24 replies to this topic

[Potterusa]

I love looking at pics of shops so I figured I would put a few up. I use these machines to make the tools that I sell. I restored all the machines in the shop I have never been able to afford ones in great condition so I buy them cheap, mostly at scrap price and use them to fix each other.


This is a photo from the back door of the shop.


This is a shaper, the most important tool in my shop. It can turn big pieces of steel into little pieces of steel really fast.


I made this power hammer - it's a Ron Kinyon design. I forge some of the stakes with this hammer.


I use this to hold some of my inventory of stakes.


I built this press myself. It has a 5 hp Vickers hydraulic pump and a 10,000 psi high pressure pump. It's 150 tons of pressure. Don't worry, I've never tried to go that high!

[Chuck Girard]

Just wanted to say, you've got a really nice Shop!!
Like the old Arbor Mills you've rebuilt.
The Press you made is very impressive!
But out of all the pic's I thought youe inventory of Tooling was Awesome[Punk]' />
I'm sure anyone would enjoy working with the Tools you have.
Thanks for sharing the pic's[Kewl Pic]

[R. McWilliams]

Wow that is a nice shop.
Cool tools.

[Potterusa]

Thanks guys I should explain that I have been collecting machines for about 10 years. I have a few more coming soon, another horizontal mill and a turret lathe and hopefully a larger engine lathe. I will get my wife to post the pics of the rest of it i have some youtube videos under kevins shop if any one is interested. I run them all day so I need pretty good machines to make all the tools since they involve heavy stock removal. I will also post some pics of the new stuff that i am making while it is under development. Thanks again Kevin
PS you guys should post some pics of your shops as well it is great to see how people work and what they use.

[fatzie]

Well, that is one very great looking shop you have there! Now I feel like mine is still in the stone ages.

[R. McWilliams]

I would be embraced to show the inside of my shop.
It is such a big mess.

[Dark Wolf Forge]

A messy shop is a happy shop in my opinion.

[David S.]

Kevin, very impressive shop, and you can actually see the floor. Love the Cincinnati shaper, and your the phone on your press makes me think I'm on the bridge of an old DD. Thanks again for posting; I keep promising myself I'll take some pics of my mess/shop, but I can't get enough space cleared away to stand to take a photo!! So, despite my own bad example, I too would like to see more shop pictures.

Take care all,

Dave

[Radharc]

Lot of stuff jammed into a small space. I admire your organization, but a shop THAT clean is kind of scary. LOL! Neat that you rebuild your tools with your tools. I do stuff like that too, but not on that scale.

[Tommy Katana]

Very nice shop Kevin,
Those are some stout machines you have there. Looks like mostly 3-phase equipment too. Is it a home shop or are you in a business complex somewhere? Our utility company really has a hard time with supplying us home guys with that kind of juice. I'm looking for a verticle mill but am limited to 1-phase power.
Good to see I'm not the only one out here with a clean floor[Beer]

[Potterusa]

I try to keep it somewhat clean because with the amount of metal I am cutting I would be knee deep in chips in a day or two. I am at my house I have been trying to get out of my house for 20 years but I just cant afford to yet, I want to buy something because moving more than once would be nuts. I use a rotary phase converter that i built it is 7.5 hp I need a bigger one but this one gets the job done for now I have a new to me mill coming in a few weeks and it is big it has 10hp and a 6ft table I cant wait.

[donald johnson]

Wow Kevin,
You show a lot of skill in repairing machinery. Probably many members have thought I will go out and repair a junker for my shop. The first reality is buying it at the right price, getting it to your shop( think 2000-3000 lbs). then think power required. As you mentioned, a phase converter is required to meet three phase change over for your shop needs.

Next, consider the skill to repair the machine. It is an art in itself. Not many people today know how to scrape a way on a mill (translation-make each axis acurate again). All that said, the old machines are still worth more now than when new. They can out live you.

Don

[Potterusa]

My wife calls my shop a technology free zone since most of my machines are from the 1940s. When i first started collecting them I bought the small home shop sizes, they made more sense at the time. I was used to running larger machines so I was really unhappy with their lack of rigidity and power so I threw common sense out the window and got bigger, I discovered that if a machine can be moved by two men and a pickup it is priceless but when you need a flatbed semi and a crane and a forklift they are nearly free.

[Deafboy]

My wife calls my shop a technology free zone since most of my machines are from the 1940s.

Like your rotary telephone on the press?

[Vermontsmith]

Kevin- You are right on about the big machines being quite affordable. Get up into the range where Joe 6-pack can't move or power it, and tools are going for scrap prices. My shop has a J&L #7 turret lathe, a 50 ton punch press, and a 35 ton Pierce-All that all weigh over 5000#, and that were purchased for a tiny bit per pound over what the junkyards were paying.

-Well, on second thought the punch press probably doesn't weigh 5k, but it's durn heavy and it was very affordable. Just scary to run.

-Judson

[Potterusa]

I have been looking for a turret lathe but a 7 that is big if it is the one i am thinking of that is a nice machine J&L made the best turrert lathes. I would be open to nearly any type or brand that is close to home and that isnt trashed or huge. This is the best and the worst time to be a machine shop: the tools are cheap but so is the work.

[fatzie]

O.K. Guys and Girls, after a few days cleaning and organizing my shop, I felt it was only right to post a few pics of the new, clean shop. I'm sorry for too many pics, I wanted to show every angle and did'nt want to miss anything. O.K. Enjoy.
Fatzie

I probably went a bit overboard on the pics, As my wife say's, "does everything have to be to the extreme?" Ha, I guess it does!

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[donald johnson]

It looks like Harbor Freight should be a sponsor on this forum. It also appears to be a great place to work on your WIP.

Don

[PTsideshow]

Kool They all ways look good when they are clean,

[Deafboy]

Wow.. you're even still using cassette tapes in the boom box..