Anyone have any recent shop layouts that work. I am just rennovating an old plantation wash house on my property. The building is over 100 years old and is approximately 20′ x 30′ with a 15 foot door to the road for cars, tools, etc. I plan to have a portion of the shop set aside for pottery and the remaining for wood working….so it’s a shared space. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Chase
Replies
Think 'Flow". There are a few factors that will determine your set-up, such as the direction you will feed material into the table saw, chop saw (radial arm), joiner, planer, etc. Those usually are the limitations for small shop set-up. In your case you need to set aside space for shared use. 20 X 30 is a nice size.
Material entering the shop near to storage, then the order of tool you will use. Sheet goods go right to the table saw. Solid goes to Radial arm then table saw, jointer then planer. You get the idea. Leave space for stageing and assembly but keep, even count, the number of foot steps from machine to machine and take notice of traffic flow and direction of your work. I consider the table saw center of my shop and that is the tool I first place. I also like to set up the saw (I spend alot of time infront of the table saw) in an area of the room that is comfortable. Good light, maybe a window. Even though I am working I still like a comfortable, pleasent surroundings. Think there might be some Feng Shue in there somewhere.
Set your priorities and build off of them. Some locate tool putting too much emphesis on running electric, dust collection, setteling for the tablesaw here because its close to this outlet or another machine and shorter duct runs. I prefer to set tools in an ideal location and change what I need to make that location work. A short run of hose is prefered but not over having your tools in an ideal location.
Lots of good books on the subject but there seem to be many more fair ones. I just bought Setting Up Shop by Sandor Nagyszalanczy and find it to be one of the better ones. Also try using Grizzley's online layout program. Thats a preaty cool, free tool. If you have use of ACAD, that is a great tool for setting up shop. You can change tool orientation in a second and produce a multitude of layout designs. I really do like to observe the room and "feel" the space (running the risk of sounding corny here) when considering layout plans. Let your shop space evolve and dial it in over time. Too much fun this shop layout.
Great input and thanks for responding....I'll take a look @ the Grizzly plan tool and let you know what happens....any advice on a second shop stationary tool for a new woodworker who plans on building cabinets for personal use....and any advice on the best table saw?
Thanks again.....
Chase
I just purchased a Powermatic 66. Unisaw is a good machine, would also consider General, maybe Jet and Grizzley. You will find a happy customer from owners of all those saws as well as unhappy ones. An occasional user might consider a contractor saw over a cabinet saw. Half the cost in most cases and strong machines that opperate well. The more cast iron the more stable a saw, in general.
As for a second stationary machine my next purchase might be a band saw, probably 14" (small shop). If I didn't allready have a dust collector that would supercied the band saw. Drill press, planer, joiner..uhg (not in that order). The list goes on and on. If you do a search for "shop setup" you will find many posts on the personal choice of tool priority. On second thought, drill press comes before band saw. 3 1/4 HP variable speed Porter Cable router with home built router table comes before all. If you dont have a chop saw (radial compound miter) or radial arm is a good next step. Compressor............Really you NEED it all. Don't stop shopping till your shops full. Saftey Speed cut vertical panel saw for small production runs. Building a bench is also high on the list. No more rambling, sorry.
Thanks for the rambling....it's very helpful.
Regards,
Chase
hi,
having just gone through the beginnings of setting up my shop (14x15 sq ft space in a 2-car garage), i can echo some of what others have said. my soace is a little unusual -- the garage is divided by steel shelves (with a 6 foot gap near one end) parallel to the main garage door at a distance of 15 ft. there are also steel shelves and a finishing cabinet along the other two walls.
i located the table saw (TS, a delta unisaw) first, and then the workbench (WB). since these are the two largest pieces, and i will be using them the most, it made sense to place them in the "best" location. since things are a bit cramped, i put them in the center, back-to-back, connected by an outfeed bridge from the TS. (the shape looks rather like a large "U".) the unisaw and other tools are on mobile bases to maximize flexibility. the dust cleaner (DC, 2 micron cannister system) sits at the open end of the U, and is usually connected to the TS. both the TS and the DC are wired 240V (15A), and i have the outlets mounted above the work area over the back of the DC. a 14" bandsaw (BS) and a (stationary) 6" jointer, are generally located in front of the shelves along the interior wall of the space, and moved into location when in use: generally at the closed end of the U (perpendicular to the TS and WB). a 16" drill press is located in the far corner of the space near the garage door. (the other corner near the door holds the lumber storage, and the craftsman toolbox "tower".) a 13" benchtop planer, 12" sliding compound mitre saw (MS), and sharpening center (SC) will live in a mobile cabinet (under construction which will also hold a pancake compressor). all three (planer, MS, and SC) are mounted to 3/4" ply, which can be bolted to a mobile stand. a router table (RT) lives in another corner of the space, in front of the finishing cabinet. (the last corner is the access from the shop to the rest of the garage, and the house.) other tools are stored on two of the steel shelves. also, there is an air cleaner (AC) hung from the ceiling at the open end of the TS/WB U-shape, but just beyond the DC.) hand tools are located in drawers in the workbench.
so, the work flow is through the big garage door, into the lumber area, then to the TS, or jointer or BS (since jointer and BS typically occupy the same space while in use, only 1 can be set up at a time, and it would be connected to the DC as well as the TS). the planer can be set up on the mobile stand, and the MS on the workbench, if needed. or, i can put the MS on the mobile stand, closer to the lumber area. the planer is typically connected to the DC if in use (swapping the jointer/BS connector back and forth). a downdraft table can be put on top of the WB. sanders, D-handle router, and MS are all connected to the shop vac for dust collection.
there are a few drawbacks to the set up, due to the small size and room layout constraints (steel shelf layout) -- e.g. having to move tools around in order to use them, and having to disconnect/reconnect the DC hoses frequently -- but, it's a serviceable layout, and i get things done.
hope this helps,
bert
Thanks....appreciate the layout....will keep you posted on my progress.
