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Thread: Narrow hand tool shop

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Freiburg, Germany
    Posts
    223

    Narrow hand tool shop

    Hi all,

    looking for advice on using the space in a very small hand tool only shop.

    I'll be moving in a couple of weeks, and it looks like I'll get my first own shop in a storage room in the cellar. Since I've been working off my kitchen table (in a single room apt) so far this will be a huge improvement. Back side is that the room is only about 5 by 11 feet, with the door at the short end.

    Building a bench will be first priority, and it will be placed along one of the long walls. About 8' long gives some clearance at the ends. Since the bench will be the only working surface I plan to maximize its length given the space.

    My question is about the free space in front of the bench. I'm thinking of a 22'' wide bench, or even 20'', which I can back off from the wall if needed for traverse planing of wide panels. This leaves a bit more than 3' free floor space in front of the bench. Is this too little? Should I rethink putting an almost full size bench in this small room?

    What are your experiences? how much space in front of the bench do you use/want for hand tool operations? Anything that comes to mind, that I might have missed in planning the shop? Since I've been working on a planing beam on my table for quite some time I might oversee something obvious about working on a real workbench.

    To save space wood storage will be restricted in the shop. Probably only enough for upcoming projects, and the rest in the garage. Tools have to be put on the walls, either in the open or in very shallow, 1 tool deep, cabinets/shelves.

    Looking forward to your comments and suggestions.

    Oskar

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
    Posts
    12,120
    Maybe a photo visit to my shop for ideas?

    The Dungeon Shop......
    work zone.JPG
    stair view.JPG
    DSCF0002.JPG
    dresser.JPG
    Unless the board(s) is being worked , it stays upstairs..
    wood supply.jpg
    Maple,Cherry and Poplar...

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,467
    Hi Oskar

    Congrats on the new space!

    I would build the bench 20" wide. Mine is 22" and I would not miss 2". This will give you a little more room - and the more you can save to move around, so much the better. I would build a second, higher bench into the end of the room. Use this for sharpening and joinery (dovetails and tenons). Build a cabinet above it to store planes and saws. Store all your marking tools on the wall above the bench. I would add a holder for your bench chisels as well.

    You need about 12" clear between the bench and wall to traverse. I wonder if you want to make the bench movable, or attach a bench to the wall. Attaching a bench will make it easier to build a very rigid top. Plus, then you can build storage under the bench.

    What about traversing then? You would get the same effect of moving the bench out by 12" by adding a 12" front section when you need to traverse. This could be done with a hinged section - flip it out when needed. I build something like this. In my case, it was a flip down extra bench top ...







    I would build this as part of the bench top. When folded into the top, it is just part of the bench. Fold half out to traverse, and this creates fence against which the work piece can rest.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  4. #4
    I use a narrow space in the garage, I usually don't even back out the car, which I think makes our widths fairly comparable. The pictured bench is 2ft deep. Since this pic was taken I replaced that bench with one that is 30" deep. You may stand in the space at the front of your proposed bench width with a saw in hand and just make sure your elbow doesn't nail the wall behind you, but I think you will be more than fine with that space and a 22"-ish bench. The more common problem for me is that you also want to be sure the bench isnt too narrow, otherwise with rough crosscutting, the front of the saw will hit the wall on the push stroke. If you had a 20" bench and are crosscutting a 10" board, you could only push about 10" of saw through the wood, while starting the cut, before hitting the wall.. of course you can angle things and make it work, but keep it in mind.

    I will say though that when I assemble something like a table which I just made, I did need to back the car out, something like this you may have to leave the shop for the glue up.

    IMG_20161117_120529.jpg

  5. #5
    Frank, nice picture of your confined space. Now I feel like a glutton (in comparison). BTW, is that your saw bench sitting on top of the clamp rack?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Freiburg, Germany
    Posts
    223
    Derek, thank you very much for your comment! Good idea about extending the work surface when needed, this I will consider. My plan so far was to keep the bench free standing. I have a sturdy roubo-like construction in mind. This way I can move it if I need to. For example if I want to sleeve something over the end, or occasionally clamp something also from behind. But of course bolting the bench to the wall adds to the stability.

    Would you do the "fold-out-part" full length, or just a part in the middle of the bench? Do you think this would interfere with using holdfasts?

