How did you achieve your dream workshop?

[Hawkeye]

My 'dream house' would be a three-bay garage on a suspended slab, with the house above the garage. 1/3 shop/storage, 1/3 garage, 1/3 living space. It would, of course, need to have level access to both the garage and basement (a corner lot on a slope would be ideal). I have no desire to lower a 3200 pound mill down the stairs.

 

[pestilence]

I live in a large metropolitan area, but I was fortunate to have chosen an older house with no HOA on a corner culdesac lot. We built a decent size insulated shop building next to the house this spring. It has its own sub-panel and four 220 outlets and a bunch of 110, a 7 foot insulated roll-open door, a patio for the pool, and plenty of space for my machines. I put the compressor in an un-insulated closet space with its own door to the outside and it even has an air conditioner.

My wife is a saint.

 

[RandyM]

So I would like to know how you lucky guys managed to obtain your spacious man cave? Is it something that I can attain while I am 40, or should I wait until I retire? Is it based on luck or vicious hard work? Or should I assume that 400 SQFT is an amazingly awesome piece of lot? Surely doesn't feel that way...

You do raise some interesting questions and it is real easy to compare our own situations to others. The problem is that everyone's situation is different. We are all at different stages in life, we all have different backgrounds and historys and families, financial situations and most of all priorities. The last is the most important. You have to ask yourself where on your priority list is your shop. For me, it was number one. I am not married and have no kids. And I made a life decision to make my life a happy one and this is the core of making my shop my paradise. You know you answered your own question? "based on luck or vicious hard work". The two of these things go hand in hand, I think with hard work you can achieve some good luck as well. I am sure that some of us have had some luck and some have to work hard to acquire what we have. And some have had a little of both. I do not know if any of this helps in answering your question and am sorry if I got a little philosophical. But, the point I am trying to make is that it is really under your controll to make it happen. The key is what do you want and at what priority do you want to achieve it. And then set forth and make it happen. I myself am fortunate to have what I have. And it has taken a little of both, luck and hard work. I just knew it was most important to me to make it happen. Oh, and it didn't just happen over night, it has been a 20+ year happening. I am so looking forward to retirement. And thank you for making me realize how fortunate I am. Good luck on your dreams.

 

[itsme_Bernie]

You do raise some interesting questions and it is real easy to compare our own situations to others. The problem is that everyone's situation is different. We are all at different stages in life, we all have different backgrounds and historys and families, financial situations and most of all priorities. The last is the most important. You have to ask yourself where on your priority list is your shop. For me, it was number one. I am not married and have no kids. And I made a life decision to make my life a happy one and this is the core of making my shop my paradise. You know you answered your own question? "based on luck or vicious hard work". The two of these things go hand in hand, I think with hard work you can achieve some good luck as well. I am sure that some of us have had some luck and some have to work hard to acquire what we have. And some have had a little of both. I do not know if any of this helps in answering your question and am sorry if I got a little philosophical. But, the point I am trying to make is that it is really under your controll to make it happen. The key is what do you want and at what priority do you want to achieve it. And then set forth and make it happen. I myself am fortunate to have what I have. And it has taken a little of both, luck and hard work. I just knew it was most important to me to make it happen. Oh, and it didn't just happen over night, it has been a 20+ year happening. I am so looking forward to retirement. And thank you for making me realize how fortunate I am. Good luck on your dreams.

Wow Randy- couldn't have been better said.

I would like to expand a little on something you said-

"it didn't just happen over night, it has been a 20+ year happening."

I think many people starting out get freaked out thinking: "how am I ever going to get all this stuff?"

We keep reading about each other acquiring our "new" old machines, which is great to see! But I can say, most of the time, when I post these, I am almost always saying:

"I have been looking for 10 years and finally found it [new machine]!!!"

... To be clear, I have already BEEN ENJOYING machining for 10 years without this item. My point being- we don't WAIT to enjoy this hobby UNTIL we acquire all the dream machines. We have fun working with what we have, while enjoying the PROCESS of acquiring the others that we want or 'need'.

ALSO, ***acquiring less perfect versions of machines, and starting work with "what I got" has worked out fantastically for me***.
When fantastic opportunities comes along, and they do over time, I have been replacing the less perfect specimens with the ones I wished for in the first place.

I guess I am just trying to reenforce the idea of the PROCESS of creating the shop. And a process we can decide to enjoy.