Chase
I've done pretty well with a shop that's about 30 feet by 12 feet. That includes:Table saw with 50" fence and 4 ' x 6 ' outfeed table, band saw, scroll saw, chop saw, drill press on large base, kids work bench, adult work bench, planer, router table, jointer, toolbox, an old dresser for screws, nails, bolts etc... - the router, planer, bandsaw, tooblox, and drill press, and dresser are all on wheels...My wood is stored in a crawl space connected to the shop.And I still have room for my next purchase - a belt/disk sander on a stand. I'm sure I could make do with less space if I had to (when my kids outgrow their workbench, I'll take over the space :-)Mark
check out http://www.shoptours.org
My suggestion would be if you can find some other place to put the pottery do so.
20 x 30 is just barely big enough for a wood shop.
Also go here & get you free Shopdesign download to lay out & plan you shop floor layout & save it on your own computer.
http://www.inthewoodshop.org/software/software.shtml
If you put both of these hobbies in the one building & divide the building to do so you most likely won't do justice to either hobby.
I learned about not trying to divide an area into small portions from my Dad who is a retired builder & observing what an Uncle & Aunt did to their basement, they essentially ended up with rooms in the basement where none of the rooms were big enough to fulfill the their desires.
Really Really think about this. If you can find somewhere else to put the Pottery shop do so because of the above mentioned problem not to mention that I don't think if the 2 areas are open in any way to each other that woodworking dust & pottery won't mix.
I do really well in a 16x20 shop. I have friends with big shops and they just walk more. if I were doing kitchen cabinats I might need a bigger area, but i did one set of those.
Charlie
My shop is 13'5" x 24'5" & it is crowded below is what my floor lay out looks like or at least pretty close to it.
I also posted a pic of my miter / multi tool station that has mechanic tools in the center 2 banks of drawers with the portable planer on a pull out drawer on the left & the Spindle sander on a pull out drawer on the right with the CMS & mortiser on top.I posted this pic hoping that it may give someone a few ideas that they could use to make more room in their small shop.Sucking.......Whoosh.......Yowl........Whoosh.........Thrump puttytat up the DC..
I wish I could do a computerized plan like that. I keep my TS in the middle with a small outfeed and use my router table for additional outfeed. My bench is to the right of the TS and I can use it for crosscut outfeed if need. I put the DP and BS in one corner and the lathe in the opposite. My planer gets rolled out for use near a door in case I need to plane longer than 6'. My jointer is angled into a corner so I get 8' in and outfeed. I have a drum sander and a small belt sander close to the 4th corner along with my DC. I am in the process of putting in a DC cyclone in a small enclosure outside for noise control. I have moved this shop around several times always improving the layout. Mmmm maybe move ah mm.
cab ss bench dp
rt ts bs (addition) Main shop is 14x20, addition 4x8
lathe joint plane
sander &ds)
Charlie
If you go to this URL its a free download called Shop Designer
To post it you'll need to print screen & paste into paint & size it & put it in Jpeg format,
http://www.inthewoodshop.org/software/software.shtmlSucking.......Whoosh.......Yowl........Whoosh.........Thrump puttytat up the DC..
Thanks, I'll try it. I think the major problem with having a pottery shop in the same romm is the Kiln. Super heat and sawdust dont mix. Wall off 10ft for the pottery and I don't see why it won't work.
i've become very interested in this dual shop concept as well: my wife wants to put a kiln in the garage where i have my shop. so, this begs the question: i have really good dust collection and an air cleaner -- enough so that the room doesn't seem to get dusty at all -- how much of a fire danger does this present? we have a gas water heater in the garage as well, and a furnace in a walled off closet. i always keep solvents (read: finishes and stains) in their own enclosed space (tight sealing plastic box inside a metal trashcan with metal lid) when not in use, dispose of finishing rags right away (metal trashcan outside), and always clean up any sawdust/chips made from hand tools. so, am i being naive?
thanks all,
bert
if it's worth doing at all, then it's worth doing well.
Chase-
The April 2005 edition of Workbench Magazine, just out, has an article on shop layouts you may find helpful. Their example shop is a single car garage, 12x22. The article has a brief description of tools by function which may also be helpful to you.
Regards,
Barry
Thanks I'll take a look.
Chase
Chasusame
How are you coming along with your shop design?
Another thought occurred to me, what if you used a method to curtain off the pottery area say with some long clear vinyl or clear shower curtains. & make a floor to ceiling cabinet that all the pottery supply's & pottery wheel can be stored in..
This will allow both hobbies to co-exist in the same area while allowing for maximum room to handle wood materials when doing woodworking.
Thanks....good idea. Have not gotten any other feedback that I can use @ this time....will take your comments and see what I can come up with.....but maybe a few weeks as work is buzy right now....will keep you posted though and thanks for the time.
Regards,
Chase
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