Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage
- Thread starter Strouty
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
Orionrising
Well-known member
Heh Id like the little hendey they have, but best i can tell is probably weights several tons.
This is where my thought process has always been, not sure if it is a good one or not? I tend to buy lots of things that need to be fixed. Sometimes the feeling is that the item is a once in a lifetime "opportunity" and I "need" to jump on it. I can think of 20 or more projects that were like that when I acquired them, except they are still in need of fixing today. This is where it gets troubling for me, justification turns to excuses, then to dismay. In the end I can't get rid of some projects due to the money and effort expended and in reality that should not be a valid reason to hold onto something that is clogging things up to the point of stagnating the process. In saying process, to me it means mental as well as physical. Some of you have noticed and mentioned all the space my shop has, to me the overwhelming feelings of not being able to complete these "opportunity" projects has all but stopped forward progress.
Orionrising
Well-known member
Heh yeah I got a vfd for the mill then realized I left like 6 blank outlets to hook up 220 later... But they are all on the other wall grrrrr.... More conduit runs.
Decided not to bid on the lathe. Best I can tell it weighs 2 ton+ and may not do metric threading. May bid on the steel cuttoff and some small items.
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Decided not to bid on the lathe. Best I can tell it weighs 2 ton+ and may not do metric threading. May bid on the steel cuttoff and some small items.
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Orionrising
Well-known member
Ahhh but your new forklift tires went well. Got them installed the done.
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Perrorojo
Well-known member
I battle that same thing quite a bit. My dad has been that way his whole life. I tend to see a good deal and not be able to pass on it. The difference is that I like less things than he does. I want to fix and sell but my dad tends to think I'm helping him make room for more.
The only thing that has helped me finish projects lately is the opportunity to put cash in my pocket for bigger projects.
Heh yeah I got a vfd for the mill then realized I left like 6 blank outlets to hook up 220 later... But they are all on the other wall grrrrr.... More conduit runs.
Decided not to bid on the lathe. Best I can tell it weighs 2 ton+ and may not do metric threading. May bid on the steel cuttoff and some small items./QUOTE]
They did have some cool items, had I gone to the preview, I may have bid, but since I didn't, I don't want to take a guess at what I would be buying.
This is true, unfortunately it didn't make me feel any better about the shop itself. Now I have to sell the other tires that I originally bought for the forklift.
I am trying not to get bigger projects, but they seem to find me, then I can't send them away. My newest one will definitely be a big project in scale and time. I really want to finish the suburban swap before I get too tangled into another vehicle project.
At this point I have an excavator that can't be used without dumping hydraulic fluid all over the place, same thing with the crane, two suburbans with various issues and another in pieces, a forklift rated for 6000 pounds that can't pick much over 3000 pounds because it has no counterweight, and a shop full of cool tools that I can't because I am too lazy (or is it afraid?) to set them up.
Then I just bought three more trucks and a set of military axles, just because.
Perrorojo
Well-known member
I blew the main hydraulic for the stick cylinder on our Link Belt over the weekend. I was knocking a branch off a tree and all the oil dumped on the cab. Door was open so I bathed in about 10 gallons of it before i could get it shut down.
jack stand
Well-known member
I think we all find our shop "therapy" in different ways. I'm realizing that I'd rather work on my shop than organize things. Hopefully this new space I am building will allow for some stuff inside to go into this space that I mainly built for winter storage.
You can't have too much roof.
You can't have too much roof.
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rmalkow2
Well-known member
I think there are more of us than you know that have the New Project Sickness. I know I do and can't pass up a great deal that then starts another project. Sometimes I get busy on them, sometimes I get frustrated and they all sit idle. Right now I'm in the busy mode and have multiple projects going that are actually getting a little attention each week. I'm trying to keep motivated by enjoying the completion of each small step in a project even if the bigger end goal is not yet done.
The new tires on your fork lift look great and should make that thing a better machine. The table top is looking great too and that grain will be beautiful once you are n=done sanding and finishing.
Sometimes all we can do is to keep chipping away at the projects and be glad we have them.
The new tires on your fork lift look great and should make that thing a better machine. The table top is looking great too and that grain will be beautiful once you are n=done sanding and finishing.
Sometimes all we can do is to keep chipping away at the projects and be glad we have them.
