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Gunsmithing Show me pictures of your shop.

RWSGunsmithing

Gunny Sergeant
Commercial Supporter
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Mar 26, 2006
    4,987
    290
    Manning, Iowa
    www.rwsgunsmithing.com
    Well the time has come for me to start planning and designing for a new shop and I need some ideas on how to lay it out. So if you don't mind please take a picture and share it with us here on the hide or if you don't want everyone to see it, by all means please email it to me.
     
    My Shop

    Here is my shop. I was working on restoring a Remington-Keene 45-70 carbine from the 1880's. Had to make a new stock from a blank with no original to go on...and the action and the lower trigger guard/loading port both bed to the stock rather than each other..and must be perfectly aligned to feed and function....and it has a tubular magazine....a stock makers nightmare. I really like the center workstation concept. From my center bench I am within easy reach of all the hand tools on a wall size magnetic tool board behind me. You can see the small Grizzly milling machine and bench vise by the windows. There are two large quadruple fluorescent lights overhead. There is also a large free standing drill press, air compressor and bench grinder, and several hangers for dremel tools. One wall has several Dillon reloading machines and all the dies and other reloading equipment. I am set up to make stocks from a blank to final finish, including glass bedding. I can rust blue, Cerakote, custom paint, match chamber ream, drill and tap, crown,braze, solder and fabricate obsolete gun parts. All the large equipment...radial saw, table saw, chop saw, arbor press, belt sanders, routing table, and welders are in the barn.


    Almost finished product


     
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    I have two shops, one production shop with good five axis machinery etc.
    And an old prototype shop where a number of prototypes and a lot of strange odd jobs are done.
    Almost perfectly for advanced gunsmithing.

    I would really recomend you to get some small precision Machines.
    Small lathes with collets and a tool grinding machine to become really flexible.

    With the toolgrinding machine and/or a single lip grinder like Deckel SOE you are normally only 15-30 minutes away from special cutters all the time.

    Here is a few specials I have done.

    All cutters you see here is homemade:)

    The setup in the lathe below is a cutting a torx grip into a special screw.
    the reiciver is in a special set up in the tool grinding machine to have it's locking lugs corrected.
     

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    Here is a homemade drill bit in Carbide machined and drilling a hole through a custom rear toggle for a luger that holds 58HRC (or something )
     

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    I get the feeling he is seeking layout of equip, floor space, etc. Will get some pics of our shop and a sketch of the floor plan. One thing I see in many pics online and shops I have visited is a blasting cabinet near machinery. It destroys beds / ways in no time if using alum ox.
     
    I get the feeling he is seeking layout of equip, floor space, etc. Will get some pics of our shop and a sketch of the floor plan. One thing I see in many pics online and shops I have visited is a blasting cabinet near machinery. It destroys beds / ways in no time if using alum ox.

    That would be great.

    I currently have and also plan to have the sandblaster in a separate room as the other machinery.
     
    True that! Blasters are the devil. We had a similar problem. The solution was a vinyl tough shed. Makes for a cheap and effective dirty room for equipment like this. Grinders and blasting equipment should be polar opposites of machines at all costs!

    C.
     
    Yep. Paint booth is on a castered steel 2x4 frame. We roll it out onto the apron in the summer or when we clean the shop. Wired for lights, filtered, and ventilated with a pair of box fans. Works great. If you try it, get a big length of chain to ground out the shed. The paint gun will generate some static and it creates a dust magnet. (usually right on your stock) The chain grounds you out and helps to reduce dirt in the paint.

    Clean your booth frequently. Especially if shooting automotive stuff. Get some paint suits too. Lint is near impossible to see on a camo job but it'll be the first thing you notice on a bling bling job for a BR or Palma rifle.

    DSC_0116.jpg


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    DSC_0115.jpg
     
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    I already have a good start on the light situation.

    Since you brought up size, how big is your guys shop? The biggest the zoning commission will let me go is 26x42.

    Not gonna be big enough to fit one of those sheds inside but I did already have planned a paint room and a grinding/blasting section. The paint room is going to be big as I want to be able to paint a car/truck if I want to.

    Also what about air lines? Do you have them run throughout the shop or just to the specific areas that you use it?
     
    fvti0.jpg


    This was after we set our haas in place so there's lots that is hidden behind it. I'll try to take another one that shows our cerakote station and work benches.

