Replies

1. 
   woodshaver | May 29, 2003 06:44am | #1

   Tim, a good place for some ideas, would be the work shop book ,published by taunton press. there are alot of good ideas in there.  

                          good luck.  mark

2. 
   DougF | May 29, 2003 04:22pm | #2

   Tim,

   I completed a 20 x 35 shop a year ago and what worked for me doing a scale layout including cutouts of all of my tools, storage areas and work benches.  Having the ability to move these around made a huge difference in my ultimate layout.   The layout should center around the type of work you envision.  The work flow for large cabinet work will different than one-off piece work.

   Several mistakes I made included: not enough storage area for wood and not enough ceiling drops for power (have 2, could have used six more strategically placed), and I failed to use a non-slip additive in the floor paint. 

   I would also suggest that you consider the placement of your central DC system to minimize the runs to your major tools rather than sticking it in a remote corner.

   Good luck.

   Doug

1. 
   mitch | May 29, 2003 04:49pm | #3

   well Tim, i'm in the processing of doing almost exactly the same thing (24x36), but without knowing anything about your door/window placement, the type of eqpt you have or plan to have- esp. central dc or not- i can't offer much in the way of specific advice.  i'd recommend drawing everything out to scale and then move around cutouts of your machines, bench, etc.  don't forget general tool/stuff storage and wood racks.  also, don't just figure out space for each machine- make sure you leave a generous allowance for infeed/outfeed of stock thru the machine.  your tablesaw may only be 48"x30" but you may need to plan for passing a 4'x8' sheet of ply or mdf thru it end to end and sideways.  and, of course, lots of well-served outlets.

   m

2. 
   Biscardi | May 29, 2003 08:00pm | #4

   Tim,

   Doug's points are good.

   I would add that you should place your tools in such a way that there is adequate room to be able to jump away from (escape) any power tool and that there is a minimum of power cords and hoses to step over.

   Frank

3. 
   chairmake1 | May 29, 2003 11:56pm | #5

   Let's see - -

   A LOT of electrical plugs, maybe every four feet all around the shop

   walls.

   If you are not going to install a central collection system at the time of the building - make plans as if you were. When you do install the system - it'll be a breeze.

   The suggestion of making a scaled model of the shop and the equipment is a must - this excersie will pay off bigtime when you get moved in - I can't tell you how much time - effort - and expense it saved me when I built the addition to my shop. There are a lot of factors involved in equipment placement that you will not consider untill you actually see the area around the table saw or the planer. Will you have enough runoff room? Is there enough side clearence to cross cut on the table saw? Can you walk past the jointer and still retrive wood from the wall rack? Just a lot of questions that become easy to solve when you have a 3-D realtime model in front of you to study.

   You just can't have enough lights in a shop - both the overhead and the task type.

   How will the doors open in the shop? Which way? Into what?

   How many windows and on what wall? From what direction are the prevailing winds comming from in your area and how will you best use this cheap cooling? A lot of windows are nice, but you also need wall space to put stuff on and keep things out of the way. We all love our stuff and we all want more stuff - where will it go?

   Storage. If you think you got a handle on storage - you don't! You will need twice as much and most likely more.

   Are you in a area of the country that gets very cold in the winter or extreamly hot during the summer? Make allowences for these conditions because if your unconfortable you are not going to want to spend time in your shop.

   These are just a few things that popped in my head and you haven't got to the important items yet.

   Robert

4. 
   tedwick | May 30, 2003 01:42am | #6

   Greetings Tim!

   I'm not going to have as much enclosed space as you but I am building a 20X40 combination carport, workshop.  The carport will be used for cars mostly but allows me outside but protected form the weather additional space when project scale or major glue ups call for more.  the shop itwelf will be 20X20

   I am in an old growth Oak yard so have lots of shade. so am using polycarbonate roofing in sheets like metal roofing, to provide lots of natural light.  I live in Maryland, which is mostly moderate weather but lots of rainy days.

   The carport will also provide a covered patio.

   Seems like a good compromise to me.

   Enjoy the process.

   Ted

5. 
   Shep | May 30, 2003 04:59pm | #7

   tim-- I want to volunteer my back yard for your new shop. There's plenty of space, and its easily accessible from several major highways<G>

6. 
   GHR | May 30, 2003 05:12pm | #8

   Put all of your machinery on the slab. Use it for a couple months. Then build the building.

   All ideas sound good.

   My rough cutting shop is 13x28. I put recepts in 4 apart above and below the bench tops. I still had to put longer cords on several machines.