I've always been fascinated by machinery and have personally
maintained and repaired all of the vehicles I've owned over the years. Being a bit of a cheapskate I've always bought used
cars figuring I'd save some money and indulge my interest in machinery at the same time. My mechanical interests are just
one aspect of a love for doing creative things with my hands. Not being artistically or musically inclined I dabbled in carpentry,
electronics, welding, gardening, etc. As retirement approached, my financial situation eased somewhat and I decided to treat
myself to a new modern garage and shop. After considering a variety of options I decided to erect a pre-engineered clear span
metal building which I dubbed The Garaj Mahal in deference to it's grandure. It does double duty as a vehicle
storage, maintaineance and repair facility as well as housing my retirement business - Windy Ridge Farm and Machine.
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The Garaj Mahal, home to Windy Ridge Machine - October, 2007 |
The machine shop idea came about with the appearance of
eBay on the internet scene. Many tired but servicable machine tools were escaping the scrapman and finding their way into
home shops. I started with an old 11" Rockwell lathe, added one of the ubiquitous Taiwanese milling/drilling machines (new),
and I was hooked. The current machine tool inventory includes a WWII vintage universal grinder, a newer 14" Rockwell
lath, A Cincinnati-Milacron Cinova 80, Model 307-14 equipped with a French Toolmaster vertical head, a Kysor-Johnson horizontal
bandsaw, and sundry shop equipment.
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Rockwell 11in. Toolroom Lathe
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Rockwell 14in. Engine Lathe |
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Taiwanese Mill/Drill
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Cinova 80 with French Toolmaster Head |
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Kysor Johnson 10x18 Bandsaw
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Covel Model 91A Unversal Grinder |
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