New "Shop" - Ramblings and Dreams With a Blank Canvas

[farmersammm]

Sammy,
did you leave off the Clausing lathe on purpose? You know that slowly rotted away in your yard?

It'll sit there till I die. A monument to stupidity.

[Brand X]

It'll sit there till I die. A monument to stupidity.

I understand that one.. The little Logan Lathe I got from Jimmy went down the road before I sold my house.. Still kicking myself over that one.. Sold my Metal Muncher (Replaced) Sold my mint 8450 Clausing) (replaced) Never been able to replace that lathe yet.. Shop was too full, so fits in this thread. I was able to find room this week. Tons of room now, and can fit a decent lathe in there now.. Just no real deals around right now.. Anyway, I shortened my Plasma table to 5X5.5, and it can convert back down the road.. Just need $50 of 80-20 extrusion to show up to finish it. That and a bit of vent pipe.. The blast cabinet was just always in the way.. Most of my tools are put away in cabinets but some stuff does not fit.I even found room for this slotter I picked up a few months ago.. Lathe is a big hole in this shop, but can get things turned easy enough..Just not here.. Little more work to get the slip roll back on it's stand, then I will be done for now..

[Shootr]

Little by little... Ran a few outlets and put up some lighting. Started on a general purpose bench too.

[whtbaron]

So you're saying you can work in there at night and it doesn't fill up with bugs that eat you alive? Man... I need to send you some mosquitoes and snow banks just so you know why we build walls up here...

[whtbaron]

Deleted... duplicate

[whtbaron]

On a more serious note, I'm looking at the wiring between the lights running through the metal trusses... I don't think it should be there. That structure is going to want to shake a little in high winds, and you've got the wires running in a potential pinch point that will eventually wear through the insulation. For now at least slot some PVC tubing and run it over the wire. I think a better option would be to run it under the trusses and attach it with insulated grommets (think surface wiring)... another cost, I know, but it's cheaper than creating your own lightning storm...

[Lis2323]

On a more serious note...*



I think a better option would be to run it under the trusses and attach it with insulated grommets (think surface wiring)... another cost, I know, but it's cheaper than creating your own lightning storm**.

I’m detecting major problems already

*1 seriousness and
**2 a lack of adventure


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[ronsii]

On a more serious note, I'm looking at the wiring between the lights running through the metal trusses... I don't think it should be there. That structure is going to want to shake a little in high winds, and you've got the wires running in a potential pinch point that will eventually wear through the insulation. For now at least slot some PVC tubing and run it over the wire. I think a better option would be to run it under the trusses and attach it with insulated grommets (think surface wiring)... another cost, I know, but it's cheaper than creating your own lightning storm...

While I 'kinda' agree with you on the pinch points because we have a few of that type structure set up... they don't really move that much with the winds... at least in those brace points... and then you have to take into account that these days the made in china fixtures will need replacing long before the cord gets worn through


Lis's response was better than mine

[Shootr]

So you're saying you can work in there at night and it doesn't fill up with bugs that eat you alive? Man... I need to send you some mosquitoes and snow banks just so you know why we build walls up here...

I don't get like clouds of bugs at night, some - but manageable with a bug zapper. Mosquitos seem to be hit or miss: 2 summers ago there were some (and they LOVE my blood type apparently) - but this past summer hardly any at all.

Snow? Pass! As we say, "ya' don't have to shovel sunshine"

Edit: I should've noted - I have a 6pm self-imposed noise curfew in consideration for my awesome neighbors.

[Shootr]

On a more serious note, I'm looking at the wiring between the lights running through the metal trusses... I don't think it should be there. That structure is going to want to shake a little in high winds, and you've got the wires running in a potential pinch point that will eventually wear through the insulation. For now at least slot some PVC tubing and run it over the wire. I think a better option would be to run it under the trusses and attach it with insulated grommets (think surface wiring)... another cost, I know, but it's cheaper than creating your own lightning storm...

I’m detecting major problems already

*1 seriousness and
**2 a lack of adventure


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While I 'kinda' agree with you on the pinch points because we have a few of that type structure set up... they don't really move that much with the winds... at least in those brace points... and then you have to take into account that these days the made in china fixtures will need replacing long before the cord gets worn through


Lis's response was better than mine

While I admit this thing is stiff - I can barely move it when pushing on it - I also took care to leave plenty of slack in those wires. Each light daisy-chains to the next, and the cords are 4ft long each. I gathered the excess cord, zip tied them, and they are laying in the trough of each brace.

The lights are held with glued-on magnets. As was mentioned - it's a pretty good bet the ching chong lights will fail long before there could be a cord issue.

But I'm very happy with the output!

[farmersammm]

I've been looking hard at those $20 LED lights. I need additional light above the mill. I still favor T-8's though. My eyes seem to do better with fluorescent lighting. 4" T-8 strip lights run about the same, but I'm wondering if they'll be obsolete before long.

The very definite upside to the lights you're using, is the wiring issue. Standard fluorescent fixtures have to be hard wired. That can run into some extra bucks.

[smithdoor]

Ok now install the heater for cold snowy days.