    Another, higher bench for sharpening and joinery is tempting. I have to see if there is space enough for this. Otherwise I might build a shop stool and/or a moxon/bench on bench for this purpose.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Freiburg, Germany
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    223
    Frank. Thank you for the pic and your answer. Good point about having space for the saw blade when cross cutting. Now I'm using mostly japanese saws, and they don't take that much space. I'm also thinking that ripping and resawing with longer saws/frame saw will be done standing at the short end, working in the lengthwise direction of the bench.

    Also, it is clear that bigger assemblies and cutting of big boards have to be done outside, in the garage or in the living room when needed.

  8. #8
    If you decide to fix the bench to the wall, you could go with a split top bench with a tool well for additional clamping options. Also, you can use that tool well for a bench hook since you'll be pulling the work towards you with the Japanese saws. This is the route I've decided to go in my basement, though I'm as of yet undecided on fixing the bench to the wall.

  9. #9
    We could give you a much better set of options if you could provide us with the overall dimensions of the space. Better yet would be a sketch showing the door location and any obstructions. It would help us help you.
    Last edited by Dave Anderson NH; 07-18-2017 at 12:13 PM.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  10. #10
    Oskar gave his room dimensions as 5 X 11 feet with a door on one of the short sides. Usually for rooms like this the door opens out, which is helpful. He envisions an 8 foot bench, a nice size for hand work, which leaves only 3 feet of length to play around with. I might be inclined to go 7 1/2. Mouldings for large pieces of furniture can be 7 feet long. There is no room for another bench and none is needed.

    I would put the bench just a few inches from the wall, but leave it loose from the wall so it could occasionally be moved. Traditional cross cutting and ripping is done on trestles or a low bench, not on the bench top. You might break down long boards by setting up in an adjacent room or outside temporarily, or having the board sticking out through the doorway.

    Traditional traversing is done with the board cross wise on the bench, still planing toward the stop. I guess this could be a problem occasionally, but most stock preparation work is done planing with the grain against the stop and it is not necessary to traverse.

    In a traditional workshop, the benches are around four feet apart. You have a adequate amount of room.
    snedker_pedersens_vaerksted.jpg

  11. #11
    For the space-challenged person, a smaller bench can work well. Mine is 60". There are a handful of times I require longer, and auxiliary supports handle those times. It's not optimal, but I prefer the extra space; a shorter bench allows me to place mine in the center of my shop floor, so I can access all way round.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Freiburg, Germany
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nathan Johnson View Post
    If you decide to fix the bench to the wall, you could go with a split top bench with a tool well for additional clamping options. Also, you can use that tool well for a bench hook since you'll be pulling the work towards you with the Japanese saws. This is the route I've decided to go in my basement, though I'm as of yet undecided on fixing the bench to the wall.
    Thank you Nathan. I probably will screw some vertical wooden stiles to the wall behind the bench, for fastening tool holders. This will leave a gap where I can put bench hooks for pull saws. Thank you for the reminder! I do not want a tool well, rather have the full work surface.

  13. #13
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    Nov 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Anderson NH View Post
    We could give you a much better set of options if you could provide us with the overall dimensions of the space. Better yet would be a sketch showing the door location and any obstructions. It would help us help you.
    Dave, thanks for joining in! As Warren wrote, the room is 5 by 11 with no obstructions and the door swings out of the room.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
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    Freiburg, Germany
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    Warren, thank you for your comment!

    Yes, I plan to use saw horses, or a saw bench for breaking down stock. Joinery cuts on the bench. Rotating the board, and cross planing towards the planing stop is a good point. This also relies on a movable bench, when the panels are wider than the bench width. What is your preferred bench width? do you also have your placed along the wall?

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
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    Freiburg, Germany
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    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    For the space-challenged person, a smaller bench can work well. Mine is 60". There are a handful of times I require longer, and auxiliary supports handle those times. It's not optimal, but I prefer the extra space; a shorter bench allows me to place mine in the center of my shop floor, so I can access all way round.
    Thank you Prashun, agreed, it would be nice to access the bench from all sides. But since the room is so narrow I think it is wiser to put it along the wall, and keeping as much free floor space on one side as possible. Therefore I also want the bench long, since the room accomodates this.

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