basement shop pics

[Aaron Wingert]

My wife of nearly three years finally decided she'd earned the right to park in the garage, thereby forcing me to relocate the shop to the basement. My shop used to occupy our two car garage. Unbearably hot in the summer, unbearably cold in the winter. I have a side business making turkey calls and duck calls, so with the amount of time I spend in the shop the temperature is a major consideration year-round.

So I decided to take on the task of cleaning up our basement, dividing it, painting it, etc. The shop is about 24' x 30', which is about half of the basement. I have walkout access so I don't have to fight the stairs with heavy tools and projects.

The shop is now pretty much complete. Still hanging some french cleats and I have a few more shelves to build. I've decided to not store the bulk of my lumber in there, just in the interest of keeping it clean. I haven't moved everything down there yet, but I'm mostly moved in.

I'm able to do most things down there without disturbing life upstairs. Most of what I do is lathe work, so I'm not making too much noise anyhow. Some of the loud tools require a little discretion after our 7 month old twin boys go to bed though.

I left my air compressor in the garage and plumbed 1/2" copper lines to the basement. It works awesome...Plenty of air with zero compressor noise.

Dust is well handled by the JDS air cleaner I hung. That was definitely money well spent. Not having any trouble with airborne dust at all, even when routing and cutting MDF. I have not installed a dust collector just yet, but plan to in the future.

It is still a work in progress, and I'm definitely open to ideas/suggestions that you all may have.

[Aaron Wingert]

last picture.....

[Zach England]

jealous of all that space...

[glenn bradley]

What a great space. I too favor open space as part of the plan. We have to have somewhere to build things, right? Curious, is the vac and ambient cleaner your only dust collection?

[Aaron Wingert]

Curious, is the vac and ambient cleaner your only dust collection?

For now, yes. And honestly, it is working great. I keep the JDS going at all times when I'm in the shop, and leave it running for an hour after I leave. It is doing a great job of keeping the air really clear....Actually better than when I used to keep the garage door wide open and an industrial strength floor fan pointing outward. I know it isn't ideal to not have a dust collector, but I'll be installing one in the coming months.

The bulk of my work is at the lathe, and it generates most of the dust in my shop. I have a fan (on the barstool to the left of the lathe) that blows right at the workpiece on the lathe, directing the dust right into the JDS. Sounds stupid but it really works well. I just have to vacuum up all my shavings all the time.

[julian abram]

Aaron, nice shop setup, looks great! I was wondering what you think of your G0691 table saw. I've kinda be considering upgrading from a contractor's saw to one Grizzlys' lower priced cabinet units. thanks-

[alex grams]

TOO CLEAN!

Very nice to have a dedicated space. The low ceiling would be something to have to adjust too, and I probably would put a few nice dings in the ceiling while adjusting, but the atmospheric moderation has to be much more comfortable.

You see to have enough room, does your outfeed table function as an assembly table also? Do you have room for a dedicated bench/assembly table?

Color me jealous.

[Jim Rimmer]

Great shop. I wish I had that much space and climate control. Shiraz must love you; that's a lot of Grizzly in that shop.

[Don Jarvie]

What a great space.

Think of insulating the ceiling and putting the DC out in the garage with the compressor to cut down on the noise.

Also, is that a duct in the ceiling for heat or A/C. You might want to cover the vents with a filter to prevent any dust from entering the system. Even though these blow out dust can penetrate. Make sure to seal the doors going in the the area with the heater/AC so dust can't get in the system and blow upstairs.

[David Helm]

Looks great, but why only one mitre slot extension? . . . and on the left side of the blade. If you ever decide to use a sled you'll need to add another.

[Aaron Wingert]

Aaron, nice shop setup, looks great! I was wondering what you think of your G0691 table saw. I've kinda be considering upgrading from a contractor's saw to one Grizzlys' lower priced cabinet units. thanks-

Julian, I just got the saw about a month ago. Love it. I ordered it having never seen one in person and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised during assembly as I kept coming across things that impressed me. It is smooth running and has endless power. Trunnions are smooth.

[Aaron Wingert]

You see to have enough room, does your outfeed table function as an assembly table also? Do you have room for a dedicated bench/assembly table?

Looks great, but why only one mitre slot extension? . . . and on the left side of the blade. If you ever decide to use a sled you'll need to add another.

Alex the outfeed table is my assembly table as well. It is about 3-1/2' x 6'ish. I have room for a dedicated one but haven't had the need thus far. I hope to build a huge heavy solid wood traditional bench with nice vices in the next couple years.

David, I did one miter slot because I use an Incra miter express sled which only uses the slot to the left of the blade. I do all my crosscutting on it. If and when I ever decide to build a sled with larger capacity I'll have to route a slot on the right. Good observation! I opted to have more smooth table space for the time being though.

[Aaron Wingert]

What a great space.

Think of insulating the ceiling and putting the DC out in the garage with the compressor to cut down on the noise.

Also, is that a duct in the ceiling for heat or A/C. You might want to cover the vents with a filter to prevent any dust from entering the system. Even though these blow out dust can penetrate. Make sure to seal the doors going in the the area with the heater/AC so dust can't get in the system and blow upstairs.

Good observations for sure Don. The space has one heating/cooling vent in the ceiling that blows precious air conditioning! I do need to put a filter over it. The return isn't in the shop or I'd be in trouble.

I walled off the furnace so it is on the other side of the basement and not in the same room/area as the shop. Dust was my major concern. The doors have sweeps on them to keep it from getting past. I also built a vestibule at the bottom of the basement stairs so I have a wall and two doors separating the stairs/upstairs areas from the dust of the shop.

[Aaron Wingert]

Shiraz must love you; that's a lot of Grizzly in that shop.

It is honestly the other way around. Shiraz and Grizzly have been good to me, so I buy green when I can. The new cabinet saw was a no-brainer after some recent good treatment on a bandsaw issue I had.

[Paul McGaha]

Nice Shop Aaron.

Thanks for sharing with us.