By the Ironworker for the Ironworker

[4shorts]

so, i was right

you must be making some pretty good coin out there on the rock. just wondering, how big is your shop?

i have plans to start building a shop next spring, i wouldn't mind keeping up with what you think of the various machines you buy.

Yep you were right. you win the prize :laughing: We're doing OK over here on this end of the country. Newfoundland is booming right now. we never had the recession hit at all. I'm not sure about you in BC. did you guys get hit with the recession?

I just got a two bay garage. it's just me and the wife that work here. she's office and I'm shop. I work a pile of hours all the time but it helps pay for the tools

I got "shoot" right. The Al was throwing me. If you ever saw the guts of one of these walk up ice vending machines, you would have been fooled too.

Hey Mark. If these don't work as a scrap catcher I know what to turn them into now thank to you :laughing:

Ok to keep the boredom going here's a few more pics of my little project. All the fab work is done. I added a few handles to the boxes. I'm showing you how I decided to mount them to the machine. Simple but very effective. they just lift off and easy to attach after I need to empty them.

I used 5/8th solid aluminum round stock for the handles. I added pics to show those who are interested how I bent them. I didn't use any head in the bending but I did go really slow.

After I milled the slots in the mounting brackets I tiged them on the boxes and then put the boxes in the bead blaster to etch them with the aluminum oxide . I then used self etching primer and then painted them. The boxes will hold about a gallon of water so there's plenty of room for what i need them for.
Here's some more pics.

 

[4shorts]

Some more pics.

 

[4shorts]

And a few more

 

[4shorts]

completed!

 

[dcyrilc]

I just got a two bay garage. it's just me and the wife that work here. she's office and I'm shop. I work a pile of hours all the time but it helps pay for the tools

OK, here's what I want to know. If you just have a two bay shop, how do you fit all this equipment in there and still have room to work?:laughing:

Now I'm really thinking that your next project better be that addition.:laughing:

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Dcyrilic,
No,
Its eastern.

I have to stay up late and get up early. 4-5 hours isn't unusual for me. I try to get 6-7. 9 am is my scheduled check in time, but usually it is earlier. I have to stay up to correspond and talk with the factory over things, as well as work with our web guys. Its also the best time to get a chance to fully discuss things with the boss who is on Pacific time without getting constant interruptions. Usually its one or two but its not that unusual that it is nearly 4 am...but always back at it by 9...really late nights maybe 9:30. Sleeping a little late maybe for people whose jobs ends at 3:30 pm in the afternoon, but if you compare my actual sleeping time, 8 am is not that late.

 

[rjmack]

I'm not sure about you in BC. did you guys get hit with the recession?

i haven't worked in bc since 2005.

sawmill construction went all to **** so i headed for the oil/tar sands. bc is still a great place to live but the making a living part of it is iffy at best.

northern alberta, on the other hand, is not really my idea of a place to live but its a great place to load the bank account up:thumbsup:

far as the travel back and forth, well... some dogs just love to run:laughing:

i'm thinking 40'x60' for my shop, subtract for a spray booth, and that should still be big enough.

 

[mjncad]

Great looking slug catchers Paul.

 

[Big Wave D]

Okay Paul,

My questions are this: what can't you work on and what can't you make/fab????

I'll just live vicariously through you for a while.

My hat is off to you. You do some great work. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I'm now waiting for the next Paul Show-n-Tell.

 

[4shorts]

OK, here's what I want to know. If you just have a two bay shop, how do you fit all this equipment in there and still have room to work?:laughing:

Now I'm really thinking that your next project better be that addition.:laughing:

Cyril it's a two bay shop but there's a tool room and an office as well. there's also another 1200 sq. foot building built in 2001 for to display my work. I kinda purposely did things this way with the main shop. I have to vehicle hoists. One is new and it's only used if the main lift ever goes down for some reason or another. In that bar there's a motorcycle lift as well as the Ironworker and pipe bender. All of those items can be relocated over to the other side of the shop in a matter of minutes if need be.

The shop is kept very clean and everything is at "arms length" and I know where everything is all the time and considering I'm the only one who uses the place nothing gets misplaced and I can work very efficiently having it that way. I have 2.5 acres more here to expand but I'm thinking I'll go another two years an access the situation and maybe sell everything and do something different. Time will tell Right now I'm enjoying the way I have it set up and it works well for me. If you've looked through my video's and or my photo site remember all of that was done in this little shop including the paint work.

i haven't worked in bc since 2005.

sawmill construction went all to **** so i headed for the oil/tar sands. bc is still a great place to live but the making a living part of it is iffy at best.

northern alberta, on the other hand, is not really my idea of a place to live but its a great place to load the bank account up:thumbsup:

far as the travel back and forth, well... some dogs just love to run:laughing:

i'm thinking 40'x60' for my shop, subtract for a spray booth, and that should still be big enough.

That would be a nice size shop. I've been offered the Alberta thing many times but turned it down. I'm in the Operating Engineers Union and there always calling me to go to work but I'm to busy to do that :laughing:

Seriously. Half of Newfoundland is in Alberta and doing the turn around thing and most hate it but things are really gaining momentum around here and that will keep some of them home. Stay safe there and hope to see your shop up soon.

Great looking slug catchers Paul.

Thank you Matt. There are as good as they need to be. I could have put a couple of pails on the floor to catch it all but I'm like you. I like to take the long way around doing things :laughing:

Okay Paul,

My questions are this: what can't you work on and what can't you make/fab????

I'll just live vicariously through you for a while.

My hat is off to you. You do some great work. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I'm now waiting for the next Paul Show-n-Tell.

Thank you sir. According to my wife there's plenty I can't do such as pick up after my self, cook, plug in the kettle ...... :laughing: Don't tell her the difference but I can actually do that stuff but If she found out she would expect me to do it all the time :laughing:

A repair shop is like a convenience store. The more that's on the shelf the better chance you have of selling something. Doing vehicle repairs, welding, machining or what ever keeps me working. Yes it can be demanding but also rewarding.
I try and share my work with others and these forums are a great way of doing so. We can all learn from one another. When I post stuff like the work in this thread I'm not saying it's the way it has to be but rather another way it can be done. By posting a few of the steps and the tools used to do it may give a reader an idea for a project he or she was thinking about doing. It's like when my sons were small and in Beavers. They had a saying and it would go like this "sharing, sharing, sharing" that was there motto and that's all I'm trying to do.

Glad to hear you've enjoyed viewing it and thank you kindly for saying so. It was very much appreciated :thumbsup: