edge9001 Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 I hope i put this in the right place hey guys I have a question. which is better. while I do not have any expectations of opening a bussiness anytime soon. My needs at the moment are few, more room than my little 8x10 leaky shop I currently have. I have access to a building I can put my shop it, it is a converted chicken house my grand dad used as a wood shop but never really put it to use. This building is big anough I could easily run a small professional shop out of. approx. 50x60 ft. with its own electrical supply already in place. this shop is about a ten minute drive from my house. Pro's Already built, power already in place, large space with room to store materials and work in the dry, no rent as it is family owned property. large enough to hold all of my equipment Con's Not at my home, no water available, Second, I have the ability to buid a shop at home, but will only be a 15x15 ft small shop. nothing more than a hobby shop. it would be about 20 feet from the back corner of my house, I would be able to run a few outlets and a water line from my outside power pole. Pro's at my home, water available, customizable to fit my needs Con's can only be 15x15ft at most basically my question is this, is it better to have a large shop off site but closeby, or a small shop at home. I know this is mainly a question of personal preference but I wanna know what the preferences of others is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal Dave Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Go for both. It's great to go out the back of the house and work on a project or practice. It's also nice to have a large shop where you can grow and grow and also be away from someone from the house interrupting you while you are working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poleframer Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Only problem with both is- two sets of tools. You'll want all your toys and tools there, so if you need something for work on the house, it's a drive to the shop. The other consideration would be security of the tools, but it sounds like there would be watchful eyes in both locations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge9001 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Share Posted November 27, 2010 The other consideration would be security of the tools, but it sounds like there would be watchful eyes in both locations. yes actually the security is not a issue of course at home i have my eyes on the shop, and the other off site shop is on my grandparents property. I have my best friend, my cousin, and my grandparents all on the property. my grandparents have not only the shop, but a nearly closed trailer park onsite. both are secure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryce Masuk Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 massive shop sounds like the best route, if it really sucks to drive there you could always be using it while building the new one I wish I could have a shop that I could store all my material in and everything plus the money to build a small shop could be put into tools for your shop or training Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryce Masuk Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 having a separate shop is much better in another way, once you leave and go there their are no distractions just work and you go there and you work 10 hours straight and you have nothing else no coffee machine and no phone. no bs no hold backs once you go there you work and you focus on that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Tim I would go for the big shop at your grand-folks house. I have both a home shop and a "real" shop, Id sure like to be able to run my business out of my home shop but there are a lot of pros for me to be in a commercial area where I can make noise and have truck delivery's.. As far as the water goes Im not sure how much rain you get there but I bet with a shop that size you could rig up some 55gal barrels or tanks to collect the run off water and have most all the water you need... I assume you can use the bathroom in the house A big shop will afford you working on several projects at once and not having to move or stash stuff every time you change gears, It will alow you to think about tables and machines in the future that just couldnt happen in a 15' X 15' shop (my work tables cover more sq footage than 15' X 15') And really 10 min away might as well be at your house... My shop is 45 mins from my house and I dont really mind that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge9001 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Share Posted November 27, 2010 the massive shop is kindda what i was thinking, just thought this might be a good topic to get going. I wanted to see what everyone else thinks, and get other's opinions of the pro's and con's of it all. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 In your case with a huge workshop ready made and only 10 minutes away with security the answer is a no brainer. Why would you bother building a home shop and filling up your living area when you have that already laid on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawtiron Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 I like working at home, as it's close to the kitchen. In your case, what an opportunity to move to a bigger shop!! You can never have too much space, and you get to see your grandparents every time you go there. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecelticforge Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 I have found that working at home makes my female part think that I can do the house work because I don't have to drive. Also, being self employed, she thinks I can just put down my hammer and do what ever she wants when she wants. It has led to some lively discussions here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinton Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 I have found that working at home makes my female part think that I can do the house work because I don't have to drive. Also, being self employed, she thinks I can just put down my hammer and do what ever she wants when she wants. It has led to some lively discussions here! Ah ya the hunny do list, I can relate to that, you are not the only one brother. Yes the bigger shop would be the way to go and leaving your backyard a yard and not a shop or industrial wasteland ( like my backyard ) will keep the misses happy as well- my # 1 complaint "When are you gonna get rid of that junk?" wish I had a nickle for every time I heard that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge9001 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Share Posted November 27, 2010 the honey do list is one of the reasons I am leaning towards the larger option. i can't go out to my currrent shop