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[irockhound]

Well the shop is done after 5 days of hard work.  The shop had become unworkable after multiple rock trips and the new collection with a narrow path thru it that I had to step around things to work.  You can see from the before pic how bad it had gotten.  The shop is 10 x 19 and is tight with all the material and equipment I have in it.  You can see all the storage totes in the pics plus an 18" 12" 10" 6" saws, a faceting machine I can wheel around when needed to get to things. Also a Titan on it's bench and of course my jewelry workbench, a buffer and lastly a tall file cabinet you can't really see in the pics that stores my saw replacement parts, facet discs, new grinding wheels, saw blades and my ultra high end material.  There is a huge amount of totes I had to shift to the garden shed too that I will go through later and organize it also.

The tray picture that many will remember the old rub down lettering we used back in design a long time ago.  When they were being thrown out I grabbed them.  I fit 2 cab separators (rio grande) per tray and that leaves room for over sized cabs on the left.  I have 2 stacks under my jewelry bench and I have a lot more cab storage not show in the pics.  I also use the trays to sort my silver sheet, bezel material, findings etc on top of my jewelry bench.  I keep my acetylene atmospheric torch under the right side of the bench.

You can see in my storage racks that I keep all my materials separated by location and material type which makes it a breeze when you need a particular stone, no hunting (except for the right tote).  I label them large to make identifying quicker.  Under one of my storage units I have blocks ready for the saw.

Another couple things you might see in the pics are the trays I made from simple cardboard and painted and labeled so when working a lot of stones when I finish one on a wheel I simply drop it in the appropriate tray.  The other thing is back at the saws I have the curtains open that I can pull closed to shield the saws oil mist from the shop and the fan built into the wall.  Because the saws are right next to the Titan the oil list used to be an issue.  What you see in storage 4 pic the dark brown in the foreground is the trim saw on a rolling drawer that I can pull out to get to the additional totes behind it.  This trim saw is between the workbench and the Titan also which is why I have a large piece of cardboard wrapping around it to stop the oil over spray while trimming.

I mentioned the size of the shop, the new house that we have been trying for years to build was to have a 24 x 24 shop and I was looking forward to designing it until the county squashed my hopes.  Now I have to work with the existing shop which is still 15 x 24 but the advantage is that it has a wine cellar on the other side of the wall I will convert to stone storage and another 14 x 24 covered are outside the shop where I will have the saws fixing the oil mist problem and opening more room for proper shop equipment.  Unless  ---- the county strikes again of course.  But the new shop is probably 8 months away barring any set backs.

[MineralSpirit]

You have an insane amount of stuff crammed into a modest space, but the 'after' pics make it look like an inviting place to work. You've got an enviable setup!

[gemfeller]

Wow, a real transformation!  Amazing what you've done with limited space.  Lotsa rocks!

[socalagatehound]

Looking good!!!
Inspirational!!! 

Craig

[hummingbirdstones]

Somebody worked really hard for 5 days to make their happy space beautiful.   

[Felicia]

The results are amazing.

[peruano]

Congratulations. Infrequent and irregular fits of compulsive neatness are essential for those who are deep into this activity. You have made it a working system and clearly used your time well in the effort.  A new or expanded shop is a great goal, but it will take another reorganization.

[vitzitziltecpatl]

Wow. A shop stocked (and organized) like that is amazing. I thought we had lots of rough. You win...!

[ileney]

That is very very impressive. What an amazing workshop! It my not be the size you hoped to have by now, but it sure has an awful lot of impressive equipment (the Titan, the Saws!) and an amazing amount of organization muat have gone into just categorizing and labelling that awesome amounrt of rough!

