Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Made By Miller Studios

[Bears Fan]

Great transformation on your shop! Very cool work space and equipment

 

[MadeByMiller]

Nice shop and really nice to see the progression from then to now.

Looking at your user name, I was surprised to see red machines in your shop.
The Burr King is a monster, don't ever get rid of it.

Nice to see real fab work done in a small shop.

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed seeing the evolution! On the Lincoln, yeah I get that a lot. My name is Austin Miller, that's where Made By Miller comes from. I used Miller machines all through my career as an employee, but when I started my business I purchased that old Powermig 255 from the original owner - my dad. That's the first machine I ever welded with, so it will always be special to me. Runs great, very comparable the Miller 252's I ran most. Thank you for your comments.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Great transformation on your shop! Very cool work space and equipment

Thank you sir!

 

[bugnut]

Very nice shop and your work looks great.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Very nice shop and your work looks great.

Thank you!

 

[Bodj Built]

Great to see you make a thread over here! Been following you (and asked questions a few times) on IG for a while now!

 

[MadeByMiller]

Great to see you make a thread over here! Been following you (and asked questions a few times) on IG for a while now!

Thanks man! I'm not sure how much crossover there is between platforms, but I'm glad to see someone else here from IG. I love this forum for nerding out on shop design and layout, so I thought I would throw up my little slice of heaven as sort of a virtual scrapbook. It was fun to drive down memory lane as I went through the history and progression of the shop.

 

[GrayFlattop]

Nice results maximizing the space that you have!

I predict that your shop will continue to grow. First the air compressor shed, then the addition for the 10' shear, then...

 

[MadeByMiller]

Nice results maximizing the space that you have!

I predict that your shop will continue to grow. First the air compressor shed, then the addition for the 10' shear, then...

Thank you! I really enjoy the challenge of making the most of the space I have. As far as an addition - it's possible someday. It's not necessary at the moment and honestly there are other much more important home improvement projects to spend our time and money on. If I do add on though, I have a pretty good idea of how I would anyways...

 

[MadeByMiller]

I spent some time today slowly chipping away at the shop and new workbench model in Fusion 360. I drew up my mig welder so that I could get it in position under the new bench, and added some other details to the shop like garage door rails and a mock up of my shop press I got off GrabCad. I like to have fun with renderings, so here's what I came up with today:

 

[hardtop5000]

There's a wealth of fuel for the imagination here, Austin. Thanks for taking the time to include all the photographs and renders.

I really liked the look of the original timber interior but I understand it's impractical for a full-time factory in a cold place.

 

[MadeByMiller]

There's a wealth of fuel for the imagination here, Austin. Thanks for taking the time to include all the photographs and renders.

I really liked the look of the original timber interior but I understand it's impractical for a full-time factory in a cold place.

Thanks for stopping by! I much prefer the finished interior for a myriad of reasons, but I suppose it had a charm to it before.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Couldn't sleep tonight, so I kept messing around with the shop model. This time I just focused on exterior stuff and landscaping. Totally unnecessary but I really enjoy doing it.

 

[MadeByMiller]

In order to finish the workbench design I needed to get my TIG welder modeled up too. Water cooler is up next.

 

[MadeByMiller]

And mocked up in the shop model:

 

[racer-john]

Looking good.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Looking good.

Thank you

 

[MadeByMiller]

Got the cooler modeled up as well.

 

[colt zantop]

Nice place. I like the restorations even better though! How cool to recreate your first vehicle into a toy replica! And the peddle car rocks too. Nice work

 

[MadeByMiller]

Nice place. I like the restorations even better though! How cool to recreate your first vehicle into a toy replica! And the peddle car rocks too. Nice work

Thank you! I really enjoyed those projects, and certainly plan to do more in the future. Thanks for stopping by

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I really enjoyed going through you thread. You’ve got quite the skills!

PLEASE don’t take my comments as criticism because they’re not but my OCD has me asking why you didn’t paint the compressor shed the same green to match the garage? On sort of the same subject, when you cleaned up your vise and sander is there any reason why you only cleaned and didn’t re-paint them?

