Selecting Machines For A Home Shop

This was a *home* shop?? goodgawd.... :) Too many tools, indeed! And, 5,000 sq ft oughtta just about be enough space....

If space is an issue, consider that wood and metal often don't mix. Ditto grinding dust and ways, welding sparks/fumes/flash and fire/health, etc. Layout is probably as much of an issue as tool selection.

What... the hell... is a "pneumatic forklift"?

Only the tyres are pneumatic. The lift is hydraulic....

The term pneumatic refers to pressurizedair powered. I don't think a pneumatic forklift is in existance at this time, or ever will be. I think the original poster meant hydraulic forklift, which is still inaccurate, considering the fact that the electric models on the web site he provided all use hydraulic pumps to lift the forks. The proper term he may be looking for is internal combustion engine powered.

I know- hence the ellipses. I guess the point I was making rather obliquely is that if a guy doesn't know that there is no such thing as an air-powered forklift, it's probably not a good idea to buy one and try it out around the house- especially after he puts the tines through one of the walls, and gets it stuck in that grass he thinks it might cross. If you already know how to drive one, they're easy enough- but I wouldn't want a beginner driving one around anything I cared about. Most folks think it's just like drving a car, and proceed to smash things up nicely the first time they give it a whirl.

Only thing I'd take on grass with tines on it is a tractor or a skyjack. Even gravel is usually asking for trouble with your average shop forklift- and if you don't have a good sized truck to pull it out, you're in for a lot of work when it gets stuck.

But while we're on the subject, if any of you guys are thinking that you might need such a thing (and I've considered the value of a home forklift once or twice, I admit, but it soon passes,) it's worthwhile to look into getting a used Ford type N tractor. They're little, and have a power takeoff and hydraulic attachments that make them useful for all sorts of things around the yard, like digging holes with an auger, plowing the driveway, digging trenches to bury lines, putting a boom on it to lift shingles or trusses if you're inclined to do a little roofing or framing, etc- and they usually go for about $2k, which is less than a forklift, IIRC. Not so good inside the shop, unless you've got a really big shop, but one of those would get stuff off a truck and to the inside of the door pretty easily, and a pallet jack will usually do the job once you get stuff that far.