Everything It Takes To Put A CNC Machine In Your Garage

Putting a CNC machine in your garage sounds like a dream for a lot of machinists. But what does it actually take to make it happen? And how much does it really cost?

Patrick finally took the leap and started building his own machine shop, Pine Knot Manufacturing, right in his garage. But buying the machine was only the beginning.

From figuring out three-phase power and compressed air to moving a several-thousand-pound machine nearly 1,000 miles, getting everything set up came with plenty of challenges, unexpected expenses, and a few lessons learned the hard way.

In this video, Patrick walks us through the entire process, including why he chose a used CNC machine, how he got it into his garage, the repairs he had to make before cutting his first parts, and where that $12,000 in setup costs actually went. And that’s not including the machine itself!

If you’ve ever thought about starting your own machine shop, or even just putting a CNC machine in your garage, here’s a firsthand look at what you’re getting into.

0:00 Building a Dream Shop from Scratch
1:15 Why I bought what I bought
4:08 Inspecting a Machine from a Distance
6:29 Preparing the Shop Space
10:19 Power and Air Solutions
17:48 The Logistics of Moving Heavy Machinery
30:02 SETUP, TEST RUN, AND REPAIRS
38:13 Tooling and Consumables
42:49 The Grand Total

source