# Shop Reorganization



## Todd3138 (Apr 13, 2022)

I shared some pictures of my newly built steel rack in other posts and getting that job done really opened up the opportunity for some reorganizing as we prepare to take delivery of a ShopSabre Sidekick 8 CNC plasma table in the next couple of months.

Getting 3000 pounds of steel stock off the floor finally allowed me to shift some equipment from the front room to the rear space and then move some pieces around up front.   Our front area is the original 30x40 shop and we just completed the 30x24 addition in October.  In order to fit the plasma table in where my tractor now sits, I removed about 20 feet of shelving that ran up that wall so there is absolutely nothing around the plasma table when it comes in.  All that shelving was repurposed on the opposite side of the front shop for dies for a new Hossfeld No. 2 bender that we got about a month ago and which has been sitting boxed up till this past weekend.  Now all the dies have a home on two shelves and there is another higher shelf that, for now, is empty.  I plan to extend that shelf another 12' just to ensure we have good use of the vertical space the 12' ceiling affords us so we don't have to clutter up floor space with shelving or more tool cabinets.  

I also added a 56" roller cabinet that is now positioned in front of my lathe and mill and emptied shelves that held all the tooling and most of the consumables for those two machines.  Now I don't have to keep my good endmills and drills rolling around against one another in a box on the shelf - they have their own space and can be easily stored and located for use.

Getting things moved around and into new homes also forced me to take stock of some things that I had laying around and taking up space.  I ended up clearing out some stuff that just wasn't being used and likely wasn't going to be used.  I know, I know, two weeks from now I'll be working on something and wish that I had kept "x" instead of dumping it, but I'd rather avoid the packrat syndrome that is such an easy trap to fall into and keep a clean and fairly well organized shop that has ample space to work in.

This pic is from one of the front of the front shop space.



This shot is from the doorway in the back that leads to the rear shop area.



I'll follow up with a pic of the rear shop area as I can't seem to attach it to this post.


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## Todd3138 (Apr 13, 2022)

Well, this is odd.  No matter how I resize the pic of the rear shop area, I'm getting a message that the file is too big and can't be posted.  I'll keep trying to sort it out and get that one posted as well.


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## Todd3138 (Apr 13, 2022)

Here we go.  Got the sizing worked out.


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## brino (Apr 13, 2022)

Wow!
I can see much more floor in your shop than I even have in mine.
Paint me jealous!

Brian


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## Todd3138 (Apr 13, 2022)

brino said:


> Wow!
> I can see much more floor in your shop than I even have in mine.
> Paint me jealous!
> 
> Brian



I have been fortunate to get this shop together as it is.  My oldest brother and I are doing this together and he lives in the Philadelphia area so he's a great partner - he invests and I get to use!  One of these days I think he'll buy some land by us and put up a small house that he and his wife can come visit more frequently and we can have shop time together.

The floor space is something I have tried to stay a little militant about.  My blacksmithing mentor has an amazing shop with a lifetime of tools and machinery that he has earned a living on, but he is a packrat and his shop has gotten to the point that we have pathways through everything to work and move around.  I love his shop and its capabilities, but I couldn't do that myself.  His place is a motivator for me to keep open space and be really, really critical in evaluating what comes into the shop and what gets to remain.  I don't ever want to get into that kind of scenario where there's just barely room to work!


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## mmcmdl (Apr 13, 2022)

Now THAT"S a SHOP !   Beautiful .


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## Todd3138 (Apr 13, 2022)

mmcmdl said:


> Now THAT"S a SHOP !   Beautiful .


Thank you!  Oh, and I ended up moving my welding/fab table by hand just walking the ends along to get it where it now sits.  At roughly 550 pounds, that was a task and I may still have indentations in both palms from the table edge!


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## Aukai (Apr 13, 2022)




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## DavidR8 (Apr 13, 2022)

What are those grey areas on the floor?


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## Dabbler (Apr 13, 2022)

I wish I had grey area on the floor.  (i'm not sure I have a floor).


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## NCjeeper (Apr 13, 2022)

Nice.


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## Todd3138 (Apr 13, 2022)

DavidR8 said:


> What are those grey areas on the floor?


LOL!  They used to be shiny grey things, but I wore off the concrete sealer!


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## DavidR8 (Apr 13, 2022)

Todd3138 said:


> LOL!  They used to be shiny grey things, but I wore off the concrete sealer!


I think I could seal my floor with a pint of sealer


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## Todd3138 (Apr 13, 2022)

DavidR8 said:


> I think I could seal my floor with a pint of sealer


 Hahahaha!  Nice!


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## graham-xrf (Apr 14, 2022)

This kind of thing is what I mean by "space palatial" !


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## snoopdog (Apr 29, 2022)

Looks good!


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## Janderso (Apr 29, 2022)

I would love to have that space.
Nice shop!


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