Finally reorganized

I've been wanting to add more storage and move stuff around for quite awhile but the need to build family projects has kept me from doing what I wanted. So I put everything on hold and did some cleaning and reorganizing. My main problem is lack of space. A center chimney and furnace take up so much room that I have to have my shop in 2 parts of the basement. Also, I have forced hot air duct everywhere that sits about 5"11" from the floor so besides walking around hunched over I need to put tools where a 6' person won't bang his head all the time.
I made the foldaway workbench in this months Wood magazine. Just made it a bit shorter so I would have more headroom, Replaced all the 1/8" sagging pegboard, thanks for the peghooks Allen, built rolling storage drawers for under the workbench and TS, added a drawer to the outfeed table I built a month or so ago. I moved the tool storage rack from behind the BS and turned it into a fastener rack, and moved my planer so I could plane down boards up to 12 feet long without moving it.
My workbenches were in the house when I bought it 20 years ago. One day I'll get around to replacing them.
The last chore is to organize my lumber rack. It's a total mess.
I used all scrap plywood on just about everything. Even used some old OSB on the foldaway workbench. Everything i did cost less than $50.

Just some pics of the shop.

Very nice, Bob. I like what you've done with the place.

Great looking shop there Bob. Looks like you've thought it out well, and make the best use of what you have.

That really looks nicely done Bob. I need to get back on mine. The clutter elves have been out there again...

couple of suggestions bob,, first one i see you have portable router table in one of those pics,, if you have a spare router leave that portable set up like it is..and use a bigger one in your norm table.. reason is how many times do you find your self using one bit then going to another to need the first one on the next part of the project later on..thats where the second setup is priceless once set its right where the other one was...next is your wood storage put it where you are having to duck from low ceiling height, you would never walk threw your wood pile so its a instant stop and look spot.. or maybe use it as a bank of cabinets or shelving area to do the same thing incorporate low areas into stop points if it doesnt interfere with your work flow. looks good and i remember your low ceilings

Well, it looks like you have been busy. Looks great

Yep, looks great now get to making more sawdust

larry merlau said:

couple of suggestions bob,, first one i see you have portable router table in one of those pics,, if you have a spare router leave that portable set up like it is..and use a bigger one in your norm table.. reason is how many times do you find your self using one bit then going to another to need the first one on the next part of the project later on..thats where the second setup is priceless once set its right where the other one was...next is your wood storage put it where you are having to duck from low ceiling height, you would never walk threw your wood pile so its a instant stop and look spot.. or maybe use it as a bank of cabinets or shelving area to do the same thing incorporate low areas into stop points if it doesnt interfere with your work flow. looks good and i remember your low ceilings

Click to expand...

Good ideas Larry. I'm saving up for a bigger router for the new table but never thought about keeping the old one.

Makes sense on the lumber storage too. right now it's in an area where there is hardly any duct work. There is a section of the basement that is hidden over by my well pump. If I move it there it will give me lots more room

I remember that you found out the hard way how low the duct work hangs in my shop

nice use of the space Bob!
anyway to raise up or change the ductwork so you dont scalp yourself when you are overly focused on moving from one machine to the next?
I have a rack in my shop that my landlady put up and it is just low enough to catch the top of my scalp if I am not paying attention, She also put it up right by the bottom of the stairs so I have to duck everytime I go by....

Nice little work area you have there Bob.

I was glad to see that you built the tilt-top table from Wood mag.

I have been considering that one, or an assembly table from Wood mag March 2010 issue. (Only thing is, that one doesn't fold)


How stable is your table? That was my major concern.

Thanks.

Aloha, Tony

I was surprised Tony, It is very stable. The leg levelers sure help out on my uneven cement floor. I went with the cheap HF casters. They work OK but one gets stuck halfway when I'm trying to turn the table. I don't know if it's the caster or the placement of it. I'll check it out this weekend.

Rich, raising the ductwork is near impossible. I have fairly good muscle memory so I almost always know when to duck. I have been keeping the Band-Aid company pretty busy lately though. The top of my head has not gotten used to the new arrangement yet

Bob,

That's good to hear. I have a top I can use, made of two layers of plywood laminated on both sides with formica. It's about 42" X 48" X 1 1/2". It's so heavy I can't lift it, but with the center pivot it should work ok, ya think?

Also, would you think it would be stable enough to mount a vise on it? I was thinking of making lockdown bolts for each end, as I have heavy enough but not locking casters.

Thanks for your input. The WOOD mag article was pretty thorough so it should be a straight forward build.

Oh, what do you think of adding some kind of storage to the open side of the center panel?

Aloha, tony

Nice-looking setup, Bob. Good thing for your muscle memory. I'd be owning stock in Johnson & Johnson by now with all the ductwork in there.

Tony,
I made my top a bit different than what they called for. I used 3 layers of 7/16 OSB glued together topped by a piece of 3/4" ply. It is super heavy but tilting the top is real easy. I was thinking about putting a vise on it as well. Should work OK

1/2" plywood at the borg was $18.00 a sheet and OSB was $7.00. Eventually I'll top it with some laminate and I still have to edge the top.

Not sure about the lockdown bolts I like the idea about making some sort of storage area on the open side. I'll give it a try this weekend

That looks like a wonderful space to work in. My shop is where I go to recharge or to de-stress. It has the magic ability to perform both functions. Your shop looks like it should serve you well and bring you a lot of enjoyment.