Dave

While I admit this thing is stiff - I can barely move it when pushing on it - I also took care to leave plenty of slack in those wires. Each light daisy-chains to the next, and the cords are 4ft long each. I gathered the excess cord, zip tied them, and they are laying in the trough of each brace.

The lights are held with glued-on magnets. As was mentioned - it's a pretty good bet the ching chong lights will fail long before there could be a cord issue.

But I'm very happy with the output!

[Shootr]

I've been looking hard at those $20 LED lights. I need additional light above the mill. I still favor T-8's though. My eyes seem to do better with fluorescent lighting. 4" T-8 strip lights run about the same, but I'm wondering if they'll be obsolete before long.

The very definite upside to the lights you're using, is the wiring issue. Standard fluorescent fixtures have to be hard wired. That can run into some extra bucks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are the ones I bought. The benefits I liked are:

*I can plug one right into the next for easiest set up
*They radiate the light out at 240degrees - very floodlight-esque especially with my white ceiling
*They have a definite "daylight" spectrum, not bluish or warm

Only downside (so far) is if and when they burn out or fail, I'll have to sh!tcan the entire fixture.

Now that being said - I have regular fluorescent fixtures all over this house. I wound up putting these LED bulbs in:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



Uses the existing fixtures, I just yanked out the ballast in each one, redid 2 wires, and these bulbs plug right in and work great.

[whtbaron]

I've got a few of those cheap plug in style LED's in the shop, as well as some hard wired ones and T-8's. I think the older ones are getting up close to 7 yrs old and I haven't had any issues or changed any bulbs yet.

[Lis2323]

I've got a few of those cheap plug in style LED's in the shop, as well as some hard wired ones and T-8's. I think the older ones are getting up close to 7 yrs old and I haven't had any issues or changed any bulbs yet.

I’m pretty much the same. All my T-8’s ( about eight, 8 foot fixtures) are over 20 years old. Changed one ballast and a bunch of tubes.





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[Lis2323]

The cheap "plug in style" work well. Only problem is I can't seem to find them "cheap" like everyone else.




Up in Canada the cheapest I've found was about $90 at Costco for a two pack


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[ronsii]

The cheap "plug in style" work well. Only problem is I can't seem to find them "cheap" like everyone else.

Up in Canada the cheapest I've found was about $90 at Costco for a two pack


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EEEEouch!!!!

I bought a bunch of 4 footers direct from china a year or so ago.... 6/ea. delivered

Haven't seen em' quite that cheap in a while though... was going to get another 12 dozen for some of the other shops.... a couple of the units have a smt led or two going bad so I'll be ripping them down sooner or later to reflow some new led's in if it gets to where they have 7 or 8 bad ones.

[Lis2323]

EEEEouch!!!!

I bought a bunch of 4 footers direct from china a year or so ago.... 6/ea. delivered

Haven't seen em' quite that cheap in a while though... was going to get another 12 dozen for some of the other shops....

Go away...


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[farmersammm]

I might try a LED strip over the compressor, and tool chests. It's not well lit there, and I always have to use a flashlight to find stuff on the floor. It's an area of the shop that I really don't need light all the time..........so it might be a good experiment to see if I like the LED's.

My left eye is so bad that I can barely see out of it these days. I'm losing depth perception because of it. I need all the light I can get just to function. Reading a micrometer has gotten real hard. This last little bit of machining has almost done me in. Screws up your ability to walk too..........no good depth perception, and Sammy tends to totter out of balance once in a while

Not gonna go to any damn eye doc till this pandemic thing is over, or I get my vaccine.

God Only Knows what I'm gonna do when I gotta weld in a few days.

[Shootr]

Ok now install the heater for cold snowy days.

Dave

What is this "snow" you speak of???

[psacustomcreations]

What is this "snow" you speak of???

That is the stuff which shows up in your area after you have been hit a hurricane or tornado. Due to your location, you are just as likely to be hit one of the three. If you are really, really lucky, you will get all three at once.

[Shootr]

That is the stuff which shows up in your area after you have been hit a hurricane or tornado. Due to your location, you are just as likely to be hit one of the three. If you are really, really lucky, you will get all three at once.

So like a dust storm, except white and colder? Ahhh, got it!

That's why I kind of splurged on the equipment covers - sand and dust. More of that than rain to worry about around here.

[smithdoor]

I had my welders inside and just pull the cords outside for welding.
Where I live do get some dust but nothing like Arizona.

Dave

So like a dust storm, except white and colder? Ahhh, got it!

That's why I kind of splurged on the equipment covers - sand and dust. More of that than rain to worry about around here.

[bigb]

That sure looks a lot like Tucson, Aleppo pines and all. Why don't you rig up a welding curtain across the ends to help hide stuff, plus if a thief sees welding flashes at night he will know there's tools in there. Plus it will cut down on the cold, icy wind on days like today where it barely got over 60. Also for the wiring MC cable works great in a shop, not as easily damaged or burnt and it looks a lot better than plastic conduit. Of course EMT is best but more time to do.
If you are in Tucson you might be interested in a big swamp cooler for the summer, I have a nearly new 6,500 on wheels that I used at construction job sites that I was going to sell now that I am retired. It has a trailer to move it.

[bigb]

Oh and we do have snow, we just believe in keeping it out of the way on top of the mountain.