Those with garage shops there must be a better way...help

[Brian Smith3]

I'm SO frustrated with working in my garage. I have moved from a warehouse "shop" where I had about 3,000 sqft and all my tooling stationary, to my garage in order to spend more time at home, sold off the old equip and bought what you see in the sketchup. I like that I can work at home, I like that I can move all my equip to make a small footprint in the garage when I'm not using it, but that's about it. The two pictures show when I'm working and when things are stored.

This arrangement is SO inefficient. When I am working I end up having extension cords all over the floor for the machinery, I have to connect the DC to each machine at a time, I trip over the DC hose, I have to move everything around to clean the floor during a project, and it's just a pain. I need everything to fit in the 108" x 238" in order to fit the car in the garage on the other side when I'm not working. Other than that I have free reign of the garage. The wall you don't see is dedicated to lumber storage and that is working fine thankfully. So is this just what I have to live with working from my garage or is there a better way? How would you set this up? Any ideas are appreciated.

[Peter Luch]

Hate to tell you but that is the trade off of working in a small space.

I work in a garage also and it's a pain but until I can get a dedicated place it's what I have to work with.

One thing which might help is having your power, air and DC hose come from the ceiling so it's not laying on the floor.

Aloha, Pete

[Frank Trinkle]

As Clinton was famous for saying... "I FEEL YOUR PAIN!"):eek:

I have virtually all my large machines on mobile bases so that I can move them around to work. It's a pain, but until I get bigger digs... it'll have to do.

Cheers

[Robert Parrish]

The only real estate you have in a garage is overhead! I work in a 2 car garage and have my DC running overhead with galvanized pipe and flex host to the machines with a blast gate at each one so I only have to open the machine I'm using. I use a remote switch to turn on the DC so I don't have to walk around the shop as much. All my power is either overhead or on the wall. I also have air going overhead for my air powered tools. The area were I walk has nothing on the floor to trip me. If you have to run extension cords use fatigue mats to cover them.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Pete and Robert have the idea. In my basement shop, I don't have room to move my DC around. I also don't have the room for the ductwork to be on the floor or the walls. My DC drops are at the ceiling and I have two hoses that I move from machine-drop to machine-drop. Strategically placed electrical drops or electrical reels would help eliminate some of the extension cords on the floor.

[Chris Friesen]

Here are some suggestions. Which ones make sense may depend on which tools are more frequently used.

1) Put the router table into the extension wing of the tablesaw. Barring that, put it against a wall or between the extension and outfeed table on the tablesaw. You never need access to the back side of a router table.

2) You never need access to the back side of a jointer, so put it along a wall.

3) Make the tablesaw outfeed fold down when not needed.

4) Turn the 48" bench 90 degrees and move it between the outfeed and the built-in bench. With the router table moved, there should be enough room.

[Frank Hagan]

I'm rearranging my garage shop right now, although I get to keep my machines in one place most of the time (the shop is in the "third car" section of our three car garage). I've added a bench, jointer and belt sander to the mix, so I have to figure out how to incorporate those into the band saw, table saw, drill press and planer I already have. Not an easy task, so I'm watching this thread with interest.

I also have a cord running across the floor, and I'm thinking of one of those "cord covers" to keep from having stock (or my foot!) snag it. Dropping it from the ceiling has always seemed to me to put it much more in the way of working operations.

[Scott Wigginton]

My space is similar to yours and I am also in planning the layout. If you turn the TS the other way you can get more usable space (IMO). If you're willing to work with the garage door open (you are in Sunny So Cal) you can get even more space and do most work with the machines in their "storage" positions.

Here are two options I threw together based on your specs. Option 1 is if you need to cut long items on your TS with the garage closed. This option uses flex hose (green) and a Wye to hook both tools up and out of the way.

114634

Option 2 requires some ductwork but can do everything except long jointing when the other car is in the garage. The ductwork in this option is overhead and the drops are marked with the solid green circles.

114635

Both options show a slight mod on your router insert (moving it to the LH side of your outfeed) and Option 2 assumes you can get your DC to fit where the toolchest is. If neither of those are possilbe these'll need some small tweaks.

