Basement Workshop

[ed mendenhall]

Hello,

I’m a newbie attempting to set up a decent shop in my basement.
I will be making mostly cabinets and guitars with occasional furniture.

I put together a preliminary layout with 2 options for the dust collection system.

I have no idea what I am doing but have been doing some research online.

If anyone could take a look at my preliminary ideas and give some
feedback, that would be awesome.

I don’t have all of the equipment yet, but want to design layout and
dust collection for the future so i don't have to re do anything.

Thanks,

Ed

[Anthony Whitesell]

First ex-nay the 4" mains, especially at the bottom for connecting to the planer and jointer. Planers and jointers are known for making big shavings, so you'll want atleast 5" there as well. Depending on the bandsaw and tablesaw arrangements, if you only have one port then a 4" main might be OK. If the bandsaw has dual ports (like a Grizzly G0513 or better) or the tablesaw has two DC connections (guard and cabinet), then you'll need atleast a 5" main.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Ed, here's one of my favorite shop tours here at the creek. As you can see, Terry runs 6" all the way to most machines.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?135228-Tour-of-the-shop&p=1370174

One thing that jumps out at me is your tablesaw placement. I buy hardwood in 10'f lengths, and sometimes rip 8' sheet goods on my table saw. So in my shop, I place the TS where I have 10' on each side of the center of the blade.

[ed mendenhall]

Anthony and Joe,

Thanks guys, I'll increase the main ducts. It looks like Terry runs the 6" for the drops as well. Do you think there is an advantage either way to running one size main and drops as opposed to stepping up with smaller duct at ends of the run? Also, an article I read cautioned against over sizing a branch as the flow will drop below 3,500.

I allowed 8' to either side of TS blade but it is tight. I should reconsider for the possibility of occasional longer lengths. I might think about moving the assembly area or finish room to free up some more space. What do you use for a finish area setup?

Any other thoughts on tool positions/groupings?

Thanks again,

Ed

[John Eaton]

Do 6" as close to the each machine as possible then size down to the DC collar on the machine. The additional cross section of the pipe pulls in more of the "fines" - it's the stuff you don't see that lodges in your lungs.

[ed mendenhall]

Ok so I'll run 6" drops and connect with flex hose to the machine. does that sound right?

Lungs are a definate concern, i did enough damage as a kid working without masks and respirators, etc. I'm also going to run an ambient filtration system.

Thanks,

Ed

[John Coloccia]

I found "shipping". Where's "recieving"?

[ed mendenhall]

I know, i'm getting ahead of myself. Basically that's a clean area where I'll wrap and box when i need to ship something. If "need" to ship grows then i'll probably be going into a commercial building. (one can hope anyway)

[Joe A Faulkner]

With your miter station, again, think about clearance on each side of the saw. You probably want at least 8' of clearance to one side. Also, consider making the height of the miterstation the same as your tablesaw. You never know how you will re-arrange things, and if you can keep the majority of your work surfaces in the main shop, the same height as your table saw you won't have things getting in the way when you rip sheet goods. If you use PVC for your DC, don't glue it. Many folks find that they re-arrange the shop, and therefore DC runs. Good luck, and keep us posted with your progress.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I found "shipping". Where's "recieving"?

The lumber rack is just to the left of top-center. hahaha.

[ed mendenhall]

Joe, I figured i would have the miter saw shadow the table saw to be safe. i totally agree about not gluing especially since i'll be adding equipment as I go. i'll post revised layout shortly.

Thanks,

Ed

[Jim Laumann]

Ed

When I look at your layout, I see the finish room on the left - and the shipping room/area on the right - which to me says that when a item is finished, it has to be moved across the shop to be preped, etc for the shipping. This is over/around your tools, benchs, etc.

Am I missing something?

Jim

[ed mendenhall]

Jim,

I originally put the finish room in the corner to be as far away from my furnace as possible, which is at the other end just beyond assembly/ shipping area. Also, i plan to put up finished walls so if I put the finish room over towards the door, the open space for the workshop would be tight for cutting longer lengths such as 10' (not that i plan to use longer lengths, but you never know)

It's a good point though, if i can design the finish room so that it is safe being closer to the boiler then i will definately move it over.

ed

[Salem Ganzhorn]

Ed,
In my small shop space I find I really need the planer and jointer to be parallel not inline. This way they can share infeed/outfeed space. From your diagram it looks like you only have ~4' of infeed for the jointer. If you can get those machines parallel then each would be able to process 8' long boards.

Good luck!
Salem

[ed mendenhall]

Thanks for info guys. Based on your feedback I am working on new layouts. Hope to post shortly.

In the meantime, does anybody have any experience or knowledge of using hepa filters in a typical small shop air cleaner such as the jds, delta, jet, etc?

I think I'll start a new thread just on air filtration and collection.


Thanks,
Ed