# Shop equipment options



## nautilus29 (Mar 22, 2021)

I'm building a shop\ mother-in-law suit right now.  I'm excited to have my first real shop, but I'm realistically a year away from having the thing finished enough to put a shop in it.

So now I have a year to try to figure out what I want to put in the thing.  I have a taig lathe that I've been slowly converting into a cnc, and then I have a southbend 9a that's at my dad's place for the meantime, so it looked like I need a mill.

I for sure want some kind of cnc, but I can't decide if I want to go with a bigger cnc and have that be my mill, or go with a tabletop cnc and buy a used bridgeport to have more options.

I've been looking at the precision matthews options and I like what I see there, especially their high precision models.  But then I saw someone selling a used tormach 1100 in my area and I started daydreaming about having a machine like that at my place haha.

So many options, this is going to take me the whole year to decide.  If you guys have any suggestions feel free to mention them!


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## ShopShoe (Mar 22, 2021)

I can't  remember if you ever said where you are? Sometimes that is helpful to know.

Do you plan to stay with small projects or have a goal of making bigger things or taking new challenges?

Do you enjoy making tools, modifying machines, building machines, or are you wanting to get up to speed with making models or other things?

From what you said, I think that getting a small cnc mill running would be a good thing to try to do while your building is being built: Your call as to whether you get a turnkey system or put someting together from components. 

You can probably begin acquiring measuring tools and practice precision.

Be sure to plan for large in your new place, even if you don't go that way: Electrical service that can have circuits added, lots of light, whatever climate control you need, etc.

Do you think you might want to experiment with 3-D printing: The cost is getting low and you could use that process to play with the 3-D design software you might use to plan for projects that would be cnc machined.

In your metal shop, do you think you might want a surface grinder at some point?

Some of us do abrasive blasting (sand, glass beads, etc.) as part of what we do. Would you want a blast cabinet? You'll need more compressed air for that. You probably want compressed air anyway.

For further consideration (and don't be offended if you know of these already) I can suggest two YouTube sources who cover lots of different things and undertake little bits of work in a wide range of areas:

Oxtoolco (Tom Lipton) Be sure to watch his shop tour.

This Old Tony  

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--ShopShoe


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## nautilus29 (Mar 22, 2021)

Thank you for the thoughtful reply! 

I'm from northwest Ohio.  Because of the auto industry there is a lot of used equipment around here at least if you are looking for bigger stuff.

I'm a machinist by trade, so I have most of the important inspection equipment.  This is one of the reasons I got into model engines to begin with.  I have the opportunity to make large parts\ run large machines at work, so it's fun to take that home, but on a different scale haha.  It would also be nice to have the option to do larger work which is why I've been debating the small cnc\ used bridgeport route.  

My shop is roughly 16 x 27, since there is an apartment up above it it will be fully climate controlled.  I plan on putting a large air compressor in the utility room so I don't have to hear it running in the shop.  I'd love to have a surface grinder but I'd probably get a small table top one if I decide to grab one.  Although I can find used ones for pretty cheap they take too much shop space for how much I'd use the extra size.  (plus I have some at work if I need to use one).  I'll probably get s sand blaster\ parts washer from harbor freight.  I'll probably keep the blaster in the garage though so I don't get sand all over my equipment.

I'm building the building myself so I don't have much time to actually tinker with anything at this time.  It's one of the reasons I'm trying to decide what I want for equipment right now, since I don't have time to tinker with anything at the moment.


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## Mike Henry (Mar 23, 2021)

nautilus29 said:


> I've been looking at the precision matthews options and I like what I see there, especially their high precision models.  But then I saw someone selling a used tormach 1100 in my area and I started daydreaming about having a machine like that at my place haha.



I've had a Tormach PCNC 1100 since 2006 for mostly hobby and some light job shop use and it has held up well over the years and is pretty inexpensive to maintain so far as spare parts go.  If you go looking for a used one be aware that the 1100 has been released in various models over the years - the 1100 Series I, II,, and III, and the current 1100 M and 1100 MX.  The Series I can be upgraded to the II or III, but not the M or MX.  My basic 1100 Series I with stand and no enclosure or accessories was around $9k when I bought it.  The basic 1100 MX is better equipped but is around twice the price, so arm your self with facts regarding what options were available for any used models that you look at to avoid getting snookered or missing out on a great deal.