Hope this helps

[Bruce Page]

I hear ya!
I'm in the same boat except the vehicles live out doors.

I did succumb to LOML’s steady whine for a covered carport.:rolleyes:

[Brian Smith3]

Thanks for the ideas, and keep them coming please. Some things to think over for sure.

It looks like I may have to build a ceiling (I have an A frame garage roof) but that's ok as I could use the above portion for storage. In terms of Clinton I would have to buy an intern and that's illegal in my state :p.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Last fall I succumbed to my own cries for a "tractor-port" and I built a 10'x12' covered area. Then I evicted all rodent-proof lawn and garden equipment from the basement (ie. the dethatcher went out, the bag for the lawn sweeper stayed) so as to expand the woodworking area.

[scott spencer]

Brian - I'm in a bit less than 1/2 of a two car garage. Here's what I've settled on so far:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/myshop.jpg

[David Hostetler]

Just my $.02 here...

#1. Lose the router table, replace it with a router table wing insert for the table saw.

#2. How tall is the jointer? You may be able to slide it close up by the TS and not shoot over the side. That way you can run your DC to it while keeping it under the TS outfeed and / or extension tables...

I am working with the same amount of space. I have 72" rip capacity rails on my TS so I am with you on the width stuff... I am still reworking the sketchup, but my latest is this here...

http://www.bt3central.com/imagehosting/923849cd2a86a2b80.png

You can see I squeeze in a LOT more equipment in the same space, AND keep DC somewhat tidy. Most of it is overhead...

Just work it out in Sketchup and when you come up with something you think will work, apply it to real life...

[Bill Dunn jr]

Maybe a trade off for you being home more should have been having the garage to yourself. When we moved into this house I went from working in my basement where I had 7' x 14' to having an oversized two car garage. My wife wanted half to park the car in... Ha, not a chance, I've been longing for a garage shop for years, it will never see a car again. It is a pain moving things around but I guess going from small to big is better than the other way around.

Bill

[Danny Thompson]

I face a similar problem, although I am using the other side of the garage.

In this layout, the assembly table, router table, and table saw never have to move (or almost never). The jointer only has to move for long boards. The DC will have to move as needed.

I have found that I can push the right extension table right up to the wall, and leave it there for almost every cut. By orienting it this way, I get a full 6" of clearance to the right of the blade and plenty to the left. I also like the idea of using the assembly table as infeed support--so plenty of infeed space (> 9') and outfeed about the same.

With all of these pieces stationary, you can do most of your work with the vehicle in place (sawdust notwithstanding).

Depending on the height of your jointer, you could even rotate it flush up to the car side of the TS (assuming you push the TS to the wall).

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=114663&d=1238624053

[Rob Damon]

When I had a one car garage to work out of, I wall mounted my dust collector high up on the wall, to clear some floor space.

Rob

[Jim Finn]

"(the shop is in the "third car" section of our three car garage). I've added a bench, jointer and belt sander to the mix, so I have to figure out how to incorporate those into the band saw, table saw, drill press and planer I already have. " ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I have a workshop in the third stall of a three car garage also. I built a wall to seperate it and mounted lumber storage to the outside of this wall. All the benches in this scetch are wall mounted so the floor is pretty clear. I installed elect. outlets evey four feet on all three walls using elect. conduit mounted outside the wall. I use shop vacs for dust control. I make small items mostly and all the equipment in this scetch is table top type except the table saw which rolls out when needed. Shelves on the full length of three walls above benches. All benches, walls, and shelves are assembled using screws and is 100% demountable for when I again move. Works well for me.

[Brian Smith3]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Sometimes I need to see different configurations in order to get ideas and a sense of hope back into the shop as there is literally nobody else I can consult that can intelligently comment about this kind of thing. Well my wife comments about it but her suggestion is always to sell all the tools and buy furniture like normal people. That's not going to happen. So again thanks for the ideas.:)

As a result of your comments I have three different configurations that I want to try out this weekend, so I'll post those and report back to what worked the best over the weekend.

[David Hostetler]

...my wife comments about it but her suggestion is always to sell all the tools and buy furniture like normal people.

