the very first job was to deck a 3000 sqft house under new construction. I quit the two other jobs I had and on monday we drove to the jobsite. It started sprinkling on the way. Was raining hard by the time we got there and did not stop raining for 20+ days setting a local record for consecutive days of rain. And with it went my first attempt at being a small business owner and my last paid (almost) construction job.


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## NCjeeper

matthewsx said:


> You are running conduit under the slab so you can have power at stations in the middle of the shop, right?
> 
> john


No. I am not 100% certain of the lay out yet.


----------



## BGHansen

The shop at Waverly High School in Lansing, MI had the power under the shop and had knock-outs through the floor to the equipment.  My dad was the head of the shop department when the school was built and had that spec'd into the build (somehow they listened to a 27-year old shop teacher?!?!).  So much cleaner than the Junior High that was built 5 years later with all of the power dropping from above.

That being said, all of mine is from above or an adjacent wall.  I need to move a ceiling fan for clearance to my Tormach and don't have a lot of options or open ceiling space.

Bruce


----------



## NCjeeper

Summer is finally here and hopefully some better weather. So frustrated with the down pours of rain flooding the inside of the shop so I decided to take some action. I hand dug a trench in front of the building to help stop the water running into it and I covered the sides with dirt to stop water from getting in from under the wood forms. Now if we get anymore down pours I can minimize the inside flooding. Well I can only get one picture to load. Sorry.


----------



## DavidR8

I hope you’re able to make speedy progress!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## NCjeeper

Me too.


----------



## Nutfarmer

In the end ,when you have it the why you want it ,all the work will be worth it. Nice shop.


----------



## middle.road

Next week's forecast *GADS*


----------



## NCjeeper

middle.road said:


> Next week's forecast *GADS*
> 
> View attachment 328964


Yeah gee whiz. If all my water diversion methods work then I will be happy and the inside will be dry.


----------



## NCjeeper

Finally back to work! Inside grading and prep for concrete!


----------



## middle.road

Pour baby Pour!...    Tom needs a pad!

Next week on "Hill Top Machine Works" - High capacity french drain at the front entrance...


----------



## NCjeeper

^^
Yep plus a retaining wall.


----------



## Dhal22

Prior planning prevents poor performance..........  Hope the water runoff situation isn't serious.


----------



## NCjeeper

Passed inspection and ready for the first pour of concrete. Going to do the slab in 3 pours.


----------



## DavidR8

Awesome! Big step!


----------



## tmenyc

I live in Greenwich Village, in Manhattan, and while I grew up in Wisconsin, I've lived here for more than 40 years, so am a true city guy.  However, I have enjoyed every scrap of this thread immensely (well, not the rain...) and can't wait for the pour!  

Tim


----------



## NCjeeper

After 2 weeks of rain we are pouring tomorrow.


----------



## DavidR8

NCjeeper said:


> After 2 weeks of rain we are pouring tomorrow.



Hurray!
Good luck with the pour. 
It goes without saying that pictures will help with the pour. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Papa Charlie

That is going to be a great shop, that is the size I would like when we get our retirement home in a couple of more years. 

Enjoyed the tread, looking forward to seeing it done as I am sure you are. Good luck, got fingers crossed for you.


----------



## Janderso

middle.road said:


> Next week's forecast *GADS*
> 
> View attachment 328964


No wonder Tennessee is so green. How do you'all build homes and such?


----------



## NCjeeper

This is not the norm. Crazy amount of rain this year.


----------



## NCjeeper

Poured 18 3/4 yards today. Took 3 trucks total to deliver it. No hiccups thank goodness.




So the plan is to form up the second section and get it inspected by he end of the week. Pour again first of next week weather permitting.


----------



## pontiac428

You're getting a damn fine pour.  Lots of steel, looks like a solid 4" minimum.  Color me jealous, I got the extreme opposite on mine, and was left with the decision to keep it and live with it, or hammer it out and pay again.  I chose to live with it, and it hasn't been pain-free.  Anyway, that looks like you're going have a very nice slab.


----------



## NCjeeper

Thanks Pontiac. it is 6 inches thick except where the future HBM will sit. That is 10 inches thick.


----------



## NCjeeper




----------



## DavidR8

That looks great! 
Must be very satisfying to get past this stage after so many delays. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Papa Charlie

I can only imagine how good  you  must  feel  finally seeing  floor  come to fruition. Congrats!


----------



## Dhal22

pontiac428 said:


> You're getting a damn fine pour.  Lots of steel, looks like a solid 4" minimum.  Color me jealous, I got the extreme opposite on mine, and was left with the decision to keep it and live with it, or hammer it out and pay again.  I chose to live with it, and it hasn't been pain-free.  Anyway, that looks like you're going have a very nice slab.



What were your problems?


----------



## pontiac428

Dhal22 said:


> What were your problems?



The crew was in a slam-job rush.  It was a sub contract company.  They pumped it in by hose, washed down the walls just for kicks, and worked so fast to keep up with the pump that they left me with up to 3/4" in a running yard worth of slope within the six sections of the slab.  Moving equipment around and having a wheel lift off the ground hurts my feelings every time, and placing things on the floor requires shimming.  Plus I got no steel mesh, just fiber, so it cracked to hell when it cured.  My build contract allowed for it, so that's that.  When I get a vehicle lift I'll have to cut out the concrete underneath the hoist posts and pour it back proper in order to feel safe.  I thought it was understood that expensive concrete should be good concrete... Truth is, it's so darned expensive to do business in greater Seattle, it's hard to find contractors anymore.  If you can get one to show up, you're lucky... but sometimes you are stuck with what you get.  That's all I've got to say about that, Forrest.  Now, NCjeeper's got himself a fine slab.  That there's like old iron, made to last a lifetime and then some.


----------



## ddickey

So you think it cracked due to no mesh or rebar? I thought fiber was used in place of those things.


----------



## ddickey

@NCjeeper what are you doing to finish your interior walls?


----------



## pontiac428

ddickey said:


> So you think it cracked due to no mesh or rebar? I thought fiber was used in place of those things.


The fiber that I have experience with is fine, long, and leaves "hair" on a broom finish.  That stuff works.  The fiber they mixed in here looks like rice, it's short, thick bundles of fibers, and I'm  not convinced it does anything.  I do think mesh would have helped against cracking.  This was my recent experience, a cautionary tale.  There was too much going on during my shop build that I didn't keep up with my own thread...  Please message me with questions on my build, I don't want to hog up space in NCjeeper's project thread .


----------



## NCjeeper

ddickey said:


> @NCjeeper what are you doing to finish your interior walls?


I have 7ft tall white metal panels that will go around the interior.


----------



## middle.road

19 yards? D*mn, I missed that by a mile or two.


----------



## middle.road

Janderso said:


> No wonder Tennessee is so green. How do you'all build homes and such?


In regards to building - I'm not sure. We bought this place 'pre-existing', if you know what I mean.
Original part was 1947, one addition some time in the 70's, another in the rear enclosing the back porch probably when the 2 car detached garage was built. Then they put a brick facade around the whole bloody place, (except for the garage), and that is cracking and failing all over...
It is driving me to the brink... Don't ask about the electrical.......................   

Meanwhile back to drooling over Tom's shop pour.


----------



## NCjeeper

middle.road said:


> 19 yards? D*mn, I missed that by a mile or two.


Yep. The next two pours should be alittle less since no 10" deep holes like the first pour.


----------



## Papa Charlie

NCjeeper said:


> Yep. The next two pours should be alittle less since no 10" deep holes like the first pour.



I completely missed the two areas that are deeper in post #140. That will provide some serious support.


----------



## NCjeeper

Got the second pour done last week. Supposed to pour Monday but we got rain Sunday night and the ground was too mushy to bring the trucks down. Tried to schedule a pour today (Wednesday) but the morning schedule was full and earliest we could get a truck was 1pm. So we are planning on pouring this Friday before the rain storms roll in.


----------



## Janderso

Unbelievable 
Hey, you are getting close. one more pour and you are on your way.


----------



## DavidR8

That is going to be a red letter day when the last pour is done!


----------



## Papa Charlie

She is looking good. This is going to make for a great shop. I have my fingers crossed that the last pour takes place as planned.


----------



## rwm

How in the world are you going to fill that space?!
Robert


----------



## NCjeeper

Probably pretty fast. On the hunt for an HBM for the back corner.


----------



## Boswell

rwm said:


> How in the world are you going to fill that space?!


That's a joke, right?


----------



## rwm

A joke and excitement to see what fills it!
R


----------



## NCjeeper

Well how about a little rant. We didn't get the last pour in yesterday (Friday). The crew stopped by United rentals to get the power trowel for the day. Well United is closed on the weekends. No big deal right. Just return it first thing Monday morning. Well they said that would be a 3 day rental and they would have to charge us. So instead of it being $250 it would cost $750 to basically use it one day. We said "No thanks" and cancelled the pour. All other rental companies I have used let you have their equipment all weekend for a one day price if they are closed on the weekends. So going to try and pour next week in the middle of the week.


----------



## Papa Charlie

NCjeeper said:


> Well how about a little rant. We didn't get the last pour in yesterday (Friday). The crew stopped by United rentals to get the power trowel for the day. Well United is closed on the weekends. No big deal right. Just return it first thing Monday morning. Well they said that would be a 3 day rental and they would have to charge us. So instead of it being $250 it would cost $750 to basically use it one day. We said "No thanks" and cancelled the pour. All other rental companies I have used let you have their equipment all weekend for a one day price if they are closed on the weekends. So going to try and pour next week in the middle of the week.



That doesn't seem right. Is there no other rental facilities in your area? Well I hope you get it done this coming week. Got all my fingers crossed for you, well except the two that I hold my Vodka glass in. But everything else for sure.


----------



## NCjeeper

Now that we know we can't pour on Fridays it isn't really a problem. Cheers Papa!


----------



## Pops

I wanted to rent a backhoe for a day or so. Picked it up Friday and returned it Monday. They charge according to how many hours it is actually running. Has an hour meter on it. Only used it about 6 hours so it worked out good. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dhal22

Perhaps being a plumbing contractor (regular customer) I get a break but I never pay for weekend rent.


----------



## NCjeeper

I think it is just this company. I have rented equipment from other companies over the weekend and only paid for one day as long as it was back to them early Monday morning so they could rent it out that day.


----------



## hman

Ding blasted ratsa-fracken rental companies!  I rented a tool from Sunbelt not too long ago ... had to pay for extras like insurance, etc.  I think they probbly try to pay for the tool with three rentals.  Shoulda just gone out and bought one at Harbor Freight!  Even if it didn't outlast the task, it woulda not been that much more.


----------



## NCjeeper

Raining cats and dogs here today (Monday).


----------



## Papa Charlie

NCjeeper said:


> Raining cats and dogs here today (Monday).



Well I will say this for you. You must have a very calm nature. I just looked back, your first post was back in Nov 2019 for this project. The image shows the project well underway. We are now in Sept 2020, a good 10 months down the road. 

I doubt that I would be posting in the same manner that you are. I hope this gets worked out before winter hits. 

Looking at the weather, it shows some more rain today and tomorrow. Looks like it will be nice Thursday through the weekend. I hope that you are able to sneak in between fronts and get this poured. It seems like you haven't had much of a summer at all.


----------



## NCjeeper

I am pretty easy going, but I am frustrated at the slow progress. Mother nature has a lot to do with it.


----------



## NCjeeper

I played wood chuck this weekend and got a couple of work benches built. Man has the price of lumber gone up because of the virus. My local store employee was telling me they used to sell 1/2" plywood for 10 bucks a sheet. Now it is 26 bucks and when he runs out he thinks the next bundle will be even more.


----------



## NCjeeper

Finally a shop floor. 53.25 yards of concrete.


----------



## DavidR8

NCjeeper said:


> Finally a shop floor. 53.25 yards of concrete.
> View attachment 337305



There is rejoicing across the land!
Well done and congratulations on your new floor 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dhal22

Will that remain raw concrete or will you seal it?


