Jmercier Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I'm pretty sure there has been a thread like this around before, but for the life of me I cant find it using the search function. So with Glenn's other Show your XXX threads, how about one to showcase your whole workspace. I'm going to cheat a little here and give a link to the virtual shop tour I just finished and put online this weekend on my webpage. But.. I'm intrested in seeing where the rest of you work and what major tools you've got !Tharkis' workshop ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Now I gotta go clean up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfb343 Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Nice shop Justin, I'm officially jealous, as I hit a speed bump in my shop construction($$$$). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmercier Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 My shop is kept clean (sort) mostly by necessity. I've got too little space to move around and get anything done if I dont keep it reasonably tidy. I know what you mean by the $$$ aspect though. I'd love to have a hydrolic forging press, a power hammer, a digitally controlled heat treating oven, etc, but that all takes $$$ which I dont have =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Kelley Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Here's my shop not too long after I built it and put all my stuff inside. That was the last time it's looked so clean. Since this picture was taken I've installed my KMG clone on the end of the work bench and added several other items to the shop...a 48: cast iron cone mandrel, a vertical and horizontal propane forge, a 164 pound Peter Wright anvil and other odds and ends. Here's the vertical welding forge I built using a cheapie Walmart air tank for the shell. It's powered by a forced air burner built according to Darren Ellis' design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Both you guys have disturbingly clean shops, even just after moving in! Ken I notice wood working tools in your hot area, have you had any problems with fire? I try to keep mine separate as a precaution. Shop pics. I've moved stuff into mine even though I only got it roofed just before the snow flew this fall. $$$ is exactly the reason it isn't insulated or wired yet. Still, it's 30' x 40' with my rather complicated in-floor systems the way I want or close enough. It has an in-floor exhaust system connected to a grounded grid of 2" sq receiver tubes on 4' centers. In-floor heat and is 6" thick except where the power hammer will go where it's 8" and double rebarred. A 15' jib boom crane goes next to the post on the center arch. The building's post will only be a stabilizer, the jib boom has it's own post and attachment hard point in the floor. Pic. 1 is my laying the Pex tubing for the infloor heat, the 2" sq. receiver tubing sockets are visible. Pic. 2 is a shot of the concrete going in at the footing. The sockets are agan visible. Pic. 3 is me installing the ridge cap. I was in shock for a few days after finishing this step; it'd taken me three years to get there after clearing and excavating began. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Hi Frosty 30' by 40' thats the size I had planned until work dropped off (housing), anyway could you explain the 2" receiver thing, I'm not the sharpest tack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Hey Ken I didn't know you could use duck tape for duct work.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Kelley Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Wellll...When I built the forge I took the blower off my coal forge and "temporarily" hooked it up to the new burner with the duct tape. I fully intended to replace it with a better arrangement but I haven't got around to it yet. It seems to work fine so I think I'll just leave it alone. This IS Kentucky after all! Duct tape holds this state together. Frosty, I don't do all that much wood work and when I do I always make sure to sweep up my chips and saw dust. I do all my hot work at the front of the shop with the big door open so all the sparks, melted flux, and hot bits of metal stay out of flammables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfb343 Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Lol, hehe, at least it dont have to worry about getting the walls sooted up. Sooner or later I'll get it under roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Hi Frosty 30' by 40' thats the size I had planned until work dropped off (housing), anyway could you explain the 2" receiver thing, I'm not the sharpest tack. Sure. The grid of receiver tubes serves a number of purposes. Each tube is the similar to the receiver tube you put your hitch ball into. They're actually slightly larger than 2" sq ID to clear the seam as it was WAY cheaper than buying real receiver tube. First they will let me mount tools and equipment without bases, just drop the 2" OD sq tube in a socket. Or, say I want a scaffold, I can drop 2" OD tubing in the sockets, weld, clamp or bolt cross members, brackets or whatever to it and have a fixture to work off of or build off of. When I'm done I can break the welds, unclamp, unbolt or whatever and it all goes back in the stock racks. Table legs can drop in sockets for immobile tables. Think of it like a shop floor sized non portable acorn table. When was the last time anybody thought of an acorn table as portable? (yeah yeah, you guys with forklifts and cranes don't need to say it. ) Second, they'll be really stout anchors for heavy duty tweeking. I can drop 2" sq solid bar into one or more, attach hydraulic rams, come alongs, etc. and do some heavy bending, straightening, etc. I've already done this with a twisted corner post from the shop frame. Gotta love hydraulics. :cool: Third, they're connected under the slab by 3" ABS tubing with an exhaust blower attached to the outlet. This will allow me to use down draft welding / cutting tables so I can keep the smoke from getting loose in the shop. With our winter temps I'll save a lot of heating budget if I don't have to change out all the air in the shop two or three times to get rid of a little smoke. I'll be able to drop a short piece of sq tubing connected to a hose for an exhaust hose. I'll also be able to do the same thing on scaffolding, jigs, etc. simply by connecting some flex hose to the end of one of the socketed verticals. Also, it'll draw cold air off the floor rather than warm air from the eaves. Then it circulates that air through the gravel bed under the slab which will help hold the ground's winter chill at bey. Lastly, the sockets are grounded through the welded rebar so I can hook the ground lead to the socket near the welder and have one less cable to trip over. Of course there will be welding jobs I'll need to ground close to the beads but for most work the floor ground will be fine. The first pic is the ABS tubing laid out before burying it. The openings for the SQ tubing don't show in this pic. The second pic is one of the sockets, rebar, PEX tubing and socket cap. The top of the cap is flush with the surface of the slab so things don't get hung up on it or fall in the socket. