Please help with my new small shop

[Brian Timmons]

I found this site while researching workshop layouts, and there looks to be a lot of good info here. I will be getting a dedicated workshop later this year. Probably around the first of December. The good news is it is a dedicated space unlike what I have now. I currently have a corner of the garage and it is a constant fight for space which I have conceded to losing. The bad news is that my workshop space will only be approximately 10'x12.5'. I guess that is a micro-shop. With this small of a shop, it is imperative that I maximize the space as much as possible. I will do a little steel work, but mostly wood work. I have been acquiring tools as good deals come up on Craigslist and Ebay so I can set everything up when my workshop is finished.
Here is what is going in there.
2 workbenches made from Harbor Freight 44" tool boxes.
Craftsman floor stand drill press
Craftsman 12" floor stand band saw
Delta table saw measures 3.5'x5'
Delta 6" jointer measures 40" wide on wheels
Delta compound miter saw
Delta portable planer
Delta bench top 4"x6" belt/disc sander
Woodriver bench top oscillating spindle sander
Routers
Lincoln (tombstone) welder

I am thinking of building a folding work table along the right wall and keeping the jointer under it and maybe the 2 sanders. I am also thinking about building a rolling cabinet and putting the table saw on it with the miter saw in there also. I haven't drawn it up yet. If I don't do that, the table saw will be on wheels. The Lincoln welder will be fixed into the welding table which will be on wheels so I guess it is really a welding cart. On the walls will be cabinets with pegboard and various shelves to hold the different hand tools and fasteners I have. Here is a drawing of how I am thinking of laying it all out. The drawing is not that good, but it gives the general idea of what I am thinking of right now. Instead of having the rolling cart with the miter saw, I think I will try to get the air compressor (60 gallon upright) in there. I appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you all might have to offer.

[Randall J Cox]

i also have a small shop, put as much stuff on wheels as you can.....

[Mike Cutler]

As Randall stated, mobility will really pay dividends down the line.
One tip;
Decide on a preferred height for your table saw and make as many of the work benches and other horizontal surface either the same height, or less than the height of the saw. I also have a small shop space, 9'x 19', and do everything I can to keep the same heights for horizontal surfaces.
I wouldn't put the air compressor in the space dedicated for the miter station. It would be in the way on both horizontal axes. Put it in a corner, or pipe the air in from outside if possible.

[Kurt Cady]

As Randall stated, mobility will really pay dividends down the line.
One tip;
Decide on a preferred height for your table saw and make as many of the work benches and other horizontal surface either the same height, or less than the height of the saw. I also have a small shop space, 9'x 19', and do everything I can to keep the same heights for horizontal surfaces.

get everything on wheels as others have said. I wish I had pictures to share, but I'm since moved. I also suggest going through all of Wood Mags' Idea Shops. I used and modified several ideas. I tucked both a router table and a jointer under benches. My DP is on wheels. And base made of 2x6 box filled with concrete and supported with steel angles. Maybe swap the workbench with the Bs and DP to use the bench as purged support out the door?

[Ray Newman]

What about dust collection?

Depending upon where you reside, insulation, heating and/or cooling may be an issue.

[Brian Timmons]

Thanks for all the tips. If I don't do the miter saw there along the wall, then the welding cart will slide down and the air compressor would go next to the welding cart right by the garage door. Or I may just go ahead and put the air compressor on the other side of the wall and make a bigger fold down work table on that wall. Or maybe not make it fold down, but put it on wheels and it could double as an out feed table. The heavy stuff will definitely be on wheels. I had not thought about making everything the height of the table saw. That is a good idea. I also have not figured out the dust collection system. So much to think about. Fortunately I have a couple of months to think about it.

[Andy Giddings]

Nothing to add to the above, but just wanted to say I'm in awe of those that can metalwork and woodwork in a shop where the spare space is about the size of a sheet of ply

[John K Jordan]

... my workshop space will only be approximately 10'x12.5'

Before I built my shop I made a scale drawing of the space and paper cutouts for each tool for test positioning. For each tool that had infeed and outfeed requirements, I added extensions to the cutouts to represent the largest stock I would cut. I also made a circular cutout representing the minimum space I needed to walk and maneuver between things, and another circle representing the preferred walking space. This helped me plan with no regrets.

