# This is where Mac lives (WARNING, open floor space)



## rmack898 (Jun 14, 2014)

OK, so I'm a relatively new guy around here but I thought I'd show you all were I spend all of my free time. I must warn you all though, some images might be inappropriate for all to view as there is open floor space.


My shop is a 40X40x12 pole barn. I poured the concrete floor and finished off the inside. I have 200 amp service that I pulled off the house as a sub panel. I heat it in the winter with a radiant tube heater hung from the ceiling.


With the exception of the HF drill press that I bought new in 1987 and the HF carbide tool grinder, all of the machines were bought used and were freshened up by me before going back into service. All of the welding machines with the exception of the Trailblazer were bought new. I'd like to think that once I have all of my machines up and running that there is not many things that I could not build in this shop. I still have to go through the B&S #2 horizontal mill and the SB shaper, I just need to find the time to do it.


It has taken me many years to get this shop equipped the way it is and I have traveled many miles picking up machines all over the east coast. I figure I have about 2 more years here at the most before I pick up and make my final move south. I want to build one more shop at my final retirement location and add all the things I forgot to add when I built this shop.

I am usually quite the slob and this is about the cleanest my shop has ever been, I am going to try and keep it this way but I have serious doubts as to how long that might last.


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## Terrywerm (Jun 14, 2014)

Very nice shop! Well equipped and lots of room to boot! Now you just need to fill up the empty space with some projects!


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## chuckorlando (Jun 14, 2014)

Awesome shop. Looks like you got all kinda good toys


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## JimDawson (Jun 14, 2014)

Very Nice!  And a lot of nice equipment too.  Yeah, I could live there.


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## stevecmo (Jun 14, 2014)

Great looking shop Mac!  You have a great collection of nice machinery.  I would agree that you could build about anything in that shop.  I would hate to think of moving it and starting over.  Yikes!


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## Shadowdog500 (Jun 15, 2014)

That is a beautiful, well equipped shop!!!


Chris


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## xalky (Jun 15, 2014)

Excellent work space. I'm envious of the open floor space. Wish I had some!

Marcel

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## compressorguy (Jun 16, 2014)

rmack898 said:


> OK, so I'm a relatively new guy around here but I thought I'd show you all were I spend all of my free time. I must warn you all though, some images might be inappropriate for all to view as there is open floor space.
> 
> 
> My shop is a 40X40x12 pole barn. I poured the concrete floor and finished off the inside. I have 200 amp service that I pulled off the house as a sub panel. I heat it in the winter with a radiant tube heater hung from the ceiling.
> ...



You know we used to have a little propriety around here.  Displaying that much bare floor and various other horizontal surfaces is positively obscene!  If it were't for the few strategically placed boxes and bottles I would have to report you to the "Shop Propriety Police"!!  Nice setup!


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## RandyM (Jun 16, 2014)

Bravo! Not only a very nice collection of fun, but it sounds like you have ambitious plans. I do not envy you on the move.


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## zmotorsports (Jun 16, 2014)

Very nice shop.  

Thanks for posting it up.

Mike.


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## Nightshift (Jun 16, 2014)

Very nice shop there Mac. I'm envious of all your open space. I also love that late model 10EE you have there hiding along the wall. I have a '52 10EE. What year is yours? Cheers, Bill


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## rmack898 (Jun 16, 2014)

I did warn you all about the open floor space but to quite honest, I haven't seen any floor in my shop for almost 2 years. I finally got fed up and finished several projects that had been sitting all over the place for years.

I do need to have a little bit of floor space to be able to bring the project of the week, or month, or year in to work on it.  Some of the things I do are larger size fabrications and they often get out of control and occupy all available space for longer that I would like.

I have been talking and dreaming of moving out of NJ for years but I think I finally am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I am about a year or two at the most from making my exodus south. If I don't move soon, I'll be too old to do it at all. I built all the benches as modular units that pin together. All of the units are 7',6" wide so that they can fir into an 8' container and they all have fork pockets in the base so that I can move them with a pallet jack and then load them on a truck with a fork lift. All of the tool boxes and Vidmars are bolted into the benches as one unit, that way when I get to my new location, everything will be the same as it is here. I have been planning to move ever since I built this shop.

Bill, the Monarch is a 1964 modular drive and I refer to her as the "uppidy girl". When I first brought her home a few years ago she was a little bit temper mental but we have all of her bugs worked out and she has been on her best behavior and trouble free for the last 3 years and truly a joy to run.


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jun 17, 2014)

what an awesome shop! Sounds like you have the logistics of the move sorted out and if you have the time to plan it, it shouldn't be too terrible. That said, I've just packed up my "shop" which doesn't even have a 1/20 of that stuff and it took a lot of effort. It should be easier to repeat in a years time when I have to do it all over again..

Whereabouts down south are you planning to move? Not Florida, right?


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## rmack898 (Jun 17, 2014)

Somewhere in the Carolina's most likely. 

NOT FLORIDA


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## Shadowdog500 (Jun 17, 2014)

rmack898 said:


> Somewhere in the Carolina's most likely.
> 
> NOT FLORIDA



See if you can try the area before you move.  I've seen a lot of people come back after thier move south.

Extreme south jersey is a pretty unique/ laid back place to live. 

My wife and I talk about leaving NJ when I retire, but I doubt the move will happen. I'd probably snow bird for a while before making up my mind.


Chris


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jun 18, 2014)

phew, that's a relief!

There are some absolutely stunning places to live in the Carolinas - I love trees and hills so anywhere along the western edge of those states, in the Smokies and Shenandoahs would be top of my list. No idea what its like to live there though.


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## rmack898 (Jun 18, 2014)

I've been a mariner all my life so I will be looking to move to the coastal flatlands. Somehow I don't think I could be comfortable living in a place where I have to drive more than 10 minutes to get a view of the "Big Pond".


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## chips&more (Jun 18, 2014)

Is this all trick photography that you are showing us? When I “first” completed my main work bench, I called the wife to look at it and said “take a good look, because it ain’t gonna be this clean ever again!”. It’s 24’ long and 10 years later, I’ve got maybe 6 square inches of clear space on it! Did you clean the floors with Photo Shop Editor? Dang Nice!


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jun 19, 2014)

rmack898 said:


> I've been a mariner all my life so I will be looking to move to the coastal flatlands. Somehow I don't think I could be comfortable living in a place where I have to drive more than 10 minutes to get a view of the "Big Pond".



that's fair enough, my wife's the same. Plenty of beautiful coast around there, that's for sure and a great intermediate climate (still has seasons but without the crappy winter).


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