Woodnet Forums
Home work shops - Printable Version

+- Woodnet Forums (https://forums.woodnet.net)
+-- Thread: Home work shops (/showthread.php?tid=7378723)

Pages: 1 2


Home work shops - tablesawtom - 06-24-2025

I was answering a reply from Dereck about no one mentioning owning a slider. And I got to thinking about peoples work shops. 

How many of you have a decided space for a shop? And if so how big is it. 

Right now I am sharing a space with my wife's car in a one stall garage. And to be truthful it is more trouble than it is worth and it certainly limits what I can have to work with. How do you cope? Until recently My shop was in the back of my building and it was 45ft by 45 ft. Before that I always had a shop in the basement and never had to move machinery. Now I am learning how the other half lives.

I am sure a lot of people would like to hear about your shops and how you deal with all the obstacles. I would imagine that space is why so many router tables are incorporated with the table saw. They show up quite often in my post about what kind do table saw do you own.

Tom


RE: Home work shops - stav - 06-24-2025

My work space is in our single car carport. I keep most of my tools in a utility closet/room that also holds our laundry machines and water heater. Whatever I need to use gets pulled out and then put back. I'm slowly converting things to more hand tool use just because of the storage requirements and weight of larger machines.


RE: Home work shops - EvilTwin - 06-24-2025

My shop has evolved over the 20 something years we have lived in this house.  It's in car and a half garage that has never seen a car inside for the entire time we've lived here.  Three motorcycles at one point, but never a car.  I'd say the space is about 19 feet long and maybe 14 feet wide give or take.  Current tools include a Unisaw,  floor drill press, 3 bandsaws (20" Delta, 10" Inca and 12" minimax), Makita jointer planer, Powermatic belt/disc sander, Nova wood lathe, home made work bench, Delta 30c RAS, several roll around tool boxes, and a mix of recycled kitchen cabinets along with a wall cabinet I built maybe 10 years ago.  I also have a cyclone with 8" main lines plumbed all over to each tool.   I share it with an old fridge and 3 recumbent bikes.  It's usually a mess.


[font="Proxima Nova Regular", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][Image: 3YGoCEe.png][/font]


RE: Home work shops - stav - 06-24-2025

That's a nice looking dolly under your Unisaw. Is it a custom build or a store bought?


RE: Home work shops - MarkSingleton - 06-25-2025

My wood shop is a 400 square foot building behind the house. Stick construction ( PreFab TuffShed ).
Insulated, drywalled, epoxy coated floor, 60 amp electrical service. Almost all the tools are second hand,
acquired over the years.


RE: Home work shops - Derek Cohen - 06-25-2025

Tom, what most see in photos of a build is my work bench, which is against the rear wall of a double garage ...

[Image: Underbench-Cabinet-Completion-Cabinet-html-m5a0ab82.jpg]

It is possible to make the space appear HUGE ...

[Image: Workshop1.jpg]

But this would be quite misleading, as I only have half this area, and there needs to be half kept for my car. So it folds up like this ...

[Image: 16.jpg]

Just enough space for my (now vintage) car ...

[Image: 17.jpg]

Regards from Perth

Derek


RE: Home work shops - DogwoodTales - 06-25-2025

In my previous house I had a small, one-car garage at basement level. I would move stuff around, so my wife could park the family van in there. The day came when I had enough of that and I just set up a permanent shop in the garage. Wife was not happy, but a car never entered that garage again until I sold it - and maybe not even then as I tore down the overhead door and installed a hinged door system. The township required that I maintain the space as a garage, so I couldn't just put up a wall but they did not stipulate on what kind of door was in place. As long as it could open and a car could be pulled in it was okay.

Now I have a 40x56 pole barn with a concrete floor. The previous owner used the space to fabricate gooseneck trailers as a retirement business. I have about 1/3 of that space currently set up as my workshop, but it is a semi-organized mess. Someday I will set up insulated walls with HVAC and plumbing, but I have to get other priorities completed first.
I have an older Delta unisaw and I also have a very old Craftsman table saw that I need to refurbish and tune up a little bit. It will be nice to have two table saws at times, but for the most part it will probably just have a plywood top on it to be used as an extra horizontal surface.


