After getting a real job, one of my first priorities was to move up to a real machine shop. Yep, higher up than moving out of the parents' house. After talking to a couple of friends, I moved to this space, for a very reasonable rent. I sublet ~400+ square feet out of a 6,000+ square foot machine shop, owned by a friend of mine.
Pictured at left is my primary work space, in the back corner of the main shop. Nearest is my 13.5x32" Nebel lathe (nicknamed Nibbles), with a taper attachment and 2J Hardinge-Sjogren collet closer mounted. Next, on the right, is the corner of a 4.5'x9' cast iron, scraped surface plate, which I have a plywood top on for general table usage. Next is a 10x44" table Edelstaal turret mill, with a NMTB40 taper spindle. Finally, the hulking beast in the back is a 16x64" table Van Norman #22 milling machine.
Shop Updates, circa mid-2011
Showing the change of machine tools. The Van Norman has moved, with a LeBlond Makino FNC-60 Vertical Machining Center in its place. The computer is a CAD/CAM setup for drip-feeding the VMC and the green box with red display is the control for a CNC indexer. Moving the 9800 lb CNC mill into its home was an exciting exercise, even with the assistance of the bridge crane.
The Edelstaal had its head removed and exchanged for a Bridgeport vari-speed J-head.
Not pictured is the 6x12" Taft-Pierce surface grinder.
The shop is constantly upgraded with additional tooling and consumable tools.