Tiny shop (9' x 10')

[Graham Wilson]

I'm finally moving from an apartment to a small house with a garage. Unfortunately, I need to share the space with the car so of the 10' x 23' garage, all my woodworking tools will need to collapse into a 10' x 9' space. I'd like to fit a 10'' European-style jointer/planer, a 16-17'' bandsaw, and a table-mounted drill-press. For everything else, I'll be using hand tools. Other than roll-away stands for the machines and roll-away cabinets (http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ToolGuide/ToolGuidePDF.aspx?id=2887) for everything else, does anyone have any tips for laying out a space this small? I usually fell and air dry wood about 200 kms away so my wood storage requirements are (thankfully) minimal. I don't plan on using the machines without the car out, the door open and a portable dust collector. I've accepted that I'll need to put my 30'' x 6' workbench against a wall, but I'd really like to maintain access to it (even when the car is in the garage).

[Bill Houghton]

My shop's 11 by 11 feet and has to accommodate house maintenance tools too, which eats up floor space. It can be done.

You may have already figured out that making little scale drawings of the tools and laying them out on a scale floor will help.

The door in my shop is in one corner. I laid out the bench so long stock can go out the door. This is only partially successful, but has helped at times.

And, of course, your jointer-planer should be on wheels.

[David Hostetler]

That's not much space. But if you can pull the car out of the garage, and work with the car out, the put everything back to put the car back, you are golden... Get your hands on Google Sketchup, find models of the tools you want, and start laying things out...

[Peter Scoma]

I have a 1/2 car garage, 9x10 ft shop as well. Check my old posts to see some great recs I got from other members about working in a small space. I'm short on time right now but have adapted well so far to working in such a small space and have a few suggestions of my own to share. starting out you feel like you are working in a box but will learn ways to make the space work for you. You will find yourself using ALOT of handtools, especially when you have to move several machines, pull a machine out, set-up roller supports, connect DC etc. just to make one cut.

Ok ill post again, check out the thread I mentioned.

Peter

[scott spencer]

My situation is similar Graham...I get about 1/3 of the floor space of a 2 car garage that's shared by 6 bicycles, scooters, sleds, lawn tools, ladders, skate boards, sports equipment, and hoola hoops. :rolleyes: (no cars! :D)

I think I've encroached out to about 10' x 14' of floor space, but I at least have "air space" available for longer boards as needed.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/myshop.jpg

[Michael McCoy]

I have more room than you do but the light finally came on that my attempts at mobility was causing more problems than help. I had too many single purpose mobile carts and after consolidating several portable machines on and under a single mobile bench, I was able to get rid of several of the mobile carts and open things up.

[Graham Wilson]

Thanks all. I've been fiddling with a pencil and some graph paper and have a few ideas now. They all look a little cramped when I collapse the shop and move the car into the garage. I'm going to sit down with sketchup at this point and input my drawings... will post again for advice when I settle on one or two layouts. I know 9' x 10' isn't much, but it has been a long time since I've had a place I can call a workshop... really excited :)

[David Hostetler]

I've been beating myself senseless to try to figure out how to mash a full workshop into a tiny space. LOML wants to eventually park in the garage, and I am sick of working around BBQ grills and lawnmowers...

There's a guy that I think has a lot of them beat in a 10x12 space. He has a table saw, router table, band saw, miter saw, benchtop sander, scroll saw, planer, jointer etc... all shoved into a little shed, along with a couple of benches.

The post is below... If you look at the photo of his "bench top tool stacking system" in the lower right of the post, you can see how well he uses space here...

http://www.bt3central.com/showpost.php?p=376816&postcount=26

[Graham Wilson]

Here's the first attempt. No room for DC or a TS but I'm mostly a hand-tool guy anyways. The car will be moved if the bandsaw or jointer/planer are being used. I'm still trying to sort out a place for sharpening (possibly on the bench with the metal vise) and where my tool chest will go.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2z83r5e.jpg


http://i39.tinypic.com/npfll1.jpg

[David Hostetler]

Here's the first attempt. No room for DC or a TS but I'm mostly a hand-tool guy anyways. The car will be moved if the bandsaw or jointer/planer are being used. I'm still trying to sort out a place for sharpening (possibly on the bench with the metal vise) and where my tool chest will go.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2z83r5e.jpg


http://i39.tinypic.com/npfll1.jpg

You know, if you set up one of those workbenches that have the flip up casters that lift them over the height of the saw, you can get a contractors saw on a mobile base in there too...

