Introduction and pics of home garage/shop

zmotorsports · Oct 20, 2009

ZMotorsports 34x34 Shop

My name is Mike and I am a new member who has been lurking for a while and have been very impressed with the workshops and projects on this board. I am a mechanic by trade who works as a mechanic/foreman for a large warehouse distribution center and my wife, son and I also have a small business where we work on anything with an engine. I do quite a lot of custom fabrication as well as hi-po engines and transmissions and would love to someday work on exclusive high end projects but until then I pretty much work and anything and everything. I enjoy talking shop and enjoy talking with others who have similiar interests.

I have attached pics of my humble little home/shop. The first pic is of the garage attached to my house and the second picture is of the detached shop in the back yard. The third picture is the gate that my son and I made last year seperating the front/back yard. The remaining pictures are of the inside of our workshop. It is a 34' X 34' shop that we run our small business out of. Over the years I have been forturnate to have enough work/business to buy good quality tools which will hopefully last me a lifetime and be able to pass on to my son. Thank you for looking. Mike.

From the street looking back towards the shop.

One of my favorite views. From the back yard under our shade trees looking towards the house.

Looking into the shop.

ratz · Oct 20, 2009

Hey Mike.
I am a new member here too. I have been lurking for a bit.
I like your shop. It is a nice medium between the far ends of the spectrum you find on this board. Some shops are full of clutter, and are still functional. some are so..... sano, its a wonder any work ever gets done in them.
Its a nice mix you have. I particularly like the tubing bender, parts washer, and a lathe. I could really use the first two, but a lathe is one of those things you don't always need, but like the other excesses we indulge in, it is fun to play with experement with, and once in a while turn out something cool.
The shop looks sharp, don't change a thing.

larryv · Oct 20, 2009

Welcome, looks like you have everything covered. Now that's a garage!

A_Pmech · Oct 20, 2009

Welcome!

Clean, well organized setup you have there. No doubt, it's a pleasure to work in. Judging by the gate, you make some nice stuff in that space. :thumbup:

Inquiring minds need more info on the 4-wheeler.

zmotorsports · Oct 20, 2009

Thanks for the comments. As far as the lathe goes, I agree, when I am not using it I have a hard time looking at it due to the investment. However, when I do need it, it is worth its weight in gold. It is not a high end one by any means but as long as the work is held tightly and securely and you don't rely on the markings on the dials and use dial indicators I have been able to machine to some fairly tight tolerances and consistantly. I just upgraded my bender to a hydraulic ram instead of the manual pull bar that it came with. I have build a few ATV chassis and a couple of sandrail modifications with it but it was time to upgrade to the hydraulic ram. I try to keep everything as clean as possible even when working but it is not a very large shop so sometimes it gets a little more cluttered than I would like it so I have to stop and clean before I loose my sanity. Mike.

JohnK007 · Oct 20, 2009

Very nice shop Mike. You have some excellent tools and shop equipment. Tell me about the lighted hood over your grinder. In a way it looks like the lighted cover that goes over an aquarium. I happen to have one sitting in storage and you may have given me an idea on what to do with it.

tigmusky · Oct 20, 2009

welcome , looks like a pretty cool place to do some work!!!!
I got to ask ...... with a shop like that in utah...... how many wifes do you have. lol sorry I had to.

Daye

zmotorsports · Oct 20, 2009

JohnK007 said:
Very nice shop Mike. You have some excellent tools and shop equipment. Tell me about the lighted hood over your grinder. In a way it looks like the lighted cover that goes over an aquarium. I happen to have one sitting in storage and you may have given me an idea on what to do with it.

It is a Baldor grinder and the light actually came with it. I bought it at a yard sale about 15 years ago. Mike.

zmotorsports · Oct 20, 2009

tigmusky said:
welcome , looks like a pretty cool place to do some work!!!!
I got to ask ...... with a shop like that in utah...... how many wifes do you have. lol sorry I had to.

Daye

Only one. I couldn't handle another one any more than that. She is awesome though, she is someone who always encourages me to improve my skills and knowledge and doesn't mind whenever I have had to purchase tools. I would literally be nothing without her. Mike.

RAYJAY · Apr 26, 2011

welcome to the boards , and more info on the lathe? looks to be a 2in one unit

jeff

intimadatorsquizz · Apr 26, 2011

very nice place... lots of cool tools as well

ishiboo · Apr 26, 2011

RAYJAY said:
welcome to the boards , and more info on the lathe? looks to be a 2in one unit

jeff

You're about 2 years too late for a "welcome"...

