Bench Layout Suggestions

[Amy Leigh Baker]

So I've accumulated enough specific tools to warrant an official area for them. I have design in mind, but I thought I'd reach out for suggestions. I have a 24' wall to work with, and I would like to inset my router table, chopsaw, and jointer into the bench. Originally I figured I would space the tools out evenly, but then I realized that if one of the tools was 4' from a wall that I wouldn't be able to feed pieces in or out. So I've grouped them in middle. One problem I see from the sketch is that the blade guard on my jointer will probably get in the way with pieces on the other machines?

I haven't figured out a way to incorporate my planer into the layout. I guess I will probably build a rolling bench for it so I can move to where I want it when I need it?

The total shop size is 12'x24'. The wall to the right has main workbench, future sink, and trash receptacles. Left wall is wood storage. Table saw is in the middle of the shop. The near wall is the entrance to the shop, as well as mountain bike, mountain bike work area, golf clubs, and future beer fridge

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Amy

[Don Jarvie]

Taking up that much fixed wall space isn't the best idea given the size of your shop. A thought would be a smaller and lower bench you can use each tool on with each stored under the bench. As your skills grow you will end up getting bigger machines and that wall space will be valuble in the future.

[mike mcilroy]

The jointer inset would probably end up frustrating you. The infeed side needs to be lower than the outfeed side and it needs to be adjustable to remove different amounts of material. The jointer will likely be easier to use at a lower height than a chop saw as you want to be able to put steady pressure on the outfeed side.
If you're anything like me you will always be tinkering with the layout of your shop. Try to keep it as flexible as possible because you will most likely find yourself in the situation where you need 3/4" more space to fit the workpiece into the machine. This is when you wish the machine wasn't in a fixed position and start swearing just like you were using those golf clubs.

[Jim Dwight]

Could you put the router table and jointer on a flip top table that rolls out for use? Take some layout to see if that would work and keep them at or below the chop saw height.

I have a 24 foot wall with no windows or doorways in my 14x24 foot shop garage. I built a low cabinet, 8 inches below my intended bench height (38.25 inches) with drawers for 12 foot of this wall. My RAS and 12 inch CMS sit on this bench with their tops shimmed to the 38.25 inch height. They are about in the center. I will add a 8 inch thick Paulk style worksurface at one end with movable flip stops when I get the time. The bench has a bunch of drawers which I find much more useful than shelves or doors. At the end where the Paulk top goes, there is a clamp wall. At the other end is my router table which is on totally locking casters and is the same height as the CMS and RAS. So stock can just go over on it. I pull it out to use it. Beyond that is my flip top (also with rolling, locking, casters) with my Ryobi AP-10 planner and my Jet hollow chisel mortiser. They are too high for wood to slide over so if it is that long, they roll out of the way. Beyond that is some stuff for other hobbies.

The other long wall has two windows and a mess against it right now. I need to sell my 1hp DC I don't use which will decrease the mess. My 3'x7' workbench (also 38.25 high) will go between the windows against the wall so in theory I may be able to park a vehicle in this garage some day. There will be an open organizer on the wall above the bench. The jointer also has wheels and will go along that wall or the back wall of the shop. The drill press is on the back wall where there is an entrance door. The table saw is on totally locking casters and it and the workbench are normally in the middle of the shop.

Hope this gives you some ideas. This is my second dedicated shop and third shop overall so I've been working out ideas for awhile. My other tip would be to think about a track saw. Very handy and not just for sheet goods. Grizzly is cheapest, I have a DeWalt. They let those of us with small shops still work with sheet goods without having to move to sawhorses in the driveway.

[David Linnabary]

When I first had the opportunity to start organizing a shop space, I found a small book from Taunton Press, a collection of Fine Woodworking articles on The Small Shop. It's 30 years old now and all B/W photos but still a great little reference that I still go back to occasionally not only for layout but all sorts of organizational topics. Maybe one of the best $10 I ever spent on a book.

I agree with the others about separating your tools, I'd hang the chops saw on the wall and have it higher than the jointer to allow stock to pass under the chops saw. Also agree with a mobile router table, you may find yourself using it as an assembly area pretty often if space is really at a premium. My shop philosophy is not to surround the room with flat work surfaces, they simply become a place where things accumulate instead of being put away. I try to keep as much floor space clear as possible. My bench is in the center of my shop, my assembly surfaces are mobile, tool stands are kept to a minimum footprint. Now my shop is much larger but still almost everything is mobile, even my sheet goods are stored on old drywall stocking carts I guess I get my shop organizational DNA from my dad who often restored wood and fabric covered antique aircraft parts in his garage as I was growing up.

David

[glenn bradley]

As mentioned, the requirement for the jointer tables to be at different heights for different jobs makes your captured location troublesome. If that is the Delta or Porter-Cable version of jointer it is not very heavy and could perhaps be stored below and brought out for use. Flip tops on wheels are another great idea and made my small shop area work like a much larger area for years until I went to larger machines.

Flip-top 4.jpg . Flip-top 1.jpg

I have used flip tops in many versions and it was the perfect place for my real estate hogging CMS until I finally found I could do without one. I'm not saying to get rid of your CMS. It is a cornerstone of many shops. I just found other ways to do things for the types of things I build which allowed me to recover the space.