Bernie

 

[SteveM]

I'm 67 and always interested in machining but time and responsibilities didn't permit that sort of extravagance. A couple years ago I purchased a large building to house my business and set aside about 700 sq/ft for my shop. 220/3-phase, plenty of outlets, lighting, large overhead door already in place, etc. Since moving in I purchased a used Atlas 6" lathe(worn out), a HF 8.5x18 lathe(since sold), a HF mill drill(dedicated drill press), 12x36 ShenWai Lathe currently for sale, new 9x49 Shop Fox Knee Mill w/DRO, and slightly used 12x36 Shop Fox Lathe, and lots of accessory items. I'll also mention........I'm divorced and only responsible to my banker and customers
My skills are coming SLOWLY but having a great time and plan to build a 30x50 shop in the next couple years!

I have space issues. I bet everybody here HAS space issues, but realistically speaking, some of us have a more serious problem than others. In my case, I was conceited when I lived in Rochester NY because up in the north most houses have a basement. I was lucky that my basement was quite reachable (very little steps) and I was able to have all sorts of equipment including a bench mill and a 12 x 37 lathe. Here in Texas, however, space inside of a house is a joke. Which is preposterously odd as land space is superbly spacious! Still, my garage is 20 x 19, which leads to instant depression.

I have been tinkering with the acquisition of the ultimate workshop. At first I thought of buying a property with some kind of a metal building large enough to be my workshop, but those are not easy to find here in North Texas. On the other hand I cannot just buy a property with a workshop because it also has to look pretty. Most importantly, it needs to have a royal kitchen. Any property with an impressive workshop and a paltry looking home will need to be surgically removed from my entrails once my wife decides to... I think most of you know where the house is going...

At the end, the only plausible solution will be to build a home with a workshop. I am anticipating this is going to cost me through the beejezus so this is not going to happen any time soon. I think two years into the future, if at all.

So I would like to know how you lucky guys managed to obtain your spacious man cave? Is it something that I can attain while I am 40, or should I wait until I retire? Is it based on luck or vicious hard work? Or should I assume that 400 SQFT is an amazingly awesome piece of lot? Surely doesn't feel that way...

 

[DamicoTileCo]

This is my story.
I'm 57 and I bought this 1050 sq ft house in 93'. It has a detached 20x20 shop in the back by the alley and was just used for storage for my work supplies and toys.
Business was good so we bought a 3400 sq ft house in a gated community on a golf course right at the height of the market. We rented the old house.
The market tanked, work just stopped and I was stuck with this monster home I couldn't afford. I planned to make the 3 car garage a shop, my dream shop.
My neighbors wrote letters to the HOA complaining that my garage doors were open all the time. or I would be making too much noise or my hose wasn't coiled up or whatever.
I freaking hated living there. I did that for almost 8 years until we short sold the home this last april.

Now I am back in the old place which we kept. My wife divorced me, glad she did, gave me the kids, glad she did, and now I have my dream shop all set up and organized.
The best thing that happened to me was losing the wife and getting the kids.
Business has picked up this past year to the point I will have to hire again.
Now I have a place to do my hobby's like woodworking, metal working, building racing VW engines and my Norton's.

Me and the kids spend a lot of time out there just puttering around and being together. Life is good.
Guy

 

[xalky]

It's taken me 30 yrs to get my shop the way it is. I'm 48 now and i started on this quest when i was 18. For me it started while working on cars I went out and bought the biggest craftsman rolling toolbox and chest that I could afford. Then I bought an 800pc craftsmen tool set. Then a compressor and air tools, Then a Jack, then a drill press, then a vice then a $2800 mig welder. Then you find deals, people are looking to get rid of stuff and I grab it. It's really only in the last 2-3 yrs that I've really been able to ramp up my tool acquisitions. Before that life got in the way. Getting married, buying a house, having kids, the struggle to make enough money just to support all of those things, then a divorce, then child support. My child support ended 2 years ago and that freed up a lot of funds for me. In the past 2 yrs I've a acquired 2 lathes, a milling machine, a shop press and blasting cabinet, a tig welder, a plasma cutter, plus all the toolings and accessories for these things. I built a cnc plasma table too. I still have most of the tools I had when i was 18 and built up along the way. The cool thing about tools is they don't go out of style and they don't "go bad" over time.

