Curious about shop space

[ron]

I am at best a wood working hobbyist, certainly not in the league of some of you guys posting here. I have a small shop 16x24 with an 8 foot square section closed off for storage, compressor and the like. Having just finished a gun cabinet project, I spent the morning rearranging and moving all my larger tools back into their nesting places. As I was finishing up and day-dreaming about having a larger work space, I couldn't help but wonder if some of y'all with big shops, have the same space problems. Is it really true, what they say? You will always find enough stuff to take up the room you have.

Ron

[Smaug Ichorfang]

"ron" wrote in news:MPKdnQNlgvT1mDrVnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

No. You will always accumulate *more* stuff than you have space for, regardless of how much space you have!

[Zz Yzx]

Wow. I'd trade a thumb and two marbles for that space.

I've been woodworking in the front half of a two car garage for almost

20 yrs, it measures 19' X 9'. In addiion to my wood tools and supplies, I also store my mechanics tools and lawn equipment.

Needless to say, I have very little make-up space, so I make small projects. And, to use the TS, I have to move stuff to the bench. To use the bench, I have to move stuff to the TS. I store my good boards in my office.

Anyway, "small shop syndrome" is an ugly condition, but it can be overcome.

-Zz

(Zz Yzx rhymes with "Isaacs")

[Mark & Juanita]

Most definitely one tends to take up the available space. That said, having more space does allow for more options.

[Leon]

Mobil bases! I work out of a garage 18 x 25. In it is a Honda Accord, freezer, washer & dryer, water heater, 2 tall tool chests, drill press, drum sander, dust collector, router table, 15" stationary planer, jointer, cabinet saw 50", band saw, spindle sander, disk sander, lathe, work bench, file cabinet, Festool vac and sanders and domino, compressor and then all the small stuff. It takes me about 15 minutes to clean up put away equipment and park the car in the garage.

[Charlie Self]

I've pretty much finished a book on woodworking shops. My conclusion (added to looking around my own 25' x 48' shop) is that guys who are naturally neat tend to set things up the best, but still accumulate more than the available space will comfortably hold.

Not being naturally neat, I find my shop is a mess almost all the time. When I built this place, my wife finished nailing down the floor (hey, she bought it for me for a Christmas present, and she got a kick out of using a coil nailer, so why not?), she said, You'll never fill this space." Shortly after we finished the exterior walls and got the wiring in, I got an assignment to test contractor's saws. That eventually found 11 saws in the shop, in various stages of assembly and use. Whadda mess!

[charlieb]

There is no such thing as too much space for a shop. I bought my

2 bdrm house BECAUSE it had a four car detached garage. Ran 220, water line, sewer line and gas to it. Finished half of the garage - for a jewelry shop and converted that for stained glass. Took over the other half for woodworking. Eventually converted the stained glass space to a a layout/ assembly/finishing space - with ply storage as well. There are wood racks under the eaves behind the shop. STILL don't have enough room - and that's with a 5 function combination machine (table saw with sliding table, shaper, joiner, planer, horizontal mortiser) which has a relatively small footprint - with a "mobility kit" which lets you turn the unit or move it - a little (it's 1100 pounds).

's not just the square footage to consider - but "wood alleys" and human paths. A table saw location that allows you to open a garage door or shop door on the infeed side will let you rip 4x8 sheets of ply lengthwise - a LOT of space needed if you can't use "outside" space.

And table top height - if most are at or above table saw table height they may do double duty as outfeed tables - but don't count on that since ALL horizontal surface above floor level get occupied fairly quickly.

Start with 600 - 800 sf or more. More is always better - just like clamps ; )

[Frank Boettcher]

that's what mine is without the closed off section

I've not tested that theory to infinity, but, as far as I've gone, yes it is true.

The new shop (and house) are on the drawing board. House will shed

1400 sq.ft. and the shop will grow from 384 to 864

Frank

[LEGEND65]

There is no such thing as a full shop, only woodworkers who haven't gotten around to the next reorganizing.

[Leon]

I'd like to get a copy when it is published Charlie. I am relative organized and neat, adding the dust collector and Festool Vac after some 25 years of doing with out has helped more than I could have imagined. If your book is not finished you should add a chapter on keeping the work bench cleared off. Perhaps the ability to tilt the bench top to a 45 degree angle at the end of the day. ;~)

Now lets see here.... 25 x 48 shop 2.6 times bigger than mine,,, 11 Table Saws..... Yeah you are/were crowded. LOL

[mac davis]

IMHO, you can never have too much space, but the more space, the more stuff you seem to have in it..

16x24'? Not what most folks would consider small.. ;-]

Mine's 18x22 and after working in a 2 car garage filled with family stuff for most of my life, my shop seems HUGE.. lol

OTOH, in my case only the lathes, bandsaw and hand tools are IN the shop, the rest are in the carport..

I think that size needed also depends on what you do in the shop... If you're ripping 12 or 16' boards, you need more space or different dimensions than if you're making jewelry boxes or segmented bowls..

Personally, I find that I prefer a smaller area and am forced to keep it more organized than I would in a larger area.. When I found that I'd rather have stuff like the TS, planner, router table and sharpening stuff outside, I gave my wife the back 6' of the shop for storage..

Being lazy, I appreciate that my bench is now about 3or 4' from the lathe, instead of almost 10'.. It's a bitch getting old..

mac

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[mac davis]

I feel your pain.. worked that way for years, which is the main reason that almost everything I have is on wheels.. The driveway was where most of the tools were when in use, then rolled back in later.. I remember using the washer & dryer for a glue-up area several times..

mac

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[mac davis]

I'm pretty anal about my tools.. each tool, down to bench screw drivers and center punch, has it's place and I want it there when I reach for it.. I vacuum or sweep several times a day when I'm turning, partly because I want to, partly because the shop is part of the house.. My wife knows that if she uses a tool and isn't SURE where to put it back, then it goes on the bench and I'll put it away..

We're both sort of amazed how clean and organized the shop is, because the rest of my life, trucks, desk, etc. are definitely NOT clean or organized.. ;-]

mac

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[Lee Michaels]

"mac davis" wrote

Washer and dryer, eh?

I used to unplug the dryer and plug in a heavy duty 220 extension cord I made up to power a welder.

[J. Clarke]

My dryer outlet has at various times powered a RAS, a band saw, and a

5 HP cyclone, before I got around to wiring dedicated outlets for each. Of course it also has been known to power a dryer on occasion.

[Robatoy]

20' x 50' is justabout right for a small commercial shop. If you do a lot of flat stuff, like countertops, that won't do.

[Rick Samuel]

Getting old isn't for sissies

[Charlie Self]

True. These days I get up in the morning with more aches than I had for my entire time at Parris Island.

Less than two months to my next zero.

[mac davis]

No shit... It's a major adjustment.. lol Hardest part was probably when I started asking the kids to move stuff for me because they heal faster..

mac

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[mac davis]

I think I'm a few years behind ya, Charlie.. A little over 2 months before I can get ol' farts money, if they don't run out first..

mac

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