----------



## hman

Congratulations on reaching a MAJOR milestone!


----------



## ddickey

Electrical next?


----------



## NC Rick

NCjeeper said:


> Finally a shop floor. 53.25 yards of concrete.
> View attachment 337305


And one heck of a floor at that!  You are doing that right for sure.  Nice.


----------



## ArmyDoc

Nice poor!  I'm concerned about the exposed insulation.  How are you planning to address that?  Also, did you use any kind of radiant barier on the outside of the insulation, or was int one sided - just the white plastic on the inside?


----------



## Papa Charlie

Congrats, been a long and hard fight to get this to this stage. Now you can have them finish drying you in before winter hits. That way you can do the wiring and set up out of the weather.

Very nice.


----------



## Boswell

What a journey just to get to this point!   Looks good though. Looks like you will be less weather dependent going forward.


----------



## NCjeeper

Dhal22 said:


> Will that remain raw concrete or will you seal it?


Probably stay raw. The only stuff I have found that is actually any good is pretty expensive and this project is already way over budget. So I don't see spending the money.


----------



## NCjeeper

ddickey said:


> Electrical next?


Yep. Once they get it dried in.


----------



## NCjeeper

ArmyDoc said:


> Nice poor!  I'm concerned about the exposed insulation.  How are you planning to address that?  Also, did you use any kind of radiant barier on the outside of the insulation, or was int one sided - just the white plastic on the inside?


I have metal sheeting that will go along the inside of the walls. No barrier between the insulation and the exterior walls. Kit didn't come with anything.


----------



## NC Rick

NCjeeper said:


> Probably stay raw. The only stuff I have found that is actually any good is pretty expensive and this project is already way over budget. So I don't see spending the money.


I can offer little but my envy.  26 years ago, I built my shop which is not comparable to yours and is only 24 x38'.  It is still under evolutionary development.  My only regret was not having done an epoxy coating.  I did have the concrete people put a "sealer" on the floor which interferes with recoating.  With a clean RAW concrete floor and with no way to see forward to an epoxy coating I would suggest using a roll on concrete paint like Sherwin Williams and others offer.  Even sweeping chips is SO much less work and the inevitable oil spill wipes up without stains.  It is possible to re paint worn areas.  I have half my floor done with the paint which hasn't adhered as it should due to the crappy sealer the concrete people put on but has been mostly on there for 20 years.  The original sealer melts with solvent spills or application.  I would pay to have the floor ground and coated now but moving the fixtures and machinery makes the prospect impractical.  I'm not criticizing your decision, just relaying my own experience.


----------



## NCjeeper

When I built my first shop in 2004 it was 25x34. I epoxied the floor. Followed the prep instructions and still it came up after about 2 years. especially in the high traffic areas. So then it looked like crap and wasted money. Just don't see going down that road again for 2400 square feet.


----------



## Dabbler

I've been following your build since the beginning and love to watch your progress!  At my age, the prospect of moving out if the city and building my dream shop is fading.  I live vicariously through your experience, bumps in the road and all!  Congrats on the floor - what a big step done!

-- such a great space you are building!  Heres hoping you will get your machines powered up soon!


----------



## BGHansen

NCjeeper said:


> Finally a shop floor. 53.25 yards of concrete.
> View attachment 337305


So how does the Staples ad go?  Something like "Well, that was easy!"

Bruce


----------



## Stonebriar

As soon as you get it dried in you will not have any rain for months.


----------



## NCjeeper

Stonebriar said:


> As soon as you get it dried in you will not have any rain for months.


You are probably right.


----------



## mmcmdl

Plenty of the wet stuff heading your way . SC is getting blasted right now with tornado warnings . Remnants of Sally .


----------



## NCjeeper

Yeah Dave it has been raining all day here. Not hard but just steady so no flooding at the site yet. Rain gage says an inch right now.


----------



## mmcmdl

Off and on down hear in Surfside as well . We are getting slammed at the moment .


----------



## NCjeeper

On the home stretch now.


----------



## DavidR8

What’s that blue and white background all about? 
Glad to see this getting dried in. It’s been too long in coming!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## NCjeeper

Actually the weather has been pretty decent lately. It did rain yesterday for the first time and we got 2 inches.


----------



## Larry$

Good to see someone actually using rebar. That 6,6-10,10 WWM isn't worth putting in. It ends up too near the bottom and is subject to rusting very quickly. I've taken a lot of concrete out and seen the results. You can buy plastic rebar chairs really cheap to hold it at the CL of the pour. Always use curing compound or keep it wet for at least a week.


----------



## NCjeeper

Thanks Larry. I figured all it could do was help, can't hurt.


----------



## Tim9

pontiac428 said:


> The fiber that I have experience with is fine, long, and leaves "hair" on a broom finish.  That stuff works.  The fiber they mixed in here looks like rice, it's short, thick bundles of fibers, and I'm  not convinced it does anything.  I do think mesh would have helped against cracking.  This was my recent experience, a cautionary tale.  There was too much going on during my shop build that I didn't keep up with my own thread...  Please message me with questions on my build, I don't want to hog up space in NCjeeper's project thread .


Yeah Pontiac. I always felt rebar was needed but read many forums where others said fiber is enough. 
   Your post confirms what I always felt... And if and when I do a build... Rebar it is.


----------



## Dabbler

there's little harm in getting fiber, using welded mesh AND rebar...  just a little more cost.


----------



## ddickey

I was quoted almost $.50 less per sqft for fiber than rebar.


----------



## NCjeeper

Well a little update. We have had some nice weather so on the home stretch. I have a skid steer rented for the week so we can get the outside graded properly and some rock spread.


----------



## DavidR8

More excellent progress!


----------



## Dabbler

wow!  that looks great!!!


----------



## NCjeeper

So with a beautiful week of weather I rented a tracked skid steer and got the lot properly graded. Boy did we move some dirt. It looks great now. The photos don't really do it justice. The front of the shop will have a concrete pad and retaining wall.


----------



## DavidR8

Looks fantastic, well done!


----------



## NCjeeper




----------



## NCjeeper




----------



## Boswell

A very good and hard won victory


----------



## NCjeeper

Thanks Bos!


----------



## kb58

Extra points if the doors are in the direction of the wind, so during the summer it self-ventilates.


----------



## FOMOGO

Looking great, but you might want to cut your exterior grade down below your floor level a little more if you get much in the way of rain or snow. Mike


----------



## NCjeeper

kb58 said:


> Extra points if the doors are in the direction of the wind, so during the summer it self-ventilates.


They are. A nice breeze comes thru.


----------



## NCjeeper

FOMOGO said:


> Looking great, but you might want to cut your exterior grade down below your floor level a little more if you get much in the way of rain or snow. Mike


It may need some final tweaking, but it is a whole lot better than it was.


----------



## NCjeeper

Finally on the home stretch.


----------



## Dhal22

FOMOGO said:


> Looking great, but you might want to cut your exterior grade down below your floor level a little more if you get much in the way of rain or snow. Mike




The cut in the hill behind the shop worries me.   Which direction will the rain water flow?


----------



## NCjeeper

We got 2 inches of rain over the weekend. All the water flowed away from the building and into the field. The grading worked great.


----------



## Nutfarmer

What is the box off to the right?


----------



## NCjeeper

It has my permits in it for the inspectors.


----------



## NC Rick

So cool!  I can only imagine your excitement!


----------



## Papa Charlie

Looking great. Looks like all you need is the doors to dry you in. That puts you out of the influence of the weather and allows you to concentrate on the finish touches and moving in.

Congrats, this has been one heck of a project.


----------



## NCjeeper

Passed the insulation inspection today. Now to get the big doors installed and all the little stuff wrapped up so we can get the final inspection done and start moving in equipment.


----------



## hman

Wow!  You started this thread in November, 2019!  So it'll probably be right at a full year when you get the final inspection done.  It's been wonderful following along.  Best to you!


----------



## Papa Charlie

It will surely feel good to get this wrapped up and be able to use it. It would have drove me nuts seeing a partially build shop sitting out in the field from the house and unable to do anything about it. 

Congrats on a battle well fought. You will no doubt have equipment inplace and be setting up the benches, wiring, air lines, etc by the end of the year. This will make for a very nice Christmas gift to yourself. After all you have been very good this year!


----------



## NCjeeper

It was tough during those 5 months of rain to look at it and not being able to do anything. Weather has been great and I am ready to be done with this build.


----------



## middle.road

NCjeeper said:


> Passed the insulation inspection today. Now to get the big doors installed and all the little stuff wrapped up so we can get the final inspection done and start moving in equipment.


An 'Insulation Inspection'? Alright, I'm curious, why do they do an insulation inspection?


----------



## NCjeeper

Not sure. Maybe it is a metal building requirement?


----------



## NCjeeper

On the home stretch. Interior paneling up. large doors should get done this week.






Hopefully this will keep the meth heads from breaking in and stealing stuff.


----------



## hman

Magnificent!


----------



## Nutfarmer

The only thing that slows druggies down is a big dog and a shotgun. Love your new shop. All the hard work is paying off.


----------



## NCjeeper

Nutfarmer said:


> The only thing that slows druggies down is a big dog and a shotgun.


I have both.


----------



## NCjeeper

hman said:


> Magnificent!


Thanks.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Looks great. Look at all that room, will be nice to get the machinery in place and finally be able to use the building for something other than a work place for the construction.

One question, How are the barrel bolts going to prevent someone from getting in? I can't see from the picture, do they have some allowance for a paddle lock?


----------



## NC Rick

I enjoy watching your progress!  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> One question, How are the barrel bolts going to prevent someone from getting in? I can't see from the picture, do they have some allowance for a paddle lock?


Yes.The padlocks are not on there in the photo.


----------



## NCjeeper

So close.


A sign for the front door. Thanks Dan.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Nice, You have been waiting a long time for this. Does this mean that you have an occupancy permit now?


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> Does this mean that you have an occupancy permit now?


Not yet. Have all the small stuff to do before final inspection.


----------



## Papa Charlie

G


NCjeeper said:


> Not yet. Have all the small stuff to do before final inspection.



Good lord, well got my fingers crossed for you. Good luck my friend. Maybe it will be a nice Christmas present. Be a good time to hint to the wife that you need a new tool for all that you have gone through.


----------



## Janderso

Man, it's been a long road. I've been watching your youtube adventures all along.
You can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Janderso said:


> Man, it's been a long road. I've been watching your youtube adventures all along.
> You can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.



I didn't know he had a YouTube channel. Do you have the link to it?


----------



## NCjeeper

Janderso said:


> Man, it's been a long road. I've been watching your youtube adventures all along.
> You can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.


Thanks Jeff. It has been a crazy ride.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> I didn't know he had a YouTube channel. Do you have the link to it?











						Hill Top Machine Works
					

Welcome to my new channel. I will be featuring videos of manual machining, metal fabrication, and welding taking place in my shop. I will be moving soon and ...




					www.youtube.com


----------



## NCjeeper

Got my H/V mill and shear moved in last night. I bought the mill from a friend about a year ago. He has been keeping it until the shop got done so he could bring it. Some nice tooling and a Kurt vise came with the deal. He also brought up the shear I bought last month on E-Bay.


----------



## NCjeeper




----------



## ACHiPo

Hokey smokes.  With the size of that mill you're gonna want a good sized hoist if only to lift the rotary table!


----------



## Weldingrod1

That's a really interesting horizontal mill! Let us know how you like running it!

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk


----------



## NCjeeper

ACHiPo said:


> Hokey smokes.  With the size of that mill you're gonna want a good sized hoist if only to lift the rotary table!


Yeah a gantry crane build is on the list.


----------



## NCjeeper

Weldingrod1 said:


> That's a really interesting horizontal mill! Let us know how you like running it!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk


Will do.


----------



## ACHiPo

NCjeeper said:


> Will do.


It’s a universal mill isn’t it?


