Building your workshop

[OldMachinist]

Beautiful country. Nice trees. You lost me on the one of the water for me, but I am guessing it would have to do with something I said before.....Nice place OM.

Corey my mistake it was Skiddy that said something about the water.

 

[Tazza]

Corey my mistake it was Skiddy that said something about the water.

I must admit your shop is cleaner than mine... I'm not brave enough to take a picture!

 

[Skiddy]

I must admit your shop is cleaner than mine... I'm not brave enough to take a picture!

Very nice place there OM. Ok OM is the keeper of the tape. you name it hes got the tape. And I am jealous a dammed 500 dollar kurt on the drill press. I had a heck of a time talking my wifey into buying me one for my mill. lol.

 

[OldMachinist]

Very nice place there OM. Ok OM is the keeper of the tape. you name it hes got the tape. And I am jealous a dammed 500 dollar kurt on the drill press. I had a heck of a time talking my wifey into buying me one for my mill. lol.

Skiddy the Kurt is actually on the mill behind the drill press. The vise is just one of those thing I bought pretty cheap years ago before I even had a mill to put it on. That's not even all the tape, electrical and packing tape are on a shelf in the next room. When the nearest store is 20 miles away and they all close at 5pm weekdays, noon Sat. closed Sun. you keep large stock of things. My nuts and bolt rack looks like the hardware store. I never just buy what I need I buy in bulk.

 

[Land-Tech]

Skiddy the Kurt is actually on the mill behind the drill press. The vise is just one of those thing I bought pretty cheap years ago before I even had a mill to put it on. That's not even all the tape, electrical and packing tape are on a shelf in the next room. When the nearest store is 20 miles away and they all close at 5pm weekdays, noon Sat. closed Sun. you keep large stock of things. My nuts and bolt rack looks like the hardware store. I never just buy what I need I buy in bulk.

You guys have nice places.I'm a packrat and kind of messy. Lots of good shop ideas in the thread. I have the frame and roof on but probably won't button up until the cold winds of fall start. Have to make money to pay for it all.Scott

 

[sandhills-elect]

You guys have nice places.I'm a packrat and kind of messy. Lots of good shop ideas in the thread. I have the frame and roof on but probably won't button up until the cold winds of fall start. Have to make money to pay for it all.Scott

sorry so late getting back skiddy,((real busy this time of the year) it is way over a 100 lost track, this is cattle country so i do more barn, shops and garages than houses. They all tell me a house will not make them any money, whitch is right. But don't tell a women that. Later Brent.

 

[Skiddy]

sorry so late getting back skiddy,((real busy this time of the year) it is way over a 100 lost track, this is cattle country so i do more barn, shops and garages than houses. They all tell me a house will not make them any money, whitch is right. But don't tell a women that. Later Brent.

Brent couldn't agree more. If you are in the sand hills af America you are not far from me. I live about 150 miles west of Murdo.

 

[1ofU]

Hello,

that's a good lookin ole girl you got there ( Southbend ) looks like a 16 ?
are you running three phase power to it ??
i enjoy lookin at other shops just to see how like mined we are on machines
and tools ,, i agree buy tools and tooling every chance you get even if you store
them they will come in handy someday when you need the right tool for the job .
1 of U

 

[OldMachinist]

Hello,

that's a good lookin ole girl you got there ( Southbend ) looks like a 16 ?
are you running three phase power to it ??
i enjoy lookin at other shops just to see how like mined we are on machines
and tools ,, i agree buy tools and tooling every chance you get even if you store
them they will come in handy someday when you need the right tool for the job .
1 of U

You are correct it's a 16" South Bend. It already had a 220v single phase motor on it when I got it. I have a 5 hp phase converter I run a Bridgeport mill off of.

 

[RJSStamps]

You are correct it's a 16" South Bend. It already had a 220v single phase motor on it when I got it. I have a 5 hp phase converter I run a Bridgeport mill off of.

Nice thread here.....but everyone seems to have forgotten one of the most important things for the shop.....a FRIDGE! lol, I hate walking to house for a cold Coke! Or a snack for that matter. It's so bad I even have a hotplate and frying pan in the shop! I'm in the shop more than the house. My friends daughter thinks I live in the shop. But then the shop has 3 TV's, all my scanners so I know what the police and fire folks are doing (along with 50' tower for antenna). And yup, even the computers in the shop.
The shop came about after a tornado hit my place in May of 2008. My 8x16 garage was trashed but barely standing so I built a 30x40 behind the house. lol, the shop is bigger than the house! I added half of the concrete floor last year after a truck almost fell on me when a jackstand sank in the dirt. Still need to do the other side but it's no rush.
I have a woodstove in here as well for heat.
No wife to deal with, just 3 PitBulls and a cat....well and a friends 3 daughters who spend most of the summer in my pool. One can tell every time I get something new in the shop, even if it's used. That kid knows more about whats in my shop and where it's at than I do! She likes to get greasy too, as proven time and time again when she goes home and mom complains about how messy she is. I just tell her "be glad she isn't a boy" !
Should have seen that girls face when she first saw the skid steer in my driveway! She jumped out of the car and jumped in and asked where the key was. She even helped change motors in it. And she has been helping rebuild my off road Jeep for the past 7 months. Anywaythe shop has been used a lot for a lot of different types of work from woodworking to making engine mounts for the skidsteer. Hopefully this coming winter there will be room to park the machine in here, but at the moment you can barely walk through the place!

