Epic Egress 6 Shop Update

Shop updates for all the interested folks. Stan Zinkosky from Bar Z Industrial development came up and we did some major electrical work to the shop. We have some video clips of the progress and upgrades to the shop 3phase power distribution. We installed an American Rotary AI 30 outdoor rotary phase converter and wired it into a new three phase breaker panel. We also ran a fair amount of conduit for the distribution to the different areas of the shop. In addition I have some clips of a new machine that is coming to the Oxtools shop. I spent some time disconnecting and packing the machine up for rigging and transport.
Stan's excellent video on conduit bending,
• Conduit bending 101 Pa...

[@patricktrudeau1996]

Great progress in the shop! It's easy to underestimate how much work setting up even a small shop can be, don't forget to rest! I could definitely see myself leaving the phase converter running all night after a long day's work, I'd setup an indicator light in the shop to see it's running.

[@larryschweitzer4904]

Or a relay to shut it off when you turn out the lights.

[@patricktrudeau1996]

@@larryschweitzer4904 if you'd set it up with a relay, you could just make it turn on anytime you're drawing current from one of the 3 phase legs. Then you wouldnt even have to think about turning it on or off.

[@BROCKWOOD64]

Right about the 16:50ish mark, just before you closed the disconnect panel door (out on the pole): That is where an extra set of fuses should be placed. Stan would have his fuse pullers with him wherever he went. For you, might as well throw a fuse puller in there as well! I'm an electric power co substation guy: gotta make these things easy or never have time off for hobby machining ;-) Loving your new digs BTW!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@gwharton68]

Great shop tour. Stan is a fantastic pretzel bender. It looks like a place made in heaven.

[@CRUZER1800]

Love your Word of the 'Day.... I am sure most of us have worked with a few Spuddles in our day... Great progress on your new shop.. Stan is a giver for sure and I'm glad to see that Keith was able to benefit as well. I have been watching all of you guys for many years and thanks for the many hundreds of hours of entertainment. Russ

[@williambaxter7689]

Great to hear from oxtool again, looking forward more.

[@ShadonHKW]

Ground rod = what you drive into the earth to protect from lightning strikes and stray current. Ground FOD = is what you get in your tires when you show up at Tom's shop.

[@bigun447]

I put in 36 eight-foot rods in a radial pattern from my radio tower. Different distances to meet certain frequencies and stainless steel wire to each buried rod. Overkill for an antenna counterpoise system but there was a marked improvement. All of the wires were laid on the ground and when spring came they were invisible and now 17 years later one would have to have a spade and a metal detector to find any of them. We also laid out garden hoses for irrigating She Who Must Be Obeyed specimen gardens. Those hoses are still in use today but are under about 3" of sod.

[@JustinAlexanderBell]

@@bigun447 Oh man I would love to run a large DRSSTC with that grounding system.

[@bigun447]

@@JustinAlexanderBell A local AM radio station that has its tower sitting on a large capacitor that makes the tower itself the radiator element, has copper mesh buried about 12" down in a radius of about 200'. My system was provided by a power plants "donation" of ground rods, and the Donation of stainless steel wire "donation" from a friend who worked installing insulation around steam pipes and had pieces of surplus ends of wire rolls. That powerplant removed all radio systems that were not being used anymore. I filled my 8' x 8' x 12' trailer with all of the 1" diameter hardline that had been used in the plant. Also, 3 UHF Motorola repeaters. 2 of which we had to lower from the top of the powerplant coal bins to the ground using ropes. I am a scrounger who is not afraid to ask "What are you doing with your leftovers?"

[@OldIronMachineWorks]

Very nice Tom

[@RyJones]

Welcome back!

[@Purplethesheep]

I use one of those exact robocuts every day at work! You can do some crazy stuff with it but it definitely shows it's age with the fluid and consumable layouts compared to newer wire EDMs

[@dcraft1234]

Good to see the progress

[@christurley391]

Thanks for the video Tom.

[@joshbrucksch]

Looking wonderful!

[@robertyouart3982]

Watch out for water leaks around the grey plastic sleeve on the lower wire feed arm the seal is a bit of a problem on ours .

