My almost complete workshop.

[David Hostetler]

Well folks, after several years of development, the current economic budget crunch, countless reworks of my plans, and recovery from hurricane Ike, my shop is mostly complete, at least complete enough for me to finally post it up here.

At the heart of my shop is a Ryobi BT3100 that has been changed up a little bit. You can see attached the new Shark Guard version 10.4, and let me tell you that thing really sucks. And I mean that in a good way... I have also relocated the switch to the left rail instead of down low on the saw body, this keeps the switch in an easier to access position for me. The router table wing needs a good reworking. I made some mistakes building it, and my corrections, while functional, are ugly... Under the extension wing is my shop vac, and Thien separator. I use this mostly for the miter saw, and sanders at this point.


The tool stacker. This idea came from BT3Central member DonHo I guess 3 years ago now. I was considering jamming everything in a 10x12 shed. That idea has since gone away with my lovely bride's blessing, but the stacker remains! Honestly, with my back problems, this is NOT my best idea. I am itching for one of those Grizzly 12" combination jointer / planers, and will likely end up building a flip top stand for the sander and grinder / sharpening station.


My Cheapie 12" slider with Freud blade, and shop vac connection for dust collection. The Freud blade makes a very cheap miter saw cut like a very expensive one. The dust port pickup works okay, far better than the stock bag, but it still spews dust like crazy. You may notice on the door behind the slider that I have the silver backed rigid foam insulation installed. That idea came from members here, and it works exceptionally well. Thanks!


My ladder up and out of the way. This is actually a LOT easier to get up and down off of here than you might think, even with a bad back...


A tiny shelf, just big enough to hold my drill press goodies. The pocket hole jig just sort of hangs from a screw in the sheetrock for now. The silver box is a lousy set of Drill Master (Harbor Freight) hole saws, I hate those. The wooden box is the Master Forstner Bit set from Grizzly, I LOVE those...

Full view of the drill press. The DP table is shop built using the hardware I stripped out of a Grizzly table I bought from a different BT3Central member. It was a nice table that hated being on the coast so it swelled up... This one is plywood / hardboard lamination with walnut edging and oak pegs. Not pictured, but immediately above and to the right of the drill press is A tiny shelf, just big enough to hold my drill press goodies. The pocket hole jig just sort of hangs from a screw in the sheetrock for now. The set of Drill Master (Harbor Freight) hole saws are, well..., I hate those. On the other hand, the Master Forstner Bit set from Grizzly, I LOVE those...


My retractable chuck key holder. I LOVE this thing...


The HF lathe, and band saw. I spend a LOT of time here. I am still fine tuning the dust collection on the lathe. One of my perpetually postponed projects is a nice lathe stand cabinet with ballast for the lathe.


Shelf full of handheld power tools, bits and accessories for the router, and drilling, safety stuff, bits and pieces, measuring and marking gear, some finishes, and abrasives. The shopping bags on the hooks hold fine, and medium grind sanding sponges.


This was a good attempt at a workbench. I am very unhappy with the results. At least I know what it is missing. MASS, and a LOT of it... One of my projects for 2011 is to build a new workbench, with a butcher block laminated SYP top, and a stouter base design. I have seen some designs on Shop Notes I like better than this...


The dust collector / air compressor stack is positioned so that the separator has a straight shot into the dual 4" duct lines. The system is 5" through the separator then split to dual 4", one upper, one lower. Blast gates are the Lee Valley self cleaners and they work great.


My first aid kit of course, the A/C remote control, and the thermostat. It is in the high 30s outside, the radiator is on the 600w setting, and it is reading 70+ degrees in there... No the propane heater is NOT on...


Misc "stuff" storage, mostly gloves, my wonder winder cord reel gizmo (it works okay, not great...) And of course my favorite Alan Jackson / Jimmy Buffet quote...


Clamp racks, box o rags, safety gear, and glues... The clamp rack is about to get replaced with a mobile rack, either shop built, or I will grab a Clamp Buddy from Grizzly.


The lumber rack is as clean as it is gonna get...


My pegboard still needs some attention. But I have no idea where to move stuff off to... Mostly it's too crowded, and I need to put up another peg board...


The major remaining tasks, and the things I am NOT looking forward to are...

• Inuslate the side walls
• Run a 100 amp sub panel and circuits for both 110 and 220 in here.
• Finish replacing siding between garage doors, and running the vents for the A/C.
• Proper sheet goods storage.
• Clamshell wall cabinets to organize small parts storage, measuring and marking and other misc
• Shorten the strong tie bench, there is a freezer that needs to go in here somehwere.

I am looking forward to being done with all of the remaining projects for the shop, and would be more than happy to hear input on insulating existing finished walls, and running that electrical!