for more than 15 minutes before i get a "honey I need you to come in here and.... ect ect" or worse "daddy, mommy needs you to come inside" I'm headin out now to talk to my grandparents about using their building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Creek Blacksmith Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Go with the shop that is already built, reason why. 1. save construction cost 2. You can always take water with you. 3. the money saved by not building can be put towards materials, tools, tables, tools, and more tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Clad Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 All depends upon your situation. I have both. It does get expensive though. Nice thing about the home shop is walking out my door and into my shop in just a few feet. The other shop is 80 miles away and is for summer weekends only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge9001 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Share Posted November 27, 2010 All depends upon your situation. I have both. It does get expensive though. Nice thing about the home shop is walking out my door and into my shop in just a few feet. The other shop is 80 miles away and is for summer weekends only. I began setting up my new shop today. I have a small hole i need to repair to keep the rain out. I ahve cleaned out the work space and put the table for my lathe/mill in place. tomarrow i will move my lathe and wire in a few more electrical outlets. i mihgt get around to setting up my forges and anvil tomarrow, but probably will wait on those until monday. after I get it all set up I'll post sopme pictures of my new shop comparing it to my old shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 If you live in a residential area and have a chance at a seasonably priced shop off site from your home jump at it! It is so hard to keep your wife and neighbors happy and if you live in a neighborhood that is ruled by a homeowners association it is doubly hard to have an easy time of doing smithing at home. If you smith at home no matter how big you lot, one to fifty acres the woman of the house knows where you are and will find you to do those chores she deems more important than your feeble attempts at smithing. Well that is unless your Thomas Powers :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Clad Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Try to mitigate the "wife" problem by either making her something or simply by locking the blacksmith shop door. I find this helps!! ....Ya right..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 Worst thing about having your shop at home is having folks show up at dinner time,Sunday morning,or 10 Pm on a holiday. After I lost my job to downsizing at 58 yrs old and 16 mounths of looking. I took the plunge and opened welding shop out frount. Added CNC cutting and light machining then smithing. Every body thought if the shop was dark and the house lights were on that I would just open up for them. I still have the shop out front just not there most days. Great old client offered a great saleried job. But once a mounth the phone rings after 9 pm Yeh it cuts the overhead down just raises the stress level. Work off site and DO NOT use your cell as a shop phone. Ken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpotter Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 I want to get out of my house I have packed so much equipment in my garage I dont think I can get it out. My father just bought an 11,000 sqft industrial building on 2.5 acres with 600amp power and he said I can have a couple of thousand feet for my shop but that would mean I would be in his building and he can be a pain in the ass. My wife wants me to stay at home even though I make lots of noise and mess up the house. So it looks like I am a garage sized industrialist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWHII Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 I have 1250ft shop at home. I love the convenience of working at home. First is just one morgage payment and low over head. I have known several blacksmiths who have been working at home for over 30 years. They all have very sucsesful buisness mainly by keeping it small and simple. If you build your own shop start out small but plain for expansion as you can. But by all means keep it simple and low over head will be the key to your success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 Very Funny! This last weekend I was given the old farm bell from my mother's father's farm---my parents are moving into a house 1/2 the size of the one they are living in now and so a lot of family "history" is on the chopping block. I'm supposed to mount it in the rafter's of my shop and run a rope to the house so my wife can "get my attention" without having to walk the 50' over to the shop building. Good thing I wear hearing ptotectors when I'm in the shop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winston Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 In your situation I would definately rather have a good big shop 10 min away than a small shed at the house. If your house property was large enough and the shops were comparable it might be different. Bigger shop trumps most other things. Space is extremely important to me. I have had a shop about 10 minutes away and loved it. I now have a twice as large shop at my house and like it better. To me being at the house is a plus (no probs witht he wife), but space is a lot more important than being close to home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge9001 Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 as it turns out I moved to the bigger shop and withthe weather last night it seems it was a good idea. my old small shop was rickety at best so when it snowed last night, the roof collapsed. Snow is not a tipical thing here in georgia but last night we got 6 1/2 inches in a few hours. oddly enough it isn't even as cold now as it was last night before the snow. i guess that is due to all of the humidity being on the ground now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willis Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 If I was planning on making my living at BSing(pun intended, I would prefer an off site shop as my wife and I are very private people and enjoy our little home in the woods. But I'm retired USAF and this is more of a hobby than anything else, so any one is welcome in my shop. That being said, I live just a few miles from a master smith who does make his living BSing and runs his shop from his home site. He also has an open forge every wendesday nite from 1900-2100 (7-9)for anyone who is intrested the craft. It all boils down to are you a private person or are you out going. There are pro and cons to both sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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