RE: Home work shops - GaryMc - 06-25-2025

Back when we moved into the new house 34 years ago I specifically built out half of the basement as my shop.  About 14X22 with 81/2 ft. ceiling.  This shows how stuff fits in about 2/3 of it.
[attachment=55023]
There is space between the table saw and planer for most projects but most machines are on dollies and can be moved for more room.

The north side is only half underground so the main bench (shown just after the build) fits under a large window.
[attachment=55024]

And against the wall at the end is the "can't have too many" collection.
[attachment=55025]

Gary


RE: Home work shops - jteneyck - 06-25-2025

After seeing photos of a couple of nearly spotless shops, I'm ashamed to show mine, but here goes anyway.  I claimed my shop space when we bought out house 45 years ago and built a wall to partition it off from the rest of the basement.  The main shop area is about 25 x 30, with an alcove of about 10 x 15 on one end.  The boiler and hot water heater are in that space.   Head space is about 91 or 92", IIRC, and the floor is unlevel concrete.  How I wish for a wood floor but it's not happening now.  

Coming in the door to my shop.  

[Image: AP1GczMVD4owVyhkLrzcNEttLeb1buzFfhmvX2dR...authuser=1]

My DC is a kluge I built.  6" ducts run across the width of the shop with a spur leg to my big bandsaw, and drops for the other machines.  My MiniMax J/P is in the foreground, and my CNC and lathe in the back along with cabinets for storage.  

Moving CCW.

[Image: AP1GczOyaylBBywk9G83GMlADkrQRpecoi8rlyEK...authuser=1]

My 14" Delta BS near a post.  Those posts are one reason I don't have a slider.  My Euro bench is beyond the Delta, and my TS's are to the left of the closest post.  Long stuff slides off the TS's onto the cluttered bench at the end of them, sliding across a removeable bridge. 

Moving straight back.

[Image: AP1GczMkoOeoJqbpRe9EnRMpdcmjYYYlnpL1Qigg...authuser=1]
  
Chop saw on top of a jobsite TS, my horizontal router mortiser in the middle, and drill press.  Some clamps are hung from an old upstairs cabinet that I use for storage.  

CCW from there.

[Image: AP1GczPDw1uoJuqxxbGNs2zey0kjYlF2SdwFgflP...authuser=1]

My primary bench in the foreground and two of my RAS's on the wall.  Both saws are at the same level, so there is plenty of support for long pieces.  

Further CCW.

[Image: AP1GczPHmBGbd1lcs5f3ljtfER1tlGLDyQrmMuUS...authuser=1]

Another view of my TS's, as well as my large RAS in the alcove that houses the hot water heater and boiler.  More storage, and junk, too.  

A little further CCW.

[Image: AP1GczNPGJRzV2E3egZuzeqoUJolb8XX6JqH-uLR...authuser=1]

There's my large BS.  It's on a mobile base but almost never moves.  The drum sander does get moved every time it's used.  It shares a DC line with the J/P, as does the BS and RAS.  The area between the pole and the wall to the left of the white cabinet is large enough for my temporary spray booth.  The DC serves as the exhaust for it as it vents straight out a window.  

And back around.

[Image: AP1GczMf74l_LxCFPaYlQXRWjU7JQdpLmfnN0NUH...authuser=1]

Lumber storage on the wall and my disk/belt sander.  

I hope the next guy is a woodworker because I'm never taking out those heavy machines.  

John


RE: Home work shops - MarkSingleton - 06-25-2025

Going to try to add pics to my earlier post.

Well heck here is my earlier post, reposted(?):

  My wood shop is a 400 square foot building behind the house. Stick construction ( PreFab TuffShed ).
Insulated, drywalled, epoxy coated floor, 60 amp electrical service. Almost all the tools are second hand,
acquired over the years.


[attachment=55026]

[attachment=55027]

[attachment=55028]


[attachment=55029]

  [attachment=55030]

[attachment=55031]