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## nautilus29 (Mar 23, 2021)

Thanks for that advice.  I assumed the price was always this high for the 1100.


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## Chiptosser (Mar 24, 2021)

Nautilus,   
Are you familiar with HGR industrial?, ouside of Cleveland.
You never know what they have from day to day.    They have smaller equipment from time to time.


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## nautilus29 (Mar 24, 2021)

Chiptosser said:


> Nautilus,
> Are you familiar with HGR industrial?, ouside of Cleveland.
> You never know what they have from day to day.    They have smaller equipment from time to time.



I've been watching their website, they have some good stuff on there.  I do wish they sold their chucks and collets for a little cheaper though.  Those prices always seem a little steep to me.


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## bdrmachine (Mar 24, 2021)

My vote is a used Haas TM1P.  You can run it off single-phase power if need be.  I bought one used a few years back as mainly a hobby.  I found a niche in the local market and now it is quite the money maker.  It runs lights out a lot of times.  I do miss my old Bridgeport for the versatility.  Even with cnc there are times a mill with a tilting head can't be beaten.


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## mfrick (Mar 24, 2021)

Hello 
I aggree  with tihe the Haas TM1. I purchased a used machine several years ago,  it is in great condition and very solid. I love its table size and I have had zero problems with it.  I has a very solid spindle and it has a 10 tool turrett 40 mm taper.  I looked at the Tormach and the price of a new machine was more than I paid for the Haas, I also talked to several people who have the Tormach and they had spindle bearing troubles so that changed my mind very happy with my choice.

Mike


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## nautilus29 (Mar 24, 2021)

We have a haas at work, so I'm pretty comfortable with them too.  I've seen some around me for 12k.


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## mfrick (Mar 25, 2021)

Well 12k is what I paid for my Haas TM1 it also came with kurt vise and two dozen tool holders and collets so very well outfited.  One of the best features is it will run on standard 220 single phase power.  The only Item that I had to add was a larger air compressor to run the tool changer, other than that a good CAD/CAM program, it dose have qucik code that works great for simple projects.  When building shop make sure you put in a large doog to move machines in and out. also have a tall enjough ceiling.  Good luck on your project.
Mike


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## swood1 (Mar 26, 2021)

I have been looking at the Fanuc Robodrill or the Haas Minimill.  Would love a Haas TM1 but don't think I have enough room  Out of interest do all VMC require compressed air for the toolchangers?

Regards

Steven


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## nautilus29 (Mar 26, 2021)

swood1 said:


> I have been looking at the Fanuc Robodrill or the Haas Minimill.  Would love a Haas TM1 but don't think I have enough room  Out of interest do all VMC require compressed air for the toolchangers?
> 
> Regards
> 
> Steven



Every machine I have run has needed it, so more than likely you'll need it for the machine you get.


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## nautilus29 (Mar 29, 2021)

I'm having builders remorse on the size of me shop haha.


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## nautilus29 (Mar 29, 2021)

I'm bored, and since I'm not close to a pc I decided to draw up a rough shop layout just to get a visualization of how much space I have.  Equipment is subject to change, but what do you guys think?  Each square is a half a foot, the wide door that leads into the garage is only there to get equipment in the shop so although I don't want to put anything that's bolted down there it is usable space.  As of now I just made it storage for my wood working tools.


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## swood1 (Mar 29, 2021)

Can the Bridgeport go against a wall, in the corner?  I would put your workbench against a wall.


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## Chiptosser (Mar 29, 2021)

You want to be able to get around the bridgeport mill table.  Its not like having a mini mill. 
Is the foot print of the BO at full travel in X positive and negitive ?


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## Chiptosser (Mar 29, 2021)

The workbench is centrial to all the machines around it.