----------



## Pops

Really turned out to be a good looking shop. You did a really fine job on it. When I built mine several years ago I thought at 25 X 50 was going to be just right. Well, after adding on twice it’s still getting crowded AGAIN!! The way my property is laid out I don’t really have any more room to expand. Our double garage is connected to the shop but my wife has already said NO to me taking over that space. She said her car will be in the garage at night!! Oh well, I’ll just have to make do with what I have. 

P.S.   I bought a welding table at auction last week. Haven’t told my wife yet. $145 for a 66” x 46” x36” high. It’s 1” thick so I’ll need a crane to move it. I figured about 860 pounds, not counting the 2” pipe legs. It’s going to have to sit outside until I can find a space for it. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## NCjeeper

ACHiPo said:


> It’s a universal mill isn’t it?


Abene made one version that had a quill also. I would say that would be a true universal mill since it can do anything.


----------



## Dhal22

NCjeeper said:


> So close.
> View attachment 343137
> 
> A sign for the front door. Thanks Dan.
> View attachment 343138




I see some new work done for water runoff.


----------



## hman

Yeeeeeee-Haaaaaa!  The first tools in the shop!


----------



## NCjeeper

Dhal22 said:


> I see some new work done for water runoff.


Yep. We have not had a lot of rain, but what we have had has moved away from the shop.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Nice, you have waited a long time for this moment. Congrats. That is a fine looking mill. Looking forward to seeing you populate your shop. I am taking notes.

My wish list is a 12" x 56" Table Kearney Trecker K&T Horizontal Vertical Metal Milling Machine. There are times when a horizontal mill and a vertical mill are desirable.


----------



## Dhal22

NCjeeper said:


> Yep. We have not had a lot of rain, but what we have had has moved away from the shop.




Excellent.   Was worried for a while.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> Nice, you have waited a long time for this moment. Congrats. That is a fine looking mill. Looking forward to seeing you populate your shop. I am taking notes.
> 
> My wish list is a 12" x 56" Table Kearney Trecker K&T Horizontal Vertical Metal Milling Machine. There are times when a horizontal mill and a vertical mill are desirable.


I had been on the search for a K&T or Cincy mill for awhile. When I found one it was usually missing the vertical head or half way across the country. My friend Matt was down sizing his shop and offered up his mill with all that tooling and a Kurt vise for a screaming deal so I jumped on it.


----------



## Papa Charlie

NCjeeper said:


> I had been on the search for a K&T or Cincy mill for awhile. When I found one it was usually missing the vertical head or half way across the country. My friend Matt was down sizing his shop and offered up his mill with all that tooling and a Kurt vise for a screaming deal so I jumped on it.



Well it looks like a real nice mill. Like you say, they all seem to be missing something, or half a moon away, which means we almost pay for it twice. While that is my bucket list item, when I am ready I will have to temper my choice based on what is available. Many parts have been produced by either a Vertical or a Horizontal mill, so it isn't a deal breaker. I have also thought about a shaper in addition to a Vertical mill, but it seems that they are fairly restricted in their application and how often would a hobbyist use one. I may be totally off base on this but that is my thinking. Although I love watching Adam or Steve, among others on YouTube use them.

That shear looks like it is brand new, or extremely well cared for. I haven't done any sheetmetal work for 20 years. Worked as shop manager of a company that made weir type oil skimmers out of SS sheet among other materials. The break which was a flywheel type and the brake, which was an old 40's unit that was 8 feet wide had to have parts made for them to bring back to life. The owner spared no expense. But getting them working was a lot of fun. Plus I got to spend his money.

Nice to see your equipment finally making the migration into the shop. Must be exciting to finally have some iron sitting on the floor, in YOUR SHOP.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> I have also thought about a shaper


If you run across one at a good deal and have the room grab it. They are limited in what they can do and became somewhat obsolete when the vertical mill was invented. Steve and Adam peaked my interest into getting one. Something about there simplicity and rhythmic motion makes the machines cool to me.


----------



## ThinWoodsman

NCjeeper said:


> If you run across one at a good deal and have the room grab it. They are limited in what they can do and became somewhat obsolete when the vertical mill was invented.



I've got one of the benchtop Ammcos. I'd love to have a full-sized one but I can barely get into the shop as it is. 

If you have the room, a shaper is great. You can set it up to true flats while you have the mill and/or doing other work. If you do any slotting or v-ways, same thing. Dovetails and T-slots, well, use the special cutter on the mill. Once of the nice things about the shaper: as long as you got a grinder handy, you never have to wait on delivery of a cutting tool for the job.


----------



## NCjeeper

Time to start on the construction of the shop office.


----------



## NCjeeper

Of course Mr. Murphy had to show up. Got the trailer unloaded and everything laid out. Turn on the air compressor and plug up my air framing nailer. The nailer starts pissing out air. Oh wonderful. Take it apart and a seal has rotted into pieces. So I get to nail all this together by hand.


Getting it done but taking forever. Don't want to waste these nice days. I got a seal rebuild kit ordered.


----------



## Papa Charlie

I am afraid that when I finally get to pull my pneumatic tools out once I get my shop up, that I will find much the same thing, that most of the seals will need to be replaced.

Actually have had similar issues with some of my electric tools that I pulled out of storage and found to not work. Didn't have time to break down, assume it might have been brushes so off to HF for something to get the job done.

I would be hammering those together as you have had to wait far too long to get your shop done. Thankfully, it isn't a large room that you are boxing in and you only have two walls. At least you can get them up and start running the wire.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> At least you can get them up and start running the wire.


That is the plan.


----------



## BGHansen

NCjeeper said:


> Of course Mr. Murphy had to show up. Got the trailer unloaded and everything laid out. Turn on the air compressor and plug up my air framing nailer. The nailer starts pissing out air. Oh wonderful. Take it apart and a seal has rotted into pieces. So I get to nail all this together by hand.
> View attachment 345291
> 
> Getting it done but taking forever. Don't want to waste these nice days. I got a seal rebuild kit ordered.


I feel your pain.  I have a Bostitch framing nailer and trim nailer with bad O-rings.  On my list of good intentions to pull them apart and replace the rings.  There are some good videos on YouTube showing the process.  Kicker is, I have a Jet brad nailer and a Harbor Freight pinner/stapler from the same timeframe (close to 30 years ago) that both work fine.

Bruce


----------



## FOMOGO

Swinging that 32oz framing hammer will make a man of you. A man with a sore arm, and shoulder. Shop is looking good. Planning on some storage area above the office? Cheers, Mike


----------



## NCjeeper

FOMOGO said:


> Planning on some storage area above the office? Cheers, Mike


 Yes sir.


----------



## Dhal22

NCjeeper said:


> Of course Mr. Murphy had to show up. Got the trailer unloaded and everything laid out. Turn on the air compressor and plug up my air framing nailer. The nailer starts pissing out air. Oh wonderful. Take it apart and a seal has rotted into pieces. So I get to nail all this together by hand.
> View attachment 345291
> 
> Getting it done but taking forever. Don't want to waste these nice days. I got a seal rebuild kit ordered.




Impact drill and 3" wood screws............


----------



## NCjeeper

Slow going when you are by yourself, but making progress.


----------



## DavidR8

Looking good! So good to watch your progress.


----------



## NCjeeper

Thanks David.


----------



## hman

Very nice looking framing ... and it looks like you've found a good source of non-pretzel 2x4s!


----------



## NCjeeper

hman said:


> Very nice looking framing ... and it looks like you've found a good source of non-pretzel 2x4s!


Definitely had to dig threw the bundle to find 46 good and straight ones.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Nice work. I would have thought that you would make the office in a corner where you only needed two walls and have the outside Man door enter into the office.

Do you have a floor plan for your build that you could share with us? I would be very interested in how you have planned the layout of office, equipment, segmentation of machine area, welding, grinding, compressor,  etc.

I hope to have sufficient room for me to separate the Machining (Mill, Lathe, etc) Area, Welding/Grinding Area, Office Area, Reloading/Gunsmithing Area, Auto Work Maintenance Area and Storage Area (Pallet Racks, RV, etc). Some of these areas will no doubt overlap and may be smaller than I might like.

Have some rough ideas for layout but always looking for new ideas.

So glad to see you nearing the light at the end of the tunnel.


----------



## NCjeeper

To the right of the office is the automotive area. I am using the office to separate it from the welding and metal fab area which will be to the left of the office.
So if you are looking at the front of the building all that will be on the left side. On the right side will be my lathes, mills, shaper, drill press, etc. Back right corner will be the air compressor, blast cabinet, and urinal.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Nice thank you for the layout.


----------



## rwm

So COOL!
R


----------



## NCjeeper

Thanks Robert.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Are you planning on a big window in the office front wall to the right of the man door?


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> Are you planning on a big window in the office front wall to the right of the man door?


Yep. Special order. Hopefully it will be here in a couple of weeks.


----------



## rwm

Can you easily put windows to the exterior on these metal buildings?
R


----------



## NCjeeper

rwm said:


> Can you easily put windows to the exterior on these metal buildings?
> R


You can get windows with your building kit if you want. Of course they cost extra. I imagine you could add some on your own if you got creative.


----------



## NCjeeper

Well the shop office is almost done. Waiting on the custom picture window and I need to do some trim work. Other than that it is done. Probably put down some indoor outdoor carpet just to make it nice.


----------



## Papa Charlie

If you are a shooter, I could see this doubling as the reloading room. Surprised you didn't add a window on the two adjacent walls. But that is just me. 

What are you going to use for lighting in the shop? I know a lot of people are going with those LED 4 foot lights that look like the old Fluorescent type. But not sure how they work on ceilings that high.


----------



## rwm

It also needs a Stockcar Steel and Aluminum calendar hanging on the wall! Although I am not sure they publish that anymore....
Robert


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> What are you going to use for lighting in the shop?


It will be some sort of LED. I want the place lit up so I will see what the electrician recommends.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> Surprised you didn't add a window on the two adjacent walls.


I wanted the bare walls so I could put up shelving, pictures, and a book case.


----------



## mksj

Really impressive undertaking and it came out super, very nicely done.


----------



## Larry$

Envy!


----------



## Papa Charlie

NCjeeper said:


> I wanted the bare walls so I could put up shelving, pictures, and a book case.



Makes good sense. Now that you bring that up. I have a bunch of pictures and collectables that the wife doesn't really care about but I do. That would be a great place for me to put them up. 

That is why I like this forum. You get so many different perspectives on things.


----------



## NCjeeper

Looks like the shop will be having it's first white Christmas. Started snowing Christmas eve.


----------



## stuarth44

Papa Charlie said:


> Makes good sense. Now that you bring that up. I have a bunch of pictures and collectables that the wife doesn't really care about but I do. That would be a great place for me to put them up.
> 
> That is why I like this forum. You get so many different perspectives on things.


yeppers hang some black n white photos of machine shops make it your Den


----------



## NCjeeper

stuarth44 said:


> yeppers hang some black n white photos of machine shops make it your Den


That is the plan. I have been slowly gathering pictures off of the internet.


----------



## stuarth44

NCjeeper said:


> That is the plan. I have been slowly gathering pictures off of the internet.


you tube Sulzer factory, freeze your screen, take screenshot by pressing win key and print screen key same time, it is fascinating this vid here this shot is a engine block being planed


----------



## NCjeeper

That is a huge block. For a ship I would guess.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Use to work for Delaval Engine and Compressor. Traveled all over the world for a few years, until I got tired of living on the road 10 months out of the year. They made engines up to 12,000 BHP, 21" Stroke and 15" bore, 450 rpm's 6-20 cylinders. We were considered the small block of the large industrial engine class.

Here is a picture of one of the 16 cylinders that I scanned from an old photo. These were used in main ship propulsion, electrical municipalities power generation and in nuclear plants to run backup 96K gallon per minute water pumps. The ship board units were available as reversible.  Most modern ships don't require this as they props were variable pitch, so engines ran at one speed.


----------



## mattthemuppet2

that'd fit right in a Camaro


----------



## NCjeeper

That is a biggun!


----------



## Larry$

The carrier I was on had two V16s for standby electrical power. Air start and generators loaded at the same time. 600 rpm flat out. Pretty fast for that size engine.