Here's a shortcut: Don't get married when your young, and don't have kids. You'll save yourself 20 yrs of postponement. :rofl: I gotta laugh, because if i don't, I'll cry. Where's that darn "crying" emoticon when you need it!

My current wife is just awesome. She lets me buy whatever i want when it comes to tooling, but I make most of the money too. I wish I had a bigger space, I'm in a 20x24 detached garage. A 30x40 or even bigger shop would suit my needs much better. Currently that's not in the realm of possibility.

Marcel

 

[LJP]

I bought my house before I was married, I was about 30 (53 now). I bought it because it had a detached barn, with horse stalls and all. It looked big at the time, 24 x 32 with 10' ceilings. The walls and ceiling are paneled with 1920s beadboard. I had insulation blown in, a 100 amp subpanel brought out from the house, propane heat and a big window AC unit, it is nice to work in there. I have been in the custom furniture making business in there for over 20 years. It is pretty tight now, with big machines for a 1 man shop. 24" 7.5hp thickness planer, 12" 5hp jointer, 5 hp shaper, 9 hp sliding table saw, 20" bandsaw, all 3ph with ph converters, etc, etc, etc, and on and on. The basement of my house is storage for lumber and veneer, again a lot for a 1 man shop, probably 5000' of solid and 20,000' of veneer. I have a 4x8 vacuum press down there as well, for veneer jobs.
About 10 years ago I built another detached garage (I am on 2.5 acres, neighbors are no problem), for a convertable. The car is gone, so last year I brought out another 100 amp sub panel, this year I hired 2 guys to insulate the 2 stories and put up 1/2" plywood on all the walls. Put in a top of the line Rannai propane heater as well. This has become the machine shop. Bridgeport mill, 13" SB lathe, 9" SB lathe, Wells band saw. Many tool boxes and this is only the beginning I have feeling.
The wife complains once in a while, but not much really. I am in business, and the government allows a business to write off tools and machinery. I take advantage of that in a big way. I spend it on tools so I don't have to pay taxes, works out well if you ask me!
I would love more space, but I can't imagine moving all this stuff. I will die in this house, someone else will have to move it.
Larry

 

[RandyM]

FANTASTIC stories guys. Isn't life good? Keep 'em coming. :thumbsup:

 

[Rbeckett]

Avayan,
Took me many years of vicious hard work and ruthless saving to get my shop built. It is only 20X20, but has plenty of electrical, air and water as well as how I have the work flow set up to progress through the shop in a natural pregression. I ate a ton of PB&J sammiches and sacrificed on other toys and pursuits to get there. Now that the building is done, the floor cured and all the fixtures are in I actually have enough room to work without having to move stuff out of the way. I used all kinds of space saving ideas like receiver hitches for grindrs and chop saws, an overhead track system for the plasma table computer and a small pot belly stove made out of two semi front brake drums welded together for heat. The hardest part for me was to remember that the machines do not stay static but do move so you need to leave a little space for wiggle room when you first lay it all out, I did the Architect thing and drew the building to scale as well as each machine and all of the service lines for Air, etc. Now I can see on paper exactly how much room I have between machines and whether they are likely to interfere with each other or not. That allows me to plan and paint the walk way areas onto the floor and further reduce any possibility of getting it cluttered up again. Getting it cleared out took me 5 years and was an embarrassment when anybody asked if I still had my shop. I would definitely shoot for 36 inch walkways and as much distance between the machines as you can get. That way a long piece of material may overhang the machines table, but you can stil work it down to a smaller size later. Also while you are in the planning stages you might want to pay some particular attention to ventilation because Momma isn't gonna stand for stinky sulfur based cutting oil odors before she puts a stop to that. Also make sure you have an area that you can swap clothing and shoes in before returning inside of the house to keep the splinters and slag out of the bottoms of her feet. They are especially unappreciative of digging out metal slinters after a shower...Shops do evolve over time and your grand plan needs to have a plan for the future growth of your hobby soo that you don't end up having multipls buildings in multiple locations around your property. My next growth spurt is going that direction since II am as close to the line as I can get and closer to the house is unacceptable to momma's landscaping theme for the yard. I'm thinking maybe a 14X20 Handi House just for tool and equipment storage and keep the shop for actually working inside of. That would effectively triple my usable space for not too much money. and the Handi Houses are pretty neutral color wise so it can be blended into the background and made to virtually disappear. Hope this help a bit.

Bob