[OP]
Member
Hello all! I know this topic is beat up constantly and i have read until my eyes are sore about shop layout. However, I am having the hardest time planning a decent layout for my rather odd shop space. Hope that y'all may have some good ideas!
Thanks in advance IMG_0499.jpg
Evan
Contributor
Man, I wish I had even half the area that you do. A couple of suggestions that might help.
I would use the small alcove for finishing. That way you could keep it as far away from the dust making as possible.
The rest of the 15x20 I would use for storage. Again to keep as much dust away as possible.
Put your lumber storage as close to the wide opening as possible and you won't have to haul through the shop when you bring it in.
After that, set up your zones for breakdown (tablesaw, miter, joiner, planer), assembly and a general area for the rest of what you do.
It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
[OP]
Member
Lumber storage is one thing that has caused most of my head scratching. I normally keep a decent amount on hand. I have about 700 bf of cherry, 300 bf of cedar, and a pallet stacked full of slabs just because i ran out of wall space at the moment. I like to have enough room for rather long stock on the miter saw so that takes up a big wall span.And if it helps, 90% of my projects are furniture.
Member
Evan, it would help if you listed the equipment you are planning to put into the space, whether you have a central dust collector, any dedicated finishing space (spraying etc) and what your primary projects are going to be?
[OP]
Member
I don't have a designated finishing space currently, and do very little finishing with hvlp. I do have dust collection waiting to be plumbed after i finalize the layout. Current tools: 52'' Delta ts with 4'x8' extension table, Miter saw, vertical belt sander, Grizzly 8'' jointer with 65'' bed, 13" Planer on a stand with outfield tables, 30 gal air compressor. I need to plan on adding a floor drill press, mortiser, and bandsaw as well. Majority of projects are dining room tables, and i deal with a good bit of large live edge slabs.
Thanks for the responses so far everybody!
Moderator
What, a shop with no lathe????Originally Posted by Evan Underwood
The alcove is perfect for that!
I think I mentioned this before, but what worked best for me was the old fashioned method. I got a large piece of paper and drew the outline of my space to scale including, as you did, the doors and windows. (The scale didn't matter, I made a little paper ruler indexed in feet.) Then I made scale paper cutouts for each machine. For things like the table saw, I included the desired infeed and outfeed space on the cutout. I wrote the height of each machine on each cutout so I could visualize the space. I put all the cutouts on the scale drawing and moved them around and imagined working with each. I also made circular cutouts to represent my desired walking space between machines. (To figure this I piled up some big cardboard boxes and imagined they were tools and workbenches)
I refined things until I was happy with the layout, then taped down the cutouts. BTW, I did all this before I started putting up the building. The space planning helped my to plan the electrical, lighting, the dust collector installation, and even the exact placement of some double doors that I can open to feed long stock through the table saw. I put the cyclone DC and the air compressor in a sound-insulated closet.
JKJ
Member
Evan, assuming that the main entry point is the double doors at the right hand end, I would try a layout where jointer is closest to the doors, followed by planer then TS. Obviously the layout should follow your workflow so if you don't start with surfacing one side then switch around to whatever method you use. I'd probably use the bottom of the L shape for lumber storage as its a bit of a dead space. I'd also be tempted to build a small room in that area for the DC and compressor to keep the noise down. The miter saw and other smaller power tools could be in a row along the top wall, saving the left hand end for assembly/finishing
Member
The first thing that hit me was frame in the alcove to make a studio. If your shop is not climate controlled this is a good thing to have. The climate here is very hot and humid in summer impossible to work in main shop when it's 95°.
I would say this one thing has basically saved my hand tools. Mine is 14x16 and big enough to store project lumber as well as assemble. Also doubles as a finishing room (and my sanctuary
As for the rest of the shop, no way to advise unless you tell us what machines you have.
Regardless, it will be a bit tight when you consider the space just a TS and assembly table require. Yes, lumber storage will be a bit of an issue. I built a 12x12 addition onto my shop just for this purpose.
Last edited by Robert Engel; 05-05-2017 at 8:07 AM.
Member
A few thoughts. The alcove on the left I'd have as the hand tool area with a bench and assembly table. Add some cabinets and counters. This would be a good area to plan projects etc.
The other part wood and tools. Get some chalk or something you can write on the floor with and layout where you think tools should go. This way you can get a good visual of the amount of space everything takes up. Since you have a big shop think of the workflow so your not planing on one end and jointing on the other.
Make sure you have plently of outlets all around so your not stuck with a tool in one spot. This way if you not happy over time you can over things around.
Don
[OP]
Member
Thanks for all the input everybody! Somehow I got lucky enough for my wife to mention that I can move the first 10.5' wall closest to the stairs back another 12' to really open up the narrow end of the basement. Should make things much easier!
Member
I did the same thing.... spent many hours trying to think everything over. So far 2 years, and a lot of bf of lumber later, I'm still pretty happy how things flow.What, a shop with no lathe????
I think I mentioned this before, but what worked best for me was the old fashioned method. I got a large piece of paper and drew the outline of my space to scale including, as you did, the doors and windows. (The scale didn't matter, I made a little paper ruler indexed in feet.) Then I made scale paper cutouts for each machine. For things like the table saw, I included the desired infeed and outfeed space on the cutout. I wrote the height of each machine on each cutout so I could visualize the space. I put all the cutouts on the scale drawing and moved them around and imagined working with each. I also made circular cutouts to represent my desired walking space between machines. (To figure this I piled up some big cardboard boxes and imagined they were tools and workbenches)
I refined things until I was happy with the layout, then taped down the cutouts. BTW, I did all this before I started putting up the building. The space planning helped my to plan the electrical, lighting, the dust collector installation, and even the exact placement of some double doors that I can open to feed long stock through the table saw. I put the cyclone DC and the air compressor in a sound-insulated closet.
JKJ
Only one life will soon be past
Only whats done for Christ will last
Moderator
I can't imagine doing it the other way - build a general purpose building then fit everything in. This might make sense if I didn't hope to use it myself for very long, i.e., if I planned on dying soon or moving or building it to sell.
JKJ
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