Electrical work, to me, is one of the most boring skills I’ve ever learned. Not too difficult, just boring. A valuable skill to have, but somewhat dull. Nonetheless, I do have one “trick” that I’ve used over the years: A “portable” sub panel. Basically, an externally mounted panel to power all of my machines. This offers a few benefits. First, in the event of moving, most, if not all, of the investment comes with you. Additionally, it’s a great way to have a secondary power source for any future circuit needs. Without this panel, all of my tool circuits would have to be a minimum of 40′ longer. When greater distances are involved, you often need to use larger wire when considering voltage drop over distance.

I started this panel two shops ago, and hopefully, this will be its final operating location. It was a big help moving from my 2-car garage shop to my 30×40 shop. And with my current 40×60 shop, it’s almost a necessity.