[AT] Shop thoughts (was)Air Lines

[Pete Celano]

Indiana Robinson wrote, (among other things):
> 	I guess I have only a passing interest in hearing from guys that are doing 
> "professional" restorations or the guys with the big huge complete shops doing big 
> things. I prefer hearing from guys that are solving problems the best they can with 
> things the average list member has at hand to work with. The younger guys with a table, a 
> vice and a small box of tools are the future of this hobby (I hope)...
> 
There is a third way, one that I have followed and most grease-heads I 
know have as well... picking up scrapped, used and obsolete tools, gear 
and machinery.

I run a small shop just outside of Detroit, comprised of what started 
with a surface grinder and lathe that were all but given to me.  There 
are a lot of people with very limited means around who have built 
impressive and capable shops going this route.  We're "old school," 
because the equipment from back then was far more dependent on the skill 
and savvy of the operator than on whiz-bang computer controls, ball 
screws with no backlash, coated carbide and ceramic tooling and all the 
rest.  The gradual dying off of the skills to do quality work on the old 
manual machinery has driven the prices down almost to the value of the 
iron in many cases, and even below that for heavier stuff.

The biggest hurdle is often moving the stuff safely.  The bigger gear 
can often be had for free - IF you can move it!  Three phase power is as 
easy as wiring up an old motor as a converter.  All you need then is 
someplace to put it.

What I'm trying to say is that building a substantial shop isn't 
necessarily dependent on being able to invest a great deal of money.  In 
many cases they come with years of patience, being prepared to take 
advantage of opportunities, hitting garage sales and flea markets and 
getting the word out that you are interested in this stuff.  I started 
out in my garage with nothing.  My self-supporting little factory has 
functioning equipment dating back to the Civil War, plus I'm keeping the 
old methods alive and even passing some of them on to a new generation.

And now, after 17 years of that, I'm ready to tackle my first tractor... 
a 1945 2N that is sitting proudly in the suburban garage where my shop 
used to be.

Pete in Detroit