My garage shop (w/lots of pics)

[Andy Pratt]

Like another recent poster, I realized that I really enjoy looking at pictures of other people's shops, so I figured I would post some of my own.

All comments are welcome, it's my first shop so I'd like to hear any advice you seasoned guys have on machine layout and equipment location.

It's a temporary shop before a move across the country in a year, so the DC piping is laid out foolishly now so I don't have to re-buy the expensive fittings later.

Here's what I started with for a garage when I moved in last year. It's 16'6" long and 13" wide with a 2' cement fireplace back. The trash pile was a gift from the previous renters.

(I'll include 4 sets of pics from start to finish)

[Andy Pratt]

Here's the second set of my process of fixing up the place. Ran one 220V 30A circuit and one 110v 20A circuit. For a single person shop that's been enough for me to run what I need, probably should have installed 4x receptacle boxes instead of 2x.

Lighting and air filter are on extension cords along the ceiling.

Laundry room is 80% my woodworking storage room (not married) so that saves a lot of shop space.

[Andy Pratt]

more of building process

[Andy Pratt]

Here's the shop after all initial work was finished. I'm doing my best to look happy now that all the heavy lifting was done. The close confines of the shop means that most of my lumber storage occurs in the living room. This was the first decent load of lumber I bought. I've used most of it for smaller projects and have created a new larger pile in it's place.

[Norman Pyles]

Purdy saw ya gots there.

[Lance Norris]

The close confines of the shop means that most of my lumber storage occurs in the living room.

I can relate to that. My lumber storage is my kitchen and my bedroom. My wife isnt real happy about that, but she likes the work I do.

[Andy Pratt]

Here's a few of my early projects.

Lamp is a walnut crotch base with a turned spalted maple post mortised into the walnut (screwed through from bottom).

Plane shelving is mostly spalted maple, keep all of the nice handtools I have in or around that.

Table is an abomination: I basically tried to teach myself some woodworking techniques (M&T, panels, edging) with available wood, with the aim of having a functional if odd kitchen table if the project happened to work out. I made the legs of ash, apron of pine, put an old wooden desk top (thickly veneered poplar paneling) I salvaged on top of that, glued a pine panel to the top of that and edged the whole wretched assembly with some hardwood strips I was given. I know this project is conceptually flawed in many, many ways but I didn't know much about wood movement at the time. It's held up acceptably for practical use, but is not elegant in any way.

Stool is 2" mahogany I salvaged from an old table top. M&T stretcher to legs and legs to top. Hand carved the handle. Shouldn't have made the top hang over the sides, or should have splayed the legs, as it's tippy in use.

Needless to say I'm just learning the basics as a prelude to starting a business in a year or two, so none of this stuff was sold except the birdhouses (my first sale).

Hope you enjoyed the post.

[Andy Pratt]

Sorry, forgot to include the table I mentioned. The top looks nice, I'm afraid that's where it ends though.

[Bruce Page]

Nice shop Andy. Nice equipment and a plush lumber storage area!
I take it that you’re single…

[Craig D Peltier]

Nice job, you seem ambituous, nice compact shop.. I like your stool you made. I just got a load of maple and spent 20 minutes trying to figure where to put it. My fiance says well for now-- how about the formal dining room I couldnt belive it. I just blew it off like it was no big deal ,I found a spot. Now I know I can store in our Dining room.

[Mike Heidrick]

Great shop and great saw and DC.

Is that nordfab?? I am jealous!

[Tim Malyszko]

Great shop and I love the table. You have a nice setup there.

The lumber storage doesn't get any better than the living room!!!

[gary Zimmel]

Great shop. Love that TS.....and DC.....

[Michael Weber]

Mine look almost exactly like yours. Well, almost exactly like the first set of pictures.

[Andy Pratt]

Thanks for the comments guys. The ducting is from Duct Incorporated. Not sure if I can post a link here but you can find them under google. Can't remember why, but there was some reason I picked them over nordfab. It's all laser welded and they custom made the y's to have all of the fittings overlap in the direction of air flow, down to the 1/8" precisely. I ordered the self cleaning gates from lee valley and one of the Lee Valley reps precisely measured their interior and exterior dimensions for me on the phone. Between the excellent customer service of both companies on the phone, the result was that when the gates and y's arrived, they friction fit together in every direction, I was pretty impressed. For the price I expected it, and I certainly was not disappointed.