Setting up the shop finally, can anyone give me some suggestions?

[Chris Pasko]

OK, so I am finally getting around to framing up the pole barn, as
well as wiring, running copper airlines, etc. I am looking for any
suggestions or what something you wish you would have done when
setting your shops up.

How much space between outlets, should they be double gang, how high
off the floor, etc.? The ceilings are 9' high on the sides and 12'
high in the middle. I will be covering them with 3/4" osb and I
think I will plane pine to go between the two sheets and make up the
difference for the 9' side wall ceilings. I seen this done and it
looks pretty sharp. Plus if I make a mistake in pine cutting out
for the outlets its easier to replace (cheaper) then ply.

I also want to put in a panel for the phase converter, but I have to
look into this as I have no clue about that. I would like to put
some outlets around the shop in case I move a machine down the
road. Maybe even put a few in the ceiling. Any ideas of where
these should be placed?

About the air lines, do you guys run drip legs on every drop? I am
assuming so.

Thanks ahead guys, I need to get this puppy buttoned up before
winter hits and I accept the rest of my tools.

Thanks,

Chris

[Ed Lang]

My shop is small but here is what I wished I had done.

Finished the ceiling and walls before moving in ANY tools. 15 years later I am finishing the walls and ceiling this year.

Electrical outlets are spaced about every 6' and that is fine for me. I put each wall on a different ckt.

Propane heater installed in back wall that pulls combustion air from outside and is vented. I will be installing a ceiling mounted unit this year as the old unit is getting rusty and didn't work just right last night when I fired it up. I need the wall space and the ceiling unit will give that wall back to me.

Wooden floor not concrete. I am a old fat guy and the concrete kills my feet. With the concrete I could have put pipes in it at time of pour so I could have run hot water in it to heat the shop. That would have at least made the concrete warm.

Better garage door, not the cheap one I got. Too much heat loss.

Better grade lights. I bought the cheap $9.99 each 4' dual tube shop lights from the Big Box store. They don't last as long as I expected and I just go out and buy another one and pop it back up rather than buying a good replacement. One day I might learn.

I ran water and telephone to the shop and that has all worked out good. I have a little 110V water heater mounted next to the sink and that has been good too.

My finishing room was an after thought but turned out good. Lots better to finish projects in there.

Dust Collector, I should have bought a Cyclone in the first place. Now have a ClearVue and love it. I am in the process of running 6" duct to each maching.

Shiould have made the shop bigger but we all say that.

Take care

[Michael Gabbay]

Chris -

For the outlets I'd double gang all or at least everyother one. Also I'd mount them about 50" from the floor so that a sheet of plywood won't cover them up. It's also easier on your back. Space them at 6', I think that is code for most areas. I'd also do 2 ganged boxes on either end of your bench area. I find that I need more outlets there for little things like battery chargers and task lighting etc.

It can't hurt to have a run that drips from the ceiling. Wire and boxes are cheap so don't skimp.

Run a separate circuit for the lights. I'd also do everything with at least 20 amp.

Are you running conduit or putting the lines in the wall?

my 2 cents...

Mike

[John Renzetti]

Hi Chris, I told you that you should have visited my place after the show last spring. First like Brian said on the FOG, first step is a floor plan drawing with scaled cutouts of the various machines, DC, benches etc. I think you'll find that placing the K40 and the J/P in the center will serve as a start. The shaper placement will depend on space and work flow. Not a real big deal but needs to be thought out.
Prior to running the circuits for the power to the machines etc, figure out the light that you'll need and what fixtures. If you haven't thought of it nows the time to add some skylights.
For electrical I hardwired my saw and J/P from overhead drops to a junction box. From these I've also run conduit for 3 phase to other parts of the shop.
Depending on your local code you should space out say 8ft apart in wall 120v and 240v 1ph outlets. You may only be able to put a single outlet for the 240v.
If you want send me a floor plan and I can make some suggestions for machine placement, dust collection etc. Or you can use this as an excuse to come up and visit.
talk to you later,
John

[Jim Becker]

Chris, if you put in a "garage" type door, do a roll-up so when it is open in nice weather, you are not blocking lighting, etc. with it. Plan for cross ventilation to save on cooling costs...windows can be mounted high up on the wall to reduce the impact on wall space while providing both light and airflow. Put in a wood floor surface; sleepers with foam insulation and plywood; DriCore, whatever. Much easier on the feet. If you can't or don't want to do that in the entire shop, do it in your "bench space" where hand-tool work gets done since there is a lot of standing involved as you massage the wood. Make your entry door(s) open outward (use security hinges) so they don't impact shop space when open. Definitely put in drip legs in your air system. Having an additional regulator and extra water filtration on the "finishing" drop is also convenient. Put an auto-drain on your compressor, too.

[Frank Pellow]

Chris, it appears that most of what you are asking about is electrical. You can see what I did with electricity in the thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=8251

By the way, I am very happy with the way this all worked out.

[Chris Pasko]

Thanks a lot! Very helpful as always.

Ed:
The garage is already packed with junk =), I am in the process of moving it all to another garage. I am on my parents property so its his stuff I have to move out. =). I am moving things and puting walls up as I go then the ceiling last. It will be done before the shop is operating though. Thanks for the other ideas.

Michael:

Ya, thats what I was thinking of doing, double gange every 50" or so. I seen a guy on here use pine boards between the two sheets of ply he used for the 9' wall and I really like that idea so I think I will go with it.

John:

Ya your right =). The shop is 36x40, but I will need to park one vhicle in there and have about 3' of storage a long one of the walls. Other then that I will be using the rest for shop space. I have been struggling with how I will be laying out the machines, they are huge. Once I got the profil in there it made me realize.

