FILENAMES: shop01.JPG -thru- shop58.JPG DESCRIPTION: These are pictures documenting the terminal stages of packrat disease. Quite a lot to see... you may wish to keep this text file open in a separate window while looking at the pictures. Posted by Mark Winlund Mark provided the following description: ================================================================= Hi all. Since I have been recovering from spinal surgery, I have had a lot of time on my hands. After a number of requests, both in the NG and privately, I am posting pictures of my shop to the dropbox. I tried to put most of this text into the dropbox, but for some reason, the text is not wordwrapped there, but was when I wrote it. So I am placing the entire text here, all 18k of it. Apologies to all in advance for wasting the bandwidth1 The dropbox can be accessed at: 'dropbox@metalworking.com ' I have warned people for years of the dangers of collecting tools, and the following can only serve as a warning to those afflicted with this disease. This shop is the fifth in what seems a never ending series; each one by neccessity larger than the last. At least I hope it is the last. The total floor area comprises some fourteen thousand square feet in two floors, of which about one third is devoted to storage of various types of "stuff"... junk, my significant other calls it, "treasure" to those of us in the club. There is another thousand square feet in mezzanines... storage areas above work areas. To those who do not know me, I am 55, retired from a succession of variously successful and unsuccessful businesses, and now devote all of my time to the pursuit of the ultimate shop and its uses. I am developing a sign related product that uses all of the varied equipment in the shop..... a sort of self contained manufacturing plant, all in one shop. Besides being a member in good standing (I hope!) of this group since the Altavoz days, I am a member of my local steam club for the last 20 years. This group, composed of about 60 members, are all machinists of varying levels of skills (Of which I am closer to the bottom than the top!) meet once a month at a different member's shop. Our oldest member, Marlyn Hadly, just celebrated his 90th birthday, and still manages to get out and work in his shop every day. The youngest, sadly, is about 35. Not many young people pursue our trade. I also buy and sell machinery. In my endless quest for better tools, I go to a lot of auctions. The process pays for itself and is a lot of fun. I have a small warehouse (one end of a building that I store auction machinery in. When it starts to overflow, I start selling! I have another division, called packrat sales, that I use for this. Note: This document, along with notes on the pictures, is in the dropbox under SHOP00.TXT The pictures are numbered shop01.jpg through shop58.jpg. To conserve file space I have tried to keep file size under 100k. If anyone wants more detailed photos, email me at mark@maxmachine.com Mark The general division of equipment in the shop is: CNC machine shop manual machine shop tool grinding area welding shop fabricating shop sheetmetal shop polishing area darkroom office, bookkeeping area engraving and electronics room electroplating area measurement and calibration room wood shop foundry shop shop garage photo studio My background: HS education, sort of; lets just say they didn't want to see me come back the next year! U.S. Navy, during Viet-Nam. Worked in a radio station as a technician, defense plant inspector, owned my own businesses as TV sales and repair, welder, machinist, engraver, sign manufacturing, photographer, print shop. Retired from the sign business due to poor health and desire to get out of management. Small time investor in real estate, and various other investment areas. I Don't like to invest money in things I don't understand. Almost missed the computer revolution. (didn't have one until 1981, a Radio Shack Model II) Didn't buy Microsoft stock. (If I had, the shop would be bigger!) Our staff: Myself, one helper, a helper for him, and a part time bookkeeper. It does help to be a little crazy to try to do all of this with only a couple of people. At one time, the sign division had 13 employees. If you want to have fun in life, this is not the way to go. But since I retired, I do have fun, and if it makes enough money to buy more tools and have more fun, why not! Most of the equipment you see was purchased at auction for less than ten cents on the dollar. The exceptions are the CNC equipment and the building. We could not have done it any other way. Being a packrat helps to a