[@glennstasse5698]

Btw, Tom seemed to suggest that the phase converter just added a 3rd hot leg to the existing 2 hot legs of the standard single phase system. I was surprised by this. Is this accurate? How do they get phase rotation right? I always thought the product generated all 3 phases, using the single phase power off the pole.

[@Hoaxer51]

I know very little about it but you’re right about the fact it just adds a third leg to the other two that you already have. One thing to add is if you’re trying to run say a five horsepower motor, then you’ll need a fifteen horsepower motor on your phase converter. There’s a rough conversation out there that says how much more you need to have to run it efficiently.

[@adamdrummonds9506]

That ground rod should be farther away from the building. Most places code calls for at least 18 inches beyond the drip line of the building. Shop is looking great though!

[@grampiangs515]

Looking forward to more Gronk!

[@richardellis3141]

getting there,, thanks for the video

[@jonathancorsico3998]

I don't understand how the third phase works. With single phase power from the utility, there are two phases that are 180 degrees apart. If the phase converter only creates a new, third phase, how is it timed in relation to the master phases from the utility? To create true three phase power, don't you have to "delay" one of the phases from the utility, and then create the new phase in the space created from the delay? How else would you get all three phases 120 degrees apart?

[@jimbob5938]

Not sure the transformer needs with 3ph that close already and maintaining 1ph but pricing high leg setup could or could not be a option (if ur 220v 3ph). I'm guessing ur already familiar but anyway. Thank u for all u do!

[@thompsonjerry3412]

Amadore county is great!

[@stevecallachor]

Why is it so difficult to get a three phase supply from the utility supplier. Here in the great south land, in metropolitan areas, every house has the three phases running past the front door with 240 volt 100 amperes per phase available to the house holder. Most houses with electric cooking and electric hot water need more than one phase. The supplies balances phases within the system to prevent problems. It costs about $100 each phase to have it connected when you build the house. Stavros

[@PaulSteMarie]

I thought the wild leg on RPC systems was supposed to be orange? Is that not what your converter is producing?

[@mitchstephen5491]

You know your getting old when your hand hurts from pulling your wire😂

[@deildegast]

Anyone getting that laser, check the green light version which is much easier visible.

[@littlejackalo5326]

Have you been eating peanut butter before you press record?

[@TheEvertw]

While I'd love to live in your place, comparing the power rating of my own, pretty standard civilian, non-industrial installation makes me appreciate European infrastructure... (25A, 240/400V, 3 phase = 30KW / 43HP)

[@ericcommarato7727]

I was told to run three ground rods 5' apart and connect them all. Perhaps some electrical engineers can chime in here on the use of three connected ground rods in lieu of a single one.

[@chasmosaurus3]

I believe you only need one if you perform a resistance measurement. The NEC allows you to skip the measurement if you use two 6' apart.

[@ericcommarato7727]

@@chasmosaurus3 thanks for this. When I built my house they put 3 connected. In my shop which is attached to the house, I grounded my Miller Syncrowave 250 on a dedicated ground rod.

[@jrkorman]

Not a code requirement (That I know of) but in our part of Texas the provider requires two rods at a minimum separation of six feet. They can be driven at an angle. Which is something Tom might want to consider. That area looks a bit rocky!

[@ericcommarato7727]

@@jrkorman I double checked mine and it is also 2 rods 6’ apart not 3 at 5’ apart.

[@ghlscitel6714]

For your earth I recommend Deep earth ground rod earth diameter 20 mm V4A stainless steel set with tungsten carbide impact tip and SDS max impact head. This will help you get up to 9 metres deep also in gravel ground soil.

[@littlejackalo5326]

30 feet of 3/4" ss. LOL. Imagine trying to install a 30 for long stock of >3/4" rod into the ground. How absurd.

[@ghlscitel6714]

@@littlejackalo5326 How absurd commenting without the faintest clue of knowledge. Check the product before.

[@componenx]

@@littlejackalo5326 Yeah, it's a silly comment. In that part of California you're almost guaranteed to hit large granite boulders, not just unconsolidated gravel. The guy has no clue.

[@janetizzy6741]

Try bending and cutting 4-O { #0000 } by hand.

[@shawnhuk]

Used to do it all the time. Aluminum and copper.

[@georgel5308]

600ths says hi

[@georgel5308]

Or 750s

[@elmarqo_3448]

1.5ft of 1" pipe with a coupler on the end was my tool of choice for bending 500MCM THWN wire.

