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Looking for shop space, or people who would be interested in a shared shop.

K

kylemp

Well-Known Member
Hey all, I'm starting to look for one of two things as posted in the title:

1) A shared shop space that I could bring equipment into, and would be able to use, for a reasonable price

OR

2) Enough interest to find a shop that others would like to use and potentially bring equipment into.

I would like to find somewhere that I could do metal fab and machining, and eventually I am hoping to start taking on paid fabrication work.

If anyone has a shop that they are not fully utilizing, or if you dont have enough space to do the work you would like to, let me know.

The 2nd option would obviously take a lot more planning but is certainly doable and could end up being something that a lot of people here would use once its established.
 
Hey Kyle. This is an interesting idea. My garage is really convenient but space is a problem. Cost though what is leased space in calgary worth? What does protospace pay per sq ft for their space? I'd like to know.
 
I'm currently waiting on a company I do a lot of work for to get back to me. They have put a bid on a place to buy with a main shop that has 12 overhead cranes and an out door crane for moving steel around, they said the property has a second smaller shop that will have an overhead crane in it, they offered it to me for $2500 plus utilities a month I have one guy already committed and we would run the place together. I will be bringing in a larger cnc laser plus my cnc plasma and all my welding equipment. He is a sheet metal worker with 20 years experience and will be bringing a industrial break and shear.

The company that is buying the place will be taking possession in March if everything goes as planned, I haven't personally seen the place but once they let me go take a look I'll post pictures and see if it's something that could work
 
It's about the size of an industrial double Long bay, it also has a a big bay door and a paint booth you can drive a semi into well the truck part anyway, the booth is fully vented and will be staying with the building
 
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I would have to look back and see what PS is paying, but its high compared to what I wanted unless I was making a decent living from fab work. We (myself, and 3 other guys) just found a spot and moved in 2 days ago. Its not huge by any stretch, 28' x 24' roughly but its perfect for us for right now. It will work well for the machining and fab we do at this point, I brought the CNC plasma, lathe, mill, huge 100" brake, and the rest of my stuff. Ill post some pictures after I get back from work and we get set up but that might not be until spring.
 
Just to show you what moving my tools was like.. its a long process even with a picker! One load, managed to get all the heavy stuff on there (with a uhaul trailer). The plasma table went after because it brakes down into under 300lb pieces, all the other things just dont. The brake is pretty much all solid 1" plate, even the apron weighs like a million pounds. Once we are set up I will post some more pictures.
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Look at that brake! Man Kyle you always go big or go home. Seriously jealous here..
 
If its worth doing, its worth overdoing.. I just stumbled on it, with no intention of buying it.. but then it went cheap at the auction. Whats the point in having a brake that only works for you half the time? I want to find a nice, big, heavy, cheap press brake so I can do at least 1/4".

Next stop, custom tool boxes! I picked up 12 sheets of 20ga to start fabbing some up once we are set up and I have some time.
 
Theres 3 more guys including me, my plasma table is 6' x 12', the working area is just over 5' x 10'. Im considering building another one now that I know what I'm doing and I have all the tools in-house.. the machining was a fair portion of the cost in building this one, and I could do a much better job now. Having said that I am getting better accuracy and cuts that a guy I know who bought a commercial gantry system so maybe I should just leave a good thing alone..
 
I need a better z axis on mine, I can cut confidently at 55ipm any faster and I start getting jitters lol, but pretty accurate for a bunch of skate board bearings. I have started researching a laser cutter build, from the looks of what I've seen so far a laser capable of cutting just under 3/8" steel is do able. Anything over that it gets really pricey really fast. I think you should look into it for your shop, I would love to help you with it. You could have your plasma for heavier steel and the laser for finer cuts, and then you could pretty much cut any other type of material as well with the laser
 
I built mine using the same system (skateboard bearings), but I went with these bearings for the Z axis. I typically run at 2500-3500mm/min (100-135ipm) but going faster causes issues with tight corners due to the constant velocity. I may try and tune more to get it to run faster but honestly, it runs really well and I can just run with less power and submerged cutting for thin sheet metal without any issues so far.

As for the lasers.. if you send me some links I would like to take a look. I did look at 2 commercial laser systems, both Cincinnati. They were coming from a wood stove manufacturer so they were well maintained and outfitted but they require a LOT of power and 3 phase. I am not a huge fan of lasers just because the cost to run them and the space they take, but if it could be added on it might be an option. I also just about bought a watejet a month ago, part of me is wishing I had but the same problem with power requirements. That one was a 55000psi system, should have been good to about 3-1/2" material, which is probably overboard for what I need.. but then most other things I do are as well.

Once I get back and we are set up we are all (at least 2, but I think all 4 of us will) be making a whole bunch of tool boxes using the plasma and brake. Since its all 20ga I will post some pictures and you can see what it looks like for cut quality and the fine detail. Im a big fan of using existing holes and mounts so I aim for that all the time, it also makes a good representation of how accurately the machine can cut.
 
I have an add on kijiji that says "Protect yourself let me build you a tank!!"

I don't know if I could handle a battleship though lol
 
Nah, you need a 5 axis plasma for that. And a lot of space. And water. So maybe Alberta isn't the ideal market for ship building.
 
It wouldn't be a funny joke..

Kris - you and I should sit down and have a chat at some point. I'd prefer to work with you than inadvertently against you doing fab work in town.
 
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