Scuderia-F1 · Apr 26, 2011

Nice shop! Would really like to see some more pics now when the 2 post is installed (spotted the pics in the other thread), would really like to see what's in the Snap-on boxes too.

Scoutman · Apr 26, 2011

Very nice fab shop. Lots of good equipment in there and I too was eye-ing the guard on the grinder too. Very clean and tidy, but very workable at the same time.

Mikie · Apr 26, 2011

That's really nice Mike, great use of space too. I'm definitely jealous

DIC · Apr 27, 2011

Very nice... Looks like a serious fab shop............ :thumbup:

zmotorsports · Jul 4, 2011

Thanks for your comments guys. I had overlooked this thread as I didn't realize it had new comments/activity.

Attached is a picture of my Ammco 2-post lift installed with my Jeep on it. I really like the two-post lift and should have installed one when I built the shop. It is so much more productive than lying on my back working.

Mike.

richashley · Jul 4, 2011

Nice shop, Mike.

rburke65 · Jul 4, 2011

Tell me about the lift, please?....10k#?, 7k#? $$$??? Made in the states? How tall are your walls? Thanks Mike....nice place.

zmotorsports · Jul 5, 2011

rburke65 said:
Tell me about the lift, please?....10k#?, 7k#? $$$??? Made in the states? How tall are your walls? Thanks Mike....nice place.

Thanks, the lift is an Ammco CV210s model, 10k pound lift. Ammco has what they call their 2n1 style which has a shorter three stage front arm and a two stage rear arm so vehicles can be lifted either symmetrically or asymmetrically depending on the vehicle. It is also ALI certified.

It is made in the states out of the same manufacturing facility as Challenger lifts. The components are from oversees however. Overall I am very pleased with this lift. I looked at quite a few and although there are many good ones out there unforturnately there are a lot of junk ones as well that I wouldn't trust myself or my son working under.

My ceilings are 14' tall and the lifts overall height is 12'6" at the setting I have it at.

Mike.

chris fresh · Jul 5, 2011

7th pic down,shifter kart tire? using it on a kart or wheelie bar? i've got a kart and we also use them on our drag banshee's.

zmotorsports · Jul 5, 2011

RAYJAY said:
welcome to the boards , and more info on the lathe? looks to be a 2in one unit

jeff

Sorry, I overlooked this.

It is a Smithy Lathe/Mill/Drill setup. They make two models, a smaller unit that is approx. 20" between lathe centers and a larger unit that is 39" between headstock and tailstock as well as it has a larger mill table.

It is not made for production work but works great for the one-off stuff that I fabricate and takes up much less room than two seperate units.

Mike.

zmotorsports · Jul 5, 2011

chris fresh said:
7th pic down,shifter kart tire? using it on a kart or wheelie bar? i've got a kart and we also use them on our drag banshee's.

I bought several of them used from a local guy that races karts that I have done some work for. I use them for wheelie bars for our sand drag quads.

Mike.

mckeown22 · Jul 5, 2011

Very Neat!
What is the frame sitting on the stand?

zmotorsports · Jul 6, 2011

mckeown22 said:
Very Neat!
What is the frame sitting on the stand?

A new sand quad chassis we are building my son. It will be powered by a Suzuki LT500 engine, Shearer drag pipe, Skat-Trak Taller Hauler paddles. The chassis is all 4130 chromoly tubing of 1", .875" and .750".

Mike.

robn69 · Nov 28, 2012

Love it! Pretty much how I want my new shop to look some day!

rev177 · Dec 6, 2012

zmotorsports said:
A new sand quad chassis we are building my son. It will be powered by a Suzuki LT500 engine, Shearer drag pipe, Skat-Trak Taller Hauler paddles. The chassis is all 4130 chromoly tubing of 1", .875" and .750".

Mike.

You know what Polaris stands for right

P.S Nice shop!

zmotorsports · Jan 23, 2013

Thought I would update this since I added a new piece of equipment. The last major addition was the Ammco 10k pound two-post lift which has been a very worthwhile addition.

I decided it was time to upsize my drill press. I have recently ran into a couple of issues with my Wilton 15" floor mounted drill press not having enough throat or swing for some larger jobs that had come into the shop. I have been looking and finally decided to take the plunge. I really wanted a U.S. made drill press but realisitically couldn't afford one. I have had pretty good results with my Wilton as well as the bench mounted Jet we have at work. One of the first mods I did to my Wilton when I bought it back in 1995 was to upgrade the el cheapo chuck with a Jacobs. For the past 17 years this drill press had served me well so I put it up for sale and sold it to the first guy to come and look at it. He seemed ecstatic to buy it.