[@shawnhuk]

@@elmarqo_3448 yup. Had a gas fitter cut me a piece of pipe and soften the edges. That's how I did hard bends in a meter base without skinning my knuckles.

[@googleuser859]

Urhhhh

[@lapoint7603]

It's apparent that you've been very busy! I'm excited for you as you get closer to having your shop up and running. You may find that the per KW cost for 3-phase service is prohibitively expensive and using a rotary phase converter is your smartest move. Also, if you lose power a 220V generator will allow you to use your shop tools. Years ago we made our own 3-phase converter using a 10hp 3-phase motor and an R-C network. It was exciting when I blew the first capacitor.

[@glennstasse5698]

Stan’s conduit work is industrial sculpture. His work is spectacular to just look at.

[@nowayjerk8064]

YEP I SAID BAR Z WAS THERE SOON AS I SAW IT TRUE ART .

[@MrJohnnaz]

I'm wondering why they let it hang down in the opening though, you might wish you had that additional overhead space. It looks great just the same.

[@ScottHenion]

20A idle is considerable given your 100A service. I'm curious what the real power is as I bet the power factor is low at idle. You would be charged the real power, not the VA load. Would be nice to know the base cost of running the converter before adding machine loads.

[@ricko5123]

I had to wonder the same since I have the ADX20 by American Power (no discounts from anyone). Anyway, my unit shows 60 Amps FLA and really can't wait to see what the idle is as I'm not hooked up yet....

[@bcbloc02]

Years ago I tested my 50hp ai phase converter on my mains meter and it indicated it cost about 25cents an hour to idle. This was at 7cents a kWh but we now pay 10cents with fuel surcharges and what not. Regardless I would say less than 50cents an hour is a safe estimate for idle cost for my 50hp phase converter.

[@ricko5123]

@@bcbloc02 Mine is still boxed but I think I remember it saying with a load it about 30cents per hour on average? California of course is going to be raising kwh rates here real soon and I'm seriously not happy with this idiot governor here. 😒

[@mdesousa6691]

Congrats. Everytime you look up while inside a big box store, you'll have an appreciation for all those flowing conduit runs.

[@richardsmith4143]

Just keep your hands in your pockets when you are explaining your electrical cabinets.

[@JohnSL]

Oooh, wire EDM. I look forward to seeing what you do with it.

[@fpoastro]

Problem in my area is to get that stretch of 3 phase they are going to calculate your consumption and your either going to pay the full cost or they are going to amortize the expansion on your bill for a matter of years. Suckier than that here is you are then on demand rate power which means depending on your loads at a given point in time you have no known utility rate. Here at least 3 phase is a fussy friend.

[@ShainAndrews]

Texas?

[@SteveSummers]

You are not finished yet ?😁 . A ton of work is involved in moving a shop. Great progress Tom

[@BruceBoschek]

Whoa, lots of good stuff happened. Looking forward to seeing the wire EDM machine put into service. Thanks for the update.

[@spaight711]

Yeah! Looking forward to seeing what sort of fun stuff comes from that.

[@pauljoseph8338]

Shout out to American Rotary for sponsoring another great machining channel!!!

[@Metaldetectiontubeworldwide]

great video Tom , well done . when your settled overthere and most work be done . I'm gonna send you some old intresting *meatlove stuff* grts from the netherlands johny geerts

[@moehoward01]

Always nice to see a well laid out panel.

[@alexanderkupke920]

Yeah, but being not too used to the US electrical system (I know usually it is what would be a single phase 240 split at the transformer into two 120 phases 180 ° apart) I somewhat stumbled about the "additional generated leg" Tom mentioned. I wonder how that makes proper three phase. Or are those two phases (?) providing the 240 already 120 ° apart and you only have to generate the third leg for three phase? I thought those rotary phase converters consist more or less of a motor running a three phase generator, generating all three phases for the secondary side. I am in the comfortable situation to be used to having three phase 400 V (or single phase to neutral 230 V) coming in to the house, so I don´t know a lot about those converters at all.

[@OminousHum]

Aren't your phase offsets going to be awfully weird with that setup? Instead of proper 120°-120°-120° three-phase power, seems like adding a third phase to residential center-tapped single-phase will give you 90°-180°-90° offsets.

