Shop Updates

[Dennis Kelly]

Hello Everyone. I spent the last year making some updates to my basement shop that I wanted to share. I have a small space that was really dark so I drywalled the area and painted everything white. I made one wall white pegboard to allow more storage. I made my first tool cabinet and several other storage areas. My overall goal was to brighten it up and maximize efficiency...I'm pretty happy with the results as I don't spend as much time Loki g for things and putting them away. I still want to run new electric and buy a new dust collector. It's not much but it's all I need. Below are a few before and after pics.

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[glenn bradley]

Wow. The old girl really cleans up nice. You've got to be much happier in there now. It looks like a nice cozy getaway for some serious woodworking. You can further optimize your pegboard with some simple fixtures if that suits your setup.

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I find a cleat system on the wall to ease rearranging fixtures and pegboard in those fixtures (or places like the end-caps of workstation) allows a ton of storage that keeps task specific items right at hand. Your before and after pictures are really inspiring.

[Dennis Kelly]

Thanks Glenn! I find myself reading old shop notes articles for hours looking for new storage solutions. I think I enjoy organizing as much as making furniture!
Thanks for your pics, I really need holders for my handsaws!

[Randy Red Bemont]

Looks like a big difference in your new renovations. Very good job. It's great having a place to get away to and do some projects.

Red

[Bruce Page]

That looks great. Good lighting becomes more important as the years pass by. You can never have too much light!

[Andrew Joiner]

Looks good. Did you add more lights too? Did white paint alone make it that much brighter?

[Curtis Myers]

Wow, white paint really helped. Nice man cave.

[Dennis Kelly]

Hello Andrew. Ultimately, yes, the white paint and drywall brightened up the space. Having a more organized space helped a lot too!

[Lee Reep]

Dennis,

That does not even look like the same shop. Well done. I too have a basement shop. Two of the walls are sheetrocked, and the other two are bare concrete. I'd like to get them covered, and it would make adding wall storage so much easier.

I bought a Laguna 2HP dust collector a little over a year ago, and I am amazed at how quiet it is, compared to an old one at a shop I worked at for awhile. I cannot hear it when any of the power tools is running. I have not run ducting yet (way too many remodeling tasks in the way), but I have one of Rockler's Dust Right expandable hoses, with the quick-connect handle and ports for my tools. It works very well, easy to connect, easy to remove, and the hose pulls up tight for storage. I think it is a great addition to my small shop.