workshop ideas

[Ron Bott]

I'm getting ready to start getting my woodshop setup in our new home. Any tips on books or websites that show other peoples shops. I have found a number of clever ideas from looking at the pictures posted on this forum. Thanks!

[Robert Fordham]

I just subscribed to ShopNotes and they sent this awsome guide for setting up a small shop.

[Paul Demetropoulos]

Ron,

Sandor Nagyszalanczy has an excellent book entitled “Setting Up Shop”,
all his books are really good. Another good one with lots of photos is Andy Rae’s “Workshop Idea Book”

[Joe Meazle]

I like Jim Kingshott's book on this topic but it is out of print. If you can find it, be warned, it has a very English slant to it.
+1 on Setting up Shop too.

[Bill Houghton]

This is older, and there are a lot of "shop porn" pictures, but it's got some good concepts.

Suggestion: cruise the catalog of your local library, and check out anything that looks likely. Some of the "how to get started with woodworking" books will have a shop chapter, too. Absorb everything.

Also, recognize the truth of the saying, "Experience: something that would have been very nice to have just before you acquired it." You can over-design your first shop in the abstract, and then find it doesn't work for you. Some concepts - work flow, tool storage, etc. - are very valuable to learn even with your first shop layout, but you'll want to make things easily moved and re-arranged, as you'll spend the first few years sorting out what YOUR best design is. And, YOUR best design may change over time. If you start out mainly as a power tool user, and then discover hand tools, or vice versa, your shop needs will change. If you are young and don't currently have children, you won't need to design space for them; but, if you later have kids, you will inevitably need to (and probably want to) make a bench space for them. If you get involved in carving, or miniatures, or turning...and so on, with no limit.

[Ron Bott]

Thanks for the suggestions. I ordered the "Setting Up Shop" book today, and will have a look at the local library for others.

[Dewey Torres]

Anything published by Taunton should be a winner (in general).

He is one to consider:

"Small Woodworking Shops"

[Carlos Alden]

Another vote for Sandor Nagyszalanczy's book. About books: although there are many good books, they tend to say the same things in different ways. In other words, the info you get from one or two good books is really all you'll need. If you LIKE having books and paging through them (that's me!) then buy a bunch. But if you're a very practical person go to the library and see what's available before you buy.

I came into woodworking slowly, starting with musical instrument building, with hand tools, thirty years ago and now have a small but good garage shop. I totally neglected the importance of dust collection along the way, and I would advocate you should start with decent dust collection as a first step. It's easy to put off, and if you haven't suffered a few days of sinus irritation and dripping goop from doing some innocuous table sawing, it's hard to think of dust collection as a serious issue.

Have fun, and put things on mobile bases. You'll surely be moving stuff around.

Carlos

[Mike Gager]

check out your local library, they should have tons of woodworking books including some on setting up shop

[Paul Demetropoulos]

I totally neglected the importance of dust collection along the way, and I would advocate you should start with decent dust collection as a first step. It's easy to put off, and if you haven't suffered a few days of sinus irritation and dripping goop from doing some innocuous table sawing, it's hard to think of dust collection as a serious issue. Have fun, and put things on mobile bases. You'll surely be moving stuff around
Carlos

Good advice Carlos

[Eric DeSilva]

I can't recommend a specific book, but my casual observation is that no matter how well you plan, things are going to change and evolve. My two cents and three recommendations therefore are:

First, plan for a lot of electric, then double it or triple it. You can never have enough outlets. Put 'em on the ceiling and on the walls (50" up--above cabinets or a sheet of ply leaned against the wall). Get lots of 220V outlets.

Second, plan for flexible dust collection. Even things you don't think you will move, you will eventually move. Get a decent plan to start with that uses large diameter overhead main trunks with the ability to tap into them at a number of places.

Third, have fun!

[Larry Conely]

http://www.shoptours.org/

[Steve Kohn]

I have had the fortunate/unfortunate experience of setting up a hobby woodworking shop 5 times in the last 25 years. So I consider myself an expert in what doesn't work.

My advice would be to lay it out based on the advice you get and then do it! I can guarantee you will find something that doesn't work so don't be afraid of changing it.

This advice applies to almost all aspects of the hobby. In my case I built a 30X30 foot workshop 3 years ago, moving out of a 2 car garage. I couldn't conceive of what I was going to do with all that room.

Yesterday I posted a note on the Workshops forum asking for ideas on how to retrofit my old garage shop area into a spraying area 'cuz' my shop is too small.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

One thing to consider with the books, is that they may have been written many moons ago, and the tools that we have available now may have changed radically. Cyclone dust collection is a reletively new addition to the mainstream hobby shop, as are European combo machines, Festool systems, and spray booths. Not that these are brand new ideas, just that they are options now that you may want.

I'm one of the "blessed" ones, like Steve K, who "gets" to set up a new shop a bunch. Three times in 6 years for me. IMHO, mobile bases are your friend, and no matter how well you plan it out, once you get to actually use the space, something unexpected will come up. I've found that a pallet jack is a great thing to have around to move big stuff that mobile bases don't easily fit too. Hate to say it, but there is a fair amount of trial and error involved.

[Ed Labadie]

I think it was "Family Handman" magazine had a really good workshop setup in it recently. Cabinets, bench and rollout bench. I was really suprised, looked like a good design.
I'll check & update the first of the week.

Ed