# Shop & Heat



## Chessiedog

Pole barn from dirt and gravel to cemented shop . It's not too big but, it fits my equipment inside to work on. I would say the worst thing is that it only has 10 foot ceilings the rest is 30 x 35. But hey have to do with what you have or can afford. Radiant heat seems to be working great and not kicking on much.

Told my wife I'm running out of excuses to sit on my rear, no more it's raining or it's too cold out there!

Oh I almost forgot. My son, and I was working on my son-in-laws truck over the weekend .Got done he wanted to know where the hand cleaner was. I said in the house. He says you need hand cleaner! So I put this on the wall today and sent him a pic . He said it's almost a real shop now. I said yea we just need a mechanic.


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## mlappin

Nice, almost wish I could start over and end up with a smooth inside wall. Right now I have the insulation covered with the top and bottom sheets of metal from bundles of door skins from a local factory. I do have enough room between the poles to get exactly two 7 foot tall Shelve units form a local auto parts store that closed.

I'm working in a converted cow barn now, is a 30' by ninety with a 15 foot lean to on the east side. So on the side with less headroom we keep the work benches, welders, plasma cutter, bridgeport, lathe, drillpresses, 30 ton press, etc.

I have a waste oiler burner for heat and have no problems heating it since we cut the length of the barn in half with a removable wall.

I keep thinking a new shop would be sweet. Big enough to unfold a sixteen row planter or work on our 60' sprayboom would really be sweet. Ge the office out of the house and into the new shop, a separate room just to store manuals would also be sweet, a bathroom as well for the help with maybe even a shower would be real sweet.

Then I start pricing my dream shop and end up thinking my 45x45 shop sure is sweet.


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## slowzuki

I like it! My shop isn't anywhere large enough already and I managed to leave myself no where to expand. My worst decision was the 16 ft wide bays with posts between them. I thought 14 ft doors were big enough too. Seemed large enough at the time!


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## Chessiedog

I would have liked something bigger for sure but this was here already. The wall metal and all the storage shelves, the big cabinet that is a Strong Hold,
work benches and a Stanley Vidmar part or bolt cabinet came from a large auto parts plant ( covered about 43 acres ) I worked at for 20 some years . When it closed down couple other guys thought we should go into the salvage business, paid off in more than one way.

_When I build a new building it's going to be for hay storage._

Mlappin sounds like your quite the mechanic and machinist with all that equipment . I do some wrench turning but don't claim to be no mechanic. Was an electrician with a laptop. Looking at inputs and outputs on mostly Allen Bradley stuff. Trying to find a broken prox switch or limit switch not working, or trying to figure out why a drill head being told by the controller to go to 2.0020 inches was stopping at 1.8 inches . If it was a mechanical problem or electrical. *An if it was mechanical ,let the mechanics at it ! *ha ha


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## mlappin

Yah, has taken me years to collect all that. Two nicest additions lately was the Bridgeport and a Corghi tire machine.

Have a list of stuff I'd still like but no room left. A good 4' brake would be nice but an 8 footer would be better. An iron worker and/or a good bandsaw. Someday would really like to have a CNC table to go with the plasma cutter even if it was only big enough to handle 4'x4' sheets. An english wheel as well for hand making body parts is also on the wish but don't have room for list.


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## swmnhay

_Oh common Marty you need to splurge.100 x 300 with heated floor wth geo thermal heat._

_Or have one like the guy down the road with silver spoon.It was featured in Sussesful Farming.He doesn't even change the oil in Eq it gets taken to town._

_http://www.agriculture.com/machinery/farm-shop/top-shops/best-shop-office_243-sl23085_


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## mlappin

Chessiedog said:


> Pole barn from dirt and gravel to cemented shop . It's not too big but, it fits my equipment inside to work on. I would say the worst thing is that it only has 10 foot ceilings the rest is 30 x 35. But hey have to do with what you have or can afford. Radiant heat seems to be working great and not kicking on much.


I've been wanting to add a few radiant tube heaters to ours as well, but getting the nat gas to the shop will be expensive in itself. I've decided before next winter I'll have underground pipe buried so I can hook my OWB to the shop as well and just have a few small heat exchangers in the tool area and a few large ones above the main floor then I'll just run the small ones to keep the tools and machines dry during high condensation times. Old pole barn, no vapor barrier under the cement equals a ton of condensation at times. Then I'll modify my waste oil burner into a boiler so I can reheat the water with waste oil before it goes back the to the OWB.


