I set up my first "machine shop" about a decade ago. I'd gotten a contract to design and build a prototype instrument for the Dept of Naval Surface Warfare and realized that I could have a shop make all the parts, or I could plow the entire invoiced amount into setting up shop, and all future work would pay a lot better.
Plus I'd have a shop. So I did that. I bought a Smithy Granite 1324 lathe/mill and all the tooling. I already had a wee Atlas 618 lathe and a drill press. I acquired stuff over the years, but once we bought the new (1950, project) house about 3 years ago I had space and began looking for adult sized machinery.
November of 2011 I spied a listing on CL for an entire shop being liquidated. It was less than an hour away, and while the transaction was complicated and shaky until the riggers had the load on the truck, it was a great deal. I got most of the stuff in the pics above for $10k. I sold off a bunch of small duplicate machinery plus the Smithy all for about $5k, so in total, for everything I'm still in for under $20k.
My present gig is designing and fabricating prototype lab instruments and lab automation as a contractor to a government institute. It's infinitely faster for me to work from home when I need parts made rather than deal with having stuff quoted, submitting the quote to procurement, having them issue a P.O. and then weeks after I drew the part, having it in hand.
Not pictured: the RC plane/hobby shop area, and the wood shop/ home improvement shop.
Here's the garage of a guy who hosted a dinner party for the Griffith/TVR club a couple years ago. I thought you guys might enjoy seeing it.
We were a little late getting there and had to park down on the lawn. The white one is/was mine.
That's not a shop. That's a garage-majal.
Now I want an Austin Healey again. And that garage to put it in.
Is that an Allard J2?
Bravenrace, do you know the owner of Capricorn Powertrain in Derry PA?
He has a few TVRs. I know the TVR community is pretty tight.
Rob R.
I'm sorely tempted to take a pic of the shop here at the dealership, but it's really not all that impressive. LOL
In reply to wvumtnbkr:
Yes, it's an Allard, and it's Cadillac powered. The name of that company doesn't sound familiar, but that doesn't mean I don't know the owner. What's his name?
I forgot about it, since it wasn't in the garage at the time, but this is the owner's Griffith Series 400. It's a concours restoration, and was featured in Autoweek.
DaveEstey wrote: That's not a shop. That's a garage-majal.
And almost none of the cars were what they appeared to be. The GT was turbocharged, and the Camaro had a Corvette C6R engine in it, for instance.
I see evidence in those pictures of Over a Dozen running TVR's. That's impossible. Those images are photoshopped
In reply to nocones:
LOL! You should have been to Carlisle this year... It was the TVR club's national meet and there were about two dozen of them on Sat.
In reply to Ian F:
And just about every one of those guys was at this dinner. I can't remember the exact amount, but we had over 20 cars, and more than half of them were Griffiths!
That yellow TVR is getting work done at my buddies garage (unless there is another one that looks identical to it).
Rob R.
i am so jelly of the personal garages in here..
In reply to wvumtnbkr:
Is your buddy's garage in Michigan? Because that's where this car is located. BTW, it has a built Rover 3.9 engine transplant and sounds wicked.
Standing with my back against the rear single garage door and looking out the front double door. Metalshop is the right rear corner, general workbench is the left rear corner. 24'x35', two window ac units and 220/110 power, but not enough height for a lift (although I do have attic storage.) it was built by the PO as a wood shop.
A view of the metal shop corner:
AAAAAnd the general workbench corner:
this is what a couple hundred a month gets you in DC:
Sunny is a pretty good shop foredog and keeps it in line.
edit: images fixed
bravenrace wrote: In reply to wvumtnbkr: Is your buddy's garage in Michigan? Because that's where this car is located. BTW, it has a built Rover 3.9 engine transplant and sounds wicked.
Nope. I guess they made a few of the yellow ones that are still around.
Amazing stuff guys! Keep it coming.
In reply to wvumtnbkr:
I don't think this one is even an original TVR color, but I'm not totally sure about that.
Not exactly the Garage-Mahal I saw earlier but it's my first garage ever. The pink bin is sitting on pallets the fiancee picked up for gardening and can't remember why now. (They're going in her shed this weekend.)
Probably can't make out the unicycle in front of the bikes, plan to re-learn that this summer (which is almost over already.)
These guys try to help, but they have no thumbs.
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