[@nicholasmcneely245]

I was hoping someone would chime in with further explanation. It does seem like the phases will be wrong.

[@nicholasmcneely245]

Clough42 just posted a video on his channel extensively explaining 3 phase power generated via a rotary phase convertor. For the first time, I fully understand it!

[@swanvalleymachineshop]

Good progress Tom . What was your decision regarding the insulation ? Cheers .

[@shawnhuk]

The single/3 phase panel is genius! Awesome idea. That'll save me a pile of money when I properly setup RPC.

[@larryschweitzer4904]

To give you an idea of power companies charges: In 1988 I moved into a new building and had to get 3 phase. It was 15 feet from the building. Power company wanted $6500. An electrician gave me a name @ the power company to go see, an engineer. He "privately" gave me advice on how to get the price reduced. Give them a list of all my 3 phase equipment and the amount of time it would be running. He said to be "generous" with my estimates. After several back & forths with management they agreed to put set a transformer @ no charge. I had to provide the concrete pad and underground conduit to the meter head on the building. I had my choice of 208V or 460V. Went with 208 & 400A. The city required I-line breakers for anything 100 A or greater. Back then they were $365 each. The I-line panel is huge and has two big sub panels on either side. My shop was 4,000 sq. ft. of an 8,000 building. Over time, I expanded to 25,000' & had to add a second 400A service. Now have 7 sub panels and 2 transformers for 460V. I've never added up the cost, afraid to! The city had to replace the original transformer. We are on demand metering so need to be careful about starting big motors and not do it simultaneously. Our biggest motor is only 40hp. To pull the wire for 400 A the electricians brought in a truck mounted winch. Isn't that cheating?

[@strykerjones8842]

I know the labor of driving ground rods all to well. I spent the summer of 96’ driving them with a sledge at a mobile home park that was opening outside of Phoenix AZ. By the end I could swing that hammer like John Henry

[@dan4653]

Sometimes electricians drive that last foot of rod with a hacksaw... ... maybe not to code but it happens.

[@TBJK07Jeep]

For a ground rod driver, I took a cheap SDS plus bit, machined the end flat. I then took a piece of tube & sleeved it over the bit. What can I say, I’m cheap so I can buy better tools

[@kevinhornbuckle]

Stan is such a talented and generous man.

[@rgbrown90]

I've made those ground rod drivers out of bad bits and pipe 👍👍👍👍

[@jerseyjoe2684]

You and Keith Fenner are both sporting American Rotary converters. Congrats and good luck . Nice job!

[@Raaboort]

Is there a reason why you don't run cable trays with isolated wires in the US? Seems like expanding with more conduit circuits would be a hassle. Love the videos!

[@littlejackalo5326]

The do. It's just 5x more expensive, and really only done in commercial settings where the convenience of adding circuits outweighs the cost. It already cost him thousands of dollars worth of materials (assuming the bulk of the materials, phase converter, and labor were near free. If not, it would be thousands more. Tripling or quadrupling that cost would be completely unjustifiable for a home shop. There's really no reason to do it in a shop where nothing is behind a wall. Run another line of conduit and pull a line. You'd have to do A LOT of changing and running extra circuits for the cost of trays to be justified.

[@Raaboort]

@@littlejackalo5326 Never thought about it would be that more expensive, but it makes sence when you point out that the labour cost in this case was essentially "free". Thanks for the reply!

[@littlejackalo5326]

@@Raaboort Yeah, everything from the trays to the cable is more expensive that way. Have a great day, Robert.

[@deildegast]

@@littlejackalo5326 Funny, that seemed counterintuitive to me also - plastic rectangular conduit and another layer of plastic around the wires didnt seem to outdo metal pipe pricewise in my head either.

[@candicebeebe6688]

The part I like the best is, You own all of it. So happy

[@DanBrideau]

Peanut butter pretzels. Surprised to see the jug so full. Those are the crack cocaine of snack foods.

[@ShainAndrews]

Until you try Dot's Pretzels... that is crack in a bag.

[@noberet]

It's been years, actually decades, but at the airport we drove 8' grounding rods in through a already drilled hole in the concrete, then down through the gravel bed with a rotary hammer and no bit. Left an interesting shape on the end of the rod too. Wish I could show you an example of the hammer, but it's been a while and nothing is looking familiar. IIRC it had a big spring on it around the whatever where the chuck or bit goes.