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## nautilus29 (Mar 29, 2021)

Bridgeport is drawn up as if the x travel is maxed out in both directions.  44" past the bed.  The y isn't maxed out it's more centered, but it doesn't have near as much travel so it would only be able to change 6 inches either way.  Bridgeport base is 18 inches from the wall which gives enough space for the head to be pushed back as far as possible.


Chiptosser said:


> You want to be able to get around the bridgeport mill table.  Its not like having a mini mill.
> Is the foot print of the BO at full travel in X positive and negitive ?




The bridgeport could move closer to one wall or the other yes.  By roughly 2 feet, but the table moves far in the x so It I can't go too extreme with it.  I originally drew it up to be as close.to the one wall as possible but ended up going this route so I could fit the cabinets and stock storage behind it.  I put the workbench centered on the lathe and mill, but I'm open to different ideas!


swood1 said:


> Can the Bridgeport go against a wall, in the corner?  I would put your workbench against a wall.




The large door is only there to get machinery into the shop so that space could probably be utilized a little better.


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## ShopShoe (Mar 29, 2021)

I also wonder if the clearances around your Bridgeport are narrow. I don't know what you plan for the shelves and cabinets, but are they in an inconvenient location if you constantly have to get things from them or put things in them?

I cringe a bit seeing your sander and grinder where they can throw dust on your mill. I have that problem somewhat and it is a big PITA to have to keep covering things and cleaning as part of the workflow.

--ShopShoe


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## nautilus29 (Mar 29, 2021)

ShopShoe said:


> I also wonder if the clearances around your Bridgeport are narrow. I don't know what you plan for the shelves and cabinets, but are they in an inconvenient location if you constantly have to get things from them or put things in them?
> 
> I cringe a bit seeing your sander and grinder where they can throw dust on your mill. I have that problem somewhat and it is a big PITA to have to keep covering things and cleaning as part of the workflow.
> 
> --ShopShoe



Ya I agree, I'm actually considering making a rotary table for the grinders and drill press.  I saw one on pintress that sits in a corner and you just rotate the whole table until you have the tool you want to use in front of you.  I think that would be a better option than grinding dust right next to the fine equipment.

I should have plenty of walk around for the mill.  I drew the bridgeport up to it's max travel so  I can move the table one way or another if I need more room to get next to it.  I can have close to 4 feet of wall to table clearance if needed, and 2.5 feet even if the table is fully extended one way or the other.


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## nautilus29 (Mar 29, 2021)

I already own the lathes.  The mills are just one of the routes I'm thinking about going.  I really like the idea of going with a small cnc and large manual mill, but I have to decide if it's worth the money and shop space still.  If I bought a larger precision matthews (940 model) and turned that into a cnc I could save around $2000 compared to what I have drawn up.  That's a surface grinder haha.

Right now I roughly figured I'd have close to 10k getting the shop to the pictures setup... Ouch


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## stanstocker (Mar 29, 2021)

I'd consider putting the SB lathe by the CNC mill.  Then shift the Bridgeport so it's just clearing the rec room wall at the rightmost extreme table travel.  Depending on the amount and nature of use of the grinder and belt sander you might want to isolate them as far as possible.  Maybe even into the utility room if it's just air handler and such, although probably not a good move if it's also laundry.

You have a fairly large area devoted to the stock rack, so I'm guessing you break down larger pieces on the band saw and use the belt grinder to deburr.  Getting the bandsaw and belt grinder closer together might be beneficial.  Putting these on the rec room wall side of the shop might allow getting further away from the machines with grit and ease work flow.  Out in the garage might be a place for stock and grinding/rough sawing if space allows.  The less dirty work you have to do around the machines the easier it is to have your shop pleasing to work in.

Depending on the size and weight distribution of your drill press, a good roll around base could let you shift the drill press around and move it out of the way.   The locking bases that are really heavy duty and sit down on pads when parked are great, locking caster sort of deals haven't been pleasing to deal with for me.  There is a nice little open area in the corner on the lower left side of your drawing (woodwork area).  If not already spoken for it could be a good spot for a drill press and shop vac to live out of the way but easy to pull out when needed.

