This post is to show you the problem I have with my workshop. The pictures show my current workshop and machinery. This unit is 1170 square feet, with an additional 585 square feet in the adjacent building which is used for storage. The workshop as it is allows me easy access to all machinery and benches for production.
Due to the slowing down of orders I cannot justify resigning my lease which is due to expire on March 31st and I may have to move to a smaller shop to reduce my overhead's. I already have a shop lined up which is only 825 square feet. This will mean access to some of my machines will be restricted as they will have to be stowed and pulled out to work with. This will ultimately result in slower production as many of the parts I make require access to most of my machines at the same time.
The biggest problem I have is not knowing when and how many orders I will receive in the future, if you are able to commit at this time to placing a order I can gauge future requirements to see if I can remain in the current shop which is the ideal.
Workshop is in a bit of a mess at the moment, no time to clean it up to take pictures.
Current 1170 square foot workshop. First four pictures are overview of the shop.
Office, mailing and stowage bins for completed parts.
Three pictures of customer bins for orders.
Bins for cast parts awaiting assembly or packaging.
Assembly bench.
Soldering bench left, metal storage and cutting bench right.
Machining area, lathe and drill press left, two milling machines, disc sander and grinder right.
Tapping machine.
Bending, cutting and drilling bench. Small press, large press, cutter, cut off saw, angle bender and large drill press.
Resin casting area. Pressure pots, compressor and vacuum pump, plus cross cut band saw.
Metal casting area. Melting pot and spin caster, plus vacuum pump.
Cutting and sanding area. Band saw. Two disc sanders and wood cross cut saw.
Table saw, doubles as work bench for metal casting.
Resin casting work bench.
In production parts bench.
Project bench 1, also used for order preparation.
Project bench 2, also used for order preparation.
You can see from these pictures it is not possible to move everything into the smaller shop and still maintain a reasonable production level.
I am almost caught up on my current orders, which will all be complete by the end of February, with the exception of the 20 ton jacks and the Kubelwagon tank cold start. These will not be completed until sometime in March depending on weather I make the move or not.
Your support and future orders are needed to assist me in making this very important decision.
Regards
Mike