[@mudnducs]

Nice electrical layout!!!! Looks like marine/ ship layout!

[@elchuco00]

TOM!!!!.....where can I find one of these specialized ground fods??? This new technology must be good because you are using it....very interesting ground fod....

[@spaight711]

Isn’t it funny that in the last year, you, Adam, and Keith all got new shop space. I think we all enjoy these shop setup vids. Always looking for new ideas for how we can improve our spaces.

[@cschwad559]

I have three phase a block away and my understanding is that the cost will be at least ten thousand bucks to hook it up. The kicker here is that the cost to run it is prohibitive. So it’s really not worth it to switch from my rotary phase converter over to power company three phase.

[@4SafetyTraining]

Very good job, but you should comment about the ladder... it was great to see a ladder that fits the job.

[@Orgakoyd]

It should be noted: the 20 A drawn by the idling phase converter is NOT real current, it's largely out of phase current and corresponds to a few hundred watts of actual power being dissipated by the idler motor, because of the very poor power factor of idling motors. Otherwise the inside of that box would be getting HOT quickly!

[@outsidescrewball]

God bless Stan….a great generous friend as you are also!!!! Don’t get old too quick as you have lots of work ahead…enjoy every day…KOKO

[@cennsa140driver]

My area, getting 3 phase is very expensive. I have three phase on my road but they want a minimum of $500/month usage.i didn't even get into the insulation fee.

[@wallbawden5511]

hay Tom don't here much from you miss the weekly meatloaf guess the new DIGS is taking a lot of set up good luck with it all as the wiring and such is looking great nice work there good to see some still take pried in the re work

[@jeffreymurdock8366]

How far is the real 3phase pole from the shop. I can give you a idea on the cost. It won't be exact but it should be reasonably close to the actual cost.

[@componenx]

Amador- cool; I was thinking Lake/Colusa county for some reason.

[@galileo_rs]

Great and easy alternative for ground rod is a pipe and a water line attached. It acts like a water drill, really easy to drive in.

[@JustinAlexanderBell]

How dare you diss the Holy Knights of Westmarch :D

[@ShadonHKW]

I didn't know anybody recognized that tag :)

[@JustinAlexanderBell]

@@ShadonHKW I spent a lot of time in that game...

[@shawnhuk]

Tom, are none of your machines 600v?

[@Hoaxer51]

I’ve never heard of 600v equipment in the US, at least not machine shop equipment.

[@shawnhuk]

@@Hoaxer51 see that’s very strange. I received the same comment on Keith Fenners video. In southern Ontario, Canada, most industrial machinery is 600v. Most of the industrial machine shop machines I have are 600v.

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

Hello Tom, Good to see things are progressing... See you on the next one... Take care. Paul,,

[@JourneymanRandy]

Shop is looking great Tom. Stan is a great guy. I guess I spend a lot of time spuddeling around.

[@brentdavis4867]

oh boy I have a project for edm

[@KISSMYACE3203]

Those lasers are so useful. They're extremely accurate and repeatable. I use the cross hair version to level things that are bent (think a bow in a tube), check shaft straightness, use as a layout tool to mark cuts; the list goes on. And they use a standard ¼-20 or ⅝-11 mount so I use them on my camera tripod and never have to deal with dang magnets. Extremely versatile tool.

[@sierraspecialtyauto7049]

"Spuddle". I love it. Describes my activities more often than I care to admit.

[@kimber1958]

you tube community is truely great, thanks for all the support,you all are great

[@ShainAndrews]

You don't even have to say who was there laying out the conduit. I know his work by sight.

[@Cenedd]

Tom, I don't wish anyone ill [currently! ;) ] but there are few people I wish as well as you. It's really encouraging to see you (and Abom as it happens) making so much progress and thriving in these difficult times. 100 Amp feed [8:19]: You know that's a whole house worth of feed over here where we use a more refined voltage! ;P Hell getting old [9:22]: Yup, I hear you. I'm 45 and definitely been noticing that "all downhill after 40" slope. You must be a couple of months ahead of me. Laser Levels: I was going to say that once you have a red one, you only want a green one! They do them as well that project a cross to the front. Great for many things including tiling....should you get another honey-do project ;) KZbin Community [21:41]: This is what's missing in most fields. I'm starting to see a bit of it in computing (building specifically) circles and a spot of it in machining but it's really small and/or hard to break into. Very jealous of the much larger community you guys have over your side of the pond. Were I (even vaguely!) local I'd love to have offered you some help in the move. Keep doing things properly Tom, it's inspiring.

