Kathy Marshall
08-12-2012, 3:55 PM
Here's the back story....
My dad passed away in 2003, about 2 years after he finished setting up his shop for retirement. We set the shop up together, built a workbench, built and installed a bunch of cabinets, made some small projects and generally played around with the tools. Those were some of the best times I've spent with my dad. At the time, I lived about 50 miles away so I didn't get over there as often as I would have liked, and if I'd known the time would be so short, I would have made the effort to get over there much more often.
When it came time to distribute his estate, I took the entire contents of the shop and a few of his guns (he was a collector and competitive shooter). I had no place to set up the tools, so for the next 7 years they stayed stored in his shop. I bought a house in 2007 with plans to add a shop/garage to set up a shop, but by 2010 I realized that being in a position financially to build a shop was years down the road. So I did the next best thing, I got a great deal on an 8' x 24' cargo trailer.
I got a couple of the guys from work and we drove it to my stepmom's house and loaded everthing up. It was literally packed to the rafters. The only way to get in, was to move something out.
I got it home, took out some of the equipment that I couldn't use (most of it runs on 220 which I wasn't set up for) and moved it to a storage shed. That left me just enough room for an aisle down the center and access to the lathe and bandsaw, which are the only tools that would run on 110.
I picked up a small portable air compressor to use with my lathe, for blowing chips out of hollow forms and blowing dust off everything else. Lately, I've started expanding my horizons and I've picked up some air powered tools for cutting and carving, but the little air compressor just didn't have the capacity to run them.
It was time to get the big compressor out of the storage shed.
I spent the evenings last Thursday and Friday moving wood and stuff out of the way to clear a spot to add another little storage shed next the the "shop" to house the compressor. After clearing away the wood, I shoveled and wheelbarrowed about 15 loads of dirt to level up the ground (the property has a slight slope).
Saturday was time to put up the shed. It's just a little 8' x 6', but it really is a 2 person job. I started at about 7am to try and beat some of the heat (temps have been running from 112-116 :eek:) and by 2:30 all I had left to do was the roof, the doors, some trim and the floor, but the heat had really wiped me out. I took a break to run to Lowe's to pick up what was needed to get some 220 out there. By the time I got back, it was 5:30 and a little bit overcast and since I felt slightly recovered, I went back to work and finished up the roof and the doors.
Sunday morning I put in the floor and my neighbor (an electrician) came over and installed a 220 receptacle on my service pedestal. I had also picked up enough wire for an extension cord from the pedestal to the shed, and he put the plugs on the ends and also added a plug to the compressor (it had been direct wired at my dad's).
With what energy I had left, I managed to move the compressor to it's new home, along with the sliding miter saw (which had also been in storage since there wasn't room for it in the shop). I'd like to move the drill press in there, but I think it's going to be too tall, and I will move the horizontal boring machine in there which will free up some needed floor space next to the lathe so I can put in some kind of tool rack for my gouges and assorted other tools.
If I can work up some energy this afternoon, I'll go back out and do a little more cleanup, and search through the boxes for the air hose. I won't be able to test it out until Monday since chances are, the quick connects on my tools won't fit the connect on the air hose, but maybe I'll find some scraps to drill some holes in, since the 220 extension also reaches the big drill press and I can finally start using it now.
All in all, a productive weekend :D and happy to finally have 220 available, even if I still can't use most of the tools since there's not enough working space around them.
The "shop" when it was first set up 2 years ago. Unrecognizeable now since I've add a shade structure on the side for wood storage, and it's surrounded by piles of logs and cutoffs.
238963
Inside the shop after a rare cleanup (this was June of last year), which contains the floor drill press, lathe, horizontal boring machine, 20" planer, 8" jointer, shaper, bandsaw, unisaw and a 4' x 8' workbench.
238957238958
What I had to move to make room.
238959
The new shed.
238962
Contents of the new shed.
238960
The air compressor, 60 gal, 6.5 HP, twin cylinders, oil free. I think this will give me all the air i might need!