certain extent; I rarely get rid of tools. What you see is a 35 year collection. Working with tools is my job, my hobby, my interest. I also must give credit to a very understanding wife. And staying out of Debt. And being lucky. Picture notes: Shop01: The engraving room. Dahlgren CNC engraver with Xenetech controller. Small vinyl sign cutter and Color Cam vinyl printer. When I retired, I wanted to keep my hand in the sign business, so I set up this area. All 2 1/2 D stuff. Shop02: The electronics room. Mostly older equipment from my servicing days. A few pieces of modern equipment, but they are so tiny, you can't see them! Spent thousands of hours with this stuff. Shop03: Looking the other way in the electronics shop. A wall of mostly calibration equipment, including process control equipment. All old. Note the Harbor Freight drill press... hard to beat for $49. Shop04: The storage roon for the electronics shop. A 30 year collection of test leads, semi conductors, and assorted parts Shop05: The wet side of the darkroom. Still somewhat under construction. The electroplating facility is going to go along the back wall down at the end. Developing timers, deionized water, and tempered water sources built into the cabinets in the foreground. Enlargers (Besseler) out of sight on the left. Shop06: A view of the Besseler enlrger stations. One 4 x 5, one 2 x 3. Both built with drop down tables and voltage and timer controls. Largely for purists, nowadays... digital photography is the wave of the future. Shop07: A view of the dry side of the darkroom. The big camera is an Agfa RPS2226... one of the last big CNC controlled vertical copy cameras built. The resolution on this camera is phenomenal... I use it mostly for fine line graphics work. Mostly superceded by image processors, now, directly driven by computers. My company paid over $10k for it 10 years ago... saw one go for a dollar on ebay a few weeks ago. Shop08: My big enlarger, a Consolidated built in the early 60's. The backbone of this enlarger is built like a big lathe stood on its end. It will enlarge up to an 11" x 14" negative or glass plate! The positions of the table, lens, and negative are set by dial indicator to within .001". It was originally designed to make halftone negatives before the advent of halftone screens. I use it to enlarge large format negatives. It actually requires three phase power to run! Shop09: The bookkeeping office. Since I closed down the sign division of our company, all of our bookkeeping is done here. Note the safe on the wall. It was originally used to store bullion in Corvallis's first bank (The town where I live.) The picture on the wall shows our former fabrication shop with a production run of stainless steel containers. Shop10: A view of the main machine shop, with some of the machine tools. I stood on a ladder to take the photo, so the viewpoint is nine feet up. Osha would never approve of the Buffalo drill press in the foreround. Visible: Buffalo drill press, American Hole Wizard radial drill, 2' x 2' x 6' planer, 14" shaper. All bought at auctions, and restored. The wall holds hand tools. The electric cords are stored on a pipe rack that is raised and lowered by an electric elevator... to get them out of the way. Many of the features of this shop were developed due to my declining health and inability to lift much weight! Shop11: A view of the other side of the machine shop showing the pride and joy of the shop, a new Haas VF4 mill with a thirty hp, 10,000 rpm spindle and 32 tool changer. This is one of the few tools not purchased at auction. It is the heart of our new process for engraving. Note the dry erase boards everywhere... it's handy for keeping notes on tooling. Shop12: The computer side of the CNC area. all of the tables and files were found at auction (a state university auction). Shop13: Also in the CNC area, a 5C CNC lathe with a C axis control. This is used to make special fasteners and covers for the engraved plaques. It will turn just about anything that will go into a 5C collet and do a limited amount of secondary operations because of the C axis. It is five hp, 6000 rpm. Fagor control. Made by Upgrade Technologies. Shop14: Our other CNC lathe, also by Upgrade Technologies. It is a chinese iron conversion, 2 5/8" spindle hole, up to 2500 rpm. No turret, manual tool change. It is not built very well, but it does the job. It can do a four lead thread in about 10 seconds! Shop15: Our Jet 18" manual lathe with 3 axis DRO. Some of the NG members may remember when I acquired it a few years ago. Had a bit of trouble with the chuck not fitting. Jet was