Ive been posting a little bit through the main group about my updates but i think it is time to start this thread instead for my own not taking.
it started about 3 years ago when i bought a nice Clausing 8530 and a SouthBend 9A from a retired machinist ho was ill.
When i bought them i had to store them at his house for about a year as i didnt exactly have a place to store them and we had just started house hunting. Fast forward about a year and we finally bought a house. But the nice gentleman that i bought the machines from needed them out so i got them moved and put into the back of my garage for safe keeping as that is where they sat until just this past weekend. Well as everyone knows you accumulate junk and your garage becomes a storage shed if you dont have one, so this past weekend i cleaned out the whole garage and had done a sweep out and brush down to get ready to start this ongoing project finally.
Rewind back two months. To start my project the plan was to clean the garage out completely and do a concrete patch, level and Epoxy the floors. I asked a friend of mine who does masonry work and he said that the only way to make that work i would have to either pour fresh concrete at another 2" or chip out the garage floor and repour. Well the former and the latter will not work as that would cost loads of money and set me back quite a bit. So the plan is to just clean the floor and the wall and put some fresh paint down. I did decide to still put Epoxy down but it is just a paint Epoxy for concrete. Fast forward back to the present.
As my machines sat i would periodically move them to make sure nothing freezes up and that is when i found out the X on the mill seemed to be frozen up. I would try several times to try and move it as the months went by but not with alot of force as it is sitting on a dolly and i did not want it to go crashing down. So as i moved my machines out of the way to start a section where they will but put to a permanent home i found that i have the collet system for my lathe in the drawer, just need to buy some 3C collets. Also i found out my X on the mill was not stuck but it was engaged with the motor for the feed. Just a push of the handle and it slid into neutral as i can now make it move along the X. Case closed. For the longest time i had begun to think that something got hurt from the move from the gentleman's house to mine. Another nice thing i did find out was that the mill was equipped with a vfd! Totally forgot about it when i saw it run when i bought it.
Now to get back on track. Sunday i decided to put up the paneling that i took out of my house when i bought it and stick it up on the drywall behind where my machines will sit for an oil spatter catch.
I had to do some caulking around the paneling as my house and garage is far from square and straight (damn old houses). So i caulked most of it last night however i ran out and could not finish the job last night and i wanted to get some wall and ceiling paint started tonight. So i decided to get up early, head to Home Depot, and i picked up a tube as well as bought some composite shims. I was thinking these composite shims have some notches in them and could help with leveling the machines later when i set them down.
I finished the caulking and let it sit to dry while i went to work.
Tonight i went and bought 2 gallons of Semi-Gloss and 2 gallons of Epoxy paint. From there i started painting the back section of my soon to be shop and i will let it sit for the night with the dehumidifier going until morning as i will put a 2nd coat on and let it sit so i can start my Epoxy adventure tomorrow night.
I am far from a good painter (my wife painted our house as she was controlling and needed to look perfect). For me in my shop and as a garage. Id say good enough. It is not a living area it is a storage/work place and will get dirty as i say. Until the morning she will sit.
if you are still reading this i hope it was not boring and i was able to entertain you. I hope you guys will continue to follow me along on this journey as i turn my garage into a semi hobby shop. Long term goal is to try and earn some money from it and be a small job shop. Only time will tell. Thank you and have a good night!
it started about 3 years ago when i bought a nice Clausing 8530 and a SouthBend 9A from a retired machinist ho was ill.
When i bought them i had to store them at his house for about a year as i didnt exactly have a place to store them and we had just started house hunting. Fast forward about a year and we finally bought a house. But the nice gentleman that i bought the machines from needed them out so i got them moved and put into the back of my garage for safe keeping as that is where they sat until just this past weekend. Well as everyone knows you accumulate junk and your garage becomes a storage shed if you dont have one, so this past weekend i cleaned out the whole garage and had done a sweep out and brush down to get ready to start this ongoing project finally.
Rewind back two months. To start my project the plan was to clean the garage out completely and do a concrete patch, level and Epoxy the floors. I asked a friend of mine who does masonry work and he said that the only way to make that work i would have to either pour fresh concrete at another 2" or chip out the garage floor and repour. Well the former and the latter will not work as that would cost loads of money and set me back quite a bit. So the plan is to just clean the floor and the wall and put some fresh paint down. I did decide to still put Epoxy down but it is just a paint Epoxy for concrete. Fast forward back to the present.
As my machines sat i would periodically move them to make sure nothing freezes up and that is when i found out the X on the mill seemed to be frozen up. I would try several times to try and move it as the months went by but not with alot of force as it is sitting on a dolly and i did not want it to go crashing down. So as i moved my machines out of the way to start a section where they will but put to a permanent home i found that i have the collet system for my lathe in the drawer, just need to buy some 3C collets. Also i found out my X on the mill was not stuck but it was engaged with the motor for the feed. Just a push of the handle and it slid into neutral as i can now make it move along the X. Case closed. For the longest time i had begun to think that something got hurt from the move from the gentleman's house to mine. Another nice thing i did find out was that the mill was equipped with a vfd! Totally forgot about it when i saw it run when i bought it.
Now to get back on track. Sunday i decided to put up the paneling that i took out of my house when i bought it and stick it up on the drywall behind where my machines will sit for an oil spatter catch.
I had to do some caulking around the paneling as my house and garage is far from square and straight (damn old houses). So i caulked most of it last night however i ran out and could not finish the job last night and i wanted to get some wall and ceiling paint started tonight. So i decided to get up early, head to Home Depot, and i picked up a tube as well as bought some composite shims. I was thinking these composite shims have some notches in them and could help with leveling the machines later when i set them down.
I finished the caulking and let it sit to dry while i went to work.
Tonight i went and bought 2 gallons of Semi-Gloss and 2 gallons of Epoxy paint. From there i started painting the back section of my soon to be shop and i will let it sit for the night with the dehumidifier going until morning as i will put a 2nd coat on and let it sit so i can start my Epoxy adventure tomorrow night.
I am far from a good painter (my wife painted our house as she was controlling and needed to look perfect). For me in my shop and as a garage. Id say good enough. It is not a living area it is a storage/work place and will get dirty as i say. Until the morning she will sit.
if you are still reading this i hope it was not boring and i was able to entertain you. I hope you guys will continue to follow me along on this journey as i turn my garage into a semi hobby shop. Long term goal is to try and earn some money from it and be a small job shop. Only time will tell. Thank you and have a good night!