I think where I get most frustrated is when I need to complete a project in order to complete a project in order to complete the project that I am really working on. This seems to be life in general though. I don't think I would be devastated if the shop burnt to the ground. 
dr_clyde
Well-known member
I think where I get most frustrated is when I need to complete a project in order to complete a project in order to complete the project that I am really working on. This seems to be life in general though. I don't think I would be devastated if the shop burnt to the ground.
Ehhh, you say that, but I doubt you'd actually want to go through that.
A friend of mine had his 10k sq ft machine shop burn to the ground, total loss of 2 million dollars. He got all new machines, tools and a new facility, and he said he still would prefer to have his old shop, messes and problems all still there. It was a 2 year endeavor just to get back to where he was before the fire. He still is looking for some things he hasn't been able to replace.
I think where I get most frustrated is when I need to complete a project in order to complete a project in order to complete the project that I am really working on. This seems to be life in general though. I don't think I would be devastated if the shop burnt to the ground.
I had to come to a similar realization a few years ago. (and again . . . and again . . .) That realization is that though that 'item' may be part of a cool project it is NOT first project in line or 3rd or 14th . . . and I may as well pass it up/get rid of it because it will be YEARS before I get to it . . .
No matter what it is a step in the right direction!
taumac
Well-known member
I believe he was just venting his frustrations. I say same thing many of times that starting over wouldn’t be a bad thing.
taumac
Well-known member
Sure, I’ll take 2 sliding door units 2 drawers units. I’ll see ya this weekend and I’ll have beer in the fridge. LOL
dr_clyde
Well-known member
I understand that sentiment. I suspect we are fairly alike in our interests and habits, so I think I can relate. I've certainly been in the funk of frustration, and being 3 projects deep in order to get a project done. It can be overwhelming and can really kick your *** somedays. I sometimes feel trapped by my shop. I can't really stop, or go anywhere for any length of time. My shop is a rental. I would need to find a place to store all my stuff, or sell it all, or some combination thereof. I can't really just mothball it until later.
I also know what my shop does for my sanity. Even now that I am there full time, its where I would rather be. Sometimes you only get an hour here or there to really make headway, but I'd still rather tinker on a project than sit at home watching TV or something.
My advice, for what its worth, just breathe deep and remember why we have workshops at all, because we like them and the stuff in them.
Oh, and put me down for a lista or two.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
I will take the rest of them.
Kev, no need to edit or delete, you are like the stern voice of reality/reason. I do listen, but sometimes I don't hear, I think everyone is like that to a point.
I think one of the worst projects I ever attempted to tackle was the boat, that wasted tons of space, time, effort, and created mental anguish. I have taken way too much time with the suburban project, that should have been done long ago. I hope to move forward on it this year. Some of the big longterm projects have started getting the first steps completed, then they hit the good enough for now stage and get put on the back burner again. I am trying to look forward with direction so I can concentrate on what matters most to me at this point in time (at least from a shop/projects standpoint).
My schedule could be considered enviable, I do for the most part make my own hours, I bill somewhere between 20 and 30 hours each week and I would say that there is at least an additional 1/2 hour of work for each hour I bill that really doesn't get billed due to my own tendencies to overthink or appropriate too much time for a task. I should just bill it, but I can't bring myself to, I look at it as cost of doing business. The real issue is that technically my brain thinks I am at work all the time and the extra stress involved really has taken a toll on my body. On top of that I don't have anyone to yell at me and tell me to quit screwing off and get back to work. In some ways I miss that, but I am not about to go back to work for someone else, it has been way too long. When I work at the shop, I can spend hours doing pointless things, they help me get my mind off what I don't really want to think about, but in the end nothing seems to get accomplished. My goals always seem too vague, so I am working on tightening them up a bit, in all honesty, the shop isn't even in the top five goals I have right now.
As for the Listas, some random guy from craigslist already took them all, what a relief.
I think one of the worst projects I ever attempted to tackle was the boat, that wasted tons of space, time, effort, and created mental anguish. I have taken way too much time with the suburban project, that should have been done long ago. I hope to move forward on it this year. Some of the big longterm projects have started getting the first steps completed, then they hit the good enough for now stage and get put on the back burner again. I am trying to look forward with direction so I can concentrate on what matters most to me at this point in time (at least from a shop/projects standpoint).
