Shop completed

[45&30-30]

I have posted a few threads asking for help on setting up my little machine shop in the garage. The responses I received, I greatly appreciate. The first pic shows the wall with a new door and window. I replaced the entire wall because of water damage. The part you can't see is the 3'x13' section of concrete we removed. (A twelve year old boy and a 60 pound jack-hammer are an effective pair.) This extended out past the wall and the garage slab slanted back in to the wall. It was initially a car port and the slab was poured with a grade so that every time it rained or snowed, depending on intensity, a creek or river formed inside. I have always wanted creek side property, but... I should be more specific when I pray. :wink: I also sheet rocked the wall behind the machines and blew in insulation above the garage. It doesn't feel like a bunker anymore.

I took the advice received here and had a 220 service ran to the garage. I got a 50 amp sub panel because this was the breaker I had available in the box in the main panel. I would like to up it to 60 when the need arises and I can find a resonably priced breaker for my obsolete panel, according to the electrician. (The correct gage wire for 60 Amp was run.) Here are a few pics with a new Grizzly G0484 mill. Some may recall I had an Abne Hor./Ver. mill. A friend bought it and I got the Grizzly. I bought his shaper a WM. Barker in excellent shape. It can be seen at the end of the row of machine tools. Also built a new lathe bench with my youngest daughter. The old (one year?) metal lathe bench I built was a little shakey. It has become my welding and whatever else bench. Note: You may be able to see the blacksmiths vice I mounted on it. I have carried it around for about ten years now, not knowing what it was. I looked it up the other day and found out what it was and how to mount it.

I included a picture of a dividing head I picked up recently. It has sat in a friends shop for many years not being used. There are no markings as to who built the head. It seems a little large and heavy for my mill. Anyone have any ideas of whether I should use it on my mill or look for another one. The threads on the head are 2 1/4" 10. I could place a chuck on this and use it as a hor./vert. dividing head or a rotary head. (Are their chucks made for this?) Please give your thoughts on this if you have any. Again, thank you all who have contributed in the consruction of my shop.

http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee323/reo275/Shop001.jpg

http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee323/reo275/Shop002.jpg

http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee323/reo275/Shop004.jpg

[82nd airborne]

looks like it should fill all your gunsmithing needs, nicely done!

[3006guns]

It's gorgeous......hopefully it isn't hard to keep that way. Really nice! What brand and size of shaper is that?

[ANeat]

I like it, probably better that you sold the abne.


Use the shaper much? Ive seen a couple of deals on shapers but I havent had too many times where I really needed one

[lathesmith]

45, nice setup! Those Grizzly 0484 mills offer a lot of bang for the buck--I almost got one last year for my little shop. If the local Griz store would have had one, I probably would have.

A dividing head can only be "too big" if you can't use it on your mill because of the size. That's an odd thread size--I have several 2 1/4-8 backing plates that I have fit to some of my chucks, it is the standard South Bend size. But, you can always make up your own backing plates, it shouldn't be a problem, and yes I would mount a 4- or 5- inch chuck on that thing and put it to use--they are very handy items.

Anyway, good luck with your projects! Thanks for sharing.

lathesmith

[45&30-30]

82nd, thank you.

3006, it is a WM Barker Shaper. 12" or 16"? I went with taped walls primed and double coated, without the texture in hopes it is easier to maintain.

ANeat, helped a friend build a muzzle break on it, so far...

lathesmith, thank you for the information, I will consider making my own backing plate. That maybe the way to go.

[deltaenterprizes]

How do you keep it so clean?

[ANeat]

Yea Ive machined out a couple AR lowers and I always thought a shaper would do a real good job on the mag well. I just muddle thru it with mills and files but I wouldnt want to do mass production like that ;)

[45&30-30]

Delta, I am still in the honey moon phase of the new shop. I am sure it will wear out soon. [smilie=w:

ANeat, the boring bar on the shaper might just be the ticket to open up the mag well on an AR. Set right they leave a very nice finish on carbon steels. I have seen some of the local guys use them for machining small steam engines out of brass and aluminum with impressive results.

