My New Workshop Plans...First Cut.

[Gary Stallings]

Well.........after reading lost of threads, looking at others designs, talking to friends and fellow woodworkers, and getting great input from others that are "swimming the creek" (now that I know what that means).......I've come up with some preliminary plans for my shop. I want those following this thread to know that I'm only in the first stages of figuring out what to build. I know I have plenty to learn and decide before digging the foundation but I'm working on it. Hopefully I'll be able to start later this summer. I haven't put these plans in a shop design program as of yet......these drawing are done in PP........the inside design should be close to scale...........the elevations are not......I drew them out quickly just to give you an idea of what I'm thinking at this point. Just looking for some others thoughts on this design. I am new to the creek but have found this to be a great forum for info. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

One question up front........three phase power??....I think I know what it is and what it does but do I need in in a shop like this??....It's not like I will have five or six people working all at the same time.....please educate the uneducated.

[Steve Ash]

Gary, it looks nice. One thing I noticed that I would change is the infeed of your table saw. I'd move it a bit further up (or centered in door opening)so you can bring large stuff through the big doors for ripping. Looks like it could be a bit tight where you have it now. I put mine right smack dab in front of my overhead door just for that reason. Other than that small adjustment, looks real good. One thing you are doing that I wished I would have done is put in a washroom.

As far as 3 phase, you can buy some inexpensive great used tools that are 3 phase for little money.....just my 2 cents. And good luck with your upcoming shop.

[Charlie Mastro]

I agree with Steve about the table saw location and the only thing I have to add is I think the assembly table might be a tad large . We had a 6 x 6 that worked very well in my old "WoodJoint" days and I have yet to build one for my new shop but it may be as small as 4 x 4 as I don't think I will be doing as large a projects as i used to.

[Ed Labadie]

Gary,that looks pretty good. I might move the drill press closer to the assembly area. The DP is used more toward the end of a project than the beginning. Also move the desk right next to the fridge, that will save lots of walking.
If you can get 3 phase power for a reasonable cost, DO IT!!!! Our power company won't even consider running 3ph power to an individual.

Ed

[Gary Stallings]

I think I agree on the table saw........I'll scoot it up a bit. My shop is currently in my basement and I have little space and no assembly table. When I do larger projects I work at a friends shop whose assembly table is even larger than my design. I actually love it. It's large enough to have something clamped and drying on opposite sides or corners while working on the other side with plenty of space. Also large enough for different jigs or stations set up at the same time.

[Frank Pellow]

Gary, that looks pretty close to being the "perfect" shop. The thing that I like best is the gigantic assembly table. Don't let anyone talk you into making it smaller.

I would not bother with three phase power (in fact, when I built my shop recently I didn't).

[Keith Burns]

Just a thought and you may have already thought of it. I think putting your dust collector in the same room with your central heat/ac unit is not good. No matter how efficient the d/c is it will still be dusty there which can get into the ac unit. I would also allow more room to get your dust bag/drum out of the building. Just my nickels worth.

One other thought....why don't you make the whole thing a little smaller Man I'd like to have a shop that big

[CPeter James]

Three phase power may or may not be available in your location. It is not used for residential distribution, but may be there because of other power company needs. Go look at the poles in front of you house. If there is a cross arm on the very top with three lines on it, or a group of 4 wires hanging in a bracket, then you might have 3 phase available. If you bring it to your shop as a separate entrance, then you will probably have to pay for a load factor charge. This is a reading of the maximum load on the line for a measured period of time. Big tools and compressors can really push this factor very high. It can add a lot to your bill, as much as doubling it. The cost to bring 3 phase to your shop, if it is not right in front of your location is usually charged to the customer and can run into many thousands of dollars. The cost to bring it to the shop is also very high due to the multiple wires and other more commercial type devices necessary. When all is said and done, unless you have a big wide belt sander or other tool with with motors over 5 hp, it is probably not worth it. The load factor alone, can overcome any savings that can be achieved via more efficient motors and less costly motors.

This information is based on many years working with power company engineers bringing 3 phase power to customer's locations ( I was a telco engineer and we had joint pole lines).

CPeter

[Gary Stallings]

Just a thought and you may have already thought of it. I think putting your dust collector in the same room with your central heat/ac unit is not good.

Keith.....the air lised is for the air compressor.......good thought about the access though. I'm still debating on what I want to do about heat/air.

[Brian Triplett]

One thing that jumped out to me is the location of the wood storage, it seems like it is a long way from any door. I would not like to have to carry the wood over everthing to put it on the storage rack. Just my opinion

[Gary Stallings]

Thanks for the info.....sounds like it will be too rich for my blood......I'm in the country and it's probably not avialable anyway but I'll look. You are echoing what my brother said except he wasn't sure about it. I think I'll take Franks advise and stick to what I have.

[Larry Browning]

Gary,
This looks VERY similar to my layout. One thing I noticed is that a jointer usually feeds from right to left, so you will need to swap positions of the planer and jointer. Or turn the jointer 180deg so that the both feed the same way. (thats what I did)
I think the feed direction of the shaper has the same problem.

[Gary Stallings]

Larry.....you are exactly right on the jointer and shaper. THe shaper is no problem but the jointer will just have to feed from the same direction as the planer. The controls for my planer are on the top and the right side so putting something up against the left side is the only option.

I've looked at a bunch of plans and took pieces of many but did get some great ideas from your layout. I don't remember the size of your shop but I did like a lot of the tings you incorporated. Anything you would have done differently? Other helpful hints?

[Larry Browning]

Gary,
Having the jointer and planer feed the same direction is not a problem at all. I know that someone mentioned the lumber rack location as a potential problem. My opinion is that for a hobbiest like me, stocking the lumber rack is only done at the beginning of a project, while pilfering through what is already there looking for that extra board and putting back the larger cutoffs is done all the time. So having it positioned so that it is accessable to an outside door is not as important as have it close to the planer, TS and CMS etc. I really like where you is.
I have some more comments, but I have to get back to work now.

Larry

[Gary Stallings]

Thanks Larry.......will appreciate your comments when you can get to them. This work stuff always gets in the way of my personal time.