Looking for shop pics/setup/layout/ideas

[Donny Lawson]

I'm getting close to having my tools cleaned up and about ready to put them in place. I've got a general idea of where I would like them but would like to see pics of other shops and how they are layed out. I'm more looking for some ideas like machines that are set up together since they will be used together. Maybe how the hand tools are layed out on the wall/pegboard. Basically just general pics of your shop and how it's set up so I can get some ideas.Also any pics of a "Workbench" would be greatly appreciated. I've looked through magazines/books but haven't found anything that jumps out at me. I'm looking to build 2-3 benches. One will be set behind the tablesaw for an outfeed table. The other 1-2 benches will be for assembly/storage/clamping. Please, "Pictures" will help me alot.
Donny

[Paul Incognito]

Hi Don,
I'm not sure if I can help you or not. It would help if I knew the size space you're working with, the machines you're trying to organize and what kind of work you want to do.
My own shop is so small that organization is necssary, but at the same time, almost impossible.
PI
And yes, that is my real name.

[Donny Lawson]

My shop is a 24x30.I will be doing mostly small turnings and some small flatwork items such as birdhouses/feeders. It's just a hobby so I'm nothing fancy but I would like it to be functional friendly. I do have a 9x8 roll up door,36" entry door,wood heater. My tools are mostly HD or Lowes tools. No big fancy machines. 10ft ceilings.
Donny

[Steve Griffin]

Wow, that's exactly the same size as my shop, and it has a 10' roll up door and 36" entry. I've done almost a million in sales out of it, believe it or not. While I do have a trailer and shed to store stuff, I never really feel like it's small.

Basically it's divided into 4 quadrants. The first is all the milling machines, which are in a circle around a dust collector. Planer, jointer, wide belt sander, shaper, edge sander and mortiser . Clustering these big machines was the key to freeing up space elsewhere. All infeed and outfeed zones are shared, so two people can't work here. The garage door and outdoor door can be opened to allow feeding stock up to about 16'. The biggest mistake many shop owners make is being a slave to keeping big machines square to the walls. Mine are literally in a circle.

The quadrant next to the roll up door is largely open. You need a place to stage things, receive wood orders and do finish work.

Another quadrant is a 4x8 island work bench on wheels and chop saw. You want the chop saw next to your primary workbench. I also have all my hand and portable power tools in this zone. It's where I assemble and work on stuff.

The last quadrant has the table saw and another 4x8 table on wheels for glue ups and staging parts.

Lumber racks are fill all other wall spaces. A vertical plywood storage area is next to the roll up door.

It's worth spending a great deal of time planning your space. To plan mine, I cut out scale plan views of each machine and layed them on a floor plan. Each machine cutout also included notes about needed working zones around it. Like I said, overlapping work zones was key.

Have fun! -STeve

[Don Jarvie]

Sounds like you are ready to go!

My outfeed table serves as my assembly table. Now its 4 ft x 6ft. I plan to shorten it a bit so I can rip longer boards. Now I need to open the doors for over 7ft. I am going to build a new assembly table with storage underneath, power and vises.

In my 20x20 shop the TS and assembly table are in the center. Coming in on the right I have an old bureau that serves as storage between the 2 windows. Plans are for a worbench with storage that I can put vises on, etc. Back right corner has my old kitchen cabinets going half way across the back wall with a bench. Mostly storage and collector of everything.

On the left (coming in the main door on the rt) I store my planer and cart with wood and plywood across the doors. The left hand wall has my RAS built in to a 6ft long cabinet. After the cabinet I keep a sander cart, Bandsaw and DC. Back wall left holds the clamps and a tools chest.

Outside of the RAS cabinet and backwall cabinets, nothing is permenant. You may want to set the tools up and then plan for the benches. My original RAS bench was 10ft long but the 10ft was too long and I lost space so I cut it back. Not a big deal but a pain overall.

You will find your gonna change your mind a bit once everything is in.

Look forward to the pictures.

[Rick Fisher]

I find it helpful to set up based on the maximum length of the wood you will be working with.. In my case, I rarely work with anything longer than 6' .. (after cut to the appropriate length) .. Rather than leave 10' on each side of the planer, I narrowed it down to about 6' - 7' .. 95% of the time, its perfect ..

Clustering your machines is also really helpful. Placing the most used machinery closer to the bench for instance..

Another thing to consider is dust collection.. Performance usually suffers the longer the pipe, so placing the machines which need the best dust collection closest to the DC is smart.. I have an older Wide Belt in my shop, it sits 6-7 feet from the Dust collector. The jointer and planer, which make chips, are the furthest away from the DC..

[Mike Wilkins]

I have a one word response to your inquiry: BOOKS. There are a multitude of written and photographic works in print that help the woodworker get their shop set up and running. But whatever set-up you decide on, just remember that there is no one size fits all layout. What works for Joe (or Jane) Smith may not be the best for me or you. And whatever you settle on, it will change sometime in the future as your tool and equipment needs change. Barnes and Noble or Amazon will be glad to help.

[Joe Angrisani]

If I may improve on Mike's suugestion....

I have a one word response to your inquiry: LIBRARY. Barnes & Noble and Amazon will be glad to take a bunch of your money for books you may never use again after setting up your shop the first time. Save the money for tools and wood.