I am a charter and lifetime member of the Handyman Club. I work with steel in my 24 x 32-ft. shop, where I repair all types of outdoor equipment. Sometimes I have to fabricate parts, which is easy to do with my 12 x 36-in. lathe and 9 x 36-in. milling machine with power feed and XYZ readout.
I can weld steel, stainless and aluminum with two different MIG welders. Cutting is no problem with a 7 x 12-in. band saw, a plasma cutter and an acetylene-torch set.
A 6,000-pound floor lift
To pick up equipment, I have a 1,000-pound overhead electric hoist on a track. My pride and joy is a 6,000-pound floor lift (photo 1). I built it from scratch and use it daily to lift all types of equipment. It can raise items as high as 4 ft., and it rotates 360 degrees so I can stand in one place instead of walking around the workpiece. When I’m not using the lift, it lies flat on the floor like a piece of plate steel. It is powered by a power-steering pump from a car (a 1985 model). I cut a channel in the concrete floor so the hydraulic lines going to the cylinder would not get damaged.
I also built an air hydraulic press from scrap steel for pressing out bearings and a three-ton, ratchet arbor press for broaching out keyways. All of the air tools are powered by a 5-hp two-stage compressor, which also powers a bead-blaster cabinet and a large sandblaster.
Bending and shaping wrought iron
I have expanded into bending and shaping wrought iron, and I just purchased tools for sheet metal, rollers, shearing and stretching. (You never can tell when you might need that special tool.)
I designed the garage so there is no post in the middle to get in the way. I built special roof trusses that could support the load span. The lighting is designed so that when I work on a vehicle, there’s no shadow to prevent me from seeing what I am doing. An overhead propane heater and a portable 10,000-Btu air conditioner keep the shop comfortable in winter and summer.
I do some woodwork, but oil and sawdust don't mix, so all of my power woodworking equipment is on rollers. That way I can just raise the garage door, roll out the machines and do my woodworking in the driveway.