Suppose money were no object, and you could afford to build your DREAM WOODWORKING SHOP , and have the best of tools that money could buy! LOL:cool: What would your shop look like ???
Suppose money were no object, and you could afford to build your DREAM WOODWORKING SHOP , and have the best of tools that money could buy! LOL:cool: What would your shop look like ???
4000 square feet. 4 season climate control. Glassed in finishing room. Plumbed for dust collection and compressed air, with the collector and compressor in a soundproof room. Wired for 120 and 220. White painted walls and beaded wood ceiling. Windows on ceiling to let in natural light. Rollup door. LED lights. Bathroom with shower. Big utility sink for washing stones, etc. French cleats and pegboard over drywall. Workbench and assembly bench. Tablesaw, 12 inch jointer, 24 inch planer, big bandsaw, little bandsaw, drill press, slot mortiser, lathe.
Dang. Just like that pretty blonde girl I sat next to in school - a totally impossible dream. :(
I could use a little more room and It would be nice to have a higher ceiling and a wood floor. I doubt any of that would make me a better woodworker. My tools, while being a mishmash of brands and expense levels are adaquate. If I had the nicest shop and the best tools there is I would not only not be any happier but I would lose that great feeling when I do afford to buy a new and better machine.
https://i.imgur.com/6ILV2UU.jpg
Already seen it here in Manhattan.
Oh. My. God!
Peter - is that YOURS or someone's commercial shop?
Current shop is 36 X 34 with storage in the hayloft. Doubling that footprint would allow me to add a dedicated finishing area, a sink, and make a better lathe setup that contained the chips a bit more, and have space for a milling machine and metal lathe. When working on organ/piano restoration projects I never have enough table area to lay out all the parts that are in progress while still having workspace.
OTOH, my current shop is already large enough that I can never find a tool that I had in my hand 30 seconds ago.
Definitely first world problems.
It would look like a walmart next to a power substation in the middle of nowhere
Chuck
Honestly, I wouldn't necessarily build "yuge". I'd try to build "smart and flexible" with a machine area totally separate from assembly/hand tool workspace, a separate finishing room and separate space for material storage. A separate office space would also be nice, but not essential if it remained in a residential setting. The difference between what I have now and that is size and two floors vs one. I think I'd like 1500-2000 sq ft for the "main shop", a reasonable size finishing room and 500-1000 sq ft for material storage. I'd like a 10' ceiling height rather than the 8' I have now. And a wood floor.
Friend’s 1-man shop on 7th Ave just above 23rd Street. Not shown in that photo are a Martin slider, thicknesser and a Striebig Compact.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frederick Skelly
I fantasize about this daily, and obsess about it nightly. Main room, saw stop with 72 inch cast iron table with router on side. 14" Band saw, 3 of them, each with different size blade. Shaper, 3 44 inch drum sanders, with 80, 120, and 220 grit, lathe, planer with helical head, 2 drill presses, morticing machine, 8 inch jointer, miter station. cabinets on all walls, floor to ceiling, 2 inch thick butcher block counters. Two air-craft carrier sized assembly tables, one of which is saw outfeed, also with drawers underneath. 6 inch dust to each machine, dust extractors in ceiling which is 10 feet high. A few windows, a roll up door. Space so I can put a 16 foot piece thru each tool without moving anything. Office so I can go watch the youtube video on dovetails for the 10th time that day. Bathroom with walk in shower, tiled of course. Large utility sink. Eyewash and first aid station. Microwave and beer fridge. 5-7000 sq feet of separate, air-conditioned lumber storage with ability to drive forklift around. A finishing room. 2 1500 bf kilns. All of this on a concrete pad with a loading dock that a 54 foot trailer can back to. Exterior would have a 20 foot over hang so I can open the roll up door and roll a project outside and work on it as I like to do with my current set up. All insulated with 6 inches of rockwool, r40 in the roof. I can move wood anywhere in the various rooms without having to leave the building, so some sort of fork-lift sized hallway. Separate cinder block shed outside for storing flamables, solvents, etc....would have power co. deliver 3 phase from the pole for the 44 inch drum sander.....100 gallon 20 cfm compressor with an air port at each tool. Fire suppression system. All tools are serviced yearly on site by factory, and the blade sharpener comes to me. Clamp cart would have to be motorized, because even with unlimited budget wouldn't get you enough clamps. Since we're tossing $ here, might as well make the clamp cart out of one of those Teslas that comes to you in the parking lot.
My current plan is 1200 sq ft. 900 would do it but, I wanted a finishing area and a place for stocking hardware, coffee machine, computer and music system. The rule of thumb is the same one I use when house shopping; I don't want it any bigger than I am willing to clean ;-)
If you had one of these huge commercial size shops with all the goodies, would you do more quality projects? Would you produce more and get more satisfaction from your hobby? I can see where a commercial shop would need a lot more room. Pretty soon you are producing near factory furniture and have employees doing the work while your watching those dovetail videos. Dreams are nice but reality maybe not so much.
No. I’d do as I do now, start 57 projects and finish 3. I’d never hire anyone.....well...sort of. Th shop I describe above also would have a luxury 2nd story apartment where two elves live for free, all they have to do is sharpen, hone, and strop all blades and chisels nightly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Jones
I find that more than a day's journey from end to end is cumbersome. :cool:
I think 50'x50' would be great, so about 2500 sq ft. With separate rooms for finishing and cyclone, and perhaps lumber storage.
What Peter posted is real close to my ideal. Only, it wouldnt be in the middle of NYC, and it would be a timber frame with 18-20' ceilings. Size wise, i would probably go moderately big. I dont want it to take me 20 mins to walk across my shop, but everything having plenty of space around it would be a nice change compared to my current cramped basement conditions. I think something in the 5-6,000 range would be incredible. Plenty of space, but not unruly. I have a bit of an affinity for tool collecting, so a bit of extra space for excess duplicates would be fun. Martin jointer/planer/slider/shaper, a few big vintage american bandsaws like an oliver 217 or maybe one of the northfields/crescents with 42"+ wheels, northfield unipoint, 5x10 cnc with vaccuum table, and a 53" widebelt would cover most of my needs. Definitely a forklift. I dream of owning a forklift.
Like everyone says, its fun to dream, but the tools and space wouldnt make me much better than i am. They would make me smile though. Peter's friend's shop makes me smile.