My ex was a "buy the furniture at Wal Mart" type... She never would have understood making things for the home...

LOML has a distinctly different take on things... She understands two very important driving factors.

#1. 99% of the furniture on the market today is utter junk and likely to fall apart within 10 years.
#2. Hand crafted furniture and fixtures are items we can hand down to our children, and grandchildren.
#3. There is a VERY strong family tradition on both sides of the family of fine craftsmanship. (My brothers in law are custom car builders.)
#4. It's about a LOT more than building stuff. It's about a place where a guy can be a guy and not worry about things like doilies, or fine china, unless of course I am building a china hutch... I can play my Hank Williams Jr. MP3s as loud as I want and even try to sing to them as I finish up this or that project with utter impunity...
#5. As I build stuff, I get to excersize the creative, and problem solving bits in my brain... This in turn leads to end products that add value and beauty to our home, and occasionally to gifts for friends and family.

[Greg Narozniak]

I feel your pain, My old house had a 2 and 1/2 garage and now I am in a standard 2 car (20 x 20) and i really miss that extra space so while not on the same scale I feel your pain.

There are certain aspects of my shop that are permanent and cannot be changed, The Oneida, Miter Bench, etc. Everything else is on Mobile bases and I could not see it any other way. Depending on the stage of a project dictates what machines are center stage and what ones are off to the side. Not the most effective but it is what it is.

While I am able to use the whole garage area there are times of the year that the Odyssey goes in the garage, Snow and very cold, mid summer when it's extremely hot, it just makes life easier on the kids and LOML.

I also use an over head Cord reel and I like it and have not had it be in the way as of yet. The pics I have are old and I will post some new ones later and maybe they will help.

[Dave Houseal]

I've been constantly tweaking my garage shop layout for the last 8 years, and I just about got everything the way I wanted it 2 months ago. Then we moved last month! LOL

I never tried to store my car in the garage, but I have a motorcycle, and do my own maintenance on it and the cars so having that space available was always a must.

The garage was only a 1 and 1/2 car, so space was definitely an issue.

I was able to make semi stationary spots for almost all of my tools along the walls, even if this meant the tool did not have room for handling long pieces. For example....jointing anything over say 3' required me pulling it out from the wall. This just doesn't happen that often for me so I wasn't that concerned.

I worked the miter saw into a spot along the wall where the lumber storage was, which was convenient and allowed it room to handle long stock.

The table saw moved the most. I would roll in and out of the "car space".

[Matt Ranum]

My 2 car garage(24x24) started out as a single stall and workshop area about 15 years ago. As my tool addiction grew so did the shop area so when I downsized to a Jeep it still wasn't bad. The Jeep got traded back in '97 and my shop hasn't seen a car since. Still every couple years I have to move things around to make it easier to work as I get more stuff.

Doing that yet again this year, only now I made a corner work area with floor cabinets and counter running 8' on each wall and then my bench sits at angle across the corner. That work area is a triangle and so far seems to work out better than the way it was before. Thats where i assemble and my hand tool work is done. On the other side of the shop is where the power tools sit in 2 rows. Along the wall is the bandsaw, shopsmith, shaper, RAS, and drill press and then in a row parallel to the wall of tools are the tablesaw/router table, jointer, and planer. This layout still leaves me enough floor space to set up saw horses if needed for working with sheet goods.

[Don Bullock]

...Well my wife comments about it but her suggestion is always to sell all the tools and buy furniture like normal people. That's not going to happen. So again thanks for the ideas.:)...

Brian, in my 37 years of marriage I have learned to never say that something is not going to happen. My wife has surprised me many times by changing her mind on things.

That sure sounds familiar.:( When we moved into our present home 24 years ago my wife insisted on parking two vehicles in the garage. My "shop" went from a full two car garage to the back wall of one. For at least twenty years thats what we did, parked two vehicles in the garage every night, and for several years the two vehicles were vans. Believe me, there was little room in our two car garage for any tools, but I did manage to cram a table saw and ShopSmith into the garage. When the two vans had to be in the garage the ShopSmith was given to a friend to make room for them.

