Building a shop from scratch

Ed Komeshak · 2003-10-21T04:31:09+00:00

I'm about to have the enviable opportunity to build a shop from theground up. Wife & I are moving to 10 acres with a 40x40 pole barn.I'm planning on sectioning off about a 20x40 area for a dedicatedworkshop. I'm a relative newbie so I'm looking for things to considerif you had to do it all over again.I currently own a table saw w/router table attached, 14" bandsaw, 12"benchtop drill press. Next major investment will probably be adedicated dust collector, followed by a surface planer, then ajointer.Questions:- I recall seeing somewhere a dust collector system that expelledwood chips directly outside to a mulch/compost heap? I havn't beenable to find any information on anything like this... was I drunk?- Any advice on a space heater? We have natural gas at the house & Icould probably run a line to the pole barn pretty easily.- Any general thoughts/recommendations on workshop setup, constructionmaterials, lighting, tool placement, etc?Will post pics when done... Thanks.

Oct 21, 2003 21 Replies

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Pops 22 years ago

Wood Magazine has been running some articles on the "ultimate workshop". They do have some good ideas, such as designing to a smooth workflow (ex. TS to Jointer to Planer) so you might look at their back issues.

Craig

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