[@yankeemetallic6674]

Tom I share your feelings of adventure and excitement with solving problems after moving to a new location. I packed up my shop and moved it 800 miles north from the very area you just moved in to. It took a while but I found the right electrician to run the conduit and bring my rotary phase converter to life. I gutted the bathroom in my shop and turned it into the phase converter room / air compressor room which is heavily sound proofed from the rest of the shop. Looking forward to seeing the EDM.

[@andyZ3500s]

Hi Tom, I am glad to see that your shop is coming along. I live in Sutter Creek so you can't be too far away. I have done some volunteer work at the Knight Foundry in Sutter Creek. If you are not familiar with it look it up. It was founded in 1873 and is a living museum now. I would like to take you on a tour there, if interested let me know.

[@bulletproofpepper2]

I had to double check the release date. Sorry about all the pausing had a 3D print going. Sweet EDM i know absolutely nothing about how it works but have seen some amazing products made with them. Thanks to Stan too! Thanks for sharing!!!

[@ricko5123]

Looks great Tom. I just talked to Stan and he gave me some very great advice and has helped me greatly with having another fella he knows that's going to be coming over to give me a hand. Can't say enough about Stan's help here...Take care Tom...Ricko

[@artmckay6704]

Glad to see you're making progress! Good for you. Before long you'll have everything hooked up and working. That'll be a good feeling, right? Thanks for the update! :)

[@ronbellaire9329]

Boy, I don’t like to be a negative person, as a full time electrical inspector in Michigan I can see several issues that are not code compliant. Just an example is that circuit breakers can not have the handle at an elevation higher than 6’-7” from grade, grounding electrodes are required to be tested to 25 ohms or a secondary electrode is required. Maybe California doesn’t use the National Electric Code.

[@PeteBrubaker]

I asked SDGE what it would cost to bring 3 phase one pole over at my place too. They wanted $17,000. I decided to stick with the phase converter.

[@jeffbuckles]

"...you're not gonna buy one to play with, unless you're... like me..." Oh, I felt that.

[@tallbrian100]

Cool trick using a 3 phase panel for single phase and 3 phase loads. I would have installed a second panel for 3 phase.

[@noberet]

Cool! You kept your new machine alive similar to how George kept his Frogger game alive on Seinfeld! Yours got moved a lot better.

[@LabRatJason]

oh oh oh! I see a label for EDM!??!?!?! Please let it be so! I LOVE "electronic dance music"!

[@burbman60]

Using that Bosch laser in all my labs to line up experiments, antennas and other projects. Super bright compared to other lasers I have here. Its a go to for me.

[@splinky99]

Oh wow, there’s one other person who put a Kant-twist on a Noga arm! …….now I’m not the only one….I use mine for a welding third hand, how about you?

[@saf3ty3rd]

20A with no load? As in ~5KW??? I guess ~$1/hour isn't that large of an expense but holy cow is that inefficient.

[@marksanders4815]

I'll give you $237.00 for that edm right now. Extra 5 bucks if you load it on my trailer.

[@jonwatte4293]

Looks like you're making progress! You might want to make a new video title card at this point :-)

[@TheRealFOSFOR]

Lookin great! I'm envious of the weather.. we still have ½m of snow and just gotten above 0C°

[@bartofilms]

Fanuc EDM! Score! Those bad-boys must have been insanely pricey back in their day.

[@James-fs4rn]

👍 looking good Tom! American rotary is the best. I have a 15hp panel from them.

[@JaapGrootveld]

Hi Tom, I love the new machine, And can,t wait to see you make some cuts wiht it. 🔪🔪🔪🔪

[@willysnowman]

Anyone know if utilities will prorate installation cost over time? In case I move to bfe.

[@davestrong6472]

Hi Tom I know your 5,11” but why is the panel so high on the wall? Dave