As I neared retirement my wife fell in love with a dining room table and chairs made from solid cherry. I relented by letting her buy it and dismantled the dining table that I had made many years ago. That purchase, however, rekindled her desire for "fine" furniture and my desire to make things from wood. She let me start buying some woodworking equipment and soon realized that her car would no linger fit in the garage. Surprisingly, she made that decision. Now, we have purchased a new home for our retirement and the LOML has allowed me to have a large, 24' x 40', shop/garage built next to the new house.:D

[David Hostetler]

"(the shop is in the "third car" section of our three car garage). I've added a bench, jointer and belt sander to the mix, so I have to figure out how to incorporate those into the band saw, table saw, drill press and planer I already have. " ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I have a workshop in the third stall of a three car garage also. I built a wall to seperate it and mounted lumber storage to the outside of this wall. All the benches in this scetch are wall mounted so the floor is pretty clear. I installed elect. outlets evey four feet on all three walls using elect. conduit mounted outside the wall. I use shop vacs for dust control. I make small items mostly and all the equipment in this scetch is table top type except the table saw which rolls out when needed. Shelves on the full length of three walls above benches. All benches, walls, and shelves are assembled using screws and is 100% demountable for when I again move. Works well for me.

Check out Wood Magazine's Best Home Workshop ideas. It's still on the shelves... I am wanting to build one of these...

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/woodstore_2048_187148789

[Andrew Joiner]

Now, we have purchased a new home for our retirement and the LOML has allowed me to have a large, 24' x 40', shop/garage built next to the new house.:D

I love your story Don. Sometimes patients pays!

[Daniel Shnitka]

Underground wiring with 4-6 floor outlets that will be flush with with your floor in the cover plates are in placed in position for safety. In a government shop I have seen such a unit. You may have to check with your local electrical contractor to find which product meets or exceeds code.
Overhead is the cheapest and fastest for dust collection. Have you considered building a weather proof anex to your garage. It would not have to be large, just enough to accomodate the dust collector, there by isolating the sound of the unit.

[Brian Smith3]

Well I made some changes over the weekend, and it's definitely a step in the right direction, maybe not perfect, but better. The key for me this weekend was the squaring away the DC.

I decided to give up rolling the DC around and I went to my local pipe supplier and got some 6" PVC with fittings. I got rid of the 4" wye and put in a 6" flexible elbow at the inlet and attached the PVC to the wall. This also allowed me to run the electrical along the same routes as the DC (the sub panel is just next to the DC) and that cleaned things up. Finally I ran 4" up the wall and overhead for my hand tools which allowed me to get rid of the shop vac for that (so that hose and cord are not on the floor anymore), and installed an extension cord reel on the beam that my garage opener is attached.

I finished a dresser for my son this weekend and it was a big improvement to be sure. I still will need to decide on a proper router table or if it will go in the wing, then decide how to bring in the band saw, but for now it's working much better. If only I could fit in my DJ-20.... Anyway thanks for the input everyone, it really helped me out.

I'll add some sketches a bit later.

[Ray Dockrey]

My ex was a "buy the furniture at Wal Mart" type... She never would have understood making things for the home...

LOML has a distinctly different take on things... She understands two very important driving factors.

#1. 99% of the furniture on the market today is utter junk and likely to fall apart within 10 years.
#2. Hand crafted furniture and fixtures are items we can hand down to our children, and grandchildren.
#3. There is a VERY strong family tradition on both sides of the family of fine craftsmanship. (My brothers in law are custom car builders.)
#4. It's about a LOT more than building stuff. It's about a place where a guy can be a guy and not worry about things like doilies, or fine china, unless of course I am building a china hutch... I can play my Hank Williams Jr. MP3s as loud as I want and even try to sing to them as I finish up this or that project with utter impunity...
#5. As I build stuff, I get to excersize the creative, and problem solving bits in my brain... This in turn leads to end products that add value and beauty to our home, and occasionally to gifts for friends and family.My wife has the exact same feelings. i am very lucky to have someone as understanding as her. We have a two car garage and I have both sides. The cars stay outside and she never complains.