If you build a stacking rack, you can add a Thien trash can cyclone, and do a pretty decent job of dust collection in that little space...

[Graham Wilson]

You know, if you set up one of those workbenches that have the flip up casters that lift them over the height of the saw, you can get a contractors saw on a mobile base in there too...

I'm still debating the need for a table saw at the moment... I'd love to have some dedicated space for one along with an outfeed table, but it isn't going to happen unless I can get the car out of the garage.


If you build a stacking rack, you can add a Thien trash can cyclone, and do a pretty decent job of dust collection in that little space...

Many thanks. I'd never heard of a Thien trash can (http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm) until now. Both the jointer/planer and the bandsaw have 4'' ports. Will do some reading. I'll may add a hanging dust filter and/or fan as well.

[Peter Scoma]

I'm still debating the need for a table saw at the moment... I'd love to have some dedicated space for one along with an outfeed table, but it isn't going to happen unless I can get the car out of the garage.



Many thanks. I'd never heard of a Thien trash can (http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm) until now. Both the jointer/planer and the bandsaw have 4'' ports. Will do some reading. I'll may add a hanging dust filter and/or fan as well.

Graham, I personally can't get along without a tablesaw in my 9x10 shop. I went with a Bosch 4100 portable saw with a gravity rise stand and have a 2x3ft outfeed table that latches onto the rear fence rails. It was featured in shopnotes a while back and works quite well. The saw and table are a bit of a pain to set-up, especially to make a single cut but I'm glad to finally have a shop at all after living in apartments for ten years so I happily make due.

I've been in my shop for a couple of months now and have come to the conclusion that I absolutely have to have some sort of dust collection. I'm still in the process of setting things up, but next on my list will be to purchase a 1hp, wall mounted DC from Grizzly with a 20ft, 4in retracting hose that I can jockey around from machine to machine.

9x10 is a very small space, however, if you plan it out you can definitely have a full service shop in there. So far I have my TS, SCMS, 6" cabinet joiner, floor drill press, lunchbox planer, router table, lumber storage, rollaway and workbench. Use your wall space efficiently; I plan on building a wall mounted tool chest to hopefully replace my rollaway and save on precious floor space. Air compressor goes in the entryway to my basement in a sound deadening box and the hose simply comes through the wall. I also have a solid pair of pressure treated horses that live permanently outside of my shop that I use quite often.

Good luck setting up your shop

PS

[Graham Wilson]

Thanks Peter. I found your old thread (http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=100424) and was really impressed with Mike Henderson's photos (http://photos) and may sit down with sketchup again. I like the idea of combining my workbench and TS top/outfeed as a larger layout/glue-up area. Alas, I recall starting a sketchup layout with my woodworking bench in the centre but I ran out of floorspace when I piled the tools around the walls. I've never been keen on having my workbenches on wheels but I may need to consider this as well. I less than happy with the placement of my mechanics box but I occasionally need to work on the car... usually with the car pushed back and the door open but it is darn cold here in the winter.

I'm having a hard time visualizing what a gravity rise stand looks like... any chance you can snap a quick photo?

[Matt Benton]

I also share a 2-car garage with a car. I have a 20" BS, 14" BS, 12" J/P combo, floor Drill Press, Cyclone DC, router table and full size bench, along with various lawn/storage.

Everything is on wheels, and I move the car out to work. I used to have a TS, but decided to use the bandsaw instead. I think it will work out pretty well.

You definitely want to be able to access the bench without pulling the car out...