----------



## Johntena

Papa Charlie said:


> Use to work for Delaval Engine and Compressor. Traveled all over the world for a few years, until I got tired of living on the road 10 months out of the year. They made engines up to 12,000 BHP, 21" Stroke and 15" bore, 450 rpm's 6-20 cylinders. We were considered the small block of the large industrial engine class.
> 
> Here is a picture of one of the 16 cylinders that I scanned from an old photo. These were used in main ship propulsion, electrical municipalities power generation and in nuclear plants to run backup 96K gallon per minute water pumps. The ship board units were available as reversible.  Most modern ships don't require this as they props were variable pitch, so engines ran at one speed.
> 
> View attachment 348626


Was that the Enterprise Division in Oakland, CA?  My father worked there in the ‘70s.  I sure enjoyed visiting there!
John Gallagher
Danville, CA


----------



## ACHiPo

Johntena said:


> Was that the Enterprise Division in Oakland, CA?  My father worked there in the ‘70s.  I sure enjoyed visiting there!
> John Gallagher
> Danville, CA


Just down the road from you in Pleasanton.  Welcome!


----------



## Papa Charlie

Johntena said:


> Was that the Enterprise Division in Oakland, CA?  My father worked there in the ‘70s.  I sure enjoyed visiting there!
> John Gallagher
> Danville, CA



Yup, I worked there twice, first time was as a Field Service Rep (1978), second time was as a Sales Cost Estimator (1981). They had the largest foundry this side of the Mississippi River. Got to watch them do a night pour once. The crankshafts had 13.5" main bearings. The forgings came in from Japan and were machined there in Oakland as was all the major components.


----------



## ddickey

I used to be an outplant operator at a nuc plant. We ran those emergency diesel generators every Monday. We had 7 total for emergency 
electrical generation and 3 more that were coupled to pumps of varying sizes.


----------



## Johntena

ACHiPo said:


> Just down the road from you in Pleasanton.  Welcome!


Thank you!

John Gallagher
Danville, CA


----------



## NCjeeper

Finally! All ready to move equipment in. Hopefully get started in a couple of weeks. My friend Sage has access to a telehandler and will bring it home from work. That way I don't have to rent a big forklift.


----------



## myfinishingtouch

Nicely done.  I hope to be building my last workshop in about three years and got some good ideas from your build.  
Thanks,
Dave


----------



## Papa Charlie

Nice, learned a lot watching this for my shop. Hope to start in about 1.5-2 years.
One question, are the roll up doors a lot more expensive than the types you put in? I always like the roll ups as they don't block the lighting and they are out of the way.

Interested in why you went the route you did. Continuing my education here.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> Nice, learned a lot watching this for my shop. Hope to start in about 1.5-2 years.
> One question, are the roll up doors a lot more expensive than the types you put in? I always like the roll ups as they don't block the lighting and they are out of the way.
> 
> Interested in why you went the route you did. Continuing my education here.


I wanted roll up doors. But to get insulated ones the diameter would have been to big to fit above the door opening and the roof. So I had to go with fold up ones.


----------



## Papa Charlie

I didn't think about the insulation factor. That is a lot of surface area of metal that would transmit that cold from the outside to the inside.
Thanks.


----------



## Boswell

looks really great!


----------



## DavidR8

Wow, that looks really fantastic!


----------



## NCjeeper

We had some nice weather today so I loaded up the first load and headed down to the shop. Feels good to be finally moving stuff in.


----------



## Papa Charlie

That must be a great feeling, congratulations. Great way to start the New Years celebration.

Is your shop on the same land as your home? Picture throws me off.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> Is your shop on the same land as your home? Picture throws me off.


It is. It is about 300 feet away from the house.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Is it the one in the back of that image or not shown. Me thinks it isn't shown.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> Is it the one in the back of that image or not shown. Me thinks it isn't shown.


It is not in the picture. Shop is to the right from where I was.


----------



## Papa Charlie

@NCjeeper cool.

When the wife and I started talking about building our retirement home (More like a Manufactured) and my shop at first she didn't want to see it from the house, but over time, she has come to realize that I will have to either walk or drive to my shop if that is the case. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me. So now we are talking about it being within a reasonable walk. Since we are looking at the coast, in the PNW, that means walking through the rain a good portion of the year. So closer is better.

Thanks, for sharing the information.


----------



## 7milesup

Papa Charlie said:


> @NCjeeper cool.
> 
> When the wife and I started talking about building our retirement home (More like a Manufactured) and my shop at first she didn't want to see it from the house, but over time, she has come to realize that I will have to either walk or drive to my shop if that is the case. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me. So now we are talking about it being within a reasonable walk. Since we are looking at the coast, in the PNW, that means walking through the rain a good portion of the year. So closer is better.
> 
> Thanks, for sharing the information.



I think you should build a "shouse" then (shed, house).   Some really nice looking options out there.  You could have the living area (house) above the shop resulting in her never having to "see" the shop.  Well, at least not when she is IN the house!


----------



## Papa Charlie

7milesup said:


> I think you should build a "shouse" then (shed, house).   Some really nice looking options out there.  You could have the living area (house) above the shop resulting in her never having to "see" the shop.  Well, at least not when she is IN the house!



My garage/shop I had in California was a problem. I am an early riser and the wife is a late night person. As her health has gotten worse, she sleeps when she can, generally only 3-4 hours at a time. The issue with the shop attached to the house was that I can't work when I want to for concern of waking her when she is able to get any sleep. So this time, the shop will be well separated from the house so that I can work any time I want without disturbing her.


----------



## 7milesup

^^^Ah yes. That makes perfect sense.  ^^^


----------



## Dabbler

I'm also in the house/shop separation side:  it costs more, for construction, maintenance and heating, but the noise and smells abatement is worth it.


----------



## NCjeeper

Dabbler said:


> but the noise and smells abatement is worth it.


Most definitely. Happy wife=Happy workshop.


----------



## Weldingrod1

Covered walkway?

My shop.is separated too...

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk


----------



## Boswell

My shop is separated but only by about 40 feet with a boardwalk between the house and the shop. Only negative is that there is not a bathroom in the shop, but that is only a minor inconvenience. Generally, I like the separation.


----------



## Just for fun

NCjeeper said:


> Finally! All ready to move equipment in. Hopefully get started in a couple of weeks. My friend Sage has access to a telehandler and will bring it home from work. That way I don't have to rent a big forklift.
> View attachment 348891
> 
> View attachment 348892


What a nice looking shop Congratulations!

Looking forward to seeing it all lit up.  I've been slowly been upgrading to LED lights in my shop as the florescent lights die.


----------



## NCjeeper

I had move in day at the shop. My buddies Brad, John, Michael, and Sage showed up to give me a hand. Sage was going to try and bring home a telehandler from work to move the big pieces. That fell through so we were not able to move the Monarch lathe, Excello mill, G&E shaper, and DoAll bandsaw. We did move everything else. Huge thanks to them. Only got a few pictures because it was cold and we stayed working.


----------



## NCjeeper




----------



## Pops

Just for fun said:


> What a nice looking shop Congratulations!
> 
> Looking forward to seeing it all lit up. I've been slowly been upgrading to LED lights in my shop as the florescent lights die.



I replaced all my shop lights with LED bulbs in my 4’ fluorescent fixtures. Made a hung difference. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Papa Charlie

NCjeeper said:


> I had move in day at the shop. My buddies Brad, John, Michael, and Sage showed up to give me a hand. Sage was going to try and bring home a telehandler from work to move the big pieces. That fell through so we were not able to move the Monarch lathe, Excello mill, G&E shaper, and DoAll bandsaw. We did move everything else. Huge thanks to them. Only got a few pictures because it was cold and we stayed working.
> View attachment 350184



You can't go wrong with friends like that. Reminds me of small town where I grew up and the guys I grew up with. 

Which Monarch do you have? I would love to get one for my shop when I get it built.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> Which Monarch do you have?


1964 Model K 16x54.


----------



## hman

You've got some good friends ... and I'd even bet they enjoyed the job.  I know I would have!  Best to you.


----------



## NCjeeper

hman said:


> You've got some good friends ... and I'd even bet they enjoyed the job.  I know I would have!  Best to you.


We had a good time but they worked me like a rented mule.  I am sore today.


----------



## NCjeeper

Glad we got everything moved when we did. Snow front came in last night.


----------



## Boswell

Timing is everything !


----------



## Dabbler

I thought you guys in the far South never got snow! Are you sure that you weren't teleported into the Great White North?


----------



## NCjeeper

We didn't get much living in North Carolina. Now that I am in the Virginia mountains it is a different story. My wife sure enjoys it.


----------



## NCjeeper

I have been working on getting the office set up. Don't mind the extension cords in the photo. I am using them to power the ceiling lights.


----------



## DavidR8

Nothing like good shop art!
Those oil containers take me back in time


----------



## DAM 79

NCjeeper said:


> 1964 Model K 16x54.


 It’s great to see that you are getting things set up in your new shop !!! I didn’t know  the size of your Monarch with that being said Did you happen to get a follower rest with your Monarch lathe ??


----------



## Janderso

Hey NCJeeper,
I've been watching you for a while now. Your new shop is beautiful Yes, you need lots of lighting in that shop.
I assume you are a professional machinist, fabricator, repairs etc??
I bet you are looking forward to moving on with your life!!
It seems you took a year off for this shop??

Spent a few weeks in W. Virginia, VA, Pa visiting Civil War sites and taking classes at the University of Va.
Went with two buddies. Time of my life man. Beautiful country!


----------



## NCjeeper

DAM 79 said:


> Did you happen to get a follower rest with your Monarch lathe ??


No it didn't come with one.


----------



## NCjeeper

Janderso said:


> Hey NCJeeper,
> I've been watching you for a while now. Your new shop is beautiful Yes, you need lots of lighting in that shop.
> I assume you are a professional machinist, fabricator, repairs etc??
> I bet you are looking forward to moving on with your life!!
> It seems you took a year off for this shop??
> 
> Spent a few weeks in W. Virginia, VA, Pa visiting Civil War sites and taking classes at the University of Va.
> Went with two buddies. Time of my life man. Beautiful country!


Thanks Jeff. I have been fabricating for over 20 years and got back into machining around 2014. I havent made a metal chip in almost 2 years now. Boy does time fly when you are doing something like this.


----------



## Dabbler

NCjeeper said:


> Boy does time fly when you are doing something like this.




yeah.  Just re-insulating my garage and cleaning up has lost me nearly 5 months!


----------



## DAM 79

NCjeeper said:


> No it didn't come with one.


Gotcha 
I was just wondering because I’m going tomorrow to upgrade from my Leblond 15x30 to a Monarch 16x54 and it came with everything but a follow rest and I did some looking and couldn’t find a good picture of how they look and or mount on there


----------



## NCjeeper

DAM 79 said:


> couldn’t find a good picture of how they look and or mount on there


Search Monarch lathe on E-Bay and you can see what they look like. I tried to cut and paste a photo from there but it didn't work.


----------



## DAM 79

NCjeeper said:


> Search Monarch lathe on E-Bay and you can see what they look like. I tried to cut and paste a photo from there but it didn't work.


I will try that for sure 
The reason I was asking was because I traded my Leblond 15x30 for a Monarch 16CY X 54 this past weekend and it came with. Bunch of stuff like x2 steady rest and two chucks but now follower rest


----------



## NCjeeper

So a little update. I have been working on getting the shop office together. Over look the cords in the top of the picture. I have the lights plugged in with an extension cord right now. The clear display case will have vintage machinist tools in it. I just need to unpack them.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Your shop office is looking great.

Since we have been working from home since March and we will not be returning full time to the office, I have to go in and pack up all my personnel items off my desk. Instead we will have hot desks where you find one that is open when you are in the office. The long way to the point is, I have collected some pretty cool stuff. Some collectable Boeing airplane models and other stuff that would look great in my shop office. I had wondered what I would do with them once I retire. You are giving me all kinds of good ideas. Thinking about it, I know I have other items in storage I haven't seen for 10 years that would fit well in that environment. 