 

[Tazza]

Nice thread here.....but everyone seems to have forgotten one of the most important things for the shop.....a FRIDGE! lol, I hate walking to house for a cold Coke! Or a snack for that matter. It's so bad I even have a hotplate and frying pan in the shop! I'm in the shop more than the house. My friends daughter thinks I live in the shop. But then the shop has 3 TV's, all my scanners so I know what the police and fire folks are doing (along with 50' tower for antenna). And yup, even the computers in the shop.
The shop came about after a tornado hit my place in May of 2008. My 8x16 garage was trashed but barely standing so I built a 30x40 behind the house. lol, the shop is bigger than the house! I added half of the concrete floor last year after a truck almost fell on me when a jackstand sank in the dirt. Still need to do the other side but it's no rush.
I have a woodstove in here as well for heat.
No wife to deal with, just 3 PitBulls and a cat....well and a friends 3 daughters who spend most of the summer in my pool. One can tell every time I get something new in the shop, even if it's used. That kid knows more about whats in my shop and where it's at than I do! She likes to get greasy too, as proven time and time again when she goes home and mom complains about how messy she is. I just tell her "be glad she isn't a boy" !
Should have seen that girls face when she first saw the skid steer in my driveway! She jumped out of the car and jumped in and asked where the key was. She even helped change motors in it. And she has been helping rebuild my off road Jeep for the past 7 months. Anywaythe shop has been used a lot for a lot of different types of work from woodworking to making engine mounts for the skidsteer. Hopefully this coming winter there will be room to park the machine in here, but at the moment you can barely walk through the place!

Shame my GF isn't like that, she doesn't like dirt, grease, bugs...... The list goes on.
I enjoy my time outside making things.
She does however want to learn to drive a Bobcat, she drove it around last weekend very well. Didn't hesetate driving it up hills to its 'bed', just needs to learn how to operate the functions. Last time she did it was a little scary. A bucket of dirt, she proceeded to lift straight up, hit the limit and the machine swayed wayyy back and dumped dirt on her head so naturally i said she soiled herself, which is technically true. I thoght the machine was going to roll over backwards, thankfully it didn't and she was told not to do that again.

 

[SkidRoe]

Nice thread here.....but everyone seems to have forgotten one of the most important things for the shop.....a FRIDGE! lol, I hate walking to house for a cold Coke! Or a snack for that matter. It's so bad I even have a hotplate and frying pan in the shop! I'm in the shop more than the house. My friends daughter thinks I live in the shop. But then the shop has 3 TV's, all my scanners so I know what the police and fire folks are doing (along with 50' tower for antenna). And yup, even the computers in the shop.
The shop came about after a tornado hit my place in May of 2008. My 8x16 garage was trashed but barely standing so I built a 30x40 behind the house. lol, the shop is bigger than the house! I added half of the concrete floor last year after a truck almost fell on me when a jackstand sank in the dirt. Still need to do the other side but it's no rush.
I have a woodstove in here as well for heat.
No wife to deal with, just 3 PitBulls and a cat....well and a friends 3 daughters who spend most of the summer in my pool. One can tell every time I get something new in the shop, even if it's used. That kid knows more about whats in my shop and where it's at than I do! She likes to get greasy too, as proven time and time again when she goes home and mom complains about how messy she is. I just tell her "be glad she isn't a boy" !
Should have seen that girls face when she first saw the skid steer in my driveway! She jumped out of the car and jumped in and asked where the key was. She even helped change motors in it. And she has been helping rebuild my off road Jeep for the past 7 months. Anywaythe shop has been used a lot for a lot of different types of work from woodworking to making engine mounts for the skidsteer. Hopefully this coming winter there will be room to park the machine in here, but at the moment you can barely walk through the place!