[irockhound]

I have tended to sort and label things from when I had little which made it less stressful.  Even collecting on the Texas ranches I bagged each location and labeled it before even bringing it home.  Although it is nice to know which hill the plume came from with the ranches closed that history or knowledge is sort of moot.  I probably have another 25 large totes and 20 small totes of material in the shed.  Then comes the buckets of material from the locations.  I have 5 gallon pool buckets stacked 3 high 13 long and 4 rows on one side of my yard.  Probably another 15 on the other side of the yard and I had already moved easily 50 buckets and the very large rough to the house we are trying to remodel.  I am sick and need help, save yourselves - it's too late for me...........

[vitzitziltecpatl]

Holy Gravitational Anomaly...!!!

If the buckets are only half full that's still two tons by themselves. We'd probably have to count the rejects out back from collection and estate buys to hit that.

Guess I have the same disorder as you. We bought some choice old rough a while back (first ones there to the sale) and now that guy is selling whatever was left in mixed random boxes.

Was thinking about buying a bunch of it ($10 per 40 lb box) for a minute. Or two... .

[irockhound]

There is quite a bit out there that I bought or was gifted.

1st was when I started and bought my first saw, well the guy for a bit extra wanted to throw in most of his rock.

2nd person at works brother had died and they tried rock shops and clubs and were then going to haul it 3 55 gallon drums with Horse cyn, Blue Forest Logs, Carnelian, Jade and the likes.

3rd was a jeweler friend that called me and wanted back the Genie I had bought from him for 300. in exchange for his Titan.  I went down to pick it up and he gave me all of his Jewelry Stone.  Faceted, Full Boules of Victoria stone, Biggs, Purple lace, Plume agate etc filled a toyota short bed and the xtra cab.

4th was a friend at a rock shop that turned down a free come and get it collection that was (too much material for them).  4 or 5 loads in my toyota short bed.  100 lbs pet wood logs, cabinet crystal specimens, gold and silver specimens, lots of crystal specimens (ex: 5" host material with 2 6" Emeralds on it.  Never checked the quality of the emeralds but probably just specimen) and loads of great agate.

5th I bought 1200 lbs of Horse cyn for a dollar a lb from an old Bakersfield collector.

6th was knocking on a door of a Ranch house in Nipomo to ask if they owned a field I wanted to collect.  Nipomo is very anti rockhound.  They lady asked if I was a rockhound which I said yes and she invited me in for coffee and then had her son help me collect and then gave me all the stones she had been left with from her parents.  Oregon material whole collection of Richardson eggs polished, Nipomo material, Carnelian, Woods, opal etc.  Even gave me 3 antique strap luggage filled with great special stuff.

7th Almost forgot this latest addition of the 40 buckets of rough and 20'ish totes of material in slabs from the realtor.

Plus I had designed a Windmill for a company that had one of it's windfarms In Tehachapi's at horse canyon and that led to me getting access for 9 years.  Also I had led the only field trips into Stone Canyon since the 70's and the Ranch Owner told me my material was free.  And I have had good luck with collecting too!

[peruano]

It sounds like you are a blessed opportunist. You have to be there to benefit and you have to invest to say yes I'll take it. Luckily rocks store well under most conditions and when you figure the mental and minor fiscal rewards, its a pretty darned activity that we are in whether deeply or not.  I read a book one time that said that if a modern lapidary was dropped into an Egyptian stone workshop five or ten centuries ago, he/she would recognize how most of the tools and techniques were deployed without instruction.  Ditto when I look at your workshop, I could be working happily within 5 minutes of arriving.  Enjoy. 

[vitzitziltecpatl]

Holy Cow!!!

Boules of Victoria Stone. Trading a $300 Genie for a Titan. Emerald specimen that even if low-grade is desirable. Nipomo, buckets of Spencer and other great stuff. Leading field trips to Stone Canyon to get one of my favorites - for free.

Only possible downside is that I'd guess you have a congenital condition resembling large equine footwear in an inconvenient place.

Way to be in the right place at the right times, man! We've gotten some decent deals on some collections, but the things you listed are what all the rest of us just dream of. Good for you!

[Sandsave]

Man you put in a lot of effort! Turned out good, I wouldn’t know what to do if my shop looked that organized