If you are going to have anything on wheels that are fairly small, cut some PVC pipe rings that are an inch or so high and put them around each wheel.  When moving across the floor these tend to sweep any bits of gravel or the like out of the way rather than tripping the wheel.  Learned that trick with engine cranes 

If you do most of your work on the CNC machines, optimize the shop to use these easily.  In my shop I just have to accept that some infrequently used machines are not "optimally" placed or supported, but while irksome on occasion it's a trade off that lets me use the main machines quickly and easily without having to do the limbo to get to the tooling cabinets.

Have fun, it's never perfect in a shop for all work conditions.  Pretty good most of the time is a fine accomplishment.  Don't let it get you down.  After 45 years of this, it's still a struggle to figure out how to set things up!

Stan


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## awake (Mar 29, 2021)

What sort of woodworking are you planning on? You might consider dust collection, especially if it involves a table saw, jointer, planer. I'll warn you from personal experience that even with dust collection, using woodworking equipment in close proximity to machine tools will leave a film of fine saw dust on the working surfaces - be sure to wipe this off thoroughly before using the machine tools.

The ideal scenario would be to have 3 spaces that can be sealed off from one another: 1) machine tools, 2) grinding and welding, and 3) woodworking. I keep dreaming of such ... but so far I wake up to my same old overcrowded and mixed up half-garage!


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## mfrick (Mar 29, 2021)

So years back I had my wood shop and machine shop in the same space, it didn't take long for me to realize that the dust collected on the lathe and mill and it became a reall pain in my side. If at all possible I would seperate the two shops. I have a very large dust collection system in the wood shop but there is still fine dust to deal with.  The other concern I had was using a grinder in the wood shop sparks and dust don't mix very well, starting a fire is a great concern. 
Mike


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## nautilus29 (Mar 29, 2021)

I should have mentioned, I do a lot of projects around my property\ house so I have a lot of wood working tools. Miter saw, table saw, and stuff like that.  I put that area by my shop as storage for those tools and I figured I'd roll them out into the garage if I am actually using them.


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## nautilus29 (Mar 29, 2021)

stanstocker said:


> I'd consider putting the SB lathe by the CNC mill.  Then shift the Bridgeport so it's just clearing the rec room wall at the rightmost extreme table travel.  Depending on the amount and nature of use of the grinder and belt sander you might want to isolate them as far as possible.  Maybe even into the utility room if it's just air handler and such, although probably not a good move if it's also laundry.
> 
> You have a fairly large area devoted to the stock rack, so I'm guessing you break down larger pieces on the band saw and use the belt grinder to deburr.  Getting the bandsaw and belt grinder closer together might be beneficial.  Putting these on the rec room wall side of the shop might allow getting further away from the machines with grit and ease work flow.  Out in the garage might be a place for stock and grinding/rough sawing if space allows.  The less dirty work you have to do around the machines the easier it is to have your shop pleasing to work in.
> 
> ...



I'll draw up a new floor plan incorporating some of these ideas and see what it looks like.  I don't really have an option to put the sanding equipment in the garage.  It's not going to be fully climate-controlled like the shop is, so it will end up being too big of a pain to use that equipment.  I think maybe putting the grinders, saw, sanders over where I have my oak desk might be a good alternative.  I plan on putting my air compressor in the utility room, I could possibly also put a dust collection system in there too.  Having that area be as far away from the equipment as possible plus having a collection system, will hopefully mitigate abrasive dust in the shop as much as possible.


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## nautilus29 (Mar 29, 2021)

I'll probably play with ideas tonight. I made cutouts so I can move stuff around easier.  I made the doors moveable also lol.

Edit: I added a crosshatch to the bridgeport to help show clearances better.  The crosshatch is open area if the table travel is limited out in the opposite direction.

