Let's See Your Shop

[zmotorsports]

Nothing fancy here.  Just a square box measuring 34'x34' with 14' ceiling height.  It used to be a 2+ car shop to work on our race cars and toys in.  We have a 24x26 attached to the house so this was built specifically to work out of, not storage.

Over the years of gathering tools and equipment the size of the shop has shrunk.  As it sits now, we have a single bay for automotive work where we have an Ammco 10k pound two-post lift, a smaller bay where we have two motorcycle lifts for working on motorcycles and a welding/fabrication/machining section which has slowly "eeked" into the one bay reducing its size for motorcycles only.

My wife and I bought our home in 1991 and I built the shop in summer 1995.  In 1997 I purchased a 3-in-1 machine to compliment the services I can provide.  I originally built the shop as a place for my son and I to hang out as he got older and to do side work to fund my racing/motorcycle/Jeeping/sand duning/snowmobiling addiction.  Over the past 20 years now it has morphed into a full-blown custom, repair, fabrication and machine shop.  I no longer do any racing and we have sold all of our toys except our Jeep and Harleys.  I have slowed down doing customer work but still manage to find enough stuff of my own to work on and if a job comes up that I find interesting and can make a few bucks on, I take it on.

Here is my son's new to him 2002 Duramax on the lift to address and oil leak at the left side lower rocker box/valve cover.


Here is the motorcycle bay but I have the bikes in the garage at the time this picture was taken.  The two lifts are also pushed closely together to make it easier to walk around.  Once bikes start filtering in the lifts will be separated with enough room to walk around each with a bike on them if needs be.


Here is another picture from the man door looking down machinery row.


For the future I think this is how the shop will stay arranged.  I have had the new mill and lathe for about a year now and I did play with some ideas as far as arrangement but in the end I have settled on this configuration.  It is tight when I get a few projects at once going on but I don't see my wife and I moving so this will have to do.  I have been impressed with many of the shops on here as I was lurking, but finally decided to join.

Mike.