Thanks very much for sharing all of this. Some great ideas.


----------



## 7milesup

Really nice looking office there Tom.  I really like the vintage look.


----------



## DavidR8

Getting things sorted out has got to be very satisfying after such a long build up. 
Looks really fantastic!


----------



## NCjeeper

Yeah so close. Electrician came by last week. I am waiting on his quote.


----------



## ddickey

You're running from the house right?


----------



## stuarth44

NCjeeper said:


> So a little update. I have been working on getting the shop office together. Over look the cords in the top of the picture. I have the lights plugged in with an extension cord right now. The clear display case will have vintage machinist tools in it. I just need to unpack them.
> View attachment 354374
> 
> View attachment 354375


aww Shucks, so good Mate


----------



## stuarth44

NCjeeper said:


> Yeah so close. Electrician came by last week. I am waiting on his quote.


power is like plumbing. not hard, have a go


----------



## NCjeeper

Yep have a 12 gauge cord running down from the house.


----------



## ddickey

Say what? 12 gauge?


----------



## John O

ddickey said:


> Say what? 12 gauge?


When its time for lunch, his wife unplugs the cord.


----------



## ddickey

I guess I should've made my question more clear.
Are you planning on running a line from the house for a subpanel or are you getting another meter for the shop?


----------



## NCjeeper

ddickey said:


> You're running from the house right?





ddickey said:


> I guess I should've made my question more clear.
> Are you planning on running a line from the house for a subpanel or are you getting another meter for the shop?


I had the power company set a pole and a transformer by my shop. So it is a separate service.


----------



## DAM 79

That is a smart move with the transformer for the shop so its on its own service I’m going to be looking into that this spring with my shop because I still draw power from my house and will be doing a heavy up for the house because I only have a 150 amp service right now at my house and I have 100 amp going to my barn to run everything I have out there


----------



## NCjeeper

If everything goes as planned the electrician will start next week. Woot woot!


----------



## DAM 79

It always seems like it takes forever when you are waiting on someone else to do the work or your waiting on the weather the Cooperate!!
That’s where I am right now with all the snow and rain and ice that we have had here lately I have not been able to ge the concrete poured in my barn . The Monarch lathe that I got is sitting on my trailer at my brothers shop just sitting.. it’s very frustrating,but I have been able to go over and I did some clean up on it and some painting


----------



## NCjeeper

Yeah you guys are getting it worse than us. Just been cold and rainy today. Just doing small stuff in the shop while I am waiting.
At least you have your Monarch to keep you busy. Looking good.


----------



## hman

Wow, what a monster!  Love it!


----------



## Papa Charlie

DAM 79 said:


> It always seems like it takes forever when you are waiting on someone else to do the work or your waiting on the weather the Cooperate!!
> That’s where I am right now with all the snow and rain and ice that we have had here lately I have not been able to ge the concrete poured in my barn . The Monarch lathe that I got is sitting on my trailer at my brothers shop just sitting.. it’s very frustrating,but I have been able to go over and I did some clean up on it and some painting


Is that the 16x54 Monarch K

She looks great. Would love to have one of those.


----------



## DAM 79

Papa Charlie said:


> Is that the 16x54 Monarch K
> 
> She looks great. Would love to have one of those.


It’s a 16CY X 54 
1944 vintage in pretty good shape the former owner is a machinist by trade and had it for 16 year’s or so I think he said it has some wear but it 70 years old so it’s not a new machine I was lucky to come across it and is well tooled I can’t wait to get it in my shop and make some chips because it’s a lot bigger the the Leblond I used to have


----------



## FOMOGO

Nice machine, I had my eye on one on facebook market place that needed some work. Appears some one finally grabbed it, which is probably a good thing as I'm running out of room with 3 lathes already, and you can only run one at a time. Not that that's a good reason not to buy another one. Cheers, Mike


----------



## NCjeeper

Finally starting on the electrical. Of course it is sleeting right now so we can't set the outside pole.


----------



## Papa Charlie

I think you have the prize for the longest build. 

Glad that you are getting closer. Won't be long now I hope. Got my fingers crossed for you.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> I think you have the prize for the longest build.


Yep looks like I am going to win that trophy.


----------



## FOMOGO

Not even close. Mike



Papa Charlie said:


> I think you have the prize for the longest build.


----------



## Janderso

NCjeeper said:


> Finally starting on the electrical. Of course it is sleeting right now so we can't set the outside pole.
> View attachment 357180


I watched your mail call this morning.
I can't believe the weather in your part of the country. It's either raining, freezing, snowing.....
Sure is a beautiful piece of property.
Sure will be nice to have lights and power for your machine tools!!
Enjoy.


----------



## NCjeeper

Some crazy weather this year for sure. Going to be sleet and rain today and tomorrow then 71 on Sunday.


----------



## Janderso

My wife and I got to get out.
The second week of March we are heading down 395 into Death Valley.
March is a beautiful time of year in the desert.
Weather forecast in Coleville (plan to stop the first night) 41 is the high and the low is 21. (2016 Lance 20 foot travel trailer with the 4 seasons package)
Maybe we'll put more miles in on that first day.
Going boondocking.


----------



## Papa Charlie

@Janderso 
Sounds like fun. We are going a little stir crazy.

Currently looking for a trailer so that we can spend some time in our desired retirement area and check out land for sale. Can't tell much from the websites and if you do find one, it requires checking things out with the county, excavation companies, well diggers, utilities, loggers if the property has to be cleared (Harvest and Return), and the Mfg Home supplier to ensure they can access among a few things to check out before you make a commitment.

Of course the trailer would also be a home while everything is coming together. Wife not to happy about the thought of another confined space to live in, but much better than paying rent for an apt or house. But we will see. If I find the property before we retire, can start the process earlier.


----------



## Just for fun

Papa Charlie said:


> Of course the trailer would also be a home while everything is coming together. Wife not to happy about the thought of another confined space to live in, but much better than paying rent for an apt or house. But we will see. If I find the property before we retire, can start the process earlier.


----------



## Just for fun

Hi Papa Charlie,

How close is retirement? I'm down to counting the days now!

When we had our house build, we lived in a 19' travel trailer with two cats. Luckily it was summer and we didn't spend much time inside.

Tim


----------



## Just for fun

Duplicate post,


----------



## Papa Charlie

Just for fun said:


> Hi Papa Charlie,
> 
> How close is retirement? I'm down to counting the days now!
> 
> When we had our house build, we lived in a 19' travel trailer with two cats. Luckily it was summer and we didn't spend much time inside.
> 
> Tim



I am right at about 16 months. Seems like forever until you start looking at all the things that has to happen to get ready for it. Been doing a lot of research into costs, and issues. Of course this all assumes that the economy remains reasonable stable.


----------



## Just for fun

I know what you mean, it didn't seem that long ago I was a couple years to go. Now I'm down to 89 days!  I plan on staying right here.  We have had this place for 30 years and we like it a lot.  It's not flat and all of the flats that are here have been cut into the hill side. But it is ours and we don't have any close neighbors.   I'm still a couple years away from getting into the machining world, but learning a lot hanging out here on the forum and watching YouTubes.

Tim


----------



## Larry$

The older you get the faster it goes.


----------



## Dhal22

Just for fun said:


> I know what you mean, it didn't seem that long ago I was a couple years to go. Now I'm down to 89 days!  I plan on staying right here.  We have had this place for 30 years and we like it a lot.  It's not flat and all of the flats that are here have been cut into the hill side. But it is ours and we don't have any close neighbors.   I'm still a couple years away from getting into the machining world, but learning a lot hanging out here on the forum and watching YouTubes.
> 
> Tim




I don't understand the no close neighbors preference.   I grew up in the sticks and love the country.   I can camp,  fish and hunt with the best of them.   I live in suburbia and a 200 home neighborhood and much prefer having neighbors and lots of close restaurants.   We socialize constantly, all summer long the same guys hang out at the pool drinking beer,  my culdesac is always busy,  dads and kids shooting basketball, etc.  I eat out breakfast lunch and dinner most days.   I've done both and much prefer suburban life.


----------



## Papa Charlie

I have had my fill of being in the "Social" setting. We like piece and quite, we had to leave our drapes closed when we lived in suburbia because ever one was staring into our house. The neighbors were always having parties and kids yelling and screaming. The wife is not of the best health and sleeps when she can, provided that she can depending on the noise level outside. 

To each his own.


----------



## Larry$

I lived in the old part of the city for a long time, houses and apartments close together. I could walk to 2 groceries, drug store, bakery, café, pizza joint, hardware store, etc. Knew many of the people, there were always people on the side walks. People sat on their porch swings and we'd have a beer and talk. Houses were from the late 1800s. There was a lot of traffic.   Several old guys had horse shoe setups in their yards, we'd play in the evenings. Late at night, after the kids were in bed, I'd go for long walks, sometimes down the alleys. Alleys are more interesting than sidewalks. I'd see a lady of the evening plying her profession, an occasional drug dealer or drunks after the bars closed. The black church would have Soul food dinners to raise $, there was always a good crowd. The city was alive!

My parents and their classy neighborhood friends thought I was crazy to live in such an area. A frequent question "aren't you afraid!" Not at all. 

Now I live in suburbia. Houses are all about 20 years old, further apart. No front porches with swings. People get into their cars and drive off. Few people on the sidewalks. There is a good mix of different people but they mostly keep to themselves. 

The city is changing. Lots of new housing, apartments and condos are being built in the downtown area that has been abandoned by stores. A new 20 story condo is under construction. The largest old store is being converted into 187 new apartments. A grocery has opened. There is a night life district.  If they aren't careful this hick town may yet turn into a real city. 

PS, I've lived in real cities & liked them. San Francisco & London.


----------



## Janderso

I'm less than a year out.
The home we lost was on almost an acre with trees-shrubs all over the place. The neighbors all had one acre or larger lots.
We moved to suburbia.
It's a nice home, 20 years old. Very comfortable with a pool for the grand kids.
I have my shop all set up.
I must admit, being 5 minutes away from the store, hardware, Harbor freight!!
Is nice. Restaurants are close, those that will remain anyway.


----------



## mmcmdl

43 days here if I decide to go . My little farm road has turned into McMansions over the past 2 years . One is going up next door as we speak . I miss the wide open land with the horses running around although we still have an acre lot directly across the street for horses to run . I own 2 houses on the street , they'll eventually squeeze me out I'm sure . I would love to be able to move up to the property (45 acres) in the Adirondacks but New York isn't the most tax friendly state , plus those damn black flies love Marylander's blood !  Currently we are looking for land down in West Virginia , maybe on a lake or river . We love the outdoors , camping , 4 wheeling , shooting guns etc . And ...............BONFIRES , which will be later today when the wind dies down .


----------



## Boswell

I am 31 days from retiring. We live on a little over 2 acres and two of our property lines are shared with wildlife preserve. all covered with Juniper (cedar) trees. About a dozen neighbors in the same situation, then it is 15 minutes to suburbia. So I think this is about the perfect place. Isolated but only 15 in to a harbor freight, at least two grocery stores fast-food etc.  Usually too dry for Bonfires  through.


----------



## Janderso

mmcmdl said:


> 43 days here if I decide to go . My little farm road has turned into McMansions over the past 2 years . One is going up next door as we speak . I miss the wide open land with the horses running around although we still have an acre lot directly across the street for horses to run . I own 2 houses on the street , they'll eventually squeeze me out I'm sure . I would love to be able to move up to the property (45 acres) in the Adirondacks but New York isn't the most tax friendly state , plus those damn black flies love Marylander's blood !  Currently we are looking for land down in West Virginia , maybe on a lake or river . We love the outdoors , camping , 4 wheeling , shooting guns etc . And ...............BONFIRES , which will be later today when the wind dies down .