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucegodlesky Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Frosty, those are similar to the pots I installed in my shop. I used 4" pipe, drilled a 1" hole thru both sides at the top.Then welded a bar(1") They were only about 12" long as the shop sits on a rock shelf. I've pulled many car and truck frames off them , built a ton of slingshots to bend and manipulate. I wish I'd put the floor heat in. My feet get dang cold! I have a neighbor who has a heated floor in his shop and it runs at 60 degrees all yr round.(free gas) Warm in winter and cool in summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 No wonder it took so long to build. LOL That's a great idea, i really like the, ducting part and the fact that it's in a grid, pretty smart. Thanks for the great explanation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 No wonder it took so long to build. LOL That's a great idea, i really like the, ducting part and the fact that it's in a grid, pretty smart. Thanks for the great explanation. Yeah, no wonder at all. I do this to myself all the time. I'll have a clear idea of what I want to do and seriously under estimate how long it'll take me. It'd be different if I had a buddy or could hire someone who'd do what I wanted instead of what they think. I've always been amazed by how many guys will tell you outright they don't understand what you're doing, then proceed to tell you how you SHOULD do it. It's way worse when they actually have the tools in hand. The grid and sub-floor exhaust system isn't my idea though I think I thought of it independantly at an early age. I've discovered quite a few people have done similar. I either got the idea or maybe became conscious of it's practicality when trying to keep a number of stands aligned and square when Dad and I (mostly Dad) were building something. I don't remember what we were building but I do remember how the stands kept moving around and wishing we could anchor them to the floor. Many years later I wouked in an autoshop with an infloor exhaust system, marrying the two seemed almost too obvious to think about. Grounding it all was far easier than trying to isolate the sockets electrically so I made sure they were well connected and isolated from the building frame. It's hard to beat infloor heat, especially in a shop. Cold air is easily taken care of with another layer of clothes but cold feet are a killer. If your feet and head are warm you're warm. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Frosty, those are similar to the pots I installed in my shop. I wish I'd put the floor heat in. My feet get dang cold! I have a neighbor who has a heated floor in his shop and it runs at 60 degrees all yr round.(free gas) Warm in winter and cool in summer. Yes, very similar, though I planned them to serve as a shop sized jig system rather than anchors specifically. For the price of 600' of 3/4" PEX, less than $300, I couldn't justify NOT putting it in. I may not have anything to pump hot water through it but it's in. It's not like it's practical to install infloor heat after the concrete's set. Overhead IR heat will warm the slab and it can be installed any time. It isn't as good as infloor hydronic but it's better than cold feet. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucegodlesky Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Do they use many outdoor furnaces up in that country? The folks I know using hotwater heat here are using them. I have found so many uses for the floor pots besides anchoring vehicles. Most with your ideas as to stabilizing things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 We're seeing more and more outdoor boilers up here. The farmer we buy our hay from has one and he hasn't bought oil since last winter. He figured he spends maybe $200 in tractor and chainsaw fuel for a season's wood. Being a farmer he doesn't count his time; depending on the season he has plenty to spare. His words. I've thought about building one myself but will probably go with my original inside wood burner. I'm going to put some copper coils on or in it and pump glycol mix through it and the slab. Another thought is solar, one roof pitch faces west but there isn't much winter sun to work with. Stil, once it's up I won't have to pay a utility. So . . . Another thought is to run a heat exchanger through the compost pile and scavange heat there. I'll need to revamp the compost pile but what the hey, I LIKE operating equipment. Another thought is to hook the air compressor to a heat exchanger and circulate that heat in the slab. Maybe hook an old compressor to a windmill and have a pressure release in the res so it'll keep compressing full time. It'd be a low efficiency heat pump but if I don't have to pay a utility, it's all profit. Good thing I like to tinker. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucegodlesky Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Good luck on that project! Warm feet make all the difference:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Leppo Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 was a horse barn when built, much better use IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Nice space, I agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerkid Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Yeah Nice space Goat. Also NICE shop FRosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steponmebbbboom Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 ive already got a few forge pictures in the gallery, here's a good one of my work triangle, and the attached two are a couple i took last week for a curious lady friend things are spread out while i finish stripping the orange bus to tow it out to the scrapyard, thatll open up some more workspace for me! ive also got a great view of manhattan, and nice crossventilation in the summer when both overhead doors are open. this spring ill be tearing the plywood off the transom windows and repointing the panes for even more light. i love this place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Me at the forge.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 ok here is my shop for the winter .. In the summer I travelhope it works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DClaville Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 well here is my shopDClaville/Workshop - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting my forge part is still temporarily :/ Daniel CL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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