  Here's 2:


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## nautilus29 (Mar 29, 2021)

*Here's another option that has some small tweaks.  It gives me 8 foot of open wall for expanding in the future.*


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## Egret (Mar 30, 2021)

nautilus29 said:


> I'm bored, and since I'm not close to a pc I decided to draw up a rough shop layout just to get a visualization of how much space I have.  Equipment is subject to change, but what do you guys think?  Each square is a half a foot, the wide door that leads into the garage is only there to get equipment in the shop so although I don't want to put anything that's bolted down there it is usable space.  As of now I just made it storage for my wood working tools.


I have rather strong views about mixing woodwork and metalwork and as your workshop appears a generous size would say put your woodwork and all grinding / sanding at one end of the shop with either a wall or perhaps a wipe down curtain between that and the metal area. This will save many hours of dusting


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## Apprentice707 (Mar 30, 2021)

I don't advise putting your Mother in Law in the workshop with you, far too critical, and will report your goings on to Higher Domestic Management.


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## Brian Hutchings (Mar 30, 2021)

I always use a piece of graph paper to mark out the space available and then make up machine shaped, including allowances for table travels and operator,  pieces of graph paper and shuffle them around until it looks right. Much easier than moving actual machinery.
Brian


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## nautilus29 (Mar 30, 2021)

Apprentice707 said:


> I don't advise putting your Mother in Law in the workshop with you, far too critical, and will report your goings on to Higher Domestic Management.


My mother in law's bedroom is right above the shop.  She's hard of hearing though, so I can get some pretty loud chattering on my end mills before I have to worry about waking her lol.


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## nautilus29 (Mar 30, 2021)

Brian Hutchings said:


> I always use a piece of graph paper to mark out the space available and then make up machine shaped, including allowances for table travels and operator,  pieces of graph paper and shuffle them around until it looks right. Much easier than moving actual machinery.
> Brian


If I get a bridgeport it will be bolted to the floor.  So I know for sure that I'll have this shop planned out for months, and I'll think of everything I need to, and then when I drill the holes in the new concrete floor I'll have to move it somewhere else lol.


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## CFLBob (Mar 31, 2021)

Brian Hutchings said:


> I always use a piece of graph paper to mark out the space available and then make up machine shaped, including allowances for table travels and operator,  pieces of graph paper and shuffle them around until it looks right. Much easier than moving actual machinery.
> Brian



I always used to work this way, but when I put my big shop in back in 2014, I did the layout in CAD.  Yeah, it gives some advantage to have 3D models of things, but a large block that covers the amount of floor required and the height is just as good as a detailed model of a mill, lathe or whatever.  The problem with the CAD is I kept going "that bandsaw (or whatever) isn't exactly like that" and spent time making the model prettier.  So I have to work on not being so Anal Retentive about making it look real.  

That said, the advantage of doing it in CAD is you can save copies of different layouts and compare them really easily.  I just rearranged the shop this past January.  Spent a few days trying different layouts in CAD and then another couple of days moving stuff.  I think the CAD really made it easier.

I also have some woodworking stuff in my shop, although I hardly ever use it.  Most of the time, I roll the tools outside to generate sawdust.


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## chrsbrbnk (Mar 31, 2021)

I don't think it's real typical to need to bolt down a Bridgeport  they don't seem to crawl around most of the time leveling on them was done with sheets of steel 1 to 2 foot  clearance  all around at extreme travel remembering the head travel . vertical clearance for pulling the draw bar wouldn't hurt.


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## ShopShoe (Mar 31, 2021)

CFLBob,

When I use  CAD for room layouts, I like to use layers to experiment with placements. This also allows planning for plumbing, Electrical, etc. Even greater if your CAD package can link to Bill Of Materials spreadsheets.

I am sure you know this, but I thought this post would put up more information for other readers.
Sorry if I overstepped by doing this.

