It’s been a year in the new garage/shop

[Suzuki4evr]

Hey all,
This forum gives us an outlet to discuss our shops with like minded people. Very few of my friends would appreciate this topic.
After the fire, my wife and I were living in an apartment for a short few months. We bought this home and immediately started to make it our own.
The garage received insulation and lighting before any equipment was brought in. The mini-split came next.
Bob Korves and Jim George helped me bring in my lathe, mill and surface grinder.
I thought I had a good lay out but There were a few areas that were tight and not useable.
After several months I started thinking, what if?
Yesterday I moved the lathe 90 degrees and moved the surface grinder and mill to allow more space.
Now I have full access to my 5 X 5 welding/utility table. I have aisles to the driveway For access. I have an open work space near the grinder and welding table. I walk out to my shop and can’t believe I’m in the same space with all this equipment.
I have included before and after pics. Not in order. I had the lathe next to the garage door which mostly blocked access to the shop. Not any more!!
My wife and I are trying to decide if we should move when I retire. I really don’t want to start over. I don’t know if I have the energy.

Nice shop and machines. Enjoy my friend.

 

[Aaron_W]

Small shops can be challenging.
I have been thinking of selling the big mill for something smaller.

Before you get too serious about that, look at the foot print of a smaller mill and compare to your current mill. Since I doubt you would be looking at anything smaller than my Clausing I can tell you how much space that takes up. Leaving room for full travel but not including the space for me standing in front of it, I have dedicated an area 4 feet deep, by 4 feet 8 " wide. Just a guess but if you went for something the size of Bob's Millrite, probably add another foot in each direction? How much area would you actually gain going to a smaller mill?
Height and getting into the shop were the major concerns that led me to a smaller mill (my wife made rare use of her veto power at the suggestion of cutting a hole in the kitchen floor above the shop).

Also keep in mind the table and travel tends to take up the largest area, but it moves so creative placement could provide some work area to either side of the mill, just have to move the table to the opposite end of travel. Also room below the table which can be used for storage, just ensure what ever goes there is chip tolerant. Looking at the photos from February it looks like you have a pretty good sized hole between the vertical mill and surface grinder, and behind the mill table. Could be a home for your drill press, horizontal mill or if on wheels a parking area for your new bandsaw. Just have to move the table to the right when you want access to that space. Another option would be a shop vac cubby, I know my shop vac is always under foot, as they take up so much room when not being used. Machine Tetris isn't limited to putting things on castors.

I have my horizontal mill and vertical mill quite close together. Their table travel actually overlaps (good thing I only use one at a time) and if I need to get behind the machines I have to move at least one of the tables to their opposite extreme, and both if I actually need some room to work between them. I'm working on a low rolling cart to sit between them for storing the mill tooling in what is otherwise wasted space below the tables.
Similarly I built a low shelving unit for metal stock which lives behind the Clausing. I needed to leave room for the head to travel backwards but that left an area about 14" deep, 4 1/2 feet high and 4 feet wide that would have just been wasted space. The shelf is 4 feet wide x 4 feet tall and 12" deep so actually provides a decent storage area.

Indeed, the more grinding I do, the more I am aware of the fire hazard from sparks. I'm considering making a 'blast shield' using a couple of pieces of 24" x 18" plywood joined by a piano hinge. Stand it up in a 'V' so that it catches the grinding debris.

I weld in the yard outside of my shop. I have to rake and weed wack often, and wet down the area around where I'm working to help contain any fires. Welding I've started a few small fires in the short grass but slow moving and easily stamped out. The one slightly scary fire I started was cutting expanded metal with an angle grinder, that was like using a flame thrower. I always have the garden hose charged and ready, as well as have an ABC dry chem extinguisher, a pressurized water extinguisher and a shovel handy. I know some of the local firefighters and have no desire to give them any work.

 

[Janderso]

I was out in the shop this morning looking at repositioning the welding table and the lathe. I think I'll gain some space and move the sparks to the outside.
I don't know when I'll get around to it as I have to move/add the electrical box for the lathe. It would take my electrician son about thirty minutes and look professional. Me-well it will take longer. He bends conduit in his sleep.
I had another round of spinal shots. The dang steroids don't allow me to sleep. Another 1:45 up and running day.

 

[Aaron_W]

I had another round of spinal shots.

Ouch, that sounds fun.

 

[Janderso]

I'm working towards Radio frequency ablation. They burn the nerve receptors at the facets, or pain receptors. I have extreme stenosis in three lumbar vertebrae due to arthritis and bulging discs.. It sucks. I know many of you guys suffer as well.

 

[Bob Korves]

Was Bob your B-i-L when you were in school or did life just circle around and you found each other again?

No, I did not know her yet at that point. Later on, when I met Bob again at a gathering with her along, we recognized each other right away, even after 25+ years.

 

[Janderso]

Hey Aaron,
What is the footprint on that Clausing mill?

 

[pontiac428]

I'm working towards Radio frequency ablation. They burn the nerve receptors at the facets, or pain receptors. I have extreme stenosis in three lumbar vertebrae due to arthritis and bulging discs.. It sucks. I know many of you guys suffer as well.

I hear you. This is where I ended up before getting relief (not my x-ray, but same procedure) after being a test dummy for epidurals. Be careful in the shop, once the pain is gone you don't have the same feedback to force you to keep using good body mechanics.

 

[Aaron_W]

Hey Aaron,
What is the footprint on that Clausing mill?

If you literally mean the base in contact with the floor, it is 22" deep by 21" wide, but for the full range of motion I need all of that 4'x4'8" area at some point in the space. 72" tall at the top of the drawbar. 6x24" table so roughly half the size of yours assuming it is a 9x42.

 

[tmenyc]

Back to the cardboard box for a post ... my bench grinder is installed on a closed in shelf on a rack of shelves. For awhile I taped a reshaped amazon box to the wheel cover to catch the metal and wheel dust that came off it, and put wet paper towel directly beneath the front to catch what came down. The cardboard, after awhile, really the whole period a year ago when I was learning to grind HSS tools, gradually accumulated quite a bit of dust, and I started wetting it too before use since a couple of burn spots showed up. Then a friend made a steel box from angles that bolted to the wheel guard, and it works perfectly. The wet paper towel in front, catching the hot dust and sparking particles coming straight down off the front of the wheel, is still there though, and it works well as long as you remember to get rid of it while it's still wet.

Tim