Garage Shop

[Bob Schmanski]

I'm new to woodworking. I have a bunch of tools and want to set up a shop in one bay of a two car garage. I have a table saw, compound miter saw, scroll saw, drill press, compressor, and an assortment of hand power tools. I will be getting a dust collector (advice here too). I want to set up a work bench or benches and cabinets. Any advice on work bench heights, tool layout, work flow, etc?

Thanks.

[Tyler Howell]

Welcome Bob!
Lot's of info floating around in the creek on shop set up right now. Use the search feature and check back threads.
Bench height has a lot to do with you're size and the work you are doing.
Some hand tool specialists actually sit on their bench for the best angel of attack.
Keep reading, one rule of thumb is to have the bench the same size as your TS so it can be used as an out feed.
Glad to have you wading and take lots of pictures.;)

[Frank Hagan]

I'm new to woodworking. I have a bunch of tools and want to set up a shop in one bay of a two car garage. I have a table saw, compound miter saw, scroll saw, drill press, compressor, and an assortment of hand power tools. I will be getting a dust collector (advice here too). I want to set up a work bench or benches and cabinets. Any advice on work bench heights, tool layout, work flow, etc?

Thanks.

My shop space is one bay of a three car garage. I have a band saw, table saw, drill press, router table, planer, compound miter saw and small pancake compressor. There isn't much room left.

Think about mobility and dual use. Those two things can "stretch" a small shop.

I nest the router table between the rails of my table saw. The band saw, compound miter saw and planer are on stands with casters that can be moved into position to operate. I have the table saw 9' from the back so I have room to rip 8' material, and in a pinch can rip longer boards by moving the table saw slightly so the stock can start outside the door to the backyard. But cutting large stock in such a small space is tough. For 4 x 8 ply, I now cut it to size using a straight edge guide and a circular saw with a good thin kerf blade (in that second bay, again). When I need to do hand work (hand planing, sanding, etc.) I often use a Workmate moved into the area in front of the table saw.

Being able to move tools around makes a lot of sense in a small shop. But so does "dual use" (or triple, or quadruple use!) I don't have a bench because, to be honest, I don't have a place for it. I currently use the top of my table saw, with the cross-cut sled on it, as an assembly workstation. I'm seriously considering making a "fit on top" bench similar to the "Multi Function Table" you see in the forums here that would fit on top of the cross cut sled, or perhaps across the entire table top (including the router table portion). Dog holes and a vise would sure help for some projects. And the mass of the equipment underneath might be a substitute for those old world, work of art benches that are massive in and of themselves, freeing me to design a lighter weight "bench top" that could be flipped up for storage when using the table saw or router table.

Looking at my drill press, the stand for it is all wrong. Its a roll-around cabinet I got free with the drill press (and the drill press is at least as old as I am!) But its too big, about 3 x 5'. I'm trying to think of a way to make the drill press "disappear" when its not being used, perhaps lowered and then laid back so that it is no taller than the table saw top.

A one car garage is a small shop, but you can make it work. But mobility and multiple uses of the same space are a must.

[lou sansone]

Hi bob
welcome to the creek !

most table saws and such are in the 32" height. some folks like to raise them up a bit, but I say keem them solid. I hate moble bases personally, they make it seem like the machine is wobbly
lou

[Byron Trantham]

Any advice on work bench heights, tool layout, work flow, etc?

Thanks.

Bob, I agree with the other posts about bench height. As far tool layout and work flow go, its pretty much determined by the way you work. I doubt that any of us looked at our empty shop and said, "This is the way they should be laid out." and did it right - the first time. I've reshuffled my tools several times though now they seem pretty good. I don't see things spatially very well but fortunately my wife does. I have asked her more than once to come out ot the shop and "look" at it to see if she sees a better way to conserve space. She's been helpful! Let me invite you to look at my site to see several mobile bases that I have built to combine more than one tool in the same footprint. http://www.wooddreams.net The "flippy" for my planner and sanding center came from a design published in Wood magazine several years ago and its still a great mobile base.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Welcome to the Creek Bob. Neat place to trade information and opinions!

[Jesse Cloud]

Hey Bob,
I agree with those suggesting that you make everything mobile. You WILL have to move things from one project to the next and having it mobile is a lot easier on you and the equipment.

One other suggestion. Make your bench the same height as your table saw so that it can handle offeed from the saw or you an stretch long pieces across both.

Don't forget to leave room from lumber storage. I have my miter saw integrated with the lumber storage racks.