My schedule could be considered enviable, I do for the most part make my own hours, I bill somewhere between 20 and 30 hours each week and I would say that there is at least an additional 1/2 hour of work for each hour I bill that really doesn't get billed due to my own tendencies to overthink or appropriate too much time for a task. I should just bill it, but I can't bring myself to, I look at it as cost of doing business. The real issue is that technically my brain thinks I am at work all the time and the extra stress involved really has taken a toll on my body. On top of that I don't have anyone to yell at me and tell me to quit screwing off and get back to work. In some ways I miss that, but I am not about to go back to work for someone else, it has been way too long. When I work at the shop, I can spend hours doing pointless things, they help me get my mind off what I don't really want to think about, but in the end nothing seems to get accomplished. My goals always seem too vague, so I am working on tightening them up a bit, in all honesty, the shop isn't even in the top five goals I have right now.
As for the Listas, some random guy from craigslist already took them all, what a relief.
dr_clyde
Well-known member
That lucky Craigslist *******.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
let me guess, You sold them all for 1.00 each just to get them out of your shop. lol
We had a couple weeks where the TV was out of commission, man was that nice. My GF was freaking out because she couldn't watch one of her shows, so I hooked it back up and bam, energy **** engaged. I am thinking of putting a sign on the TV that says "caution this object is trying to kill you", just as a not so subtle reminder what sitting in front of it does.
I am a bit overweight, but I hold it fairly well, regardless it is awful. I have been trying to walk a couple miles a day and when I get back I eat breakfast and watch a video or two on lathes or milling machines, I figure I might as well try and learn something while the thing is trying to kill me. I love to listen to audio books, so the walk is nice as it takes about 40 minutes to do the two miles, woods trails and a public loop around the old landfill that gets used as a dog park. In my mind, I my health is my number one priority, except reality doesn't want to let me attain it.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
Don't forget you have to plant them under a full moon. I do think it is a full moon tonight, isn't it.
These beans can be planted on any day that ends in a Y.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the new office and got a lot done, by the end of this week, I should have a fairly usable space and that will be great as I really haven't had an office in a few months. It looks like construction on the foundations for the tower will start the second week of July, now that most of the unknowns are behind us. I have been sourcing the materials needed for the anchors, some parts need to be cut out of the 1 1/2" plates, once that is done we have a few final pieces to send down to the galvanizer. These last few steps will most likely be the toughest as there is always something trying to trip you up, but when they happen, they happen fairly quickly. At least I am more in control at this point and I don't have to deal with the bureaucracy nearly as much now.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the new office and got a lot done, by the end of this week, I should have a fairly usable space and that will be great as I really haven't had an office in a few months. It looks like construction on the foundations for the tower will start the second week of July, now that most of the unknowns are behind us. I have been sourcing the materials needed for the anchors, some parts need to be cut out of the 1 1/2" plates, once that is done we have a few final pieces to send down to the galvanizer. These last few steps will most likely be the toughest as there is always something trying to trip you up, but when they happen, they happen fairly quickly. At least I am more in control at this point and I don't have to deal with the bureaucracy nearly as much now.
cbacres
Well-known member
When I work at the shop, I can spend hours doing pointless things, they help me get my mind off what I don't really want to think about, but in the end nothing seems to get accomplished.
Man, we really are related somehow
You know, it's just a form of mental refreshing, diffrent strokes/ folks. A lot better than liquid or pill form.
If it's what makes us happy, what does it matter what's "done"or not, let's face it, for some working "on" the shop is just going to be a way of life.
Your not alone dude, I have uttered if I don't get my shop done by this time next year, I'll dump it and find another hobbie. But, that'll never happen, done or not. I'll leave it for family to go through, it'll be the only way my wife and them will fully appriciate what I have
As for the Listas, some random guy from craigslist already took them all, what a relief.
Man, it's getting deep now
OccupantRJ
Well-known member
I have found through the years that by concentrating on the shop and it's infrastructure first so that you can just use a tool or equipment right when it is needed, that it makes the frustration level drop tremendously. If the forklift is broken, it delays other things. If the trailer needs tires, you can not haul things, etc.
