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I bought a brand new compressor for my shop 25 years ago and it came with an automatic drain valve. I used that compressor the whole time I had the shop and then sold it for almost what I paid for it. The compressor looked brand new and still ran great. The automatic drain valve was one reason...

Yes, construction prices are high now even though some material prices have come down from where they were a year or two ago. My 50 x 60 steel shop cost me about $150,000 twenty years ago. It would probably cost $250K to $300K to build these days. I looked into building a new shop after I sold...

I built a 50 x 60 steel shop back in 2004. I had it engineered for an overhead crane so that added some cost. I added floor heat in the concrete which turned out to be a great idea. The heated floors made that shop super comfortable to work in. I had it fully insulated which really helped to...

Talk to your builder about those options and see what he says. The guys who built my shop went ahead and installed the insulation and then they covered it with inner metal panels. Once the building was sealed up and insulated the electricians came in and ran conduit around the walls and hung...

Park a big truck in your driveway and put the radiator inside your shop. Run the radiator hoses from the truck engine to the radiator inside your shop and leave the engine running. The big truck radiator with 200 degree water in it will warm your garage up in a hurry and the fumes will all be...

Measure it to be sure what size it is. If it is 5/8 square then get a short piece of 5/8 bar stock and use a big wrench. I doubt that it is actually 5/8 square which is why you need to measure it to be sure. Typically a 1/2 inch drive fits in there.

Just buy a transmission jack. Once you have one you'll find out that you can use it for lots of other things such as rear ends and K frames.

You need to go to the next aisle over in Harbor Freight where they sell the good engine stands. That is where I picked up this Mopar big block only engine stand.

I made a simple fixture for my transmission jack.

You put the channel in the wrong orientation. It would be much stronger if the C was sideways rather than upside down. Put the C sideways and then weld your uprights to the backside. You'll get a lot longer weld and the C will resist the twisting.

30 miles east of Eugene? Looks like it could be in Dexter? I've been up and down that road a few times and there are places like that on that road. Should be a fun project if you have plenty of gumption and grit. Easy to get overwhelmed on a project like that so a little help from some friends...

Waterjet is better for thicker materials, especially thick aluminum since most lasers won't cut thick aluminum. I used to work in a shop that had both water jet and laser cutters as well as rapid prototype capability. Speaking of parts, I just unloaded a box full of parts from my local laser...

I don't even bother cutting stuff like that anymore. I just shoot a drawing over to the local laser cutting shop and then drive over and pick up the parts. Just about everything I do anymore on the car starts with a laser cut part. No mess no fuss and they fit perfect.

I hired an architect to help me with my shop. It didn't cost very much money and it saved me money in the long run. The architect knew the codes, knew the contractors and knew how to get the building permits all lined up. The contractors were very responsive when an architect called them for...

I use the pallet racks also for storage. Super sturdy stuff and not too expensive if you look around a bit. I found most of mine at surplus stores. It will easily hold a row of engine blocks or stacks of cylinder heads.

I used Lista cabinets as a base then covered with an oak top. That gives me a really sturdy workbench surface along one wall of my shop.

Another idea is to weld up an adapter so you can hold a transmission on the engine stand. If the adapter is built right you can spin the transmission end of end and work on it upside down. The transmission comes apart a lot easier when you have it on its back, or on its end.

I've also machined mounting plates from aluminum before in order to get the center of gravity of the engine in the right spot. On a SB Mopar sometimes you can't get the engine low enough and it becomes top heavy on the engine stand. Typical rule of thumb is that the engine should rotate around...

I replace the universal head with a dedicated H style head that bolts directly to the block.

I have a Superflow bench that is set up for flowing BB Mopar heads. I'll sell the bench with all of the custom CNC machined parts for $1500. I'm near Portland OR so that shouldn't be too bad of a drive for you. I don't think I'm up for shipping the bench since it would require some custom...