Hope for basement machinists

[Dabbler]

Yesterday I had the privilege of having a shop tour of a great basement shop. Sorry no pictures, for the privacy of the owner. He moved everything into the shop by himself by an external staircase directly into the shop space. It was an L shape, about 800 sq ft.

He had:
- a full sized BP mill 7X42
- a 13X60 lathe, with 2 tailstocks, weighing at least 2500 lbs
(and 3 other lathes)
- 36X48 surface plate, the granite weighing in at 550 lbs
- a 6X12 surface grinder (1700 lbs)
and much, much more, Vidmars, and other shelving.
- we just brought him a 500 lb milling/grinding jeweler's workstation which he will be bringing down the stairs this winter.

One really cool thing is that he built an articulating jib crane that reaches almost every sq foot of the shop. The jib has a 7 foot boom, with a pivot, and another 5 foot section making 12 feet when straight and able to bend back almost to the post. A work of art. It has lifted up to 500 lbs with it.

So if you guys that are looking for tiny machines only because of the worries about getting them down the stairs, here's one guy that let his imagination and perseverance overcome the size thing.

 

[buffdan]

I too have my shop in the basement. I have an entrance to the basement in the garage.. No stairs, removable plank flooring. I hoist the big pieces down that way. I have a 13" Harrison lathe, mitsui grinder, bridgeport, 2 small horizontal mills, small shaper, clausing DP,plus woodworking equip. Nice to be able to instantly be in the shop, but, the associated mess can be a challenge. His jib crane sounds wonderful. I struggle with engine hoist

 

[devils4ever]

I envy you guys. I have no outside access to my basement.

I have to go up stairs from the garage to the house. Then, I have to go down a set of stairs with a right angle turn in it about halfway down from my hallway. It makes things VERY difficult. I had to partially disassemble my PM25 mill to get it down there. I can't imagine a BP!

 

[macardoso]

I got a 12x36 lathe down my basement. Internal stairs only with a 90 degree corner. Also a G0704, and 2 robots. Wouldn't want to try a 13" lathe.

 

[woodchucker]

I envy you guys. I have no outside access to my basement.

same here. Because of plumbing the only way that could happen would be to put the dug out area in the front by the bedroom. That would make the house very ugly to sell. And the cost would be prohibitive now in retirement as the town would require me to do some upgrades... not happening. WOULD LOVE TO DO IT THOUGH in the back.. but it's not happening..

 

[ConValSam]

When I bought it, I moved my mill out of a basement shop in a split level house with no outside access. That made it less steps to reach the ground floor, but the ceiling height made it a head banger and we needed a shop made steel ramp to roll the base and frame up. I admired that the seller had made it work for both machining and welding in that space; I'd be in traction if I spent any significant time with such limited ceiling height.

 

[Aaron_W]

Machines do come apart, I have to thank Mr Pete for pointing this out in a video. Still the bigger the machine the heavier the pieces and not all machines are kind enough to break down into easily managed bites. I am thankful to have an exterior ground level door into my basement even if a small door (or is it a cellar I can never remember which one is mostly above ground and which is a hole in the ground).

 

[C-Bag]

I love the idea of the basement with the constant temp/humidity, but access is the major factor. When we were house hunting we ran across a house in Mariposa the was built on a hillside and had a drive around back with a good sized shop and a huge storage area that could have been converted to a separate shop. It was really hot that day and even with the door open it was so nice and cool inside. Later when we moved here we went to a garage sale and got to tour the guys shop that was along the same lines. House on a hillside with the drive down the side and 4car garage with his machine shop in the back all under the house. Also wonderful temp in the shop with small windows high up on the wall at ground level on three sides providing excellent light. Pretty much my dream shop with easy access.

 

[mmcmdl]

I love the idea of the basement with the constant temp/humidity, but access is the major factor. When we were house hunting we ran across a house in Mariposa the was built on a hillside and had a drive around back with a good sized shop and a huge storage area that could have been converted to a separate shop. It was really hot that day and even with the door open it was so nice and cool inside. Later when we moved here we went to a garage sale and got to tour the guys shop that was along the same lines. House on a hillside with the drive down the side and 4car garage with his machine shop in the back all under the house. Also wonderful temp in the shop with small windows high up on the wall at ground level on three sides providing excellent light. Pretty much my dream shop with easy access.

My smallish rancher sits 50 yards from the house I live in now . Full under ground basement with 8 foot walkout removeable Anderson slider . Heat , AC , solid oak in entire basement . If I can get down to the smaller machines only , I hope to move them back in . Been thru the 180 degrees of life . Small house with a small " usable " shop . The emphesis (sp) here is usable .

 

[C-Bag]

Useable is a very good word but means different things to everyone. I have long since let go of the desire for a huge shop. That is a desire not a need. 99%of my projects are smaller than a loaf of bread. And because my machine tools are there to make my custom fixtures and machines I use in manufacture neither the lathe or mill are used often at all. The proportion of time spent in the shop on either machine is pretty small. So it makes no sense to have large production style machines just sitting. It would be nice, but that old desire vs need again. My biggest need is easily accessible weather tight sheds where I can store the stuff seldom use but still need occasionally so I can free up space in the shop. That would make it usable.