new shop need ideas

tom cullom jr

Member
Messages
10
I just bought a new home and it has a detached building 16 x 30 gambreal roof with full loft. I just need to insulate, sheet the inside and run 220 to it. I'm going to cut a new door to the loft in the end of the building and replace the roll up door with tight fitting swing doors. Does anyone have a shop kinda like this (in size) if so how did you lay out your tools???

I have the normal tools:rofl: if there is such a thing. TS with incra fence, router table, DP, 13"planer, 10"drum sander, Lathe, workbench, ultiment tool/chop saw stand, 4'x4' assembly table, upgrading to a 8"jointer, Dust collector, 14"band saw, air compressor, RA saw, and a host of hand tools. 99% of all tools are on mobile bases.

I'm thinking about putting the air compressor and the bulk of the DC in the loft. any other ideas would be helpful...
 
I think most will say to figure out what you will be building and make sure you have a good work flow, so that you aren't running around the shop for the next operation each time. Find the Sketchup tutorials that Dave Richards has done here, and down load the free Google Sketchup program. There's a bit of a learning curve, which I haven't done yet, but if you are in the planning stages, it's the time to learn. There are also downloads for machines to use as templates.
Other than that, Grizzly has an online floorplan builder (2-D) and Delta used to. Surely they still have it on the new combined Delta-Porter Cable site. Play around with different options, and mentally walk through the items you know you will be building to see if the flow is workable.
I bought a 3-D house program by Punch! that I did mine in. Got it 5 years ago or so when I thought I was going to get to build a house to my specs, not buy one that was good that would work.:thumb:
Also look through the shop tours section, and some of the construction threads (mine has my floor plan there since my shop is still a work in progress). You'll get some ideas from those. Speaking of which, I have 2 torsion boxes calling to me to sand on. Good luck and show us your progress along the way. Woodworkers here are always good to point out if there is a better way of doing something, then you can decide if it is better for you or not. Always some good ideas that provoke other ideas. Jim.
 
Simple answer. Good luck! I have rearranged mine 3 times now. It's nothing like I started with, but each time I have rearranged a couple of tools and of course that lead to moving something else. What I have now I like for the most part, but I am still finding thing that I don't like. The last big move (Lumber rack and storage/rat hole) isn't work out that well. I need to change that some more.

Maybe your not like me and can get it right the first time. But all the thinking I put into it just didn't work. There was nothing wrong, but it just didn't flow well. I kept finding I wanted to move left when I had to go right so to speak.

With that said, here are a few tips/thoughts that are important to me.
  • Consider how you get your wood in the shop to the storage racks.
  • Then from the storage rack to the table saw (or in my cause usually the RAS then the TS).
  • Leave space for infeed and outfeed at your machines.
  • A staging area for lumber going between machines. I like an open space where I can set up saw horses.
  • Storage space for all the small stuff
  • Think about how you work. What you do first, then second, etc. That helped me get started.

Consider Sketchup! There are lots of models out there. It's a wonderful tool. Not the same as being in the shop, but it is helpful.
 
Last edited:
Tom,

Your place sounds a lot like the place we bought. The shop building that was on the property was 16' wide by 24' deep. I expanded it by adding 20' to the width, so I now have 36' wide by 24' deep. Here's my current (approximate) layout: http://bbarnold.com/images/layout_a.jpg The construction of the addition and a few other photos can be seen on my website.

As others have said, your layout needs to be based on the type of actions you perform. In my case, I use a lot of sheet goods so it's important to me to have ample support for outfeed and both sides of the tablesaw. Wood and sheet good storage is directly behind the tablesaw for convenience. My jointer and planer are on mobile carts, so I can set them up adjacent to the tablesaw and handling milling operations with a minimum of movement. Most of my equipment is in the addition as seen in the drawing. The old side of the building will be used for assembly and finishing.

Good luck!
 
Dust collector in the loft means you have to climb up and carry the bag down. I personally wouldn't want to have to carry a full dust collector bag down.

It seems I am in the same boat as Jeff. I have rearranged my shop twice, and I am still not completely happy with it. Regardless, I agree with all of Jeff's suggestions.

I would try to make sure I have 8 ft (or more if you can) on each side of each major tool (tablesaw, jointer, etc) to not have to move stuff when working with long boards. Mobile bases are a must. I have every tool on wheels with the exception of my tablesaw.
 
Dust collector in the loft means you have to climb up and carry the bag down. I personally wouldn't want to have to carry a full dust collector bag down.

Actually Travis, my cyclone will be in the attic and the dust bucket on the shop floor. The cyclone filter will be on the shop wall as well, four foot up the wall so I can use the wall space but still service the filters from inside the shop.

Picture1-2.jpg


If I had to go up in the overhead every time I needed to empty the barrel, that bad boy would just have to stay in the shop with me and make racket. :rofl:

DT
 
I finally got a few pic's of the soon to be shop...:D
there will be nothing but WWing in it.... Im puting in a 150amp subpannel , heat and A/C. there is a full loft that I will use for storage, air compressor and part of the DC system (the dust hopper will be down below) It measures 16x30. i need to come up with some idea for replacing the overhead door. Probley with some swing out door and another small swing out to get more access to the loft.
Any ideas on the cheapest way to insulate???
all ideas are welcomed...:)






 
tom, first off congratulations on the new digs! for your walls i`d go with batts. are you wanting to condition the attic space? either way on the attic, blown in is going to be the most affordable. if you`re going to heat/cool the attic then it might be worth checking on the spray foam but from my experience it`s cost prohibitive for a shop. be sure to get all of your electric and mechanicals in before insulating, plumb the air lines, dust runs and power, be sure to run a couple extra lines from the panel even if you don`t lite `em up.....much easier and cheaper to do now than after you`re settled.
 
Hey Tom

Welcome to the family, off to a great start with pics! And that has the makings of a sweet shop, wish I had that room! You're going to get lots of great advice from a whole bunch of people who have a ton more experience than me in this area -- heck I just push stuff around inside the garage!

Jay
 
I think I'm going to run all the mechanicals on the outside of the wall (easier to change latter, cause I know I will change my mind). The loft floor is already laid could i still use blown insulation after I put up the ceiling (OSB) by just cutting in some holes between joist?? also could I do the same to the walls??
 
I think I'm going to run all the mechanicals on the outside of the wall (easier to change latter, cause I know I will change my mind). The loft floor is already laid could i still use blown insulation after I put up the ceiling (OSB) by just cutting in some holes between joist?? also could I do the same to the walls??

yes you could blow both after sheeting......but in the walls you`re more likely to experience settling..if you can batt the walls.
 
Top