I ended up purchasing a Jet 20" floor mounted drill press and immediately upgrading to a 5/8" capacity ball bearing Jacobs chuck right off the bat. The drill press seems pretty well built and it definately heavier and more stable than the smaller footpring of my Wilton 15". One thing to note is that my son and I are a little taller than the average person, me being 6'2" and my son 6'5". I had raised my Wilton off of the ground 6" additional about ten or so years ago because my back would bother me when hunched over for extended periods of time.

I immediately decided to do the same thing to this one prior to even putting it into service.

Here it is upon first assembly.

Machining and trueing up a piece of 4"x .250"x 5" long tubing.

Here are two 7" diameter x .5" plate that I cut and drilled holes to match up with the base and column of the new drill press.

Welded together and painted with a wrinkle finish semi-gloss black paint to match the base of the drill press. This will give me a 6" rise.

Bolted together.

Standing in its' new home. Although this picture is prior to bolting in the spacer it is now the perfect height with the drill chuck right at 53" from the floor. Originally it was 47" floor to chuck.

Mike.

SiGmA_X · Jan 23, 2013

I love your shop and work Mike. Keep up the solid work!

a-fordable · Jan 23, 2013

Nice!

zmotorsports · Jan 23, 2013

SiGmA_X said:
I love your shop and work Mike. Keep up the solid work!

a-fordable said:
Nice!

Thanks guys. I appreciate it.

Mike.

e-tek · Apr 26, 2013

Fantastic work on that spacer. That's the level of work I like to do on cars....but I'd likely have put my press on an old box! You've inspired me to fix a few things around my shop.

c0r3y.af · Apr 26, 2013

Nice work! I wish I had the amount of space you have. Jealous of your lift too! Working on the ground is a real back breaker.

zmotorsports · Apr 26, 2013

e-tek said:
Fantastic work on that spacer. That's the level of work I like to do on cars....but I'd likely have put my press on an old box! You've inspired me to fix a few things around my shop.

Thanks for the compliments Ed. It is nice to have people recognize the time/efforts that go into something.

c0r3y.af said:
Nice work! I wish I had the amount of space you have. Jealous of your lift too! Working on the ground is a real back breaker.

Thanks. I really wish I had more room/bigger shop. I just can't justify going into debt again for another home to build a bigger shop. I think about it once in a while but don't have the balls to do it.

Mike.

foreverfalcon40 · Sep 5, 2013

Beautiful, looking forward to it!

zmotorsports · Nov 17, 2014

I haven't updated my shop pictures in a while so I thought I would throw up some current ones showing off my new lathe and mill as well as how I have it arranged.

I finally got around to fabricating a new bench grinder stand. The original one had me either bending over or kneeling down it was so short. I don't know why I waited 15+ years to make it comfortable to use. Here it is with my newly organized metal stock in the background and nestled between the Jet 20" floor mounted drill press and the Wilton 6x48 belt/12" disc sander. These have been relocated to where my old Smithy used to reside.

In August my new Precision Mathews PM1340GT lathe finally showed up and here it is all assembled along with some modifications that I did to it to make it more user friendly and personal.

Around the first of September my new mill showed up. It is a Precision Mathews PM935TV 3 HP variable speed milling machine. Here it is with some modifications to make it more efficient and personal as well. I machined and added the power drawbar and the base in which is sits on to get it up to a comfortable working height.

From the man door looking in at the machining and welding portion of the shop.

From the man door looking over towards the automotive portion of the shop with the Ammco 10k pound two-post lift.

And finally looking in from the large rollup door over towards the motorcycle and machining/welding portion of the shop.

Mike.

1953mercury · Nov 17, 2014

Very nicely outfitted and organized shop. I like the way you have all the tooling set up for your lathe. What part of Utah are you in? I'm in North west CO and get up to Utah on occasion. Some pretty country up that way. Mike

metalhead140 · Nov 17, 2014

Great shop, I like it a lot!

zmotorsports · Nov 17, 2014

1953mercury said:
Very nicely outfitted and organized shop. I like the way you have all the tooling set up for your lathe. What part of Utah are you in? I'm in North west CO and get up to Utah on occasion. Some pretty country up that way. Mike

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. I am between Ogden and Salt Lake City about 4-miles west of I-15. I agree about Utah's scenery. I love living in Utah.

metalhead140 said:
Great shop, I like it a lot!

Thank you.

Mike.

A_Pmech · Nov 17, 2014

Looking good, Mike!

I keep meaning to put a backsplash on my lathe. I have the material, just need the motivation!

Enjoy putting the first scratch in each of them. :evil:

Introduction and pics of home garage/shop

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