Got the shop moved...PICS!

silver_pilate

silver_pilate

Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Messages
3,974
Well, I finally got the majority of the things I need moved. A little background: I had been making knives out of a 20x40' shop/storage building. The only draw-back was it was located a number of miles from the house just outside of town. It was a great setup, but as time went on, more and more space was taken up by my wife's things that she wanted stored. :grumpy: That, combined with my obsessive need to buy more tools than I need made the shop a bit cluttered. Put that all with a baby (who is now one) and a full time professor gig, and my time to 1) clean up the shop and 2) to get all the way out there to make knives pretty much became non-existent. The last knife I finished was way back in November of 2010. :eek::eek: Something had to give.

Fast-forward a bit, and we found ourselves building a new house. Luckily for me, the wife was fine with a third-car, semi-attached garage which would become my shop room. About three weeks ago we finished up construction and moved in, and I've gradually been moving things over from the old shop. With my equipment just a short walk out the back door, I'm really hoping to increase the time I'm able to spend in the shop. Also, the smaller space forced me to consolidate my tooling a bit, which I hope will help me stay organized and more efficient.

Enough of my rambling, here's some pics:

It's about 15'x20' total size. The floor is finished with shop paint, and the garage door is insulated and seals well. There are small glass-brick windows on the left and a full-size, shuttered window on the right which overlooks the back yard. There are 4 quad-pack 110V outlets on two separate circuits, and 2 50A outlets.
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During the move, the stand carrying my KMG had two legs collapse (cheap peace of #@%). Luckily for me, this necessitated me building my own grinder bench. :thumbup::D 4x4 legs with 2x4 spanners, all connected with all-thread running through routed channels and tightened to itself. Add some brackets and a laminated MDF top (2, 3/4" sheets glued and screwed together), and it's a solid little piece. I found the plans online, and I built it with a cordless circular saw, a drill, and a cheap-as-dirt router.
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On the wall, you see the VFD switch setup I put together a while back. The 2hp TECO VFD is sitting on the floor in a clean box. The control box is mounted to the front of the bench, and the single VFD will power the KMG, the GIB, and the disc.
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The door there goes into a large storage room that connects to the main garage as well.
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Oops. Left the CM9 sitting on top of the anvil. :o
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Well, here's to hoping I can actually get a knife made soon! :p

--nathan
 
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Dirty?!?! Do you know how long it took me to get everything coming over from the other shop clean?!?!? I think I'm just going to sit in the driveway and look at it for a few months. :D:D

--nathan
 
Might wanna reposition that propane bottle somewhere outside and just run a line in. If nothing else, it'll make sure that if you ever DO have a fire for any reason the insurance doesn't deny payment based on that.

Looks great, I like that little grinder bench, very simple but sturdy and you did a good job on the execution. I agree, time to get things dirty. Are you going to put up hooks for belts or just use that space in the pic?

So, what temp for heat treating Kahrs? :)
 
Thanks for the update Nathan

Less space and keeping cleaner ... rotflmao !

If you figure out to make that happen let me know cuz I'm wreck !

-Josh
 
Remy, right now the propane isn't hooked up (the regulator is just hanging on the tank). I'm waiting to get a longer line to do just as you suggested. I just need to move the bottle. Is there any practical length limit on the line?

The table wasnt too bad to build, but a table saw and a router table would have made things much easier, if a bit less interesting :D. I had to make due with clamps and 2x4's to serve as fences. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It's far from perfect, but I like to think it has character :). The long spanners have the channel routed in the side as you can see. The short lengths have the channel routed in the bottom. The all-thread was an idea I hadn't thought of before I saw it online. It works really well to make a solid bench. The metal bracing is mainly to keep things in line as the structural strength comes from the compression on the horizontal braces.

I'm going to hang the belts eventually, but I wanted to get the layout of equipment finalized first. I'm not sure exactly how I will hang them. The shelf they're on will eventually be storage for laminate handle material and sanding supplies.