Last comment, maybe I missed it but what happened to your 2nd welding bench?

 

[MadeByMiller]

I really enjoyed going through you thread. You’ve got quite the skills!

PLEASE don’t take my comments as criticism because they’re not but my OCD has me asking why you didn’t paint the compressor shed the same green to match the garage? On sort of the same subject, when you cleaned up your vise and sander is there any reason why you only cleaned and didn’t re-paint them?

Last comment, maybe I missed it but what happened to your 2nd welding bench?

Dan,
Thank you for taking the time to read through my thread and leave the nice comment, I appreciate the questions.

On the compressor shed - I painted it black for a couple reasons. The trim is black on the other buildings, so it still coordinates fine. The main reason is that eventually we are planning on either painting or re-siding the buildings either black or some other very dark shade of color that's nearly black. This was sort of a small test run to see if we would be okay with that.

The tools - I didn't paint them for a few reasons. Painting them would have significantly increased the time spent on the projects because I cant just paint things, I have to totally disassemble them and do a full restoration on them in order to satisfy my compulsions. Often I have to stop myself before I get too deep into projects like that. Another reason being that I actually like the way they look now that they're cleaned up. I don't mind that they show some use, so long as they don't look like I just pulled them out of a scrap pile. The paint is only original once! Underlying all of this is the fact that I really don't like painting things to be honest.

Last answer - The second welding table with the beefy cast iron base was sold immediately after acquiring the BuildPro fixture table. It was an awesome table, and space permitting I would have kept it. The .5" plate top was about as flat as a golf course (just the nature of plate steel) and that always frustrated me when building larger projects on it. The cast base was very cool, but the leg design was not conducive to storing anything significant underneath it which rules out valuable square footage in the shop. I was able to sell the table for many times more than I paid for it, so in the end practically speaking the sale was a no brainer.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks MBM, I totally get it. I too can get in over my head when painting things so I totally understand the non-painting approach and of course EVERYONE of us needs all the square footage we can get in our garages.

 

[MadeByMiller]

The placeholders I had been using for my Vidmar cabinets in the model had been bothering me enough that I decided to make them a bit more realistic. I also made them all white, which is my plan someday. I haven't totally settled on the best method to make them white, but I'm leaning towards vinyl wrap. Any thoughts?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

You could paint them with an automotive quality catalyzed paint, or take them to be powder coated but both would be a big hassle and expensive so I’d say the wrap is the best idea. Especially if you can do it yourself. Why not try it on a small item to see if you can get it tight and pro looking, then decide.

PS: I wouldn’t have thought of white because of them getting dirty fast but your sketch shows the white makes them recede from vision and keeps the shop looking un-cluttered.

 

[MadeByMiller]

You could paint them with an automotive quality catalyzed paint, or take them to be powder coated but both would be a big hassle and expensive so I’d say the wrap is the best idea. Especially if you can do it yourself. Why not try it on a small item to see if you can get it tight and pro looking, then decide.

PS: I wouldn’t have thought of white because of them getting dirty fast but your sketch shows the white makes them recede from vision and keeps the shop looking un-cluttered.

Yes, that's the reason I'm leaning towards the wrap. Paint or powder would be a big undertaking to do properly. Member @JP Fabrication wrapped his toolbox in his thread here and did a really nice job.

Seeing the massive change from the various colors now to the all white in the model and how much more bright and open the space looks makes me excited to do it in reality. My dream is to have the shop resemble a clean laboratory, so the more shiny white, the better. I can handle wiping some dirty fingerprints off every now and then if needed.

 

[GrayFlattop]

Big fan of white tool cabinets. Two white listas in my shop and hopefully a third by the end of the year.

Painting them are time consuming, buying them that way is costly - I would say give the wrap a try

 

[MadeByMiller]

Big fan of white tool cabinets. Two white listas in my shop and hopefully a third by the end of the year.

Painting them are time consuming, buying them that way is costly - I would say give the wrap a try

I'd love to see a picture of yours if you don't mind sharing!