43 days?
What the hell are they gonna do without you?
Ha Ha!!
Good for you


----------



## Janderso

Boswell said:


> I am 31 days from retiring. We live on a little over 2 acres and two of our property lines are shared with wildlife preserve. all covered with Juniper (cedar) trees. About a dozen neighbors in the same situation, then it is 15 minutes to suburbia. So I think this is about the perfect place. Isolated but only 15 in to a harbor freight, at least two grocery stores fast-food etc.  Usually too dry for Bonfires  through.


Boswell, sounds like you're set.
31 days. How does it feel?
My one year anniversary was February 6th. Heck, that seems like yesterday. This year will fly by.


----------



## Boswell

Janderso said:


> 31 days. How does it feel?


a little scary to be honest. It is sort of a one way decision.  Been working since I was 15 and full time since I was 18.  It is often said that you can't buy time but when it come to retirement your sort of can. I can buy more time with my family by giving up a few more years of salary.  Land and house are paid for. Water is from Rainwater collection and 80% of electricity is from Solar so it should all work out.


----------



## Janderso

Boswell said:


> Been working since I was 15 and full time since I was 18


I think many of our generation can say that.
I didn't pursue my dream job, so I've been working all these years for a paycheck.
Gosh, thinking back at my 1st. job. I was 15, started at 3:00 after school and got off at 10:00PM. I made $1.75 per hour to start. They soon had me up to $2.25. I came to work every day, didn't screw around and worked hard.
We are a dying breed Boswell.
It will be 50 years in February.


----------



## hman

2 digit midgets ... congratulations!


----------



## Just for fun

Janderso said:


> I'm less than a year out.
> The home we lost was on almost an acre with trees-shrubs all over the place. The neighbors all had one acre or larger lots.
> We moved to suburbia.
> It's a nice home, 20 years old. Very comfortable with a pool for the grand kids.
> I have my shop all set up.
> I must admit, being 5 minutes away from the store, hardware, Harbor freight!!
> Is nice. Restaurants are close, those that will remain anyway.


I'm still close to stores and restaurants about two miles.   We still have neighbors but there not 50' away, there more like 600 yards is the closest one. 

I have lived in cities and had a good time but prefer small towns.   I grew up in a small town called Westwood not far from where you live Jeff.  In high school spent some time in the Paradise and Chico area running around with buddies.


----------



## mmcmdl

They have the chance to hire me as a contractor . I would do it for the same $$$$ but being 62 years old , I want some time off .


----------



## Janderso

mmcmdl said:


> They have the chance to hire me as a contractor . I would do it for the same $$$$ but being 62 years old , I want some time off .


Your still a little young for retirement 
Hang in there buddy,


----------



## Aukai

Even the last 30 days takes forever to get here, until it's done then 40 years doesn't seem as long as it did. 13-14 yo delivering the morning paper, deck hand on a charter boat, first minimum wage job was a buck, and a half at a dairy farm, at 16.


----------



## FOMOGO

"When I was a boy". Just kidding. I've theoretically been retired since 02, but I still go to work on something pretty much 5-6 days a week, 6 to 8 hrs a day. I'm just not good at sitting still, and I like the whole concept of using the few brain cells I have to figure things out, and create something useful or interesting. I've been feeling better physically than I have in quite a few years. Climbing up and down scaffolding all day long, doing mud/tape, and painting, and I actually feel pretty good the next morning. I think the thing I like most about being retired is the casual hour and a half, or so mornings, my two cups of coffee, and a little reading, or computer time, with no deadlines to meet, or customers to worry about. Just head out the door and find something to do. I turn 70 in 10 days, and I like to imagine I'll just keep doing this until I can't. Congrats to all you out there retired, or about to be, have yourself a great time. Cheers, Mike


----------



## Papa Charlie

@FOMOGO

Mike, well said, it is all about wanting to, not having to. I cannot imagine sitting around. Can't do that on my days off. Yes, there is the occasional can't get away from the computer but that isn't all forums and YouTube. I track our finances, work on designs of things I want to build, learn about new technology, etc. But I much prefer to be busy.

As I said, I have 16 months left, June 30, 2022 is the date I have set. Not cast in stone but the goal. Between now and then, I have a lot to do and plan.

@Boswell

I have been working since the 5th grade, I don't count the lawn mowing business I had before then. But was stocking shelves, bagging groceries and burning trash at a local store until my dad and mom bought a small family grocery. Then they would pick me up after school and I worked until we went home. The thought of not having a paycheck coming in, regardless of my 401 and SS, scares the hell out of me. The market could wipe out my 401 without too much trouble, saw it happen to others in 2008. As for SS, well that is in the hands of people I wouldn't let manage my dad's grocery store.

@NCjeeper 

Sorry for hijacking your thread. Hope you are busy installing your electrical system in your shop.

Everyone retiring:

Congratulations to all of you who will be retiring in the near future. I wish you all he happiness that it should bring.


----------



## Janderso

Papa Charlie said:


> I have 16 months left, June 30, 2022 is the date I have set


February 6th, 2022.
Pinch me, I'm dreaming.


----------



## BGHansen

Well, as long as we're (off)topic, here's my countdown.  Those are actual working days, not calendar.  My date is 2/28/2022, I'll be 62 with 40 years at the company.  Or, as a lot of us old-farts say, tomorrow if they p*ss me off.  Another quip is "I'm just one good *ss chewing away from leaving".  I like what I do and work for a good company, no rush for me.

My biggest headache has been trying to convince my better half to go when I do or sooner.  You can always make more money, but you can't make more time.  She's more than 3 years younger than me and wants to work until 62.  I can't tell her to do anything without thinking of Bill Bixby's line on the Incredible Hulk, "Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry".  

One approach has been, "Dear, we're a partnership and you should consider my age too when you decide to retire.  By that summer, I'll be approaching 66; sure hope I feel like walking around Europe, New Zealand, Australia and all of the other places you want to visit".  That argument hasn't worked yet.

Another approach is more fitting to my personality.  I had a day off in January and got up with her.  I commented as she was heading out the door that "I could really get used to this second cup of coffee with Bailey's watching you head down the driveway to make us some money.  Wow, I'm going to have the house all to myself for more than 3 years trying to figure out what I'm going to fiddle-fart with for the day!  Life is good!".  That is usually followed by "the look"; I suspect she'll go soon after I do as we all look forward to 7-day weekends at some point in life.

Bruce


----------



## Dabbler

@Boswell I think you are set!


----------



## NCjeeper

Back to our regularly scheduled channel...................Started on the electrical.


----------



## Aukai

Sorry for the sidetrack


----------



## Janderso

BGHansen said:


> Well, as long as we're (off)topic, here's my countdown.  Those are actual working days, not calendar.  My date is 2/28/2022, I'll be 62 with 40 years at the company.  Or, as a lot of us old-farts say, tomorrow if they p*ss me off.  Another quip is "I'm just one good *ss chewing away from leaving".  I like what I do and work for a good company, no rush for me.
> 
> My biggest headache has been trying to convince my better half to go when I do or sooner.  You can always make more money, but you can't make more time.  She's more than 3 years younger than me and wants to work until 62.  I can't tell her to do anything without thinking of Bill Bixby's line on the Incredible Hulk, "Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry".
> 
> One approach has been, "Dear, we're a partnership and you should consider my age too when you decide to retire.  By that summer, I'll be approaching 66; sure hope I feel like walking around Europe, New Zealand, Australia and all of the other places you want to visit".  That argument hasn't worked yet.
> 
> Another approach is more fitting to my personality.  I had a day off in January and got up with her.  I commented as she was heading out the door that "I could really get used to this second cup of coffee with Bailey's watching you head down the driveway to make us some money.  Wow, I'm going to have the house all to myself for more than 3 years trying to figure out what I'm going to fiddle-fart with for the day!  Life is good!".  That is usually followed by "the look"; I suspect she'll go soon after I do as we all look forward to 7-day weekends at some point in life.
> 
> Bruce
> 
> View attachment 357841


Say it ain’t so, you too Bruce?
Outstanding!


----------



## Papa Charlie

@NCjeeper 

Awesome, glad to hear that progress is being made. Looks like you are ready for the utility to come out, make the connection and place the meter. That will signal the beginning of the interior electrical work and light. 

*Congratulations!  *


----------



## hman

Well, OK ... one more off-topic post, then I'll stop (I promise)


BGHansen said:


> ... as a lot of us old-farts say, tomorrow if they p*ss me off.  Another quip is "I'm just one good *ss chewing away from leaving".


I recall when I'd given 30 days' notice at one employer (NOT related to retirement, but Bruce's post reminded me of it) before starting with another.  I'd promised to finish up some machine documentation before I left.  There was one day when my supervisor felt that I'd been spending a bit too much time saying goodby to friends and too little on the documentation.  

A bit later, I was repeating his remarks to another friend, and added, "What're they gonna do, fire me?"
PS - I did get it done in plenty of time!


----------



## Boswell

NCjeeper said:


> Back to our regularly scheduled channel...................Started on the electrical.


Almost did not recognize your place in the picture. The bright sunshine and sliver of blue sky through me off . I guess not much left to do after the electrical is finished.


----------



## NCjeeper

Careful now. Don't jinks me. We are having a run of sun and no rain or snow so super happy right now.


----------



## Papa Charlie

I can't remember if you said, are you going with 200 or 400 amp service to the building and can you get 3 phase or is that cost prohibitive?


----------



## NCjeeper

400 amp service. I can't get 3 phase so rotary phase converter will be making my 3 phase power.


----------



## NCjeeper

Electrical inspector just left. Rough passed and he just texted the power company to come hook me up!


----------



## DavidR8

Another big step, the arrival of the magic pixies!


----------



## hman

You should soon have the feeling of great power!  Very happy to see you on the Home stretch."


----------



## NCjeeper

I drove the fork lift while the electrician hung and wired lights. We got 5 up. He temporarily wired up the extension cord from my house to the panel so we could turn on the lights. Probably be a couple of weeks before the power company shows up to connect my service.


----------



## Janderso

Sweet!
400 amps should do it.
You gonna have more than one machine running at a time?
You all by yourself or are you hiring?
Just curious 
All this money you’re spending makes me nervous. I bet you’re feeling it.


----------



## NCjeeper

May have more than one machine running at a time like the shaper and a mill and the rotary phase converter, or the plasma and a compressor. Biggest thing was breaker space and the ability to expand.
Mainly it is just me. I have a buddy that would help me out on big projects if needed.
I saved up for it for 20 years so I had the money, just didnt think it was going to cost as much as it has.


----------



## Larry$

NCjeeper said:


> just didnt think it was going to cost as much as it has.


Story of my life!  If it turns out you need more breaker space, just add sub panels.


----------



## Papa Charlie

NCjeeper said:


> May have more than one machine running at a time like the shaper and a mill and the rotary phase converter, or the plasma and a compressor. Biggest thing was breaker space and the ability to expand.
> Mainly it is just me. I have a buddy that would help me out on big projects if needed.
> I saved up for it for 20 years so I had the money, just didnt think it was going to cost as much as it has.



I had planned on my retirement shop some 15 years ago. At the time, mills, lathes, welders, grinders, etc used could be had pretty inexpensively. Same with the building materials. I can remember too often seeing equipment in shops listed as, "you haul it, it's yours". This was so common back then that I never thought that same equipment would be bringing the prices they do today. Very disheartening. Still, not going to give up on my dream, a lot harder since we were wiped out in 2008, but do what I can when I can after I retire. 

Your shop is really taking shape. Have made a lot of notes to be incorporated into mine.


----------



## NCjeeper

It is crazy to see how much stuff costs these days. It goes up faster than peoples incomes which makes it worse.


----------



## Dabbler

Very nice progress!  your video on the lighting really shows it off very well!


----------



## Janderso

Inflation is a big concern right now.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Dabbler said:


> Very nice progress!  your video on the lighting really shows it off very well!


What video?


----------



## rabler

Really neat to see your shop coming together.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> What video?


----------



## Cdatar

Joeman77 said:


> I'm sorry, but chances are, if you're not dead, this probably isn't your last shop! Every time I think I'm there, "there" needs to be bigger! But I am looking forward to watching your progress on You-tube.