    Our shop is 40x100. Everything that uses air has a dedicated soft line currently. Need to get the plumbing done for air, but it's low on the list. So much equipment is running on rfc's, we need to rewire for 3 phase first and get a snail.

    Like a jeep, I don't think a shop is ever finished.
     
    Regarding power and air delivery.


    The importance of this cannot be overstated enough. Few things suck more than running out of panel, tripping over air hoses, etc. It just eats the clock and drags things out. Build your shop with plenty of power in reserve. I have an 800 amp main. In 3 years I've filled two breaker panels. (MO POWAH!)

    Air:

    I ran copper lines. PVC can work too, but I know that copper is drama free. I've seen PVC get brittle and fail over time. Especially in places where stuff is being plugged in/removed frequently. I ran my lines on a 1" per 10' angle so that any moisture runs away from the source. I placed drains below each coupler and the couplers are pointing up instead of down. Combined with a line conditioner (dryer) it's made for a pretty robust/trouble free setup. The caveat here is I discovered (later) that cheapo air hoses don't last. The gravity effect on them pointing up and then turning down leads to premature failure around the swaged end where the male hose end attaches.

    If your going all out, consider radiant floor heat if your in a climate that needs that sort of thing. Warm feet in the dead of winter makes for a comfortable setting. Few things suck more than walking into an ice box Monday morning. You can blow all the hot air you want, if the floor is cold, your going to be miserable. Consider where you'll be in 15-20 years.

    We all realize at some point that we have an expiration date. Plan ahead...

    The floor should be smooth, level, and capable of supporting the mass of equipment. If your putting up a building, stress the importance of a proper floor. Cannot be overstated enough.

    Consider LED lighting. 50% off your power bill compared to the alternatives and everything is visible spectrum light. No more piss yellow tints and headaches from UV emissions.

    Good luck and hope this helps.

    Chad
     
    PVC can work too, but I know that copper is drama free. I've seen PVC get brittle and fail over time.

    This ^^^^ PVC air lines are a bad idea. When they eventually fail, (and they will at some point) they fail spectacularly. Razor sharp plastic shards at 150 MPH gets real western, real fast. Additionally if you move a lot of air at high compression you get heat buildup. PVC + heat = no beauno. If copper ever fails it tends to split in a localized area.
     
    Regarding power and air delivery.


    The importance of this cannot be overstated enough. Few things suck more than running out of panel, tripping over air hoses, etc. It just eats the clock and drags things out. Build your shop with plenty of power in reserve. I have an 800 amp main. In 3 years I've filled two breaker panels. (MO POWAH!)

    Air:

    I ran copper lines. PVC can work too, but I know that copper is drama free. I've seen PVC get brittle and fail over time. Especially in places where stuff is being plugged in/removed frequently. I ran my lines on a 1" per 10' angle so that any moisture runs away from the source. I placed drains below each coupler and the couplers are pointing up instead of down. Combined with a line conditioner (dryer) it's made for a pretty robust/trouble free setup. The caveat here is I discovered (later) that cheapo air hoses don't last. The gravity effect on them pointing up and then turning down leads to premature failure around the swaged end where the male hose end attaches.

    If your going all out, consider radiant floor heat if your in a climate that needs that sort of thing. Warm feet in the dead of winter makes for a comfortable setting. Few things suck more than walking into an ice box Monday morning. You can blow all the hot air you want, if the floor is cold, your going to be miserable. Consider where you'll be in 15-20 years.

    We all realize at some point that we have an expiration date. Plan ahead...

    The floor should be smooth, level, and capable of supporting the mass of equipment. If your putting up a building, stress the importance of a proper floor. Cannot be overstated enough.

    Consider LED lighting. 50% off your power bill compared to the alternatives and everything is visible spectrum light. No more piss yellow tints and headaches from UV emissions.

    Good luck and hope this helps.

    Chad
    Good points here
    Agree 100% on the radiant floor heat, this is the sh.t if you can swing it. I put radiant heat in my shop and Im very please with it. I am very comfortable in my shop with the T stat at 60*.
    Importance of good lighting cant be overstated, especially as we get older and eyesight goes south.
    I used schedule 80 pvc for the air so far so good
     
    Another point. Set your air up to build off of later. Tripping over hoses is just unacceptable. If you have employees the last thing you need is workman's comp claim from a busted ass over a stupid air hose. We run more and more of our stuff from the ceiling now because of this. Extension cords are also the devil. Run outlets overhead wherever applicable.


    again, where you are now vs 20 years later should be considered. If your anything like us I spend more time at work than I do at home. Most wouldn't tolerate a hose running from the bathroom through the living room into the kitchens dishwasher.

    don't do it at work either!