 

[bugnut]

MBM, liking the white cabinet idea and the way it looks in your space. I too appreciate the comment about paint becoming a full restoration. I, like most others, have friends into different housekeeping and decoration of their shop/workspace that give me the heebie jeebies, but your statement "My dream is to have the shop resemble a clean laboratory" coincides with my thinking also.

 

[GrayFlattop]

I'd love to see a picture of yours if you don't mind sharing!

Not handy, but it's in this thread. Photo taken when I first got it home.about halfway down this page

 

[GrayFlattop]

MBM, liking the white cabinet idea and the way it looks in your space. I too appreciate the comment about paint becoming a full restoration. I, like most others, have friends into different housekeeping and decoration of their shop/workspace that give me the heebie jeebies, but your statement "My dream is to have the shop resemble a clean laboratory" coincides with my thinking also.

White tool chests/cabinets add a little extra incentive to clean up at the end of the day. A clean shop rag or paper towel and a spritz of windex - it's all good.

Plus, the white cabinets serve to keep the area bright as it reflects light. I have mostly red cabinets (Masterforce, Rem Line, Crafrsman and Kennedy), a couple of black cabinets including a vintage Lista I stripped down and repainted (yes a LOT of work) and one blue one - spread across the garage and basement shops. I even have a funky old Lyon cabinet that has blue drawers and a off-off white cabinet.

 

[MadeByMiller]

MBM, liking the white cabinet idea and the way it looks in your space. I too appreciate the comment about paint becoming a full restoration. I, like most others, have friends into different housekeeping and decoration of their shop/workspace that give me the heebie jeebies, but your statement "My dream is to have the shop resemble a clean laboratory" coincides with my thinking also.

Thanks for the kind words. The bright white, clean, shiny laboratory shop setting in my mind is the ideal work environment for what I do and how I do it. No distractions, no interruptions. Just a fresh space to work out ideas and be productive in.

Not handy, but it's in this thread. Photo taken when I first got it home.about halfway down this page

Thanks for sharing, that's a beautiful cabinet. I love all the shallow drawers and of course, the white.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Adding to the white cabinet topic, I got a bit more work done on the workbench model and decided to mock up an idea that I woke up with the other morning - sliding bypass doors to cover the welders underneath the bench when not in use. I love the way they look in the model and the bonus of protecting the welders from dust and sparks is significant.

 

[GrayFlattop]

Thanks for the kind words. The bright white, clean, shiny laboratory shop setting in my mind is the ideal work environment for what I do and how I do it. No distractions, no interruptions. Just a fresh space to work out ideas and be productive in.

Thanks for sharing, that's a beautiful cabinet. I love all the shallow drawers and of course, the white.

That’s the best part about ordering one new - customize specifically for your needs. It ain’t cheap, but it conforms to what I want - not the other way around.

 

[MadeByMiller]

That’s the best part about ordering one new - customize specifically for your needs. It ain’t cheap, but it conforms to what I want - not the other way around.

Not to mention all the hours saved by not having to scrub them down and clean and re-oil all the bearings!

 

[Stuart in MN]

I'm impressed with your rendering skills - the images of the tools and cabinets are almost photographic.

 

[MadeByMiller]

I'm impressed with your rendering skills - the images of the tools and cabinets are almost photographic.

Thank you very much! Cad is something that I'm quite passionate about and truly enjoy doing. All throughout my life I've enjoyed art and drawing, but the combination of creativity and precision that 3D modeling can provide is really a sweet spot for me and my brain. The shop renders here are mostly quite quick and rough due to the restrictions of my current computer setup. High quality renders with the complexity that the shop model has are very time consuming and taxing on my system. More of a start it and walk away for an hour or so type of thing. I'm always learning and am far far away from maximizing the potential of the software.

 

[harley jim]

I just found this thread, great transformation on your shop. I like your ideas. It's been a while since you have posted, hope you keep going.

 

[jbrentd]

I just found this thread, great transformation on your shop. I like your ideas. It's been a while since you have posted, hope you keep going.

Thanks for bumping this thread.

@MadeByMiller Love the shop and what you have done to it!

 

[fouckhest]

Thanks for bumping this thread.

@MadeByMiller Love the shop and what you have done to it!

Absolutely, great thread, love the use of space!