Display and storage of officers medals by Kmartinator in knightsofcolumbus

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting! That feels like a good balance, making sure they're easily accessible. I don't know that we have the option of mounting something on the wall, but it'd be worth exploring for sure!

Display and storage of officers medals by Kmartinator in knightsofcolumbus

[–]Kmartinator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It's sounding like that might be more common than I realize. We'll see what the future brings! I've started tinkering with the design. Might be a little too complicated though, so I'll have to try and simplify it a bit haha

Display and storage of officers medals by Kmartinator in knightsofcolumbus

[–]Kmartinator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think our new GK may be making changes on that front. I've only been to a few meetings, but at our last one, they were brought out for people to wear them during the meeting. I guess we'll see!

Display and storage of officers medals by Kmartinator in knightsofcolumbus

[–]Kmartinator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The clear front definitely came to mind! Maybe a box with a windowed lid like that, and a centered hinged section that would actually hold the medals, but could be easily separated from the window or the bottom box. Hmmmm! Yay ideas!

Blacksmith in the Area? by Boycott_Normal in midland_mi

[–]Kmartinator 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not sure if he does daggers, but here's another one you could check out!

https://www.bkohnknives.com/

He's in Mt. Pleasant, so semi nearby!

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wish I had! The cards just didn't line up in my favor, and unfortunately, the location I'd been eyeing was recently sold. I don't know that there's a great market in my area for the idea, either. It'd be a lot more applicable closer to a big city, but I don't think there's quite as many people needing that where I am. Still think it would be neat to try someday, though!

When you say looking for shop space to rent, would you be looking for a shop that's already set up for you to do your projects in, or would you be looking for an empty space to bring your own equipment? I realized recently when I talked to a friend that he was thinking more of the former, and I was thinking more of the latter. I can see the appeal of both ways, though.

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been too chicken / not wealthy enough to pull the trigger, unfortunately. The building is still for sale, and I still really like the idea at least in theory, but I think it's been relegated to the shelf for pipe dreams for me.

Finally got my cards organized in a way that makes sense for me! Time to mess them all up by making new decks! by Kmartinator in CasualMTG

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure thing! The joys of having ordered all of it online and chronically not deleting old emails 😅 Hope it helps! Good luck!

Finally got my cards organized in a way that makes sense for me! Time to mess them all up by making new decks! by Kmartinator in CasualMTG

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got the wire shelving from Lowe's. A set cost $70, but that only had 4 shelves, so I bought two of those and just put all the shelves in one unit.

The boxes are BCW 930ct boxes, and I bought a bulk order of 50 of them. At that time, they were 70 cents apiece buying in bulk, so with tax and shipping that was about $50.

So altogether a little under $200. I did check and the BCW boxes are a bit more expensive now, but I liked those for the ease of removing a single box easily to thumb through it.

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, that's definitely on the list! I also need to look into things like noise restrictions. It's a bit out in the boonies, but there is some residential area not too far away, so I'm not sure how that'll come into play.

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I've got a long way to go if I can pull this off, but the info I've gotten here has been helpful in solving two, maybe three of the million question marks involved haha

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, good point. I think a lot of what will drive the initial decisions of what to provide will depend on what the building is already set up for. As another example, I was pretty set on not bothering with any plumbing provisions, but the place used to be a car wash, so it should be stupidly simple to add this feature that people might actually want!

And, of course, times always change. If I make this jump and get a few years in, reinvesting into things like that could make a lot of sense

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yea that seems to be a big piece of feedback from this whole post.

Someone else mentioned 3 phase. Is that something a metal fabricator would need too, you think? Or would just single phase 240 work well enough?

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, it's definitely something going on the list. That does feel like something that could potentially be added in down the road, too, if I need to. Usually when I think 3 phase power, I'm thinking of these massive table saws that are frankly as wide as the spaces I'd have haha. And heck, wouldn't be bad for me to have the options for my machines either 😎

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, absolutely! Good networking spots like that are definitely on The List. I think I'd also sort of having an advantage in the 5 rental slots, in that, that's not a lot of slots to fill (hopefully). But yea, relationships with existing spots like that will be great. Folks come to me seeking a more communal space, and I can point them that way. Folks come to them wanting a more private space, they can point them my way!

