Doug Jackson

Good point...  I will have to move things around a bit.  Thanks for catching that!

Sticking his tongue out at me... He is a goof...

DSC02333 by lone5oh, on Flickr

Thought I would post some updated pics a promised in another thread.  I keep telling myself that I will get some good pictures when it is done, but I am starting to realize that it will likely never be "done" or "clean"....  Anyway, it will serve me well and is way more than I ever thought I would have. My stepdaughter did the chalkboard paint on the cabinets - the OCD side of me wants to clean it up, but it's too sweet to mess with it.  Her writing on the cabinets and the sign for the shop too.  

DSC02425 

DSC02402

DSC02403 

DSC02431 

DSC02426 

DSC02434 

DSC02413 

DSC02409 

DSC02407 

Awesome discussion guys.  At this point the shop is wired and running to a switch box to allow me to change from Gen to Line.  Currently I am running everything on an 8500 Watt gen.  It's a pain in the butt but it runs the entire shop without a problem and I still have the option of running a line from the house if funds and electrical requirements allow.  Thank you again for the suggestions and sanity check!  I will post up some pics shortly in another thread.

Thanks for the responses guys.  And thanks for the nice welcome.  I am in the sticks; Washington State in the foothills of the beautiful Olympic Mountains.  We own the property so we do have a little more latitude to get creative.  At this point if I can't figure out how to tap into the 220 at the well head, I am going to have to go with a generator.  

DSW - The shop is 225' from the meter at the house.  We've been told the power drop would be too much at that distance to run the equipment.  Logic tells me that if we can get 220v at the well (200' from the meter) then another 30' shouldn't be an issue, but... I'm not an electrician.  I will keep doing some research.  Thanks!

Hello all.  Pretty new here and have been mostly reading and searching threads for answers.  I am in the process of building a shop for my knife business.  The structure is up and I can do all my forging off grid.  I have access to my old shop to run power tools, but it is a 30 mile drive so obviously not ideal, but necessary until I get the power situation solved.  Until I solve the power issue, the commute is my only choice to stay in production.  I will be running a 2X72 (220V 2HP), Drill press, Disc Sander, Porta Band, Buffer, 1X30 (all 110V) at various times.   Here are my options so far:

1) Pay to have a transformer put in and run a new meter to the shop.  The house transformer already has 3 hubs and the power co will not add another.  Big $$

2) Run solar for lighting, radio etc.  3500 watt gen for anything it will power, and run everything else out of the garage in the main home.

3) Tap into the power box at the well.  It has 220V running to it and it is only 30 feet from the shop.  This is my preferred method but I am not sure if it is possible or even advisable.  

Any insight or suggestions are appreciated.

Here is the shop so far...