238961
Thanks for looking!
My dad passed away in 2003, about 2 years after he finished setting up his shop for retirement. We set the shop up together, built a workbench, built and installed a bunch of cabinets, made some small projects and generally played around with the tools. Those were some of the best times I've spent with my dad. At the time, I lived about 50 miles away so I didn't get over there as often as I would have liked, and if I'd known the time would be so short, I would have made the effort to get over there much more often.
When it came time to distribute his estate, I took the entire contents of the shop and a few of his guns (he was a collector and competitive shooter). I had no place to set up the tools, so for the next 7 years they stayed stored in his shop. I bought a house in 2007 with plans to add a shop/garage to set up a shop, but by 2010 I realized that being in a position financially to build a shop was years down the road. So I did the next best thing, I got a great deal on an 8' x 24' cargo trailer.
I got a couple of the guys from work and we drove it to my stepmom's house and loaded everthing up. It was literally packed to the rafters. The only way to get in, was to move something out.
I got it home, took out some of the equipment that I couldn't use (most of it runs on 220 which I wasn't set up for) and moved it to a storage shed. That left me just enough room for an aisle down the center and access to the lathe and bandsaw, which are the only tools that would run on 110.
I picked up a small portable air compressor to use with my lathe, for blowing chips out of hollow forms and blowing dust off everything else. Lately, I've started expanding my horizons and I've picked up some air powered tools for cutting and carving, but the little air compressor just didn't have the capacity to run them.
It was time to get the big compressor out of the storage shed.
I spent the evenings last Thursday and Friday moving wood and stuff out of the way to clear a spot to add another little storage shed next the the "shop" to house the compressor. After clearing away the wood, I shoveled and wheelbarrowed about 15 loads of dirt to level up the ground (the property has a slight slope).
Saturday was time to put up the shed. It's just a little 8' x 6', but it really is a 2 person job. I started at about 7am to try and beat some of the heat (temps have been running from 112-116 :eek:) and by 2:30 all I had left to do was the roof, the doors, some trim and the floor, but the heat had really wiped me out. I took a break to run to Lowe's to pick up what was needed to get some 220 out there. By the time I got back, it was 5:30 and a little bit overcast and since I felt slightly recovered, I went back to work and finished up the roof and the doors.
Sunday morning I put in the floor and my neighbor (an electrician) came over and installed a 220 receptacle on my service pedestal. I had also picked up enough wire for an extension cord from the pedestal to the shed, and he put the plugs on the ends and also added a plug to the compressor (it had been direct wired at my dad's).
With what energy I had left, I managed to move the compressor to it's new home, along with the sliding miter saw (which had also been in storage since there wasn't room for it in the shop). I'd like to move the drill press in there, but I think it's going to be too tall, and I will move the horizontal boring machine in there which will free up some needed floor space next to the lathe so I can put in some kind of tool rack for my gouges and assorted other tools.
If I can work up some energy this afternoon, I'll go back out and do a little more cleanup, and search through the boxes for the air hose. I won't be able to test it out until Monday since chances are, the quick connects on my tools won't fit the connect on the air hose, but maybe I'll find some scraps to drill some holes in, since the 220 extension also reaches the big drill press and I can finally start using it now.
All in all, a productive weekend :D and happy to finally have 220 available, even if I still can't use most of the tools since there's not enough working space around them.
The "shop" when it was first set up 2 years ago. Unrecognizeable now since I've add a shade structure on the side for wood storage, and it's surrounded by piles of logs and cutoffs.
238963
Inside the shop after a rare cleanup (this was June of last year), which contains the floor drill press, lathe, horizontal boring machine, 20" planer, 8" jointer, shaper, bandsaw, unisaw and a 4' x 8' workbench.
238957238958
What I had to move to make room.
238959
The new shed.
238962
Contents of the new shed.
238960
The air compressor, 60 gal, 6.5 HP, twin cylinders, oil free. I think this will give me all the air i might need!
238961
Thanks for looking!