I am oplannign on converting my garage into a workshop and am looking for some suggestions on anything from the best way to build a workbench to the most effective setup. Any websites or pictures would be great.
Put all large equipment on mobile bases. That's RULE number one.
Put in lots of outlets, about 49 inches above the floor, or higher. Don't forget a couple of 220V outlets for the bigger equipment like a cabinet saw and DC.
Plenty of lights, and white walls.
The type of WW'ing you plan on doing dictates to a large extent the type and size of workbench. you haven't told us much, yet.
Pick up some books on the subject to see pictures of existing shop layouts to get some ideas. Take a look at Wood magazine, Fine Woodworking, Workbench, to name a few.
If you give more info, you'll get more definitive help here, Ryan.
dave
Ryan Mor> I am oplannign on converting my garage into a workshop and am looking
My shop used to be a garage ... a small one. If you're so inclined, you can see what a small, ex-garage shop looks like by clicking on the link below. Did I mention it's too damn small?
My two car garage is too small, too! I'd be happy with a shop about 40 x 50, judging from the auto shop I leased that was 50 x 50. That would give me plenty of room for materials storage, a finishing room, and plenty of "elbow" room around the various equipment. I could retire the mobile bases, perhaps!
oh, and room for a sink with hot/cold water; a toilet... (I can dream, can't I???)
dave
Sw> My shop used to be a garage ... a small one. If you're so inclined, you can
Yeah, they are leg savers. Bought the kind that comes in rolls from Lowes a couple of years ago. They're cheaper and do the job.
Did you see today's "lunch in the shop" segment?
Project Page 3, last project.
Sorry *ss mothers .... can't even buy a decent burger anymore, everything is becoming a rip-off (and in some other language besides English) these days.
How large a garage? Will it have to share space with automobiles?
-- Mark
I did just this and had VERY little space to work with (about 1/4 of a 2 car garage).....I have pictures up and a brief explanation of how the shop was built here
A few points
1- If you live in the frozen north, the first priority should be heat. Trust me on this one! Working in the cold sucks. 2- In general, many stationary tools can be fitted with mobile bases which makes it easy to rearrange them as you need. Especially handy if the space is to be shared with vehicles, etc. 3- Consider a dust collector at a minimum and ideally a dust collector and an air cleaner. 4- I painted my floor with epoxy paint from Home Depot. It looks nice and it is easy to clean. 5- White walls will go far towards making the shop well lit.Good luck Frank
Well here is some more information about the space. It is apprx. 16 x
20 feet, single car 50 YO garage. It will not be sharing with anything. I am just getting started in woodworking and want to build things for around the house. and move on from there.Currenlty the space in uninsulated but i am planning to insulate in the new year. My friend who is an electrician is going to be coming down to do the electrical work for me.
If you can,insulate then add OSB or plywood($$$$) on the walls,painted white. Run electrical in conduit. I did his for my basement shop, though I laid 5/8 drywall horizontally( cheaper than ply !!). I used 1by6 to cover the horizontal joints and to mount the conduit and boxes( every 5 feet,doubles), can't have enought outlets ! Also wire the lights up as at least 2 separate banks and never have an outlet on either of them. That way if a machine trips a breaker the lights DON'T go out ! If possible 'add a room' outside to house a dustcollector and or air compressor,amazing how much space THEY can take up. hope this helps jay
The following might give you some ideas with regard to electrical requirements for a serious small garage woodshop. With the below I never have to hunt for a plug or trip breakers, and the sub panel is nowhere near full. Each of the 120V/20A GFCI protected branch wall circuits has at least two receptacles 6' apart.
For lighting, I installed 4 fourplex receptacles in the ceiling joists and use 8, four foot flourescent fixtures with plugs on the end, suspended from
2 X 4's on the rafters so that they can be moved easily if/when machinery is moved.If you put in a sub-panel, which you should if you're serious, check out the cost of the breakers for that model.make panel before you make a decision as to make ... there can be a big difference in breaker cost, particularly when you step up in amperage.
Since you are in a garage, you may find your local codes requires GFCI protection on non-dedicated circuits ... do so ... and make sure you get your wiring permitted and inspected ... you don't want to jeopardize your home owners insurance in the event of a mishap.
On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 13:24:51 GMT, "Frank Ketchum" [snip]
How's that paint been lasting for you. Is it easy to scratch dragging things across it? Was the paint the water based epoxy for floors? Been thinking of painting my shop floor also but saw a lot of bad results on others. Thanks
John, in Minnesota
John,
I think it was the water based. It was the behr one part epoxy system. I painted my basement floor with it 3 years ago and it has held up great. My shop floor got painted 2 years ago and it has also held up without incident.
Disclaimer!-- I don't drag heavy things across it, so I don't know how it will fare in that regard.
Last month I had a plumber jackhammer up some concrete in my basement and install a sewage pit for the eventual bathroom going there. I had to cleanup the resulting dirt and concrete with a shovel. My dad remarked at how there was virtually no scratches on the floor even after just shoveling the crap up into pails (we weren't trying to save the paint).
From what I understand, the results are determined 99.9% by the preparation. I washed the floor with the specialized wash. Then I etched the concrete with the etcher. Then washed again. Then put down 2 coats. I didn't put in any sand or traction flakes. I spent a lot of time getting everything just right because I didn't want the paint to fail. I am happy with the results but admittedly I don't abuse the floor as bad as some might.
It makes it a breeze to clean up and it keeps my basement dust free since the walls are also painted.
Frank in Michigan
Given the size, depending upon the tools you plan to get, you are going to need to be very efficient in your use of space. Make sure you put all you tools on wheels, look to every nook and cranny for storage space.
On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 21:49:07 GMT, "Frank Ketchum" wrotg:
Thanks for the info Frank. As usual prep is the major part of the job. Many years ago I spilled some thinned down poly on the basement floor. It held up extremely well. Been thinking of doing that for the shop. Any comments from Wreck readers on that idea?
John, in Minnesota
ask him to wire the lights on a different circuit than that used for the major equipment. that way when you pop a breaker, you won't be in darkness at a critical moment.
dave
Ryan Mor> Well here is some more information about the space. It is apprx. 16 x
Ryan,
ask your friend to install some pendant outlets over your benches. Having the cords suspended out of the way when working is very convenient.
Greg
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