As for DC, that is one thing that I would not make mobile. A cyclone can fit in an awkward corner that is otherwise unuseable and not take up valuable floorspace.

Get some sawhorses and a guide for a circular saw for cutting sheet goods outside. I wouldn't even try cutting sheet goods on your table saw in a small space.

My two cents.

[JayStPeter]

For the small shop, I agree with others that mobile is key. My former shop was one bay of a 2 car garage. Lou hasn't used the right mobile bases. Make sure you get good ones, I prefer welded bases from Delta or HTC. But ShopFox is stable and the Delta/Rockler "add your own wood" universals are good for smaller lighter machines (i.e. DP).

Your question on heights is good. Try to keep your bench heights similar to your table saw. I added 2x4 risers to my table saw to make it a height I was comfortable with (I'm 6'3"). My mobile router table/assembly table was made to also act as an infeed or outfeed support for the table saw. That way, it's not "in the way" when I need to process long stock.

My suggestion is to build your cabinets and such cheap and knock down at first. You'll find that you will like certain arrangements and not like others. Trying to fit new tools will also change your arrangements. 2x4s and MDF or melamine bolted together is a cheap way to get going and you won't feel too bad when you want to rearrange. Once you are sure you like something, build it nicer and more permanent. Even my nicer cabinets were built as smaller modules for ease of reorg. In a small shop, reorg is constant.

Consider lumber storage early. A lumber and plywood rack and scrap bins are sometimes difficult to fit in later. Even in my new bigger shop I'm now having problems because I didn't deal with plywood storage in my initial design.

Jay

[James Ayars]

My setup pales compared to most of the folks here, but this what I have done. I have half of a 2 car garage. For one workbench, I went to Lowes and tried every kitchen cabinet till I found one that had a height I liked. I measured it and built my workbench the same height. My other work station is an old, heavy bankers desk. It's really solid and the drawers are great for storage.

My table saw is a Craftsman 24884 that I wheel outside the garage to use. I also have a knockdown table I put on saw horses for cutting plywood with my circular saw.

I built a rolling cabinet with drawers for my bench top drill press and a rolling cabinet with shelves for my bench grinder. My CMS I keep on another old bank desk.

Being to roll the table saw and drill press outside gives the feel of having a lot more room than I actually have and makes it much easier when I bring a vehicle in the garage for maintenance.

For dust collection, I have two things. First I made a down draft table that hooks to the shop vac. Second I duct tape 20x20 air filters to a 20 inch box fan and set it next to where I'm sanding. When it's set on high, it really pulls the air and dust away from me.

My other power tools are stored on the shelf under the bench I built or in the grinder cabinet. I keep my compressor in the open space under one of the bank desks. All types of my drill bits are stored in the drawers in the drill press cabinet. Hand tools are stored on the shelves I built in the garage or in the drawers in the bank desks. Mechanics tools are kept in tool boxes under the work bench or in a rolling tool chest.
James

[Rob Horton]

Bob,

Welcome to the Creek! You'll find everybody cheerful and helpful here. I have, that's for sure.

My 2 cents on your shop. I have a very simliar situation to yours. I expect that's pretty common really. I agree with everyone else that mobility/multi-use is the key to a small shop.

Couple of respectful recommendations. First, as an alternative to expensive mobile bases, American Woodworker (current issue) says that you can use UHMW blocks on the bottom of shop-built bases to "slide" your tools across the floor. Supposed to stay stable during use but easy to move when you apply some "I really need to move this now" type of pressure. I have no experience with it. Just tossing that out there.

What I do have experience with is the old rule for bench height that says "stand with your hands at your sides, palms parallel to the floor, and that is most likely your comfortable bench height". It was true for me. A lot depends on what you'll be using your bench for.

A great book for small shops IMHO is, "Small Woodworking Shops" from the New Best of Fine Woodworking series. Has a whole chapter about a guy who has a "fully functional" shop in only 160 sq. ft.! Its worth a gander just for the ideas.

There is another book (I'm big on books as you can tell) called The Workbench in case you want to build your own bench sometime. Great designs and great articles on how very different craftsman approach bench usage and design.

Welcome again! Sorry for the long rant but I hope I may have helped.

[Jim Becker]

Welcome, Bob. Jesse's post title is right on...mobility is the key to an efficient and usable small shop environment. (It works quite nicely in larger shops, too, for flexiblity) I also agree with getting yourself set up with a nice workbench...and it's an excellent shop project to do in the beginning. Don't worry about fancy for your "first" bench...sturdy and usable is the key. Bells and whistles can come later once you get some mileage and learn what you really want in a bench.