I would love for skylights but being a pole barn it has that aluminum sheething on the roof, and I have yet to hear of one successful install of a skylight without leaks. Its a real bummer as they are awesome for light!

I am wrapping up that house I was telling youa bout hopefully shortly so maybe I can shoot up there and badger you and check out your shop soon.

Jim:

Thanks! It has two 8x10' garage doors already, but I need to put a few windows in there for more light and ventilation. I cant do wooden floors unfortunately I plan on using some kind of pads in the work areas. I am hoping to put a small addition to the ship and have it hold my air compressor, dust collector, skid steer etc.

Frank:

Thanks for the link I'm gonna check it out now =).

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Chris.....On your wall outlets, I'd use 2 circuits on each wall and insure that no two adjoining outlets are on the same circuit. I'd also put the bottom of the outlet boxes at a height of 52 inches. You can stand sheet goods up against a wall and not have them blocking the outlets and if you raise something they won't be blocked.

[Bob Stroman]

A chain hoist with trolley can be very handy if you work alone. I used it to assemble a cyclone along with a rented drywall lift by myself. I envision using it to get machines on to mobile bases or remove cast iron tops for maintenance/rebuilds.

[Larry Browning]

Chris,
Having light colored walls and ceiling is VERY important to good lighting! Without it you will have dark areas in you shop no matter what kind of lighting you go with. In my mind, having good lighting is an absolute must. Being able to see what you are doing without straining you eyes will increase your comfort level and enjoyment of this hobby more than any thing else. You need to address the lighting from the start. You should paint the walls and ceiling with an off white flat or semi-gloss paint for good light distributation.

Larry

[Dave Right]

I just completed 30 x 40 last year and 2 things I'd would do for sure is
run outlets about 14" off the floor on each wall with each run on a 20 amp breaker ( that's 4 breakers ) then run on each wall outlets alternating between the outlets already run at 48 " off the floor (that's 4 more 20amp circuits) and install outlets in the ceiling. #2 -- be sure to put in plenty lighting - even more than you think you might need. I ran 30 T4 units with each 5 on a separate switch. When you think about the cost of having good lighting when you are working compared to the cost of running some of your equipment, the cost of lighting is nothing. I can see a pencil line anywhere I work.
and as others of said Wood floor is very nice.

[Chris Pasko]

Chris.....On your wall outlets, I'd use 2 circuits on each wall and insure that no two adjoining outlets are on the same circuit. I'd also put the bottom of the outlet boxes at a height of 52 inches. You can stand sheet goods up against a wall and not have them blocking the outlets and if you raise something they won't be blocked.

Thanks I will def use a few breakers per wall. There is nothing worse then snapping breakers!

A chain hoist with trolley can be very handy if you work alone. I used it to assemble a cyclone along with a rented drywall lift by myself. I envision using it to get machines on to mobile bases or remove cast iron tops for maintenance/rebuilds.

Another thing I would love to have. I dont think I can do this however since its a pole barn it uses those pre made joists that are only 2x4's. I dont know if I want to go through the trouble of putting in a steel beam across the shop for it, I have a skid steer I can run around in there should I really need to do something I can just hook it to the bucket.

Chris,
Having light colored walls and ceiling is VERY important to good lighting! Without it you will have dark areas in you shop no matter what kind of lighting you go with. In my mind, having good lighting is an absolute must. Being able to see what you are doing without straining you eyes will increase your comfort level and enjoyment of this hobby more than any thing else. You need to address the lighting from the start. You should paint the walls and ceiling with an off white flat or semi-gloss paint for good light distributation.

Larry

I agree, right now I have 5 t5 lights. They are the brightest things I have ever seen. Each one has 6 4' t5 lights or maybe its 8 4' t5's. They are very bright. I noticed the other day though I had bit of trouble seeing some lines I was drawing. I was thinking about running track lighting along each wall so I can put low voltage lights and aim them where every I am. I dont know if anyone has ever done this or if there are draw backs, but I know the little suckers are bright and I can aim them where I work.

As for paint I plan on going with a very light gray semi gloss.

I just completed 30 x 40 last year and 2 things I'd would do for sure is
run outlets about 14" off the floor on each wall with each run on a 20 amp breaker ( that's 4 breakers ) then run on each wall outlets alternating between the outlets already run at 48 " off the floor (that's 4 more 20amp circuits) and install outlets in the ceiling. #2 -- be sure to put in plenty lighting - even more than you think you might need. I ran 30 T4 units with each 5 on a separate switch. When you think about the cost of having good lighting when you are working compared to the cost of running some of your equipment, the cost of lighting is nothing. I can see a pencil line anywhere I work.
and as others of said Wood floor is very nice.

How far apart did you run all your outlets? Thats a good idea. See my comment above for lighting, what do you think about that?

[Jerry Todd]

Chris,
As far as lighting goes I would suggest you obtain from Fine Woodworking (Feb 2002 issue) the article by Jack Lindsey titled LIGHTING THE WORKSHOP.
I used his formula for my ceiling lights and have happy with the results. Also you may want to think about recpticals in the ceiling and use extension cords from the ceiling on retractable reels. It works for me. If you would like a tour of my workshop look at my site.
www.jerry-todd.com

[Chris Pasko]

Chris,
As far as lighting goes I would suggest you obtain from Fine Woodworking (Feb 2002 issue) the article by Jack Lindsey titled LIGHTING THE WORKSHOP.
I used his formula for my ceiling lights and have happy with the results. Also you may want to think about recpticals in the ceiling and use extension cords from the ceiling on retractable reels. It works for me. If you would like a tour of my workshop look at my site.
www.jerry-todd.com

Thanks Jerry, good ideas and very nice shop.