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Finally time to pull the trigger . . . starting on the New (much anticipated) SHOP - Build

The cold front came though here during the night.....both gauges out under the carport have different readings but they always do. The alcohol gauge said 34 and the digital had 36 but there was some very thing ice on the cover of a water trough that's back there too (my red neck pool).
Not as bad as us in Va, 8” of snow and temps in the 20s during the day with a 15 mph wind. Come on spring
 
Not as bad as us in Va, 8” of snow and temps in the 20s during the day with a 15 mph wind. Come on spring
The weather guessers are predicting 27 low tomorrow morning then 26 and then 16 for Wednesday and snow/icy mix for Tuesday. The week will be warming up starting Thursday with 24/42 and 28/49 Friday and Saturday will be a blistering heat wave @ 36/65 lol. Welcome to Texas :lol:
 
Wish that was in our forcast. Haighs in single digits this week. We are getting hammered this year for some reason
 
Wish that was in our forcast. Haighs in single digits this week. We are getting hammered this year for some reason
Supposedly a huge dome of cold air over the North Pole and high pressure pushing it down. There's a low pressure to the south and a bit west of Texas that's helping it come further south. The weather guessers are saying 16 degrees for a low out here on Wednesday....
 
All of the windows are now installed . . . The lookout is now completed ! ! !

Finally - got all the windows installed this past weekend . . . Love it ! !

The look of the silo lookout from the ground . . . really happy with the results !

sm_shop1645.jpg


This is a really tough picture to take in such a small space . . . tried the best that I could . . . but it still is a
pretty impressive resulting shot . . .

sm_shop1646.jpg


The climb up the last ladder to the loft ( lookout ) . . . this is what you see . . . still need to make the "door" that
will cover the hole in the floor so you can walk around the entire loft area . . . future project . . .

sm_shop1647.jpg


The loft area still has some siding work that needs to be done to get it completed, and I'm trying to decide about
running the siding the same way, or switching the top section up to lap siding . . .

not sure what will be the decision . . .

Either way - there is still a bit of work and it's at a very high height . . . working out of windows . . . should be "fun"

More Later . . .
 
All of the windows are now installed . . . The lookout is now completed ! ! !

Finally - got all the windows installed this past weekend . . . Love it ! !

The look of the silo lookout from the ground . . . really happy with the results !

View attachment 1793354

This is a really tough picture to take in such a small space . . . tried the best that I could . . . but it still is a
pretty impressive resulting shot . . .

View attachment 1793355

The climb up the last ladder to the loft ( lookout ) . . . this is what you see . . . still need to make the "door" that
will cover the hole in the floor so you can walk around the entire loft area . . . future project . . .

View attachment 1793356

The loft area still has some siding work that needs to be done to get it completed, and I'm trying to decide about
running the siding the same way, or switching the top section up to lap siding . . .

not sure what will be the decision . . .

Either way - there is still a bit of work and it's at a very high height . . . working out of windows . . . should be "fun"

More Later . . .
Hopefully you have noticed the inside is a lot warmer now with everything all closed in. :thumbsup:

Kind of makes me wish I could live somewhere that you can build what you like when you want. :)
 
read all the way thru Page 18
will comment after I'm done, so far so good

I'm not trying to be a negative nancy, was a builder for 35 years

just a couple observations so far

I know it's near done by now too, your not going to tear it down
no matter what I saw/say...

looks great & a good design wise, you're a damn hard worker
didn't choose the easy way yet, great work ethic too

But;

cold pours, small batches & strength of bag concrete (?) in the foundation footing is a ? deal...
maybe an OK deal there

(you having this inspected by building inspectors, a building permit,
reg. inspections by the city or county (Maybe I missed it) you don't have to answer,
just me talking & an observation, depth of the footer is a big deal out here too,
especially for a 2 story building on soil)

But we can't build/pour concrete like that out here, not saying it won't work
just question the strength of the concrete & small pours at a time
other than that so far, I don't see any real issues

there's hundred if not thousands of building that were built prior to that stuff
still standing today, some is good some is way overbuilding for what if's
even here in earthquake country

sorry not to distract for/from the great thread,
1st I seen of it
not sure where I was all this time...

looking great too, a lot of hand work, hard work
 
Last edited:
Coldest Winter in years, and some new equipment - getting it into the shop . . . busy, busy, busy . . .

As usual, things around here are non stop and always keeping me hopping . . . but making progress . . .