If you get the infrastructure taken care of properly, the other things will fall in place, and your shop will once again be a pleasure instead of a frustration. Also, do the math. I know a guy who is literally a mechanical hoarder. He has three large buildings full of everything we would die for. He is going to restore it all and use it one day.
The problem is that it is piled so badly that there are walkways 18" wide through it. There are milling machines and such literally hidden beneath. He keeps buying and is always talking about restoring, arranging, and using things, but he cannot. He will undoubtably die and never be able to do that.
There cannot be enough time if he started right this minute and went at it full time. Basically, he might as well not have a bit of it. He works in a four foot square area, with many hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of machines, tooling, and tools buried. He is gridlocked. He is my inspiration to do better.
If you get the infrastructure taken care of properly, the other things will fall in place, and your shop will once again be a pleasure instead of a frustration. Also, do the math. I know a guy who is literally a mechanical hoarder. He has three large buildings full of everything we would die for. He is going to restore it all and use it one day.
The problem is that it is piled so badly that there are walkways 18" wide through it. There are milling machines and such literally hidden beneath. He keeps buying and is always talking about restoring, arranging, and using things, but he cannot. He will undoubtably die and never be able to do that.
There cannot be enough time if he started right this minute and went at it full time. Basically, he might as well not have a bit of it. He works in a four foot square area, with many hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of machines, tooling, and tools buried. He is gridlocked. He is my inspiration to do better.
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RJ, that rings true for sure. Right now, I am not that bad, but I have been close to that, just a different scale, so I guess I could use it as inspiration to fo better as well.
Right now my short term gaol is to be able to setup an area dedicated to the RC world and get to use it. I will concentrate everything on that for the moment, then once that is reasonably done (I know I will have to fine tune it as I start to use it), I will tackle something else.
Right now my short term gaol is to be able to setup an area dedicated to the RC world and get to use it. I will concentrate everything on that for the moment, then once that is reasonably done (I know I will have to fine tune it as I start to use it), I will tackle something else.
FarmerWill
Well-known member
In April, my oldest, she's 20 gave me a membership to a gym. At first, didn't know how to take that. But, I went. Started out feeling lethargic and such.
Last night I walked at a pretty good clip, steep incline and lasted an hour- burned just over 1,000 calories doing it. Few days back, visited the doc. Lab work came back better- not great- said keep it up. Even lost 10 lbs.
You can do it man. From what I've seen, you can do anything you put your mind too.
Thanks FarmerWill, I have been making the effort, just haven’t had much for results yet, realistically it has only been a couple weeks and I need to stop being so hard on myself.
We got a ton of paperwork sorted and put into the file cabinets, I now need to sort a bunch more into tower sites, looks like there is a lot more info than I originally anticipated. Some of it is garbage and some is worth saving, the remaining info needs to be sorted and scanned as well as organized and filed.
I want to take a trip to the shop, but not sure I can make it today. Would be really nice to get the first coat on the bench top.
We got a ton of paperwork sorted and put into the file cabinets, I now need to sort a bunch more into tower sites, looks like there is a lot more info than I originally anticipated. Some of it is garbage and some is worth saving, the remaining info needs to be sorted and scanned as well as organized and filed.
I want to take a trip to the shop, but not sure I can make it today. Would be really nice to get the first coat on the bench top.
OccupantRJ
Well-known member
Like eating an elephant. Take one bite at a time, no matter what part.
As predicted, no shop time, I did get a lot done at the office and that felt good. I keep saying that I just need one more day and my office should be setup, so now I am going to say that I plan on having it setup in the next week.
I found someone that may be interested in some Volvo parts, could be a good connection, hopefully they don’t flake on me. I would love to see the parts go to someone that enjoys Volvos as much as I used to.
Watched a couple YouTube vids on repairing a Bridgeport and I am thinking I need to look mine over and make sure that it is tight and the oil system is working. I figure some preventative maintenance might not be the worst thing I could do before really using it.
I found someone that may be interested in some Volvo parts, could be a good connection, hopefully they don’t flake on me. I would love to see the parts go to someone that enjoys Volvos as much as I used to.
Watched a couple YouTube vids on repairing a Bridgeport and I am thinking I need to look mine over and make sure that it is tight and the oil system is working. I figure some preventative maintenance might not be the worst thing I could do before really using it.