Tell me your small shop regrets!

[clodhopper]

I have a big barn turned shop. I put in two air reels on each end and plumbed a dedicated drop to my plasma machine just to save having to hook/unhook it. Built a small shed outside the barn for the compressor to keep the noise down. Plumbing? I looked at copper, black pipe, fancy shop kits and a bunch of different stuff. In the end I bought a 100' coil of good quality 1/2 inch air hose (~$60) and a few brass fittings. Maybe not the "best" way to do it, but I had it all plumbed in a couple hours and it was way cheaper. Someone go ahead and tell me how I am going to blow myself up and die. I am an infrequent user and don't keep it pressurized. Compressor is on a 8 hour timer switch that I turn it on when I need air and it turns off automatically. My compressor pump is old enough it will leak down to nothing in about 4 hours. Works great for me.

 

[arse_sidewards]

x2 on Pex being a good modern way to do air lines without breaking the bank. There was a pretty big thread on it on the old site.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

x3. I had some pex left over from a house plumbing project and used it to run some lines in my shop. Super easy to run the pex, but the fittings aren't that cheap. Haven't had any issues in the past few years I've had it, keeping ~130psi in the system most of the time.

I have read that normal PEX is not uv stable, so it needs to be protected from light.