    C.
     
    I agree with using copper for the air lines since it's easy to work with and you won't have to worry about it failing.
     
    We had PVC at the shop (BIG BIG) where I worked but the air oil from the comp. caused the pipe to blow (2") no one hurt. They went to the Alu Fast Pipe and it was so much better and easy to put up or move as needed.
     
    Would love to share pics, but having difficulty figuring it out. Shared one earlier in another thread, but it came out as a small thumbnail instead of good pic. Can you guys advise me on how to post-up good pics? Didn't mean to rob the thread, just not a high tech redneck.
     
    OUCH! Did some looking at LED lights. Those things are not cheap. They are running about $120 for a 4' section.

    If you're stringing the lights yourself then you can get 100w (10,000 lumens) of 'white' LED flood lights for $45: 10W 100W White Warm White High Power LED Panel w High Power LED Driver | eBay

    Double your wattage for 50% the price? Might need a heatsink or something, but it might be worth the effort in the long run... I'd refrain from running an LED driver at 100% of its rating too but whatever.
     
    Would love to share pics, but having difficulty figuring it out. Shared one earlier in another thread, but it came out as a small thumbnail instead of good pic. Can you guys advise me on how to post-up good pics? Didn't mean to rob the thread, just not a high tech redneck.

    Here is a thread on how to do it.

    http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/firearms-sale/417-how-post-pixs.html

    Otherwise the small picture is fine because you should be able to click on it to see a larger image.
     
    OUCH! Did some looking at LED lights. Those things are not cheap. They are running about $120 for a 4' section.

    Lithonia LED Wraparound LBL4 LP840

    Anyone have any experience with this shop air line?

    https://www.rapidairproducts.com/

    The flip side is..... I ran LED bulbs in my whole house. I think my main floor draws 1.9 amps when all the lights are on. That is over 65% power savings from when I was running incandescent bulbs.
    I would highly advise you to bite the bullet and get the LED bulbs. They are expensive but the savings on your power bill, eye strain, and the fact that they last for 10 years is WORTH EVERY PENNY!
     
    I'm not a smith, but I have to say, this is one of the best threads ever. I'm hoping to see more pictures.
     
    This is my small garage/shop before I placed any equipment, Now it is cramed and a messy. Its small but I make it work till I decide to build a shop one of these days.

     
    If you have the shop size, I would suggest running all of the machines against one wall. This will help greatly with some of the points that Chad stated with hoses and cords. If you have to run anything on the floor in walking area, run some wide duct tape over the line/hose for a temporary fix. Radiant floor heating is the bomb if you can swing it.
     
    OUCH! Did some looking at LED lights. Those things are not cheap. They are running about $120 for a 4' section.

    Lithonia LED Wraparound LBL4 LP840

    Anyone have any experience with this shop air line?

    https://www.rapidairproducts.com/

    I took a serious look at rapidair's products- which seem excellent. However, I realized our small shop was not their target market. I ran an overhead loop of 3/4" copper around the shop, sloping into the corners- drains added at the low points. It's amazing how much condensation accumulates. Purchased several large (new) Kaeser air filters off ebay. The only moisture issue we have had is at the blast cabinet- which makes sense with the volume of air.

    Place your spray booth as far away from your compressor as possible. I now only paint in the morning. There is enough air in the lines & tank to run the small Iwata (LPH-80) for several hrs without turning on the compressor- cool air, multiple filters, no moisture issues.
     
    The company I work for installed LED lights. Seemed weird the first day, the second day I didn't notice a difference. Maybe a bit bluer, but no big deal, well worth it if they eliminate buzzing ballast resistors and extend bulb life.
     
    chad
    I love the clean organized shop. says a lot about your operation. I keep my shop clean as well. I hate a messy working environment.
    we are also getting ready to expand the shop. The contractor starts in 3 weeks. I cant wait to have more room, and another lathe. I waiting on the new heavy 10 that shiraz is working on. I love my big grizzly, but I hate changing chucks. The new heavy 10 will be my barrel only lathe. Lee
     
    One thing that hasn't been mentioned is office space. If and when I can find a suitable shop or at least a place to build one, I want an office to keep the paperwork organized.