First of all - the windows are all in and the final push to get the siding installed around the windows . . .
It's not very fun in the cold while hanging out of the window . . . but it continues . . . looking good . . .

sm_shop1648.jpg


We're experiencing the coldest Winter that NC has had in years and that has been keeping me very busy with
getting firewood - plus needing to get caught up with all the logs that are around that need splitting . . .
This is the firewood shed that is used . . .

sm_shop1649.jpg


The thing contains 4 rows of wood - in different stages of seasoning . . . but we've been using a good bit . . .

sm_shop1650.jpg


So recently, was introduced to a gentleman that has a big shop, and he's got a couple machines that he's no
longer using - and was looking for a good home for them. Needs the room to upgrade to newer machines . . .
This was the first one that was picked up and brought to the shop . . . but it's HEAVY . . .

sm_shop1651.jpg


So I had to call a friend and send in the reinforcements . . . and he obliged and sent this . . .

sm_shop1652.jpg


And it picked this thing up like it was nothing . . . what a beast ! ! !

sm_shop1653.jpg


And the new machine - a twin head Bridgeport "duplicating" machine . . . got a lot to learn about this thing . . .

sm_shop1654.jpg


It did show a bit of wear and tear for the years that it has been used . . . and needed some TCL . . . so let the
cleanup begin . . .

sm_shop1655.jpg


And that is progressing quite nicely . . . Mineral Spirits is doing it's job . . .

sm_shop1656.jpg


Coming soon . . . the second machine has arrived a t the shop . . . and last but not least, the 3rd machine will
be heading this way shortly . . .

Can't wait to share them with you . . . it's a blessing to get these things added to my shop . . . . now I've got
to get this thing done so that I can spend some time using them and having some FUN ! ! !

More Later . . .
 
Coldest Winter in years, and some new equipment - getting it into the shop . . . busy, busy, busy . . .

As usual, things around here are non stop and always keeping me hopping . . . but making progress . . .

First of all - the windows are all in and the final push to get the siding installed around the windows . . .
It's not very fun in the cold while hanging out of the window . . . but it continues . . . looking good . . .

View attachment 1815127

We're experiencing the coldest Winter that NC has had in years and that has been keeping me very busy with
getting firewood - plus needing to get caught up with all the logs that are around that need splitting . . .
This is the firewood shed that is used . . .

View attachment 1815128

The thing contains 4 rows of wood - in different stages of seasoning . . . but we've been using a good bit . . .

View attachment 1815129

So recently, was introduced to a gentleman that has a big shop, and he's got a couple machines that he's no
longer using - and was looking for a good home for them. Needs the room to upgrade to newer machines . . .
This was the first one that was picked up and brought to the shop . . . but it's HEAVY . . .

View attachment 1815130

So I had to call a friend and send in the reinforcements . . . and he obliged and sent this . . .

View attachment 1815131

And it picked this thing up like it was nothing . . . what a beast ! ! !

View attachment 1815132

And the new machine - a twin head Bridgeport "duplicating" machine . . . got a lot to learn about this thing . . .

View attachment 1815133

It did show a bit of wear and tear for the years that it has been used . . . and needed some TCL . . . so let the
cleanup begin . . .

View attachment 1815134

And that is progressing quite nicely . . . Mineral Spirits is doing it's job . . .

View attachment 1815135

Coming soon . . . the second machine has arrived a t the shop . . . and last but not least, the 3rd machine will
be heading this way shortly . . .

Can't wait to share them with you . . . it's a blessing to get these things added to my shop . . . . now I've got
to get this thing done so that I can spend some time using them and having some FUN ! ! !

More Later . . .
Envious on the machines. BTW, my dad was born in Concord, myself in Charlotte, long time ago lol.
 
And Now . . . the second machine gets to the shop . . . interesting . . .

Now, you get to see all the situations that were encountered and how they were solved along the
way to allow this machine to get into the shop . . . The second machine - LeBlonde lathe.

Now when he told me that he had a lathe - I was thinking ok . . . pick it up, get it to the
shop, unload it . . . "easy peasy" . . . ( right ) . . . till I got there and saw the lathe . . . Oh Boy ! ! !