For those of us in cold climates, one thing that I think is of serious consideration when pouring a shop floor is to set it up for in-floor heating. For a couple of hundred bucks, you can install PEX line in the floor before you pour it.
Even if you don't hook it up immediately, leave your options open. Like Ken's buggered-up door openning, once the concrete is down, it is very difficult and expensive to make changes. We have been kicking ourselves that we did not do it when we poured the floor in the shop at the farm (actually, I think were too high on the euphoria of just having a decent concrete floor!!)
I tried to talk my neighbour into doing it when he built his shop last year, but he didn't. I think he was high on being able to work inside!!
One other mistake that I have seen many of my employees & friends make is wanting a shop and then not buying a place with a shop when they do buy a place, planning to build one later. Life always seems to happen while you are making better plan, so if you are planning to buy a place, why not get one with what you really want, even if it costs a bit more?? It is probably still cheaper than building one after you buy. Sure, it may not be the shop of your dreams, but at least it is there, and you can always alter it to suit your wants/needs.
In my case, I bought a place with a detached 2.5 car garage (heat, hydro, TV, telephone, cable, stereo, internet, etc., 15 feet away is the mud room on the house with the beer fridge and a laundry sink - I make do!!). It's a little small, but I can still get things done in it. I also own the vacant lot next to my main property, so I do have room to expand once our town gets sewers and I am off the septic system, which occupies this space currently. Even the wife is excited about the Garage Mahal!!
My $0.02,
SR

 

[skidsteer.ca]

For those of us in cold climates, one thing that I think is of serious consideration when pouring a shop floor is to set it up for in-floor heating. For a couple of hundred bucks, you can install PEX line in the floor before you pour it.
Even if you don't hook it up immediately, leave your options open. Like Ken's buggered-up door openning, once the concrete is down, it is very difficult and expensive to make changes. We have been kicking ourselves that we did not do it when we poured the floor in the shop at the farm (actually, I think were too high on the euphoria of just having a decent concrete floor!!)
I tried to talk my neighbour into doing it when he built his shop last year, but he didn't. I think he was high on being able to work inside!!
One other mistake that I have seen many of my employees & friends make is wanting a shop and then not buying a place with a shop when they do buy a place, planning to build one later. Life always seems to happen while you are making better plan, so if you are planning to buy a place, why not get one with what you really want, even if it costs a bit more?? It is probably still cheaper than building one after you buy. Sure, it may not be the shop of your dreams, but at least it is there, and you can always alter it to suit your wants/needs.
In my case, I bought a place with a detached 2.5 car garage (heat, hydro, TV, telephone, cable, stereo, internet, etc., 15 feet away is the mud room on the house with the beer fridge and a laundry sink - I make do!!). It's a little small, but I can still get things done in it. I also own the vacant lot next to my main property, so I do have room to expand once our town gets sewers and I am off the septic system, which occupies this space currently. Even the wife is excited about the Garage Mahal!!
My $0.02,
SR

Looking NW

Looking S

Looking S from NE overhead door

South from the NE overhead door

Along E wall looking south, stairs up to office and bathroom in far corner, office above it.

Work bench area behind lathe, press, pressure washer, below office and ajacent bathroom
Wish my lathe was a SB instead of a HongChoy or what ever those symbols mean, lol

The messy west wall, I seriously need to chase this area back, and get that trailer back on its wheels. There is a band saw, mig welder, and a bench grinder hid in there,

Looking SW shop hiding behind trees

 

[nobull1]

Looking NW

Looking S

Looking S from NE overhead door

South from the NE overhead door

Along E wall looking south, stairs up to office and bathroom in far corner, office above it.

Work bench area behind lathe, press, pressure washer, below office and ajacent bathroom
Wish my lathe was a SB instead of a HongChoy or what ever those symbols mean, lol

The messy west wall, I seriously need to chase this area back, and get that trailer back on its wheels. There is a band saw, mig welder, and a bench grinder hid in there,

Looking SW shop hiding behind trees

Nice shop Ken

Brian

 

[johng]

Nice shop Ken

Brian

Hi, I want to build my shop with a perfectly (or as close as possible) flat concrete floor. The floor will have some kind of coating (suggestions appreciated). This will be in N Florida. There have been MANY times I have been working on a large project and a flat floor would have been a big help. I know drainage will be an issue so I know I may have to sweep out water. Should I expect any other problems? Also, any tips on minimizing cracks on a big concrete slab? To support machinery I expect the slab will be around 8-inches thick on top of a very well prepared bed (rebar, gravel, membrane, compacted soil, etc.). Thanks JG

 

[Tazza]

Hi, I want to build my shop with a perfectly (or as close as possible) flat concrete floor. The floor will have some kind of coating (suggestions appreciated). This will be in N Florida. There have been MANY times I have been working on a large project and a flat floor would have been a big help. I know drainage will be an issue so I know I may have to sweep out water. Should I expect any other problems? Also, any tips on minimizing cracks on a big concrete slab? To support machinery I expect the slab will be around 8-inches thick on top of a very well prepared bed (rebar, gravel, membrane, compacted soil, etc.). Thanks JG