very helpful; got it fixed right away. A very good machine, no problems whatsoever. Made in China, too! (duck for cover!) Shop16: Part of our grinding area.. the grinder is a Chevalier 12" x 24" automatic. I like this machine so much that we are going to get a smaller toolroom version as well. In the background is the storage area for Lathe tooling. Shop17: The other part of the grinding area. More grinders and miscellaneous bench tools. In the foreground is a "Big Joe" platform lift that I have modified to lift big chucks and vises on and off the lathes and milling machines. Shop18: The tool and cutter grinding area. In the foreground, a Jet tool and cutter grinder. In the background, a row of Darex machines. For the money, the Darex machines are hard to beat. Shop19: Part of the small machine tool area. From front to back: Hardinge horizontal, mill antique jewelers drill press, Delta bench drill press (My first power tool), and behind that, almost hidden, a Delta bench shaper. Shop20: The other side of the small machining area: in the foreground, a Burgmaster 6 spindle drill press (from ebay) various hand presses, and assorted tools. Shop21: The same area. Mid size lathe, an Enco about 20 years old with every conceiveable accessory known to man. Note the hoist to install the chucks and turret attachment. Shop22: Also in the same area: my other pride and joy, a Deckel FP1 Toolmaker's mill with DRO. I am still trying to find attachments for it. On the wall in back is a complete Versa-mil attachment set for lathes... also a very rare item. Shop23: The welding shop, small items bench. One of those whiz-bang inverter tigs and a gas welding set. For small parts. Shop24: Bar stock racks and clamps, grinder supplies. Shop25: A view of the main fabrication area. Main welding table, (a 2 1/2" platen from a plywood mill) bolt bins, cutting torch, and on wall. tubing racks. Partially hidden behind bolt bins: an old Gold Star tig welder for arc air torch use. Shop26: Other end of welding shop. Ellis bandsaw, chop saw, and 6" x 1/4" plate shear. (Used for shearing brass plaque blanks) A recent auction item, overhauled. You will note that I like John Deere green and yellow! Floor grinder in background. Not shown: a machining stock rack with a large assortment of 12L14, stressproof, and brass. All in three foot lengths. Shop27: Welding supplies and equipment. Lincoln 250 electronic welder in back, Electronic discharge welder in front, Diacro bender under cover, Hossfeld bender to the side. Shop28: More welding shop: Scotchman turret ironworker, Mubea inertial ironworker, welding rod oven, and in back, a Heath pattern burner. Shop29: Sheet metal shop: Rolls, box and pan brake, spot welder, sheet metal stocks. Behind brake is a floor nibbler, Heck pattern nibbler, and various edge prep machines. Shop30: Other side of sheet metal area: Power shear, corner notcher, tubing storage above. Shop31: Fabrication grinding area. Wells electronic bandsaw. Sand blast cabinet. Steel scrap racks. Shop32: Wood shop. This area is still under construction. Dust collectors panel saw, four wheel bandsaw. Not visible: radial arm saw. Shop33: Other side of wood shop: 22" powermatic planer, chip and dust collector, Table saw (on wheels, hidden) supplies. Fine dust collectors on mezzanines. Shop34: More woodshop stuff, not organized. Shop35: The foundry shop. The foundry was started in an attempt to cash in on the high prices they get for cast memorial markers. After some years of attempting this, I decided we could make more money in the digital end of sign making and abandoned the effort. Being a packrat, naturally I saved all of the equipment! We are now setting it up in the new shop, hopefully to use it as an added ability to produce three dimensional products to enhance our engraved products. (Such as a carved scroll engraved in 3D by the CNC mill.) The members of my steam club use the equipment to cast parts for their projects as well. In the back corner there is a 30KW induction furnace. (used for cast iron and possibly stainless steel, although I have not tried that yet.) To the right is an induction crucible, and to the right of that is one of our three gas melting furnaces. (This equipment is in the process of being installed.) Shop36: Looking the other way: two of our three sand mullers. We just finished a double overhead bridge crane setup a couple of weeks ago. You can see the air hoist hanging down. In the foreground is one of the furnace hoods (not installed.) Shop37: The "sand pounding" room, along with the shop laundry facility. A facing muller is visible, along with the molding bench. If you look under the molding bench, you will see our method of sand handling. 