As to the Kahr, I've found that they auto-temper after about 200 rounds on range day. ;)

Josh, we'll see how it goes. The main thing is that if I'm going to be productive, I HAVE to stay organized in the smaller space. Also, that little shop vac in the corner can reach the entire shop without having to drag it out, so I should be able to keep chips and dust a bit better under check. I'm sure that once I'm in the middle of a big project, the place will be a WRECK. But maybe it will be faster to organize afterwards. :D

--Nathan
 
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Nathan, when I put a larger propane bottle outside the shop, I used a 20' acetylene hose that I had laying around. With just a few connectors it hooked right up to the existing 6' hose that I already had. Now when I want to forge I run the hose/regulator outise to the tank and hook it up.
Jason
 
Yup, no real limit. Keep in mind, the rules on propane are that the bottle, once filled at any point in its life, should not be kept inside. I'm not a real stickler about it personally but it is a risk and code issue. I suggest black iron for most of the run with valves at each end of the pipe, then a flexible connection for the final bit to your forge. You can setup a regulator on that end so it's handy and just use the tank's valve for full shut off.
 
Nathan,

I'm jealous...the new shop looks fantastic!

I look forward to seeing what comes out of the new digs (I've missed your helpful posts and photos of your work over the last year or so.)
 
silver_pilate said:
Dirty?!?! Do you know how long it took me to get everything coming over from the other shop clean?!?!? I think I'm just going to sit in the driveway and look at it for a few months. :D:D

--nathan
Click to expand...

that is what I would do . Congratulation Nathan
 
A shop with "Molding"?

Thats really nice.

My shop only has mold :)
 
Looks good Nathan!
What are your plans as far as dust collection/extraction? A big help in the "keeping it clean" department.
 
Well, I really don't want to move over my old nasty dust collector, so I'm not sure what else I'm going to do other than water buckets under the grinders. I do have a couple of box fans with filters to help clean the air.

If I do go with a dust collector system, I need to get something smaller/quiter than what I was using. What are you using in your shop, Patrice? I've seen you catching setup, but I don't recall what collector/fan system you're using.

--nathan
 
So funny, I recognize the anvil stand and the red tool box clean box. And your shop has that same look of your old shop - just without all the furniture in storage. I had a similar experience, my shop was in moth balls for over a year when we sold our old house and moved into the new one. Took me 2 months to put it back together. But I was in no hurry. Feels great to be back at the grinder. I'm sure you appreciate being able to just walk into your shop. God bless with the baby - enjoy evey minute it goes by real fast. look forward to seing more of your work.
 
Awesome Nathan, good to see the construction is finally done! Can't wait for you to settle back into making some of those awesome blades that were a big inspiration to me when I first started!!:thumbup: Gotta agree with the others though......DAMN that's clean!
 
Thanks, Jonny. I appreciate the compliment. Glad to know I was doing something sort of right :).

I was really torn on this....do you guys think I should have sprung for crown molding as well? :D:D;)

I actually went out and cut out a little 1/8" EDC for myself last night. This will be only the second knife I've made for myself to keep. I plan to make several more for myself as that's why I got into knife making to begin with. My reps-o-rator came in today, and once I get some sort of dust collection/evacuation system going, I'll fire up the grinders and touch some steel to them. I've got a full tang that I need to finish for a fella who has been exceedingly patient with me. It will be the third I've made for him in a trade for a Martin guitar. After that, I'll finish up a few EDC's I have in various states of completion, sell a few of them, and then try my hand at something different. Probably a hidden tang, possibly a take-down. Maybe a bowie. Should be grins and giggles. :D

--nathan
 
Joey, I appreciate the words. Noah has been the greatest blessing in my life apart from my wife. It's truly one of the greatest miracles to watch a kiddo grow up. And yes, it is ridiculously nice to be able to walk into the shop for 20-30 minutes at a time. I have a feeling that I will be a great deal more productive, though I'm not setting myself any productivity standards. From here on out, it's going to be no-pressure, make what I like kind of making. I'm looking forward to that in a great way.

--nathan
 
Dang, I need to find someone that will trade me their Martin for some knives!

The shop looks good. I'm happy for you. I hope we will get to see some shots of some new work of yours soon, I always enjoyed that.
 
Great shop, Nathan. Lets see some shots of it dirtied up a bit next :)

As I am sure you know, that LP gas bottle within the walls of an occupied residential building is illegal, and voids your homeowners insurance.
Put it outside in a small shed you build just out the door. Put a quick connect fitting on the hose and at the regulator ( High Temp Tools and Products), and just plug in the hose when needed.
 
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