First of all - this thing is massive - it's about 15' long ( no, it has not been measured yet )
First of all we got it loaded on the trailer . . .

sm_shop1657.jpg


Then the realization . . . that the only way to get in into the shop was to back the trailer in and pull it off . . .
Nice and simple . . . lets get to it . . . but metal sliding on wood . . . does not work very well . . . so it's time to
make a "sled" to assist in the sliding . . .

sm_shop1658.jpg


and the front edge of the "sled" was rounded off to help it not dig into the wood but slide on top . . . ( Uh, hope . . . )

sm_shop1659.jpg


Next problem . . . how does one get the "sled" under the headstock . . . . break out the floor jack . . .

sm_shop1660.jpg


Lift it up . . . ( keep your fingers not going underneath ) . . . get the sled under, and set it back down . . .
And . . . just like that . . . we're ready to go . . . ( ok - not quite that easy - but it's done ) . . .

sm_shop1661.jpg


Then it comes time to back the trailer into the shop . . . and the next problem surfaces . . . this door is 8' wide,
and the trailer lights are 7' 11" wide . . . so about 1/2" of clearance on each side and trying to get this HEAVY
trailer and lathe aligned up and "into" the opening . . . sheesh . . .

sm_shop1662.jpg


Took a bit to get there . . . but it got done . . . the fenders . . . were NOT going to make it . . .

sm_shop1663.jpg


Then with the help of the forklift, the lathe was slid back off the trailer . . . this went really ( pretty ) well - until
it came to the piece of plywood that was screwed on the top of the trailer . . . so I slid another piece of plywood
under the sled and over the plywood - and made a "little jump" to assist . . . and it WORKED !

sm_shop1664.jpg


The "hope" was - then pick it up with the forklift and we're done . . . except that the forklift could not lift it off
the trailer ( not sure if it was the angle, or the machine, or the weight ) so yet "another" solution was needed . . .
So along comes the cherry picker ( from my red-neck wrecker ) . . . and it's in the air . . . and time to pull the
trailer "out" . . . remember that 1/2" clearance . . . it moved and I fought with getting it back over and out . . .

sm_shop1665.jpg


And with the darkness of the night upon us . . . it got put on the ground ( broke one of the wheels off the Cherry
Picker - could not let it down slowly - Oooops ) . . . and all the way into the shop . . . talk about a tight fit . . .

sm_shop1666.jpg


My full day of adventure was finally over . . . no injuries ( except the Cherry Picker ) and (2) of the (3) pieces of
equipment are now at the shop . . . will be able to turn a telephone pole with this thing ! ! !

Equipment (3), as of this writing, is not yet in the shop and has not been picked up . . . yet . . .

More Later . . .
 
And Now . . . the second machine gets to the shop . . . interesting . . .

Now, you get to see all the situations that were encountered and how they were solved along the
way to allow this machine to get into the shop . . . The second machine - LeBlonde lathe.

Now when he told me that he had a lathe - I was thinking ok . . . pick it up, get it to the
shop, unload it . . . "easy peasy" . . . ( right ) . . . till I got there and saw the lathe . . . Oh Boy ! ! !

First of all - this thing is massive - it's about 15' long ( no, it has not been measured yet )
First of all we got it loaded on the trailer . . .

View attachment 1816524

Then the realization . . . that the only way to get in into the shop was to back the trailer in and pull it off . . .
Nice and simple . . . lets get to it . . . but metal sliding on wood . . . does not work very well . . . so it's time to
make a "sled" to assist in the sliding . . .

View attachment 1816525

and the front edge of the "sled" was rounded off to help it not dig into the wood but slide on top . . . ( Uh, hope . . . )

View attachment 1816526

Next problem . . . how does one get the "sled" under the headstock . . . . break out the floor jack . . .

View attachment 1816527

Lift it up . . . ( keep your fingers not going underneath ) . . . get the sled under, and set it back down . . .
And . . . just like that . . . we're ready to go . . . ( ok - not quite that easy - but it's done ) . . .

View attachment 1816528

Then it comes time to back the trailer into the shop . . . and the next problem surfaces . . . this door is 8' wide,
and the trailer lights are 7' 11" wide . . . so about 1/2" of clearance on each side and trying to get this HEAVY
trailer and lathe aligned up and "into" the opening . . . sheesh . . .

View attachment 1816529

Took a bit to get there . . . but it got done . . . the fenders . . . were NOT going to make it . . .

View attachment 1816530

Then with the help of the forklift, the lathe was slid back off the trailer . . . this went really ( pretty ) well - until
it came to the piece of plywood that was screwed on the top of the trailer . . . so I slid another piece of plywood
under the sled and over the plywood - and made a "little jump" to assist . . . and it WORKED !