--ShopShoe


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## nautilus29 (Apr 1, 2021)

CFLBob said:


> I always used to work this way, but when I put my big shop in back in 2014, I did the layout in CAD.  Yeah, it gives some advantage to have 3D models of things, but a large block that covers the amount of floor required and the height is just as good as a detailed model of a mill, lathe or whatever.  The problem with the CAD is I kept going "that bandsaw (or whatever) isn't exactly like that" and spent time making the model prettier.  So I have to work on not being so Anal Retentive about making it look real.
> 
> That said, the advantage of doing it in CAD is you can save copies of different layouts and compare them really easily.  I just rearranged the shop this past January.  Spent a few days trying different layouts in CAD and then another couple of days moving stuff.  I think the CAD really made it easier.
> 
> I also have some woodworking stuff in my shop, although I hardly ever use it.  Most of the time, I roll the tools outside to generate sawdust.



I'm sure I'll have a cad drawing in the long run. For now the free time I have to lay this out is too far away from a pc with cad on it.  So hand drawn it is for now.


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## L98fiero (Apr 1, 2021)

chrsbrbnk said:


> I don't think it's real typical to need to bolt down a Bridgeport  they don't seem to crawl around most of the time leveling on them was done with sheets of steel 1 to 2 foot  clearance  all around at extreme travel remembering the head travel . vertical clearance for pulling the draw bar wouldn't hurt.


If you're setting up your mill/lathe in the basement or an attached garage it's a good idea to put rubber pads under the levelling feet so you don't get the vibrations/sound transmitted through the concrete floor. 
I'm set up in a detached garage and my rotary phase converter is on 4 - Ø1½ 20 durometer urethane tubular springs and the 5 hp compressor is on four hockey pucks.


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## nautilus29 (Apr 2, 2021)

What software are you using for CAD?  I've been using fusion at home but it doesn't seem built for 2d architecture.


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## TSutrina (Apr 3, 2021)

nautilus29 said:


> What software are you using for CAD?  I've been using fusion at home but it doesn't seem built for 2d architecture.


FreeCAD has an architecture workbench.  Cost nothing and if typical of the other workbenches there will be many tutors on using it so you can see what it can do.


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## nautilus29 (Apr 6, 2021)

Starting to work on internal walls!


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## WisJim (Apr 7, 2021)

I've been reading these posts with interest as I am getting close to completion on a new shop and garage building as part of a move into town and major downsizing.  Due to zoning limitations I was able to build a 24 by 40 foot building with a 12 by 40 attic room.  There is a one car garage, a wood working shop area, and a metal shop area, all of approximately equal size. Since I'm in Western Wisconsin USA we get cold winters (minus 40 is possible but rare), so the building is fully insulated with spray foam in the walls and roof and 2" foam under and around the floor slab.  I have a 12x24 Atlas/Craftsman lathe, an Atlas horizontal mill, a Grizzly mill-drill, a South Bend 9" lathe, drill press and a Rockwell wood/metal band saw for the metal shop, and will be moving them in once we get the walls of the shop areas painted.


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## nautilus29 (Apr 7, 2021)

WisJim said:


> I've been reading these posts with interest as I am getting close to completion on a new shop and garage building as part of a move into town and major downsizing.  Due to zoning limitations I was able to build a 24 by 40 foot building with a 12 by 40 attic room.  There is a one car garage, a wood working shop area, and a metal shop area, all of approximately equal size. Since I'm in Western Wisconsin USA we get cold winters (minus 40 is possible but rare), so the building is fully insulated with spray foam in the walls and roof and 2" foam under and around the floor slab.  I have a 12x24 Atlas/Craftsman lathe, an Atlas horizontal mill, a Grizzly mill-drill, a South Bend 9" lathe, drill press and a Rockwell wood/metal band saw for the metal shop, and will be moving them in once we get the walls of the shop areas painted.



I wish I was as close as you are to setting up my shop!  Sounds like you'll have a good working area.

I'm still struggling to decide what I want to do about a mill(s).  We bought this property less than 2 years ago and I still have a lot of projects that need done to the house\ property.  I'm afraid if I buy a haas or similar I'll use up my shop funds, and I won't be able to get other stuff for the shop for awhile.