Plenty of space to extend lol. I am even thinking of sneaking in an extra 2 feet on one end of my shop & 10 feet on the other.


----------



## Dabbler

I've been considering extending my garage 10 feet.  It'll be at the maximum allowable inside the bylaws.  I'd prefer to live in the country where a large shop isn't a problem!


----------



## NCjeeper

Moving Day for the machines! So we have had a week of nice weather and no rain which made the ground around the shop nice and hard. Perfect for the forklift to drive on. We got the Monarch lathe, Excello mill, DoAll bandsaw, G&E shaper, Welding table, and my big tool box moved today. The old forklft did good. She was not happy lifting the shaper and we almost tipped over once but I got it down on the ground FAST before disaster struck.


----------



## Janderso

Outstanding!!
You did it! 
How excited are you or what?


----------



## NCjeeper

Big relief to have everything moved in now. Worn out though. Took 7 hours to get it all moved and in place. Mentally draining too. More pictures coming.


----------



## DavidR8

That has got to be a really satisfying feeling! 
Well done.


----------



## NCjeeper

Some more pictures my buddy took.


----------



## NCjeeper




----------



## NCjeeper




----------



## Papa Charlie

@NCjeeper 

I can see a problem already. That nice, big, brand new shop is already too full. I feel for you. Would be happy to come and take some of that hardware off your hands to free up some space. Just to help out, I would have to deal with the wife but I am sure she will forgive me some day.


----------



## NCjeeper

It is filling up fast. They will be for sale in about 30 years or so.


----------



## Just for fun

Very cool,  Congratulations on the move in!   Exciting for sure.


----------



## NCjeeper

Thanks everyone.


----------



## NCjeeper

The layout.


----------



## Papa Charlie

Very nice layout and well equipped. You must be in heaven finally seeing your equipment sitting in your dream shop. I know I would be.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have been waiting a very long time for this. Enjoy!


----------



## Boswell

starting to look like a working shop. Great to see the progress.


----------



## FOMOGO

In 30 years, I will be 100 years old. Can I get a senior discount on your Shaper when your ready to sell? Shop looks great, should be fun to work in it, instead of on it. Cheers, Mike

Quote: is filling up fast. They will be for sale in about 30 years or so.


----------



## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> Very nice layout and well equipped. You must be in heaven finally seeing your equipment sitting in your dream shop. I know I would be.
> 
> CONGRATULATIONS! You have been waiting a very long time for this. Enjoy!


Thanks Papa!


----------



## NCjeeper

FOMOGO said:


> In 30 years, I will be 100 years old. Can I get a senior discount on your Shaper when your ready to sell?


Of course.


----------



## 7milesup

How much do you think that shaper weighs?  looks like a beast.


----------



## NCjeeper

^^^
Book says it weighs 4500. It must weigh that and then some.


----------



## NCjeeper

We have power! Hallelujah. Still have alot more to do inside electrical wise, but at least I don't have to run an extension cord down to the shop from the house.


----------



## DavidR8

That’s a huge step, congratulations!


----------



## NCjeeper

Thanks David. It has been a long journey for sure.


----------



## 7milesup

Well, that is huge.  Happened a lot quicker than you originally thought if I remember correctly.


----------



## NCjeeper

7milesup said:


> Well, that is huge.  Happened a lot quicker than you originally thought if I remember correctly.


Actually I have a interesting story to tell you guys about the power hook up. Let me grab some lunch first and then I will come back and type it up. It will just want to make you shake your head.


----------



## hotrats

Congratulations on your fantastic new shop! That is so nice. You'll really enjoy it.


----------



## 7milesup

That looks like quite the shop too Hotrats...


----------



## Papa Charlie

Wow and he said let there be light. 

Congratulations.


----------



## rwm

What the heck? That's only single phase!? 
But seriously, congratulations. That's a big step
R


----------



## NCjeeper

rwm said:


> What the heck? That's only single phase!?
> But seriously, congratulations. That's a big step
> R


Yeah unfortunately. 3 phase is so far away the power company said it would be in the 6 figure range to run 3 phase to my shop from the closest location.


----------



## Dabbler

@NCjeeper I had the same problem about a rural property I was going to put an offer on.  No power to the lot-line, but for only 800k$ they'd run it to the nearest road access... 3Km (2 Miles) away.  I did not bid on the land.


----------



## NCjeeper

So listen to this guys. County inspector came out Friday before last. Everything passed. He asked me for my work order number that the power company gave me. I told him and he immediately sent an email on his phone to the power company with my work order number as reference to have them come hook me up. So it is Tuesday afternoon of the next week and no one has showed up to hook me up. So I call the power company to see where I am on the list for service connection. I speak with a nice lady on the phone. I give her my work order number that they gave me and she says that number does not exist in her computer. Hmm. Okay here is my account number you gave me. She checks that and says that number shows to be deleted. What? So I aske her, Basically you have no record of your company coming out and installing 2 poles, wires, and a transformer? She said yep. That is crazy I thought. I am glad I called or I would have never gotten service connected. So she creates me a new account and a new work order number for service.
That Thursday the guy shows up in his bucket truck. I just happen to be outside and see him pull up. I wander down to the shop and this guy is grumpy with the personality of a soap dish. He looks at the wires coming out of the mast we have set up and says those are some big wires. I said yeah I am set up for 400 amp service. Again I am thinking he should have known that since they are the ones that sized the transformer and wire to my property. He says I dont have the big crimper I am going to need to do this job. Well that just burst my bubble. He said he would be back first thing tomorrow. Well tomorrow comes and he does not show up. Saturday around 9am he shows up and finally gets me hooked up and I now have service. He had a better attitude once he saw my machines and we started talking shop. It has been one thing after another trying to get my new shop done I tell you.


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## DavidR8

NCjeeper said:


> So listen to this guys. County inspector came out Friday before last. Everything passed. He asked me for my work order number that the power company gave me. I told him and he immediately sent an email on his phone to the power company with my work order number as reference to have them come hook me up. So it is Tuesday afternoon of the next week and no one has showed up to hook me up. So I call the power company to see where I am on the list for service connection. I speak with a nice lady on the phone. I give her my work order number that they gave me and she says that number does not exist in her computer. Hmm. Okay here is my account number you gave me. She checks that and says that number shows to be deleted. What? So I aske her, Basically you have no record of your company coming out and installing 2 poles, wires, and a transformer? She said yep. That is crazy I thought. I am glad I called or I would have never gotten service connected. So she creates me a new account and a new work order number for service.
> That Thursday the guy shows up in his bucket truck. I just happen to be outside and see him pull up. I wander down to the shop and this guy is grumpy with the personality of a soap dish. He looks at the wires coming out of the mast we have set up and says those are some big wires. I said yeah I am set up for 400 amp service. Again I am thinking he should have known that since they are the ones that sized the transformer and wire to my property. He says I dont have the big crimper I am going to need to do this job. Well that just burst my bubble. He said he would be back first thing tomorrow. Well tomorrow comes and he does not show up. Saturday around 9am he shows up and finally gets me hooked up and I now have service. He had a better attitude once he saw my machines and we started talking shop. It has been one thing after another trying to get my new shop done I tell you.



“Personality of a soap dish” 
I am so remembering that one!

Another chapter in the saga that has been the building of your shop!


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## Papa Charlie

@NCjeeper 

Wow, what a story, although I have experienced similar situations with public utilities. I wonder sometimes how some find the door, unless it is the door to go home. 

I have very little trust in city officials. As such I rarely rely on them to follow through and have a habit of calling to verify anything that they say they will do.


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## rwm

That's a crazy story. We just had an incident with Piedmont gas. They would not connect service because they said the address did not exist. The house is 20 years old and has had service since new and the address has never changed.  
R


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## Dabbler

Robert, the idiocy of people presented with facts always astounds me.


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## 7milesup

Crazy stuff there NCJeeper.  Seems like you have had an uphill battle with this shop but you are just about done.  Summer will be here and you can sit down and admire your work with a cold one in hand.
We should have a Zoom virtual "hurah!" moment where we could all raise a glass.


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## NCjeeper

Neighbor just bought a new tractor. He wanted some seat time and I needed my gravel spread. Win win situation for the both of us.


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## 7milesup

It is amazing how much those little tractors will do.  I love mine, that is for sure!
I built this land plane for mine last year.


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## Pops

7milesup, 
I have a little Kubota BX32 that I bought new several years ago. I thought it was rather expensive at the time($18,000) but it’s worth every penny. I seem to use it every day for something on my four acres. I’ve got a brush hog, auger with 6, 9, and 12 inch drills for it; a brush hog, three trailers, set of teeth for my bucket, trencher, backhoe with 3, 6, and 12” buckets and numerous other tools. I made most of them myself. 

Love the new shop. I started out with 25’ X 25’. Then added another 25’ to one end. Then 50’ more feet and made it two story. I have a narrow path going thru it but I do have enough room to operate all my machines. At 75 I’m NOT adding any more!! Well, at least that’s what I say now. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 7milesup

Pops said:


> 7milesup,
> I have a little Kubota BX32 that I bought new several years ago. I thought it was rather expensive at the time($18,000) but it’s worth every penny. I seem to use it every day for something on my four acres. I’ve got a brush hog, auger with 6, 9, and 12 inch drills for it; a brush hog, three trailers, set of teeth for my bucket, trencher, backhoe with 3, 6, and 12” buckets and numerous other tools. I made most of them myself.
> 
> Love the new shop. I started out with 25’ X 25’. Then added another 25’ to one end. Then 50’ more feet and made it two story. I have a narrow path going thru it but I do have enough room to operate all my machines. At 75 I’m NOT adding any more!! Well, at least that’s what I say now.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



BX23 maybe?  I didn't think they made a BX32. 
We should talk.  I am interested in what and how you made them.  
Oh, it sounds like your shop "might" be big enough...?!


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## hotrats

7milesup said:


> That looks like quite the shop too Hotrats...


Thanks! Alas, that was my shop in NC. Now I have 1/3rd of the garage in FL. At least I do have that, lol.


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## Janderso

NCjeeper said:


> Yeah unfortunately. 3 phase is so far away the power company said it would be in the 6 figure range to run 3 phase to my shop from the closest location.


Let's see, six figures, $1,000.00. That's not too bad


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## NCjeeper

hotrats said:


> that was my shop in NC.


Where were you in NC? I recently moved from Charlotte, NC.


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## NCjeeper

Making electrical progress! We have the lights hung, ceiling fan hung, compressor wired, and some outlets installed. Maybe another weeks worth of work and we will be done.


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## Papa Charlie

Looking good. Hadn't thought about ceiling fans in the shop, but a great idea.

Got me thinking, we are looking at land that is inland from the coast and gets much warmer than we generally would like. Your ceiling fans got me thinking about a temp controlled with manual override attic fan at either end of the shop. Not only would they help get the heat out that rises and pull in fresh air, but would also be a great way to clear smoke and other fumes.


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## NCjeeper

I had them it my last shop. Man what a difference. It really helped on hot days and also as you mentioned it helped the smoke and fumes dissipate the shop faster. I am hoping to use this fan to pull the heat down from the ceiling in the winter time.


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## BGHansen

NCjeeper said:


> I had them it my last shop. Man what a difference. It really helped on hot days and also as you mentioned it helped the smoke and fumes dissipate the shop faster. I am hoping to use this fan to pull the heat down from the ceiling in the winter time.


Not to mention keeping the air moving in the spring for evaporation (reduce condensation).  I have 3 ceiling fans in my shop (32' x 40') that blow up in the winter.  Switch them to blowing down in the spring/summer.

Bruce


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## NCjeeper

Getting the air lines run. I made this basic air dryer to catch the moisture in the air before it goes to the air lines. Hot air hits the cool pipes and collects at the bottom where I have a ball valve to drain it.