[Bob Riefer]

Wow David, Thanks for the detailed tour, I really enjoyed reading that. It looks to me like you have a great space to work in.

Can you tell me more about the heater that you use? Also, room dimensions and insulation. I have a G73 heater, but I'm considering supplementing with a radiant type of heat due to all the metal thermal mass in the room.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

That's terrific use of space.

But don't put anything else in there... there'll be no room for you.

[David Hostetler]

Sure. I am in a partially insulated space (see my list of things to complete),

The shop dimensions are 18' wide x 20' deep with a ceiling that slopes from 8.5' at the man door to the house, to 9' at the rollup doors. There is a 2.5' deep by 5.5' wide cubby hole in the right rear corner of the space where my rollaway toolbox, dust collector, and air compressor live.

Insulation is R30 in the ceiling, R19 in the common wall with the house, and R10 in the rollup doors. There is no insulation in the wall by the doors, nor in the side walls.

For the primary heat source I use a 1600 Watt electric oil filled radiator. Just a cheap Lakewood model that I got it I guess 8 or so years ago... Mind you, these radiators take FOREVER to heat up the space. Now they work VERY well, but they are VERY slow...

You may notice the propane bottle on the floor hooked to the red heater on the bench top. That is a Mr. Heater Portable Buddy. It's a basic camping heater that I honestly use to keep from freezing my tail off in the deer blind... It heats up fast, but is quite small (9K BTU).

As a rule of thumb, I only use the propane heater when I need heat on NOW, which isn't often. If it is cold enough I am going to want heat, generally speaking, I will have the radiator on all night, and the shop is warmed up already, it typically only hits me by surprise when we get a cold front that moves in quickly say when I am at work in the morning, and the shop has had time to cool off by the time I get home.

Somewhat related to shop insulation, but not really, is a radiant barrier install that I am working on in the entire house. This should help with the radiant heat gain and loss, even in the shop.

[Bob Riefer]

Thanks for the additional information. I have the opposite in terms of insulation... my walls are nicely insulated all the way around, but the ceiling is not yet insulated (because the 2nd story is being finished this year, and that space itself will act as my up above insulation). I'm losing so much heat upwards right now, that my bills are a bit out of control. But it is what it is.

Thanks again for the shop tour, happy woodworking

[Don Jarvie]

The shop is coming along nicely Dave. 1st priority should be insulating the rest of the shop. It will keep the heat in and cold out. My shop hasn't gone under 37 deg and we have had nights in the teens. The insulation makes a huge difference. I have R19 in the walls and R30 in the ceiling.

It maybe wise to invest in a more efficient heater. I have the Dayton and it works well. It will bring my shop (20x20) from 40 to 55 in an hour.

[David Hostetler]

The shop is coming along nicely Dave. 1st priority should be insulating the rest of the shop. It will keep the heat in and cold out. My shop hasn't gone under 37 deg and we have had nights in the teens. The insulation makes a huge difference. I have R19 in the walls and R30 in the ceiling.

It maybe wise to invest in a more efficient heater. I have the Dayton and it works well. It will bring my shop (20x20) from 40 to 55 in an hour.

Yes, the insulation will help. That is on the schedule... As far as heater efficiency is concerned, it isn't that big of a hit when you consider how often it gets used (maybe a total of 1 week / year). If I needed heat like northern folks, I would worry about it more...

[glenn bradley]

Great tour. Things area really coming together for you. I built drawers under my bench, under my work table, under my outfeed table, etc. Looks like you have some space that could be drawered-up to add some storage. It is hard to beat Grizzly's price on their little rolling clamp rack but it will eat up a lot more floor space than your wall rack. Isn't it fun tweaking your work area to get things just how you want them? Thanks again for the tour.

[Van Huskey]

I love shop tours!!! Thanks

[David Hostetler]

Great tour. Things area really coming together for you. I built drawers under my bench, under my work table, under my outfeed table, etc. Looks like you have some space that could be drawered-up to add some storage. It is hard to beat Grizzly's price on their little rolling clamp rack but it will eat up a lot more floor space than your wall rack. Isn't it fun tweaking your work area to get things just how you want them? Thanks again for the tour.

On the clamp rack. yeah floor space is a concern, but then again, so is portability... I hate having to drop what I am doing to run over by the door to grab a clamp while juggling 6 other things... So either I go rolling, or I figure out clamp storage immediately near my workbenches. Which isn't out of the question...

On the drawers issue. I did mention I am planning on redoing my main workbench right? That is basically going to be a 6' x 30" x 3" top mounted on a 4' W x 24" D x 31" H multi drawer base. I want 1' overhang on each end, and 3" over the side for toe clearance... I don't recall the issue, but I do recall I saw the plan in Shopnotes.... Or at least enough to get me moving in the right direction...