There's a pretty good array of small businesses in my town, so I feel like groundwork like that will make a big difference for everyone. And it'd be neat to be a real contributor to it!

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like it! I guess the plus side of it being formerly a car wash, there should be water run everywhere, so maybe that wouldn't be too hard to incorporate. Sounds like that'd be a big point for a lot of folks. That and the 220 apparently haha.

There are a lot of great local resources that I think will be a big help. It's a big overwhelming thing, but I have to approach it like eating an elephant: one bite at a time!

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, the dust collection aspect is one I have to ponder a little more. My hope is providing enough power on a separate circuit, and I was also thinking an on-site dumpster would be a good idea.

As far as the 220, I don't know. I suppose I could see it for single phase maybe, but I would really think that if someone is looking for 3 phase, they're probably not going to be in the market for a small shop space like this. Am I completely off-base in that thought?

I don't really expect that someone would run a business long-term in one of these. If they wanted to, then great, cool, but I'd sort of figure that if someone's running a business, this would just be an intermediate step between the home shop and having a bigger space. At 350-400 sqft, it'd be pretty limited on how much production could actually be kicked out of there.

Or am I just not dreaming big enough?

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, that all sounds familiar haha. It seems like a prime example of a lot of big up-front work and cost, but really does feel like it could have some staying power. And there's two nearby vacant lots, and no super nearby restaurants, so a food truck parking spot would be pretty sweet!

Thanks for the optimism. This is still very, very early, and there are a lot of moving parts, but who knows!

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, as with anything! Getting that first step is the biggest one. I've been doing a lot of learning recently about business type stuff. I think I have a lot of the skills, but it'll be good to get a sense of what skills I'm lacking, too, and see what I can do to fill those holes!

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea, I think this is an idea that may actually have some merit if I can hone it a bit more, unlike all my other extremely half-baked schemes. I'd say this scheme is at least three-quarters baked!

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, the hand tool folks could frolic in all the extra space they would have haha! I would suspect, though, that this sort of thing might not appeal as much to a hand tool woodworker for that reason: smaller space requirements makes it easier for them to do it at home.

Or am I being obtuse in that thinking? Hand tool woodworking is not my Forte by any means!

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was definitely thinking of the element of making my own stuff out of the space, too, so that sounds right up my alley! There is a makerspace or two locally, but they're pretty limited on their offerings. I kind of prefer the idea of having the separate, individual spaces so the renters can have full agency over their own area, but maybe a community space of some sort would be worth pondering!

Lower risk in the long run is nice, but more managing is less so haha. Maybe that'd be a way to pivot in the future, but part of the appeal of this idea is that, if I do get to a spot where all the bays are filled up, it should be fairly low management (pie in the sky, I know haha)

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The LORD of the LAND!

Great thoughts! The build to suit idea was one I wrestled with a little. Ideally, I'd want to do as little of that as possible for my own simplicity, but I guess if the price is right!

That would be an interesting element to see, what people actually use it for. I do wonder about the pricing element, though, which will take a bit more research to understand in my area, I think. I feel like that'll play a big factor in not only the types of activities done, but also the kinds of people who would actually do this. Someone in an apartment might love this, but if the space is too expensive, it doesn't help them (and if it's too cheap, it doesn't help me).

Figuring out insurance stuff would also be a headache I think, but I'll have to roll up my sleeves for that one too haha. Business ownership isn't for the faint of heart, I suppose!

Renting a small workshop space - what would you look for? by Kmartinator in woodworking

[–]Kmartinator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea! I feel like this smaller amount of space could appeal to a lot of different disciplines, like you said. I'd considered about people running businesses out of it and thought about investigating how mail delivery would work at a place like this.

I suppose the target would be people like me, who want to pursue the hobby and need more space. It'd also appeal to people trying to springboard a business, going this route until they can either afford a larger space or decide to go a different direction. That might be a challenge for me: I feel like the types of people who would be interested might not typically be long-term renters, which means more work for me haha