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## NCjeeper

Almost done with the electrical. The electrician has a contract with the school system and they have been taking most of his time. We have maybe one full day of work left. In the mean time I decided to work on the front of the shop. My neighbor came over with his tractor. Getting it to final grade so I can bring in some stone and tamper it. Then get some concrete poured. Also start with the barrier block wall. Got the plumbing routed out beyond where the wall will be. Had to go 18" deep which is our frost line.


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## Papa Charlie

Looking good, you are definately in the home stretch now. Be nice to get the entrances prepped before the bad weather sets in.


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## NCjeeper

Another load of stone delivered today.


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## Papa Charlie

That stone should compact very nicely. When I was a young pup, I worked at a rock crusher. We use to use 3/4 minus as a driveway/road bed, unless it was for heavier vehicles and then you would use 1-1/2" minus. The minus indicates that it is mixed with crushed rock down to 1/4". Packs real good and will make a asphalt like hard surface to drive on once it is compacted.

Are you going to be putting a slab for each of the roll up doors?


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## NCjeeper

Papa Charlie said:


> Are you going to be putting a slab for each of the roll up doors?


Just a slab in the front for now.


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## Dhal22

Papa Charlie said:


> That stone should compact very nicely. When I was a young pup, I worked at a rock crusher. We use to use 3/4 minus as a driveway/road bed, unless it was for heavier vehicles and then you would use 1-1/2" minus. The minus indicates that it is mixed with crushed rock down to 1/4". Packs real good and will make a asphalt like hard surface to drive on once it is compacted.
> 
> Are you going to be putting a slab for each of the roll up doors?




Why do I call it 57 stone?  That's all I've ever heard it called in construction.


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## tjb

Dhal22 said:


> Why do I call it 57 stone?  That's all I've ever heard it called in construction.


Me, too.


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## tjb

Dhal22 said:


> Why do I call it 57 stone?  That's all I've ever heard it called in construction.


Wonder if that's a Georgia thing?


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## Stonebriar

Dhal22 said:


> Why do I call it 57 stone?  That's all I've ever heard it called in construction.


It means that the stone was put through the #57 sieve which produces gravel stones of about 1” to 1.5” in size.


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## Papa Charlie

The difference between #57 and 3/4" Minus or 1.5" Minus is that the small stones have been screened out of the #57, providing you with just the stone and very little that is smaller. By using material that is mixed from1/4" to 1.5" the smaller material locks the mix together and creates a great road base. I have notice watching construction videos on YouTube that in the East, it seems at least to me, that you use screened rock primarily while at least from my experience in the PNW or maybe just in the area on the coast where I grew up, I have see the mix used. I know that I delivered a ton of it for driveways and for logging roads.


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## NCjeeper

Getting my totes unpacked today while waiting on a concrete contractor to show up. Found a home for my MT3 & MT4 drills. Sorry the picture wont rotate. Largest is a 2 incher.


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## NCjeeper

Unpacked 15 totes. Boy do I have alot of stuff.


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## NCjeeper

It is official. My shop is Bozo proof.


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## Papa Charlie

I see you have what appears to be a 2 or 4 inch travel indicator. Reminds me, I need to get a replacement. I loaned mine out and it never came home. 

Must be real nice to see your tools again. I am looking u forward to seeing mine again real soon.


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## Janderso

NCjeeper said:


> Getting my totes unpacked today while waiting on a concrete contractor to show up. Found a home for my MT3 & MT4 drills. Sorry the picture wont rotate. Largest is a 2 incher.
> View attachment 361967


Those mt3-4 drill bits are crazy expensive these days. I have a mt4 tail stock. I’ve only picked up a couple drills due to the high cost.
I’m waiting for an estate sale where I can steal some.
Looking good man.
Must be nice to have a neighbor that wants to have some seat time in his tractor on your lot!


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## Brento

Are mt drills worth getting ever?  I can maybe get some from someone i know.


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## NCjeeper

Brento said:


> Are mt drills worth getting ever?


I like them in a lathe tail stock. You don't have to fool with a chuck and there is no slippage because of the tang. Also you are not going to fit a large drill in a drill chuck.


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## Brento

NCjeeper said:


> Also you are not going to fit a large drill in a drill chuck.


Isnt that the truth. I have a small southbend but maybe i will try to pick up some mt2 drills to have. I have regular drills up to an inch.


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## Papa Charlie

I like the MT drills, one of the reasons that I am having trouble finding the right Drill press beyond just crazy prices. I want it to have a MT Quill.


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## psomero

MT drills are an awesome must have _if you don't have to pay new price_ for them.  Since there's no chuck, they won't slip in the dang chuck.  Great for hogging as long as they're not completely chowdered.

I am hoping to find a set of MT2 drills one of these days for my 9x20 tailstock and the few AXA MT2 holders I have...


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## NCjeeper

psomero said:


> MT drills are an awesome must have _if you don't have to pay new price_ for them.


Yep. I search E-Bay for lots of them. That way I can get a good per drill price and save on shipping because it comes in one box.


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## Aukai

If your lathe has the tang receiver you do not have a big concern on the taper, but my 1228 tail stock was taper only, and I spun a couple of used USA MTs.


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## hman

NCjeeper said:


> Unpacked 15 totes. Boy do I have alot of stuff.


"Ya load 15 totes, whaddya get?
The shop's a bit fuller, and more to load yet..."
(With apologies to Tennessee Ernie Ford)


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## NCjeeper

hman said:


> The shop's a bit fuller, and more to load yet..."


Going to be even fuller tomorrow when the new forklift gets delivered.


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## NCjeeper

Well the electrical is 99% done and passed final inspection today. Only thing left to do is we just have to do ceiling drops to my 3 phase machines.


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## Papa Charlie

NCjeeper said:


> Well the electrical is 99% done and passed final inspection today. Only thing left to do is we just have to do ceiling drops to my 3 phase machines.



Nice, so power to the machines is the last part. That should go very quickly, provided your electrician has the time. 
Maybe 1/2 day left and you will be all powered up.


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## NCjeeper

Yep hope to knock it out this coming Tuesday.


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## NCjeeper

Well no work because we are waiting on materials. Hopefully the wire grips and twist lock receptacles will be in tomorrow and we can finish up with ceiling drops to the 3 phase machines. In the mean time I have been hanging cabinets, Built a table for the chop saw, hanging posters and getting stuff settled.


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## Papa Charlie

Shop is looking great. First time I have seen drill charts framed. I like it.

Was thinking about the fans, talking with a buddy that just bought his retirement home in Idaho. He is into flying so bought a house in one of those fly parks where you have your own hanger and a common runway for all the homes. He installed one of these Big Ass Fans in his hanger. Says it will move some real air. Thing is 10 feet in diameter. They are available in sizes from 8 feet to 24 foot diameter.

If and when I ever get my shop, I think I will be doing the same thing.









						Home
					

Big Ass Fans can create comfortable conditions anywhere. Shop industrial fans, directional fans, infrared heaters and evaporative coolers.




					www.bigassfans.com


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## Boswell

Looking Great


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## hman

A new shop is always a wonderful sight to behold!  Yours looks great.  Are those red objects hight on the wall fire bottles?  Halon?


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## Aukai

Halon has been scaled back for EPA reasons, still available, but not in production in accordance with a Montreal treaty, if I have it right.


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## Janderso

Let me just wipe the drool off my chin.


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## rwm

Very sharp. What is the first project/job?
Robert


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## NCjeeper

hman said:


> Are those red objects hight on the wall fire bottles?  Halon?


They are automatic ABC fire extinguishers. They have a small glass vile at the bottom and when there is a fire the heat causes the glass to break and that activates the extinguisher. I have 6 of them placed around the shop. Even though it is a metal building and not much to burn I like the added safety.


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## NCjeeper

rwm said:


> Very sharp. What is the first project/job?
> Robert


Not sure I have so many.   Probably do the neighbors " hey man can you help me out" stuff since he has been helping me out.


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## NCjeeper

Electrician showed up today. Got the 3 phase drops up. Putting the 110 drops up tomorrow and we will be done with the electrical. Thank goodness because I have spent 10 grand so far. 2/3's of that is on materials. The stuff just keeps going up in price. For instance the high bay lights I put up I paid $130 bucks each for them. They are now $200. Ugh.


I forgot to mention we are putting in male & female twist lock connects at the machines. That way when I need to hover over a machine with the gantry crane I can just un plug the drops, and move the gantry where I need it.


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## NCjeeper

Safety first!


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## rabler

Now the question is will it take you less time to fill it up than it did to build it?


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## NCjeeper

Electrical is done! Fired up all the machines and they all rotated in the right direction. 


Hope to pour concrete on Monday in front of the shop entrance. 40x15 pad. After that I am done with the shop build and broke.


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## Boswell

NCjeeper said:


> After that I am done with the shop build and broke


Oh my. What will we all do for entertainment when you are complete. 
Thanks for bringing us all along on your adventure.


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## NCjeeper

Boswell said:


> Oh my. What will we all do for entertainment when you are complete.


I guess I can do some actually machining now for your viewing pleasure.


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## Nutfarmer

There is too much open space. I see more machines finding a new home. Enjoyed following your build. Your hard work has paid off.


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## NCjeeper

Nutfarmer said:


> There is too much open space. I see more machines finding a new home.


Hopefully. Still on the hunt for an HBM and a ironworker.


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## NCjeeper

Ready for tomorrow.


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## DAM 79

NCjeeper said:


> Ready for tomorrow.
> View attachment 363890


Looks like your doing it right with all the rebar it’s should be able to handle anything you drive across it !!!!


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## Boswell

curious what the purpose of the vertical (fluorescent) rebar is for?


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## NCjeeper

Boswell said:


> curious what the purpose of the vertical (fluorescent) rebar is for?


They act as height gauges for the concrete. Slab will be 6" thick and the rebar lets them know they are at the mark.


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## Boswell

Boswell said:


> curious what the purpose of the vertical (fluorescent) rebar is for?


got it. 

thx


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## NCjeeper

Concrete got poured today. Perfect weather to do it too. The channel drain is to the right in the middle. You can just see it.


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## NCjeeper

Well I think that is about it. I hope you have enjoyed my shop build. It has been a crazy adventure for sure trying to get this thing done. Of course everything went over budget and mother nature was not to kind to me last spring, but I am done finally and can get to making chips!


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## DavidR8

536 posts to a new shop! 
Well done and congratulations on the new pour.


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## NCjeeper

Thanks David.


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## Boswell

Congrats and thanks for bringing us along


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## Brento

SHOP TOUR!


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## NCjeeper

I will do a new shop tour video soon. I need some machine time first. Boy have I missed it. I got both mills cleaned up and their vises trammed in today while the concrete guy did his thing.


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## matthewsx

NCjeeper said:


> I will do a new shop tour video soon. I need some machine time first. Boy have I missed it. I got both mills cleaned up and their vises trammed in today while the concrete guy did his thing.


Looking forward to the video, thanks for taking us along on the journey


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## NCjeeper

Okay bonus pictures. Nothing cool but worked on the piping for the channel drain.


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## hman

Maybe not cool ... but vital!


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## Dabbler

Congrats on getting the shop finished!  well done @NCjeeper !


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## Tim9

Yep... This has been a great thread. Congrats


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## Papa Charlie

@NCjeeper Congratulations. The shop looks fantastic. You have had a pretty incredible and rough journey to get to this point. Enjoy making those chips. Looking forward to seeing some of your projects.

Just for my edification, what is this channel drain? Maybe I missed it in the images but could see what you were referring to.


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## Dabbler

Sometimes called a french drain?  a trench, sometimes with a waterproof bottom filled with gravel.


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## NCjeeper

Thanks everyone. Glad you enjoyed it. Papa the channel drain is set in the concrete to take the water out to the field and away from the front of the shop.


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## Papa Charlie

Thanks for sharing this. I couldn't see it in the previous images.


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## NCjeeper

Not sure if you can tell from the pictures but the concrete has a slight slope towards the drain for the water to run to.


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## Dabbler

cool clarification!  I was thinking about the gravel just off the edge of the apron.  I've built many a french drain in my time that looked like that.


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