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Well equipped shop?

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Well equipped shop?
« on: January 21, 2010, 10:49:50 AM »
This past weekend I got a J-head Bridgeport milling machine!  It's a 1960's model, so not very new but still much better than I had and was a reasonable price.

I've also got a 14x48 Clausing lathe.
A very old Kearney & Trecker horizontal mill with a Bridgeport J-head adapted to it.  Only paid $200 for it a few years ago and it was better than nothing, but it is too big for me and will try to get rid of it now that I have a real Bridgeport mill.

Also have an assortment of welders, stick, wire, oxy/acetylene, metal cutting bandsaw, hydraulic press, drill press, etc.

Never set it up, but I also have all the stuff for setting up a foundry.  Bought it from a high school that was closing their metal shop.

I guess I pretty much have a well equipped shop for working on engines/tractors.  Unfortunately, what I don't seem to have is the time to work out in the shop and actually get things done.  Hopefully, one of these years I'll get to retire and have more shop time although I'm sure you retired people will say that you still don't have time!

So.... to start a discussion:

What do you have in your shop?
What would you like to have that you don't currently have?

Pretty much have all the wood working tools and machines, but find even less time for woodworking.

Well equipped shop?
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2010, 04:24:44 PM »
What do you have in your shop?
What would you like to have that you don't currently have?

Not a lot compared to yours, George.  Of note would be a 16 speed floor drill press and a 20 ton arbor press (Harbor Freight)  I have a wood lathe which I never got running yet, the usual grinders, a dust collection system, and a couple of table saws.  Aside from that there is a useful collection of hand and power tools, spray guns, etc.

A good metal working bench lathe with a set of collets, a vertical mill, and a surface grinder would be great, but probably will never happen.

Charlie V.

Well equipped shop?
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2010, 10:46:00 AM »
Charlie,

Not having a lot of machine tools just means your probably more a mechanic than a fabricator.  I may have more machine tools, but I'm not a machinist by any means.  I can make round things on the lathe and flat things on the mill, but most of what I do is trial and error, plus most of the stuff I do doesn't require exact dimensions to be usable.  Some day I hope to get enough skill to make something that is actually the right dimensions :rolleyes:

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Well equipped shop?
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2010, 11:52:01 AM »
Nice to have some of those fancy machines. I've got some pretty rudimentary and basic tools here including multi speed floor mount drill press, arc welder, chop saw, various grinders. Mostly just stuff needed to do general repairs on the farm and save the 12 mile trip to town or the local machine shop. And its a very good machine shop too so maybe thats why I have relied on it more so than investing in my own.
Whats on my list? Nothing definite although sometimes it would be nice to play around with a wood lathe.
Ralph in Sask.

Well equipped shop?
« Reply #4 on: January 22, 2010, 03:38:11 PM »
Quote from: GeorgeBest;1103
Charlie,

Not having a lot of machine tools just means your probably more a mechanic than a fabricator.


Actually, George, that is not entirely the case.  During the first 15 years of my working career I spent quite a number of hours in the tool room. That was not my job description but in the very early years the company was not large enough to employ a tool maker.  As a shift foreman, if an item needed to be made, it was a go make it situation.  We used to fabricate all of our pick off bushings which were employed to go onto a machined part just prior to cut off of the part to capture it.  The part would then be transferred to another working position (in the bushing or collet) for deburring, slotting, or back drilling as required.  We had no drawings for these items.  It was design it in your head from the part drawing or the part, then go start turning and drilling.  In some ways, that was the fun part of the job.

Prior to the era of gauge certification and traceability to the N.B.S., I made many go/no go gauges and plug Gages for hole inspection, flat gauges for slot inspection, etc. At that time, if the manufactured  parts shipped were to print, the requirement was met. An eighteen wheeler load of certification paperwork was not required with each shipment.  It surely was a simpler time. If some parts on the screw machine  broke, I would repair or make replacements whenever possible to keep a machine in production, rather than waiting days for an oem part to be shipped in.  These items were normally pretty small in size, so I do not claim any talent for building large items or heavy machinery.

I did not have a real need for a tool  room at home, because it was available to me at work.  Retirement does change things.

Charlie V.

Well equipped shop?
« Reply #5 on: January 31, 2010, 10:35:29 AM »
I wish I had a regular sized Bridgeport instead of the lightweight mill I have. Problem is I don't have room to put it anywhere. A nicer lathe would be great but I manage with what I have. An over-head bridge crane would be nice as well. 10 more feet added to the length of the shop would be most helpful.

Well equipped shop?
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2010, 08:58:17 PM »
I am in the same position as John on shop size. My shop is a former sheep barn, 24 wide and 30 long. Has a nice haymow that I have insulated and paneled and built racks for parts storage.

Have a well worn Atlas 6 inch lathe, MIG, arc, and acetylene welder. Floor and bench drill presses, bead blast cabinet, parts washer, metal band saw and post mounted grinder. Valve grinder is in the loft and store my sand blaster and pressure there also.

Also like Charlie when I worked in the factory, I had access to all the tool room machines and good working relationship with the toolmakers and metal fabrication people. Sure miss those special perks.

My job at retirement was working in the tool crib and central stores, so had access to a lot of hardware and tooling. Could borrow any special tools to use at home.

During my 34 years at Rockwell I worked at almost any job there from janitor, assembler, machine operator to maintenance welding and fabricating to machine repairman. Even department supervisor for 6 weeks. Been retired almost 8 years now and have learned to adjust. Still hard to have to go to hardware store to buy bolts.

Gene