I know some people arrange shop tools in a small place such that the tables are at different heights so the outfeed of one can clear another tool.

I'm sure you thought about the hazards involved with having a welder in a wood shop. Can you weld outside? I added a separate dedicated welding room in my shop with double doors to a concrete porch outside. If weather permits, I do all except TIG welding outside. My welders are on carts and will roll out the doors. I make a 20' extension cord to provide 50 amps of power to the welders and plasma cutter.

JKJ

[Brian Timmons]

That is a great idea on doing the paper layouts. I have some big rolls of paper that will work well for that. As for the welding, that will definitely be done outside. I can roll the welding cart right out the garage door. I will not be doing a lot of welding. I will be welding up the welding table and the frames for the work benches that will have the tool boxes mounted in them. I also have to finish welding up some stuff for my Jeep.

[Matt Lau]

Please post pictures when you're done.

Oh. I think it was said before, but dray out your workshop in scale. Have cutouts the size of your tools/tables.
Play around with it like a paper doll until satisfied.
I think it was from a Taunton workshop design book, and good advice.

For me, I have almost everything on wheels, except some shelves butted against the wall.

[Randall J Cox]

Grizzly Industrial use to have a shop layout tool on their website, free. Might come in handy as its all already to scale and you can pick out what tools you have... Randy

[Don Parker]

A few thoughts:

First, yeah, put everything on wheels that you can, even that big table saw (if possible). Some tools are going to only be useful every once in a while. Store them along the wall, and pull them out when you want to use them. This way, you have sort of built-in solutions to infeed, outfeed, and standing/working room issues, which are always present in small shops.

Second, think about which tools make good neighbors to each other. Like someone said above, having workbenches that sit just a little lower than the table of the table saw is a good thing; the opposite is a very bad thing, particularly when space is limited. Do you want the bandsaw and drill press right next to each other? I wouldn't do that, because their tables tend to be close to the same height, but never the exact same height. They will get in each other's way for infeed/outfeed, standing/working room purposes.

Third, think seriously about dust collection. You have a lot of things that will make chips and dust. Going without dust collection is a very bad thing. Chips make a mess of the shop, but the dust makes a mess of your lungs. You are already thinking about maybe having something on the other side of a wall (the compressor); why not put a dust collector out there, too, with the filters feeding back into the workshop? That's what I do, and it works great. Run piping up near the ceiling, put in drops with blast gates along the walls, run flex hose to each station from the drops. Planning out the best path for the dust in a small space can be a challenge, but it can be done.

Fourth, power and lighting. One of the best things I did when I renovated my small shop was have an electrician install a subpanel for lights and power. I ran the wiring for all the outlets and lights myself, and put them exactly where I want them.

Good luck with the project!

[Brian Timmons]

I got on Grizzly's site. That program they have for shop layout is really cool. I have played with the layout and changed some things up. Thanks for sharing that. I now have the band saw and drill press separated. I also have the jointer moved against the left wall by the garage door. I definitely have to get the dust collection figured out. I used the planer the other day and could not believe the amount of shavings and dust that thing put out. It was outside in the backyard so it was OK, but that would not be OK in the shop. I would be butt deep in sawdust and shavings in no time.

I went by there earlier and the plumbers are getting the lines placed.

[Brian Timmons]

Been playing around with the Grizzly shop layout and this is what I have come up with. I am thinking about putting the air compressor in the shop and the welding cart in the garage on the other side of the wall. This will make running the hose and plugging it in easier. The foundation was poured yesterday. I have a problem I will have to deal with. The garage floor is sloped about an inch starting about 6' from the garage door. This creates a ridge about an inch high. I have to figure out how to work with that. Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

[John K Jordan]

Are you going to roll the table saw and jointer out into the middle of the room to use them? One of the tables/workbenches might have to go.

JKJ