View attachment 1816531

The "hope" was - then pick it up with the forklift and we're done . . . except that the forklift could not lift it off
the trailer ( not sure if it was the angle, or the machine, or the weight ) so yet "another" solution was needed . . .
So along comes the cherry picker ( from my red-neck wrecker ) . . . and it's in the air . . . and time to pull the
trailer "out" . . . remember that 1/2" clearance . . . it moved and I fought with getting it back over and out . . .

View attachment 1816532

And with the darkness of the night upon us . . . it got put on the ground ( broke one of the wheels off the Cherry
Picker - could not let it down slowly - Oooops ) . . . and all the way into the shop . . . talk about a tight fit . . .

View attachment 1816533

My full day of adventure was finally over . . . no injuries ( except the Cherry Picker ) and (2) of the (3) pieces of
equipment are now at the shop . . . will be able to turn a telephone pole with this thing ! ! !

Equipment (3), as of this writing, is not yet in the shop and has not been picked up . . . yet . . .

More Later . . .
Had something similar, a 14’ wood lathe made in 1877 all cast iron, dude I sold it to made dolly’s to go under head part and foot. I picked it up with a fork lift, then they wheeled it over to the to door. Then wenched up on a big roll back. I Had 15 big pieces of machinery and could have not moved them without that forklift, cost me $2300 rent for a month but worth it.
 
It’s always “something “ that waylays the plan! Glad you got it in.
 
Now for the next part of the project . . . been very worried about doing . . .

Now - a bit ( more than a bit ) nervous . . . about getting the panels mounted to the
walls and start connecting the wires for power to the shop . . . Worked on the layout
and try and make sure that no errors are made . . .

Figure out how they will line up . . . inside and outside . . .

sm_shop1675.jpg


Worked out the alignment . . . and get the pipe that connects the meter base to the cut off switch inside the shop
Everything is lining up a the connection is looking good ! ! !

sm_shop1669.jpg


Go outside - and get the meter base on the outside of the shop mounted to the wall and get the connecting
conduit properly mounted into the meter base . . . and it's looking GOOD ! ! !

sm_shop1667.jpg


Alright . . . progress is being made . . . and it's looking good . . . alright ! ! !

sm_shop1668.jpg


Next set the cut off switch inside the shop and get it mounted to the wall . . . well, at least that was the "intent"
Then . . . find out the conduit is not in the correct spot - WHAT went wrong . . . On the top right of the board,
you'll see another hole - it's a hole for a bolt to hold the panel in place . . .
( picked the WRONG hole to drill the hole . . . should have been the on with the connector shown below . . .
ARGH ! ! !

sm_shop1670.jpg


The hole was drilled with the wrong hole in the board - and needs to move a couple inches down and right . . .
as seen in the picture below . . . ( sigh ) . . . so . . . time to fix up my mess . . .

sm_shop1671.jpg


Got the meter base pulled off the outside of the shop . . . fixed the hole(s) - re-drilled the hole for the connecting
conduit . . . and got the meter base mounted outside . . . for the second time . . .

sm_shop1672.jpg


Fed the wires through the wall and got the meter base connected . . .

sm_shop1673.jpg


Then . . . back to the inside cut off switch and get it all connected as well . . . and BOY is this stuff hard to work
with . . . and get it to bend as needed to make these connections . . .

sm_shop1674.jpg


And the inside cut off switch is now connected to the meter base . . .

sm_shop1676.jpg


Next - to get the conduit routed and in place for the wires that will go to the 200 Amp panel . . .

Hopefully this one might go a little smoother than what happened with the fist part . . .

More Later . . .


Do you have 3 phase wiring, or a you going to use inverters?

Yes - 208 Y - 3 phase power will be feeding the shop . . .
 
Larry, the person that never makes mistakes is the person that never does anything. What irritates the hell out of me are the mistakes that I can’t cover up. Measure twice, cut once? Bulls hit, I can measure a dozen times and still put the hole in the wrong place. I enjoy your posts.
 
One good thing I like about being in NC, not only is there a meter box outside but also a disconnect box. I was told this was for emergency shut off in case of fire or damage of some sort. I wish this was the case in Va, was a time I would’ve turned my main power off to work on the panel, luckily I got around the issues without having to call the power company to shut it down at the pole.
 
Larry, the person that never makes mistakes is the person that never does anything. What irritates the hell out of me are the mistakes that I can’t cover up. Measure twice, cut once? Bulls hit, I can measure a dozen times and still put the hole in the wrong place. I enjoy your posts.
Always heard that the greatest tradesmen are the ones that cover their mistakes the best. Mistakes are HOW ONE LEARNS, we don’t always take the right path the first time.
 
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