My new shop

[R.W.Clark]

Been needing a new space for awhile now, so we finally broke down and got an actual to goodness industrial shop. It had gotten to the point where I could not turn around without bumping into one of my assistants.

The new space is 1600sqft (big upgrade from the 650sqft I was in). It has 800sqft of warehouse/industrial space and 800sqft of office. We are still in the process of moving in and the BIG machines are still waiting for a forklift to bring them over. We have some excess space but it gives us a little room to grow.

These photos show the "office" area. It has a center open space that will be used for finishing and assembly. We only have one table right now but will be moving in about 30ft of bench space soon.

At the main entrance is a lunch/break/reception area and the room next to that is the kids room. It has their TV and toys, it also has desks for them to do homework after school.

Then there is my office and the room next to that is a way too big storage closet. The closet is being converted into a sheath making room.

 

[R.W.Clark]

Here are two photos of the shop area. Like I said the big auto blade grinders have not gotten here yet, but even with them in we will have lots of room. We even have two bathrooms (I always wanted a private "wash room" )

 

[R.W.Clark]

We also have a yard area, though I have no clue what we would use it for. Well, maybe a big BarBQ .

 

[Chant]

Congrats! Sure looks nice. I'll bet the extra space fills up fast, though.:thumbup:

 

[N House]

Very Nice looks like alot of room

 

[Crayola]

COOL!

Must feel great to have a real shop!

Please post some pics when you get your auto grinders set up! Those sound great! Do you dump steel in on one side and finished knives pop out the other?

 

[raylaconico]

Wow that is a really nice shop. Congratulations to you. May I ask, how long have you been in the knifemaking business? I'm hoping someday I'll be big enough to need a shop like that. Right now I work in my garage and it's really hard to keep it clean and organized because of the lack of space.

 

[R.W.Clark]

Do you dump steel in on one side and finished knives pop out the other?

I wish . Still takes a bit of work to get them ready for the grinders.

May I ask, how long have you been in the knifemaking business?

Going on 16yrs now. Been a very hard road. This is no easy way to make a living.

 

[Tom Militano]

My shop is 24' x 24", 576 sq. ft., and I wish it were twice that size. A friend told me when you build a shop figure out what size you want it, than double it, and add about another 30%, just to be on the safe side. Great advice, but he wasn't paying for it, so I went with 24' x 24'. I know it's a bigger shop than a lot of makers have, but the shop size isn't what makes knives. There are some world class knives that come out of big shops, but they also come out of some very small shops. Glad you finally got the shop you wanted. It's nice to actually have some extra space. Of course in a year or so you'll wonder why you didn't make it bigger. Show us some pictures when you get everything up and running.

 

[David Schott]

My shop is literally a spare bedroom in our apt. In that small room I have:
-KMG and spare tooling arms
-2X42 sander
-1X30 sander
-Drill Press
-Metal cutting bansaw
-assembly table

That is a LOT for a tiny little room. I sometimes feel like i could put a swivel chair in the middle and never leave it and do everything I want from that single spot. Luckily my GF lets me play with fire out on the porch. We are curently looking for a house and a big criteria for me is a full finished basement that has plenty of room to expend as well as some sort of bulkhead access where I can set up a forging station outside the shop...I cant wait!

 

[R.W.Clark]

Don't feel bad, my first shop in 1990 was a 2ft by 3ft spot on an otherwise packed bench in my parents garage. I had to lift my machines into place, use it and then replace it with the next machine. The machines lived under the work bench. For my first two years of making all I had was a 1x42 Delta, Stanley grinder/buffer, and a bench top drill press circa 1930. I had a vise and a few hand tools. Thats it.

 

[butcher_block]

Don't feel bad, my first shop in 1990 was a 2ft by 3ft spot on an otherwise packed bench in my parents garage. I had to lift my machines into place, use it and then replace it with the next machine. The machines lived under the work bench. For my first two years of making all I had was a 1x42 Delta, Stanley grinder/buffer, and a bench top drill press circa 1930. I had a vise and a few hand tools. Thats it.

now i feel like im off to the right start thats just about what im doing sorta
but now i have a kiln and mill woohoo big shop here i come
butch

 

[Phillip Patton]

Nice shop R.W. Wish I had a shop one fourth that size.
Mine is 20,736 square inches.

 

[miden]

Nice place R.W.
You seem very excited about your new place.
Always nice to see a guy getting ahead when he had the humble beginning like you did and persevered. Good for you sir and may things only get better.:thumbup:
I have a 13' x 15' space in my basement that I share with the furnace.
I have modelled it in a way that I have a lot of shelves and a lot of space.
The absence of equipment has a lot to do with the free space though.
Ah well.....

Mike

 

[tmickley]

Ron, nice shop, congratulations...Looks like you are stepping up to at least the semi-bigs...