Shop layout/design question

[Mike Dembroge]

I'm looking at getting out of my 1-car garage and renting shop space. I found a place, but the space will be long and narrow (21' x 64'). I'm going to do my homework., but since this will be my first space, I was hoping someone with long, narrow shops could share their experiences, both good and bad. I have a book on shop desing (forget the author at the moment), but none of the shops were long and narrow. There were laundry room examples, duplex/condo examples, but no long and narrow shops.

Like I said, I'm just looking for ideas and experiences. I've been waiting for space for years and this is the first on in my neighborhood that's come along.

Mike Alameda, CA

[RayV]

[Joe AutoDrill]

We had a similar set-up. Shorter but much less width also... Maybe 40' X

12' or maybe 15'... We had storage on one side and work areas on the other. Storage was maximized by going up and work was areas were maximized by having counter tops in 10' or 12' lengths basically...

We didn't have much large equipment at the time...

[Leuf]

21 feet isn't narrow. 21 feet is more than a lot of people have in the long dimension. Typically you orient the table saw along the long dimension because you need room both in front and behind to run long boards and sheet goods through. But you have enough width to do that across the width of the space, so you really have tremendous freedom to do whatever you like.

Can you put up walls? Having a finishing room would be a big help. If you could cut off say 10' at the end and use part of that for lumber storage and the rest as a finishing room that would be a start.

-Leuf

[Doug Payne]

Jeez, I'd sell my first-born for something that 'long and narrow' :-)

[SonomaProducts.com]

Think about project flow. Lumber storage shuled be near the main big entrance so you don't have to schlep it all the way through the shop. Then cutoff station is next. Follwed by jointer\planer\tablesaw combo area. Many times you will cycle through the jointer, TS, Planer several times if you are using rough stock Then farther back is the milling area (drill rout, etc.) Coming back down the other wall you have assembly, then finishing, then storage\shipping back near the big main entrance.

I am just over the hill in Pleasanton so if you need anyone to help use your shop just let me know. I also have a box van for moving big stuff and wouldn't mind having a place to setup my 18"planer\molder \sander\gang ripper, I just lost my temp shop residence due to increase in rate I couldn't justify.

BW

[John L. Poole]

I'd make up a drawing at 1/4" scale on some Clearpoint vellum and start cutting out thick cardboard footprints for your machinery and areas associated therewith. Then focus on your dust collection and start doing the math on calculating your static pressure losses and see what kind of wiggle room you have. You may want to locate the dust collector first and then have work areas/machines fall into place to minimize static pressure loss.

I live in an apartment and have built a collapsible workshop that can be assembled and disassembled in 1/2 hour in my parking bay... I have suspended 6" Schedule 35 drainpipe with 6" flexible hoses that are easily hung from clamps so there is no intrusion or damage to the landlords property, yet have the permanency when installed of a regular system. When the shop is disassembled and in the storage shed, the only evidence that something has been there are a couple 3" C-clamps on the joists with 2" webbed connectors -- very unobstrusive visually.

I found that the dust collection system design was a critical factor in layout, much more than I would have guessed when I embarked on this project.

[RayV]

Hide quoted text -

Grizzly has a handy tool here that lets you try different layouts

is another one with Bob Vila's name on it that lets you layout a whole house IIRC.

[J. Clarke]

Do you have some pictures posted anywhere? This sounds like something that you might want to write up and submit to a magazine when you have time.

[B A R R Y]

Tell me about it.

[J T]

Thu, Feb 1, 2007, 3:33pm [e-mail] (Leuf) doth sayeth:

21 feet isn't narrow. 21 feet is more than a lot of people have in the long dimension.

That's known asa drive-by gloat. My heart really bleeds for him. My shop is 8' X 12', and I feel damn fortunate I've got a shop at all. I feel sooo sad for the poor guy.

JOAT Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.

- Johann Von Schiller

[B A R R Y]

I think he needs some big-ass columns, a litter box, and some food bowls in strategic places.

Barry (who recently stepped backwards into a wet bowl of Friskies Tuna Chicken Delight while face jointing, causing him to totally forget to send JOAT the sanding disc.)

[dadiOH]

At 21' wide you have sufficient space along each side for machines/cabinets, 2 aisles of reasonable size and a center "island" of machines. That's what I'd do.

I'd also work out a GOOD lumber/panel storage area at one end...one that is easily loaded and unloaded. In fact, I'd spend more time planning that than anything else.

Grizzly has a shop planner. Go play with it...

[J T]

Fri, Feb 2, 2007, 2:26pm (EST+5) [e-mail] (B=A0A=A0R=A0R=A0Y) doth sayeth: I think he needs some big-ass columns, a litter box, and some food bowls in strategic places. Barry (who recently stepped backwards into a wet bowl of Friskies Tuna Chicken Delight while face jointing, causing him to totally forget to send JOAT the sanding disc.)

Better yet, may he be cursed with teenaged sons into cars. That'll suck up all that space quick.

Sounds like the cat(s) are eating better than you. Any excuse will do if yer hard up for one, eh? LOL

JOAT Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.

- Johann Von Schiller

[Mike Dembroge]

Leuf, Yes, I know it is big. My current space is 10 feet by about 12 feet. I'm in a 1-car garage and roll things out into the driveway to make room. About a year and a half ago, I started doing work-for-hire and have been going gang busters ever since. So, I'm going to take the plunge and rent a "real" space for the first time. I've never really set up a shop before because with small spaces, things just go where they fit. No sense in arranging things for ergonomics or efficiency when you're never more than a few feet away from everything.

Regarding walls, yes, I can put up partitions and am going to make a small office space so I can have a place for the computer, etc. I haven't worked out a finishing room yet, but will work on that.

Mike

[Mike Dembroge]

[Lew Hodgett]

Think material flow.

Raw material comes in one end, finished product goes out the other.

Provide your table saw with lots of run out tables as well as side support so than you can safely single hand 4x8 sheets of material.

Good luck.

Lew

[Mark Jerde]

Glad things are going well for you.

I read in a book about a cabinet builder who got tired of the 4'x8' sheet of plywood wanted being at the bottom of the stack or closest to the wall. He built a sheet goods rack the same height as the bed of his pickup truck to make unloading easy. It was also designed & positioned to reduce the work of feeding the sheets into the table saw. If you work with sheet goods you should read the article IMO. It was in a book I checked out of my local public library, and I *think* this was the book.

Shop Accessories You Can Build (Best of Fine Woodworking)

someone here can confirm/deny that this is the book.

-- Mark

[John L. Poole]

Not yet; it's been a project with uncounted hours devoted to it, but it should inspire those who rent (and have understanding landlords and neighbors) -- you can do woodworking without a permanent shop. I plan to document it after I finish the collapsible workbench portion.