Editors' Notebook

Farm operations across the country have a lot of differences. But one common thread is a well-used farm shop. If you're going to run a business that hinges on the reliable operation of mechanical equipment, you have to have a place, and the tools in that place, to keep said equipment running.

For many years Machinery Editor Dan Miller has been covering some of the top farm shops in the country in the pages of Progressive Farmer. We've occasionally posted those articles on our DTN digital platforms.

A little experimenting on our end has shown those kinds of stories make perfect Sunday afternoon/evening reading. So, we're formalizing our efforts a bit to create a lineup of shop and shop project articles, posted up fresh each Sunday, to wet your shop dreams whistle.

A recent Sunday featured one of my all-time favorites Miller has put together: A welding table that actually makes you look forward to hunching over hot metal and risking burn holes in a favorite shirt. If you missed it you can find that article, which includes links to a video about some of the table's features, here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

I dare you to check out that table and not immediately start thinking about where it would fit in your shop.

Coming up, Miller has put together some tips on one of the most ominous tasks a farm welder faces -- fixing aluminum. I encourage you to check that story out Oct. 24, and to make a mental note to make a habit of giving our pages a peek as you're winding down from the weekend. We're working on a range of shops and shop project ideas in the coming weeks and months.

We're on the hunt for great ideas as well. If you're tackling a new shop related project, whether revamping work or storage areas in your existing shop, starting on a useful or fun project inside it, or pouring cement and raising steel on an entirely new structure, let us know about it. Send what you're working on to Miller at Dan.Miller@dtn.com.

There's a $500 prize if we feature your shop. Any projects featured, or used in our Handy Devices column, earn $400.

Happy reading, and dreaming. I'll be starting a steel pile toward a new welding table.

Greg D. Horstmeier can be reached at greg.horstmeier@dtn.com

Follow him on Twitter @greghorstmeier

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