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## WisJim (Apr 8, 2021)

I looked at Haas mills online, and I think that a used Haas would be a bigger investment than the total that I have in all of my machines in my metal shop.  Of course mine aren't of the same precision and are much older, but then again I'm probably not able to use even my machines to the limit of their capabilities.  I've accumulated my tools over decades by watching ads and sales and buying what I could afford when my funds and the availability of tools happened to coincide.


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## awake (Apr 8, 2021)

WisJim said:


> I looked at Haas mills online, and I think that a used Haas would be a bigger investment ...


Sounds like a haassle to me ...

 Sorry, couldn't resist!


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## nautilus29 (Apr 21, 2021)

I found a  PM25mv, full cnc with power draw bar around me.   Price seems alright, I'm trying to decide if that's the route I want to go...


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## TSutrina (Apr 22, 2021)

nautilus29 said:


> PM25mv


Being on this site your likely not making things bigger then what this milling machine can handle.   I have a round cyclinder mill.  this is a step up because position is maintained when raising the head to drill after milling etc..   Further this mill can be used in the manual mode.   You do need to have skills in solid modeling, a requirement and then CNC programming skilled.   FreeCAD is one option that is totally free that does both.  I do not have CNC capacity so I do not know about the CNC work bench however you have the ability to export a file that will be useable by other CNC software.


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## nautilus29 (May 27, 2021)

I didn't end up getting it.  HGR I'm Cleveland has a lot of good deals, and I think I want a bigger cnc machine now.


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## SmithDoor (May 28, 2021)

I depend what size of work you plan to do.

The basic is
1) lathe
2) mill
3) arbor press.
4) bench grinder 6"

The tooling for mill will cost the most but need for some types of work.

Dave 



nautilus29 said:


> I'm building a shop\ mother-in-law suit right now.  I'm excited to have my first real shop, but I'm realistically a year away from having the thing finished enough to put a shop in it.
> 
> So now I have a year to try to figure out what I want to put in the thing.  I have a taig lathe that I've been slowly converting into a cnc, and then I have a southbend 9a that's at my dad's place for the meantime, so it looked like I need a mill.
> 
> ...


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## nautilus29 (Jul 4, 2021)

I bought a mill this week!  I have been debating the bigger vs smaller for awhile now and decided to just wait until the right one comes up.  

It's a pm-30mv that the guy turned into a CNC by himself.  His job has him building plc boxes regularly, and you can tell.  The mill has also hardly been used so that's a plus.   Here are some pictures of the mill and what it came with.


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## nautilus29 (Jul 4, 2021)

Here are some more.  Came with around 20 tormach style tool holders too.


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## nautilus29 (Jul 4, 2021)

He used centroids acorn board with centroid cnc12.  The spindle still isn't hooked up to the CNC.  When I do that I may add an encoder since the board allows for one.


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## SmithDoor (Jul 4, 2021)

Looks like Great mill.

Dave



nautilus29 said:


> I bought a mill this week!  I have been debating the bigger vs smaller for awhile now and decided to just wait until the right one comes up.
> 
> It's a pm-30mv that the guy turned into a CNC by himself.  His job has him building plc boxes regularly, and you can tell.  The mill has also hardly been used so that's a plus.   Here are some pictures of the mill and what it came with.


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## TSutrina (Jul 5, 2021)

Great purchase.  I bought a use round vertical axis bench top milling machine the next size up to yours.  You can do a lot with it.   The general recommendations is that you need to first learn to machine by hand.  The reason is that you need to know your machine capacity and the capacity of the tools in the materials your cutting.   And you need to learn how to program also.  I happen to provide the test piece for a cnc lathe at the aerospace company I worked for.  A washer with a rounded bottom surface.  I was told it took about 5 times to make the first one.  Tool started in the wrong spot etc. were the bugs that a very experience machinist had to learn about cnc programing.


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## Chiptosser (Jul 7, 2021)

*nautilus29*
Have you done any programing?
The centrode control is a good control.  Both of my machines have centrode controls, a M-15 and a M-40.
Hopefully , the previous owner used a color display on your machine.  that way you can see the different colors for the different tool paths, when a tool is changed.


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