Just how big is the slab you want to do? Generally they are only 4" thick, but you use heavy duty re-bar.
Why do you need the floor dead flat? You can't have a slight fall to assist in water run off if it was ever to happen, even if it's only very slight.
Large slabs are hard to make without cracking, but someone that knows what they are doing can do it. Just ensure you use expansion joints around any posts or other un-movable parts. It needs room to expand and contract, even if it's only small.
As for a coating, if you get it machine trowled, they can throw some cement powder down to make a mirror like finish, it is super hard and smooth, but if it gets wet, it goes like ice, really slippery.
You really need to talk to someone that does concrete for a living to work it all out, they will have some good advise for you, i'd make sure i spoke to someone that has been doing it for a while. The younger ones may not have the experience to know just what will last.
When you get it done, do take piccies, we all love good 'workshop porn'

 

[johng]

Just how big is the slab you want to do? Generally they are only 4" thick, but you use heavy duty re-bar.
Why do you need the floor dead flat? You can't have a slight fall to assist in water run off if it was ever to happen, even if it's only very slight.
Large slabs are hard to make without cracking, but someone that knows what they are doing can do it. Just ensure you use expansion joints around any posts or other un-movable parts. It needs room to expand and contract, even if it's only small.
As for a coating, if you get it machine trowled, they can throw some cement powder down to make a mirror like finish, it is super hard and smooth, but if it gets wet, it goes like ice, really slippery.
You really need to talk to someone that does concrete for a living to work it all out, they will have some good advise for you, i'd make sure i spoke to someone that has been doing it for a while. The younger ones may not have the experience to know just what will last.
When you get it done, do take piccies, we all love good 'workshop porn'

Hi, I want the slab to be really big. I'm hoping for something around 20m x 20m, maybe bigger. This is going to be a workshop/hangar for building Zenith CH801 aircraft and other stuff. I want no chance the slab will crack when driving machines in and out. I suppose the entire surface could have a slope and still be "flat." I think a flat floor would help when laying out big projects. I will definitely have the slab poured and finished by professionals but I have learned the hard way that I need to educate myself so I can determine who is really a professional. The hard smooth surface you described is what I want. I do not want any dust. I can always apply paint and some "filler" (I have heard that rubber particles work well) if it is too slippery. I'm posting on this site because I want to buy a CTL to clear the land and there is great information here. I'll ask about metal buildings in another post! Thanks JG

 

[jerry]

Hi, I want the slab to be really big. I'm hoping for something around 20m x 20m, maybe bigger. This is going to be a workshop/hangar for building Zenith CH801 aircraft and other stuff. I want no chance the slab will crack when driving machines in and out. I suppose the entire surface could have a slope and still be "flat." I think a flat floor would help when laying out big projects. I will definitely have the slab poured and finished by professionals but I have learned the hard way that I need to educate myself so I can determine who is really a professional. The hard smooth surface you described is what I want. I do not want any dust. I can always apply paint and some "filler" (I have heard that rubber particles work well) if it is too slippery. I'm posting on this site because I want to buy a CTL to clear the land and there is great information here. I'll ask about metal buildings in another post! Thanks JG

You are right about the so-called professionals, whenever someone quotes years of experience as a qualification I get suspicious, been burned once or twice by that. After all they may have been doing it wrong for years. References and reputation count for a lot.

 

[Sealcoatindy]

OM that is some of the best advice I have heard in a while. I may have taken a bit of advice like that a lil extreme about twelve years ago from an old friend but now I am twenty nine and basically have every mans dream list of tools equipment trucks shop land and so on. I started out young buying tools and working but by nineteen I had a 40x40 x14 shop and started gathering goodies. Now at twenty nine I have 8 acres in brown county a 50 x 60 shop with 2 post lift plasma cutter 3 welders god knows how many hand tools a Massey ferguson 38 hp diesel tractor a t-190 a cat 257b duramax powerstroke assortment of trailers to haul it all just a rediculous amount of stuff most women don't want us to have so from a young guy who listens to old guys thank you.

 

[Tazza]

OM that is some of the best advice I have heard in a while. I may have taken a bit of advice like that a lil extreme about twelve years ago from an old friend but now I am twenty nine and basically have every mans dream list of tools equipment trucks shop land and so on. I started out young buying tools and working but by nineteen I had a 40x40 x14 shop and started gathering goodies. Now at twenty nine I have 8 acres in brown county a 50 x 60 shop with 2 post lift plasma cutter 3 welders god knows how many hand tools a Massey ferguson 38 hp diesel tractor a t-190 a cat 257b duramax powerstroke assortment of trailers to haul it all just a rediculous amount of stuff most women don't want us to have so from a young guy who listens to old guys thank you.

Like women can never have enough pairs of shoes, we can't have enough tools.