Woodshop Plans and Thoughts Needed

[Gary Stallings]

Need some thoughts/plans from the experts out there. I am starting down the path to a life goal of building a woodshop. This will be a separate new construction building on my farm where I plan to eventually spend most of my time building cabinets, chests, gun cases etc. I want to plan for "the works" and do it right including plenty of space, storage, finishing room, bathroom, and DC. I have about half of the main tools I would like including a delta table saw, 15 in. planer, jointer, shaper, chop saw etc. What I'm looking for is knowledge from those that know on layout, size, and do's and don'ts. I guessing some out there have an idea of their dream shop. I thinking possibly a barn look on the outside to fit in with the farm. Any help would be appreciated.

[Don Baer]

Were I designing a new building as a shop I would have two 10 FCt high double wide doors on oppisite ends of the building. I would put the wood storage just inside one door. Next I would place all of my milling equiptment followed by and assembly area with all of the hands tools. Last and adjacent to the second door I would have my finish area. This would make it easier to design a DC system and promote a flow to the process.

I hope this helps.

[Mike Williams]

Gary - I found this thread interesting. It's Larry Browning's 32' x 42' shop.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=20180

[Gary Stallings]

Thanks for the comments. Mike I have read that entire thread before and found some really helpful hints. His really is a nice shop but it seems as though he was working with an existing building and fitting his tools into the space he had. I am wanting to build the building to fit the tools. I was hoping someone had done the thinking already and had size and layout for a nice smooth flowing user friendly shop.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Obviously most of us will be jealous!

1. Oversize the electrical! I installed a separate meter and 200 amp service in my new shop.

2. Depending on where you live........if you need heat I'd seriously look at in the floor radiant heat, budget allowing, of course!

3. If you don't need to back a vehicle in the shop, use insulated double doors for access and avoid using overhead garage doors for energy conservation reasons.

4. Install insulated thermal plane windows for natural lighting.

[Dev Emch]

Need some thoughts/plans from the experts out there. I am starting down the path to a life goal of building a woodshop. This will be a separate new construction building on my farm where I plan to eventually spend most of my time building cabinets, chests, gun cases etc. I want to plan for "the works" and do it right including plenty of space, storage, finishing room, bathroom, and DC. I have about half of the main tools I would like including a delta table saw, 15 in. planer, jointer, shaper, chop saw etc. What I'm looking for is knowledge from those that know on layout, size, and do's and don'ts. I guessing some out there have an idea of their dream shop. I thinking possibly a barn look on the outside to fit in with the farm. Any help would be appreciated.

The devil is in the details but I can give you a few pointers. First try to build a timber frame barn structure finished off using wrap and strap construction. Next, make sure you have plenty of insulation including the floors! Make sure you have lots of ceiling height for 36 inch bandsaws. Also make sure you have a concrete landing outside with a SMOOTH transition into the shop so you can roll machines into and out of the shop as need be. Avoid dry wall interior walls as these are very susceptable to dings, holes and other damage. Lastly make sure you have enough three phase power to meet your current and expanding needs.

[Andy Hoyt]

Given that you've stated general woodworking as the function of the shop, you don't have to worry about specialized functions and tasks. As such, here's what I'd do if asked to design a structure such as this.

1. Identify the tools that that you do have.
2. Identify the tools that you hope to one day have.
3. Add these tools together making a best case shop.
4. Don't forget workbenches and assembly tables.
5. Determine the minimum and maximum free and clear working space for each tool. So many feet wide by so many feet long.
6. Identify the operator's position for each tool.
7. Lay them out on graph paper, cad program, whatever.
8. Shuffle them around while handling materials and objects in sequence while building various virtual projects in your head. This establishes the ideal spot for each tool.
9. Then, design the building to fit the resultant workspace.
10. Add 20% more space for open "special project" space
11. Then fit the desired style to the form.

And if you're really smart, add step 12 -- Double the size of the building.

[lou sansone]

take your time with the design and make it bigger than you think you need by 30%

here is my shop tour and I think it will provide some helpfull info

shop tour 1 basic building
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=17821

shop tour 2 wood storage building
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=17916

shop tour 3 monster lathe
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18192

shop tour 4 benches
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18204

shop tour 5 post and beam building details
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18423

shop tour 6a 16" Newman 60 jointer - 24" wide tables
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18645

shop tour 6 b 16" Rockewell RT-40 table saw
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18836

shop tour 6c 16 speed Walker Turner Radial Arm Drill press
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18970

shop tour 7a 37" wide belt timesavers
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=19201

shop tour 7b 24" italian planer
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=19463

shop tour 7c - 36" band saw
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=19846

enjoy and make sure you insulate the building

lou

[Chris Damm]

When you think you have figured out the right size for your workshop, sit back, take a break, and then MAKE IT BIGGER! If you ask most people (me included) they wish they had made their shop a little bigger.

[Mike Sheppard]

Gary
Grizzly has a site that may be some help.

http://www.grizzly.com/workshopplanner.aspx

Mike

[Michael Gibbons]

Gary, What I have done for my future shop is I've built a 1/12 scale model of what I want my shop to be and made scale machines to fit inside. You can build the structure rather cheaply by running to the borg and getting some 2'x4' sheets of mdf in 1/4 and 1/2 or 3/4 sizes. Using a jig saw you can cutout window and door openings where you want them, make a roof of the pitch ,put in a small flourescent light. Get measurements of the machine you have and hope to get and build them using scraps of wood. I have a tablesaw,router table, bandsaw,drill press, workbench,Lathe, dust collector, tormek grinder on stand, refridgerator. I also left a certain area which will be the finishing room. You can move them around to see what works best for you in the square footage you plan to have. Delta has a shop designer program on it's website which might serve you also. I have a dream layout on that site. Oh, by the way ,welcome to the forums.


Mike

[Les Spencer]

It looks like you may have some Delta machines. They have a new shop planner you might like.

http://www.deltamachinery.com/shopdesigner/index.asp

[John Kain]

Make sure you have a separate finishing room.......my $.02

[Gary Stallings]

Hey guys......Thanks for the input. I've been out of the net for a few days and just getting back. I do appreciate all the thoughts. I'll check out the Delta and Grizzly sites. Lou, what a great set of pics and a nice shop. Of course money is always an object but I've always been prone to "If you are gonna do it, do it right and don't cut corners".......of course that always costs more. I'll draw out some of my thoughts and plans and post it to let you guys slice and dice on it. Thanks for the welcome....I've never been on a site like this but I'm glad I found it. I'm a Georgia boy, south of Atlanta, retired Army since '96 but still doing contract work for them in Ft. Benning. I built my dream log home when I retired and now it's time for the shop. I'll post a pic soon as I figure out how.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

And thanks for your service to this country Gary!