55 gallon drums cut in half with wheels on the bottom. The overhead crane picks them up and dumps them into the mullers. All other sand handling is gravity or muscle powered. Shop38: Some of the supplies for the foundry. Ten or fifteen years ago, most of the "educational" facilities in our area decided that foundry skills were no longer appropriate in today's world. So all of their equipment went up for auction. I bought tons of it for less than a penny per hundred dollars worth. In fact, a lot of it was given to me for hauling it away. I kept the best, and over the years, sold the rest. Shop39: An absolutely essential shop item, especially at my age. This has paid for itself dozens of times over. We have two. One here, and one in a warehouse that I own. Took me years to figure out how important they are. Shop40: Another essential item, also purchased at auction: My auction truck with knuckle boom. I have used it at a lot of auctions where there is no other way to move something. It will lift 8000 lbs. Shop41: Our other essential vehicle. A diesel Isuzu truck with service body. This is another auction essential. Equipped with tools to deal with problems at the auctions, and will carry 8000 lbs. Has a lift gate on the back. Shop42: Another view. Shop43: Another "right arm". My beloved tractor/backhoe. Note the sun canopy. It's about 15 years old. Shop44: Another furnace for the foundry, this one a tilt furnace. Mostly used for aluminum; it doesn't get hot enough for brass. Shop45: In the foreground, a "jolt squeeze". In the background, more of the sand barrels. Shop46: The pattern burner, close up. Shop47: The shop air compressor. I am working on a bigger one built from auction components. It will have a 30 hp screw compressor, refrigerated dryer, and a tank 15 feet long by 3 feet in diameter. It has taken several years to find all of the parts. Most of the components have come out of bankrupt local sawmills.... Shop48: Looking the other way in the machine shop. The planer is more visible. The truck is our "gofer" car. Shop49: One of my favorite activities: the metrology room. I have taken an interest in metrology (precision measurements) lately. For those similarly inclined, there is a book that I like to recommend: "Fundamentals of Dimensional Metrology" by Ted Busch. Written for practical men by a practical man. Shop50: Some of the stuff that needs organising in the metrology room. Shelves are planned! Shop51: Another view of the surface plate (covered!) being used as a table, of course! Shop52: This is the other end of the metrology room, being used as the shop library. All of the books are machining related. Shop53: Part of the storage area up stairs. 35 years is a long time to be collecting stuff. My "helper's helper" is going to thin it out a bit via ebay. A smart young man, straight as an arrow. He will go far. Shop54: Another wing of the storage area. note the old fashioned process controllers at the end. Shop 55: More parts... ball bearings, gears, hardware, plastic scrap everything one can imagine... Shop56: The main wing of the storage area. This one wing is 110 feet long. The things that look like saftey rails are safety rails... there are trap doors in the floor that allow a forklift to move stuff up and down from one floor to another... sort of like an elevator, but a lot cheaper. The shelves are actually library tables. The state,in its infinite wisdom, decided that the tables at the local university were not pretty enough. I picked up over a hundred of them at auction, they are built like tanks. I still have a bunch left. Shop57: My photo studio, from my photograper days. Not much used anymore. I still use it to do product photography; my own products. Again, this technology is just about history. Shop58: The other side of the studio. The laminators were used in the sign business. Well, there you have it. Certainly not a finished work of art, it will never be finished. The satisfaction comes from continually improving it. I often make fun of myself in being such a collector of tools, but in reality I enjoy it tremendously. Besides, as my wife says, it keeps me out of the bars. I just wish I had another 35 years to make it bigger! This is the first year that I have actually begun to sell stuff.... I have almost run out of room. I would like to get a small vertical boring mill into the machine shop, but I don't think it will fit. I can't bear to part with the planer, so it looks like that's it! To all you tool collectors out there, Happy hunting! Mark