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## Teslan

swmnhay said:


> _Oh common Marty you need to splurge.100 x 300 with heated floor wth geo thermal heat._
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> _Or have one like the guy down the road with silver spoon.It was featured in Sussesful Farming.He doesn't even change the oil in Eq it gets taken to town._
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> _http://www.agricultu...ice_243-sl23085_


I don't see much "shop" in this slide show. Oil changing and the equipment goes to town? I would feel embarrassed taking my machinery to the dealership to change the oil. Plus that would take so much longer then actually doing it myself.


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## swmnhay

Teslan said:


> I don't see much "shop" in this slide show. Oil changing and the equipment goes to town? I would feel embarrassed taking my machinery to the dealership to change the oil. Plus that would take so much longer then actually doing it myself.


Yea most of the pics are of the office and lounge area or what ever they call it.He actually has 2 shops( if you want to call them that)First one is full of toys I hear.Ran outa room built another.Along with 3 machine sheds.He has only farmed about 15 yrs and got started from Daddys checkbook.His rental offer is "What ever it takes"

Was talking with a machinery salesman last yr and he said you would be surprised at what comes into the shop for a oil change etc.There was a manure spreader in the dealers shop a guy brought in with broken apron chain and it was full of shit yet!!He said another guy traded a disc mower in because he didn't want to flip the blades for the first time.


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## mlappin

Teslan said:


> I don't see much "shop" in this slide show. Oil changing and the equipment goes to town? I would feel embarrassed taking my machinery to the dealership to change the oil. Plus that would take so much longer then actually doing it myself.


Besides I want all that old oil, not only did I pay for it the first time, I heat the shop with waste oil.


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## FCF

swmnhay said:


> _Oh common Marty you need to splurge.100 x 300 with heated floor wth geo thermal heat._
> 
> _Or have one like the guy down the road with silver spoon.It was featured in Sussesful Farming.He doesn't even change the oil in Eq it gets taken to town._
> 
> _http://www.agricultu...ice_243-sl23085_


Think the spoon just got an upgrade, gold or platium would be more in order for that kind of shop.


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## Vol

swmnhay said:


> _Oh common Marty you need to splurge.100 x 300 with heated floor wth geo thermal heat._
> 
> _Or have one like the guy down the road with silver spoon.It was featured in Sussesful Farming.He doesn't even change the oil in Eq it gets taken to town._
> 
> _http://www.agricultu...ice_243-sl23085_


Obviously those dang Minnesota farmers are the ones making all the money......they all must have the Platinum edition spoons in their fannies.
















Regards, Mike


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## swmnhay

Vol said:


> Obviously those dang Minnesota farmers are the ones making all the money......they all must have the Platinum edition spoons in their fannies.
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Not all of us,I got handed a Wooden Spoon







No handouts from Daddy here.But I was given the oppertunity to farm.


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## mlappin

swmnhay said:


> Not all of us,I got handed a Wooden Spoon
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 Rich Minnesota farmers, I bet it was a new wooden spoon. I had to use the one I found in the sand box my uncles had when they were little.


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## swmnhay

mlappin said:


> Rich Minnesota farmers, I bet it was a new wooden spoon. I had to use the one I found in the sand box my uncles had when they were little.


Heck I had to go out to the grove and chop the tree down and whittle a spoon out of the log.


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## Vol

swmnhay said:


> Not all of us,I got handed a Wooden Spoon
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Well I heard, I think it was Paul Harvey...say one time that Minnesota farmers.....especially from the Southwest part of the state...were richer than three feet up a bulls ass. I don't think Paul ever told anything but the truth.

Regards, Mike


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## NDVA HAYMAN

Mike you made me hehaw. Cy, what area do you live in?.LOL


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## swmnhay

There is a few that are.If I had their money I would burn mine.


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## Vol

swmnhay said:


> There is a few that are.If I had their money I would burn mine.


Well Cy, one of our members said you had enough money to burn up a wet elephant.









Regards, Mike


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## swmnhay

Vol said:


> Well Cy, one of our members said you had enough money to burn up a wet elephant.
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Shhhhh.Don't tell Karen she will think I need to spend it.









To burn a wet elephant I would use corn stalk bales.Break the bales and cover the elephant with a few feet of stalks and maybe a few tires.A little diesel to get it going good.Would need a foggy day permit,DNR would frown on this.This would be a lot more cost effective then useing money.It would save me the $50 rendering fee also.









Heck I thought the big money was in Tennessee.I heard all the hay farmers were actually running stills useing the hay bales to hide shine in.I even seen a bale like that on Moonshiners on TV.


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