[45&30-30]

My indexing head problem has been fixed. I built this adapter to use the 3 and 4 jaw chucks from my Logan lathe. The inside threads were 2 1/4" 10 and the external for the lathe chucks were 1 1/2" 8. The main goal was to be able to use the index head as a rotary table and to chuck up a receiver idea I have been working on. I used the 1940's vintage threading tool for the external threads, wish I hadn't, they came out rough. For the internal threads I used a boring bar I built and a home ground bit. The boring bar was an idea from a friend. He thought it would be a good idea to build one that did not require grinding both sides of the the bit. So I drilled the hole at an angle to allow for a 60 degree angle. I used a square file to finish the hole. So when internal threads are necessary I just grind the one angle on the side, this maintains the factory edge on the other. Works out just dandy. This pic is of the adapter mounted on the index head and the chuck ready to mount. Everything was done on the internal thread side first.
http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee323/reo275/Shop003.jpg

[Dutchman]

White walls and lotsa light fixtures. Makes a huge difference.


I am still in the honey moon phase of the new shop. I am sure it will wear out soon.

It will not:).


setting up my little machine shop in the garage

You must refrain from further use of the word "garage". It is no longer a garage. Can you park a car in it? It's a shop.

http://images42.fotki.com/v1379/photos/2/28344/6717603/sq11-vi.jpg


Dutch

[45&30-30]

Great shop Dutchman! I can see I definately need more light.

Funny you brought up the distinction between garage and shop. When we got the place a buddy persuaded my wife that it was NOT for her car but a future shop. I will refrain from calling it a garage anymore. :grin:

[Dutchman]

My shop was built specifically for my machine shop. My son-in-law and daughter had it built onto the backside of the garage and under the new deck that they had built in 2008. The walls are 2x6 with R22 insulation and a steel commercial roll up door. Two storm windows and a door that goes into the garage then into another narrow shop that we use for reloading and into the basement.

The walls are 5/8" OSB. I used 3/8" plywood on my shop in Indiana. My son-in-law was a bit confused about my desire for white walls and lots of fixtures. But after 4 coats of paint and the lights turned on he saw the.... light.

The garage mentality is hard to let go of. When you start thinking of your shop as a place of productivity and invention it'll start to be that. Yeah, its very much zen and in order to sweep all the ideas you can use into one pile you need to see it as zen and embrace it. Can you tell I'm native California?

Dutch

[Bret4207]

You guys are giving me some serious jealousy issues. Simply having HEAT in my shop would be an improvement. White walls and proper wiring are down the road a ways.

[45&30-30]

Bret, had to have heat. I rebuilt a 50's vintage Alladin Blue Flame heater. The fumes were to much and the CO detector was registering at 8 to 9 when I shut it off. Started with red stove oil, burnt it dry then went to clear K1. First day of K1 was great, no CO, no smell. Second day, right where I started. I am using a ceramic electric heater now.

I am working on wiring my heat treat ovens, shown above, between the door and window. I need advice on type of wire to run for the ovens. They are 220. The PID's needs to be powered by 110. (Auber PID) Is their anyway to use the single 220 wire to power both the element and the PID? Or do I need to get a transformer for each PID?

[454PB]

Very nice.

I can see no reason you can't pick 120 volts off of the 240 volt feed for powering the PIDs.

Assuming there are two PIDs, feed one from white and ground, and one from black and ground to balance the load.

[45&30-30]

Thank you for the reply 454PB. The PID's will be fed off of two seperate 240 lines. The question I have is, how do I pick 120 off the 240 line for a single PID, which also supplies power to the 240 coil or can I? Thank you, again.

[454PB]

Yes, you can pick 120 volts off. A 240 volt circuit is 120 volts to ground on each "hot" wire, and 240 volts between the two "hot" wires. The only difference is that you won't have a true neutral as you do with a traditional 120 volt circuit.

[PatMarlin]

Very nice!!

[quasi]

Yes, you can pick 120 volts off. A 240 volt circuit is 120 volts to ground on each "hot" wire, and 240 volts between the two "hot" wires. The only difference is that you won't have a true neutral as you do with a traditional 120 volt circuit.

Using Ground as a "Neutral" or identified conductor is illegal according to U.S. and Canadian N.E.C. 's.

[Just Duke]

Very well done sir.