Power to the Workshop!

Success, until proven otherwise.

This GFCI outlet is the first stop for electricity coming into the workshop. Two yellow lights means the circuit is wired correctly. Pressing the black 'Test' button kills the juice; pressing the red 'Reset' button restores it.

Getting the wire from the Old Panel to the GFCI was problematic. I thought Wiremold was the answer, but I was thinking in terms of a raceway that you mount, fill with wires, and then cover. Instead, the Legrand product I got at Home Depot had to be slipped onto the wire like a string of pearls. Then the whole l-shaped piece needed to be installed by the ceiling more or less at once.

Not great looking, partly because the construction quality of these walls is sad, but I think it's unobtrusive enough.

Working with the Old Panel required killing all power to the house several times. Now I have to reset the clock on the stove. A Romex line runs into the Old Panel from the side, and they just clamped the front panel on it--like slamming a door on an extension cord. It's beyond my scope to fix that, but my wire enters the box via a non-metallic strain relief.

Two clear/orange thingees are my handiwork. Mine is the bright white just right of center. The ground is properly bonded to the ground bus and I even labeled the wire.

I'm proud of my work. Tough problem solved the right way. House might burn down because I disturbed some ancient crap work, but it won't burn down because of my work.

Next step is roping (as we wanna-be electricians call wiring) from the GFCI to the light switches, then to the outlets. Now I have only to kill (21) when I'm working, not the whole house.