Hello All: Reading Will George’s post about shop vac v. dust collectors made me think of this; for all those with tiny shops: how do we get by(no pun intended) with minimal room? All my equipment is on wheels and if the weather is good I’ll push some of the items I don’t need outside during a work session. Another big pain for me is having to put all smaller tools away when not acually in use. My lumber rack, jointer and band saw are in another building so some parts have to go back and forth for different operations; no wonder it takes me forever to build anything!!
KDM
Kenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights
December 15 1791
NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
The Bill of Rights
December 15 1791
NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
Replies
Dang guy... I get my exercise doin' that!.... OH! And I got more time than I know what to do with! Sure wish I had room fer a 'wet bar'....
EDIT:: My lumber rack,....
Some of my lumber I keep under my bed.. The 'GOOD stuff'..
Really.. I have lumber on steel 2X2 (ya know fer house studs) with cross members that hang from the rafters. Just high enough I can't bang my head! I hardly ever walk in the shop in my tip-toes!
I looked up there once and thought I'd take up some of the space the spiders have taken over...
Edited 6/15/2005 11:44 am ET by Will George
Organization, storage racks, heavier equipment on wheels, and constant assessment of what can stay, and what can go.
If you're a packrat, you'll have difficulty. If you can evaluate the type of woodwork you do, you'll know what tools are tools and which ones are toys, and from there sorta feng-shui your shop.
Duke,
If you hang your jointer upside-down from the ceiling, you can give yourself a flat-top haircut as you walk by!
Seriously though (who? me?), I use mostly hand tools, and store most of my tools in dense clusters according to use. This allows me to grab the crate, bag, box, or chest that contains, for example, the tools I use to make oval shaker-style boxes, or green wood chairs, or wood carving, or hand-cut dovetails and mortise & tenon joints, use the tools, and pack them densely when not in use.
My theory of the moment is that it's all about activity-based organization that focuses on ease of retrieval. So far, it's working. I should disclose that it's highly important for me to be able to travel with my tools at a moment's notice, according to the job being undertaken, and my current method of activity-based storage is biased in favor of the grab & run approach.
Yes, if I had a lot of space, I'd spread things out a whole lot more, but I have a feeling that I'd still attempt to cluster tools & supplies around the activities in which they are commonly used, and I'd still want to be able to grab and run without chasing my tail for half-an-hour wondering whether I 'd remembered everything needed for a particular job.
Good luck,
-Jazzdogg-
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
Edited 6/16/2005 2:23 pm ET by jazzdogg
Duke-one,
My "shop" is the bottom floor of my house over 1800 sq.ft. it's filled wall to wall and into the floor joists above with stuff. Now part of the probelm is that I'm builing a timberframe house which requires a whole set of tools, I'm also taking raw wood and converting it into finished trim and other stuff for the house.. My main problem is storage of 30,000 plus bd.ft. of wood.. It's everywhere!
living room dining room, bedrooms etc.. I even laid three levels of wood flooring down in my daughters bedroom just to stack more wood there!
Everything is on wheels or crates or boxes and still the whole house is in process.. Only 6 more years to go!
My "shop" is the bottom floor of my house over 1800 sq.ft.
Ya can really go off some people ya know.... ;P~~~~
when ya postin some updated pics of the house Frenchy...???? Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
Mike,
Wadda I have to do? I gave away a bunch of hard maple and cherry hoping somebody would show me how simple it was to post a picture and nobody did.. They took the wood and ran! (not sure everybody said thank you either)
I offered my daughter $20.00 to have her post them for me and she failed as well. spent an evening in the attempt and tried again the next day (she really wanted the money!
Sheesh man.. yer at it againnn..?????? As if its nae bad enough that yer gettin this stuff by the ton for haulage costs.. t just give it away....?????????????????? I could change the engine in my Landrover for what that stuff costs over here, and that's sayin nothing about the boards that are 40% sapwood too....
Them pics must be some size when even a $20 bribe canna swing it.. ;P~Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
My shop's 11.5 x 7.5ft... with the exception of the dust collector, everything is in there; stock (sheet and boards), machines, tools, bench, work-in-progress, everything... Moving stuff outside when weather permits isn't an option...
I've tried to make the best of all the wall space I have; everything that can goes high to keep it accessable yet out of the way. Right now I'm working to remedy the biggest failing, no proper hand-tool storage. The idea is that it'll replace an existing rack that's fulla stuff that's obsolete.
The only machinery I use thesedays is my table saw, chop saw and router table, although once I build the replacement bench, the table saw will need to be replaced with a bandsaw. That's about it... no room for anything more. Since making the switch to hand tools for stock prep, although I get less done, I enjoy it more; there's far less stress which has improved my build quality hand over fist...
I'd dearly love a hanger sized shop, but I'm content with what I have... for now at least.
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
duke-one,
I agree with Jazzdogg's activity-based approach but that in and of itself is not enough unless you capitalize on the cubic storage also. In other words, I built cabinets over the lathe, put the lathe on a work bench and put a nest draws underneath. Same is true for the main workbench, cabinets with box doors above...(cubbies hold power tools, doors hold hand tools)...draws underneath. Attached some strapping to the 2x12 beams in the corner and let the clamps hang down from there, larger clamps on floor underneath. Lastly, built a 24x36 table top around the lolly column next to and about 2'up from the cabinet saw..holds the blades and tools. One of the trade offs is no using the carrying boxes that came with the power tools. After going back and forth, I decided in favor of storing wood vertically...more capacity, easier to find, doesn't cover me with dust when being moved.
If I had three times the space I'd still do it the same way....clean up is so quick and everything it close by. However, I'd also have a few more 2x1x8' tall cabinets with doors next to my big power tools...
One thing that gets me is some of the almost empty airplane hangers I've seen on the web; so much space/light and such a nice flat one piece floor! My shop is in my garage which is very old, sits on dirt (no foundation) and is going to fall at the next quake. If I'm in there then bury me with my table saw.
KDMKenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights
December 15 1791
NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
Have to chime in right here:-
....if I'm in there bury me with my table saw".
More likely you may be buried if you are lucky, but the table saw, well if it is something reasonable like an Oliver, that will not be buried.
Have a good one.
If I'm in there then bury me with my table saw..
I hope ya got that carved in the shop doors!
EDIZT:: My shop so small I have to ask the house mice to put their ear protectors on!
Edited 6/21/2005 2:53 pm ET by Will George
If I carved anything in my shop doors they would probably fall off! My mice write notes on my calendar to schedule bench time! :)Kenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights
December 15 1791
NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
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