Question for garage shop

[Clayton Masterson]

Hello all. I have been a lurker for quite some time and I have come to appreciate the wealth of knowledge available here. So I would like your input on two questions.

Q1. I am designing my last shop first in my 12x23 dedicated garage. I currently do and would like to get more seriously involved in built-in and free-standing cabinetry. So, what size assembly tables, areas do you have? Are they dedicated to assembly? Any pros or cons to your setup?

Q2. I have seen pics of many shops, and want to know what most people prefer for storage areas? Wall cabs, base cabs? under countertop storage(e.g. under your assembly table)?

Thank you. Clayton

[Jim Becker]

Clayton, welcome to the 'Creek.

Given your small space, mobility and flexibility is the key. Assembly might be best handled by some rectangular boxes supporting a work surface so you can vary the height to the project...and be storable when you don't need them.

Storage is the same issue...you don't have a lot of space. Make use of your upper walls with cabinets and/or a cleat system for flexibility and don't take way floor space. You'll want to be able to move tools around to maximize utility of the room.

[Don Bullock]

As Jim said, conserve space any way you can and set it up for flexibility. I have seen several shops that are set up in a dedicated garage shop. There are many on the Fine Woodworking website. I don't know if they are on the "public" or "paying customer" part of the site. It's worth a look.

[Alan Greene]

We had cabinets put in the garage for storage before I got back into woodworking. The cabinets are all about 6' high and pretty much go around the garage. While they do hold a lot of stuff, if I could redo it, I would want upper fixed and lower mobile cabinets with more flat work surface. All of my machines are mobile and that helps a lot. 1/2 of the garage is used for parking each night so that limits some options. Hope this helps and welcome to the creek.

[Ed Blough]

Don
I have found in my garage shop that overhead cabinets are the best. I build them high enough to insure I can store movable tools and cabinets under them.

I also learned not to do long continuous runs of cabinets, but rather to have single cabinet then 1-2 feet over another. The reason is the sides of the cabinets actually multiply wall area. You can hang jigs, hand tools, supply cabinets on the sides of the cabinet that you couldn't if they were all together in a tight line. By splitting my cabinets a foot apart I lose on foot of cabinet space but pick up 24-36 inches of wall since most of my cabinets are 12-18 inches deep. The sides of my overheads are full of things hanging for them (mostly shop made jigs, extension cords, hand tools, aux lights, saw inserts, some garden tools). I then place tall tools or long stock stood vertically between them. If I ever need shelf space I can easily build removable shelves to span the gap.

Having everything except my mobile stuff off the floor I can rearrange my shop as I need for any project and once or twice a year I wheel everything outside and really clean the shop ( using a leaf blower)

Also if you have a side door I tend to pile either stock or a moveable tool that has something leaning against it in front of the door. Then if someone tries to break into the shop they have to contend with falling junk. Hopefully the noise will alert you or the neighbors.

Lastly keep your shop clean. Sawdust, paper and cardboard seems to be a magnet to bugs everything from termites to silverfish and here in Florida we have those B52 roaches.

[Dick Latshaw]

here in Florida we have those B52 roaches.

You're going to have the Chamber of Commerce on your case Ed. I have been told to call those things Palmetto Bugs, not roaches.

[chris fox]

ED's got a good point use wall mounted cabs mounted high enough for activity below. I have a 3 car garage that have those long wall cab. on 2 different walls. I feel like I am working in a small 2 car garage. I think the previous owners didnt use the garage at all except to get in the car. These wall cabs are a pain for anyone who has hobbies in the garage.

Using a miter saw in my garage is somewhat of a pain- no dedicated wall for side tables,etc. Everything(planer table,TS, jointer, DP and tool cart) is on castors and gets moved out to the center of the garage when cars are pulled out.

I am looking into buying the ceiling mounted storage lofts and using canvas over the openings to keep sawdust out and dedicated cleat hung cabs for tools, peg boards and other stuff. Then have the ability to have better use of the wall. My suggestiosn is to stay away from floor to ceiling type wall cabs.

[George Grubaugh]

Good points above.

Also, make the height of your assembly table on wheels the

same as your table saw for an outfeed table.

Hope this helps,

George

[Bart Leetch]

Do not make you assembly table as a table with permanent legs.

Rather make pieces of plywood the are slotted in the middle of the width so that they slide together to create an +. You can make them any height you wish 18" works real well for cabinet assembly & you could make another set of 4 that is somewhere between 18" & bench height. When not in use just take then apart & hang them on the wall. Also make a torsion box table top with ripped 1/4" x 1 " plywood strips cut to interlock between 2 pieces of 1/4" plywood . Use 1/2" plywood strips for the edges between the top & bottom skins. You could use 1/4" around the edges I guess if your able to get it squared up & glued & pinned together square. I just think 1/2" for the edges might be easier to work with.

I think you could also use hollow core doors if they would be long enough & stay flat enough to do what you want. I would go for 2 2' wide panels & make a way to level & fasten them together so I could vary the width as needed. Plenty of choice is good in a small shop.

Here is a pic of the torsion box I made for the base of a heavy cabinet on casters & the finished cabinet.

[Douglas Robinson]

How high is your ceiling. I have almost completed my shop in the same footprint. My ceiling is 11.5' tall I have taken advantage of that. Everything but my bench is MOBILE. As I am in Germany now, I will try to post pics next week.

Doug

[Clayton Masterson]

Thank you for the warm welcome.
I hear mobility, mobility, mobility. I can appreciate the wall cleat system. You tell me to set the wall cabs up high enough not to interfere...standard set is 54" from finish floor, is that too low for a shop? What is too high? I have 8' wals with a 4/12 partial vault.
Would a torsion box tabletop give me enough stability? I currently work from a "table" on portable saw horses. Definetly not enough stability for full-time shop use. Would you recommend the same height mobile base cabs and vary the thickness of my tabletops?
Clayton

[Bart Leetch]

The torsion box you see in the picture has about 4" deep web & I had it mounted on casters a friend & I got up on it a combination of around 400 pounds & jumped up & down on it no give at all. For assembly panels the thickness I recommended will work fine. I have a friend in Texas that has panels in a commercial shop & this is where I got the idea.

After reviewing your last post I am not sure you understand making the legs for this system out of 2 interlocking 12" - 18" wide pieces of plywood made to what ever height you desire the torsion box top to be for your assembly table. This will make a nice flat strong top & you can set it to the height that will work for you & still knock down & be out of the way against a wall.

As far as cabinets I would make some on casters. Put items like grinders & combination sanders etc on purpose built cabinets with drawers or doors. I have one under the extension wing of my table-saw. I have 2 more planned one under my grinder station that will hold turning supplies & tools & one for under my combination sander.

As to the wall cabinets make them to hang at the recommended height. You can make them so that you can hang them at that height & set items on top of them or make them tall enough that they go almost all the way to the ceiling.