Woodshop Floor layout

[Jon Sinner]

Hello,

I am currently building my woodshop and I am in search of ideas. I was thinking about running some of the stationary tools power and dust collection plumbing under the floor. Does anybody have any thought on that.

How much space should be provided for the table saw with an outfeed table?

Thanks

Jon

[Jim Becker]

Welcome to SMC, Jon!

In most cases, you will be advised to avoid running DC duct work under the floor. It makes maintenance harder and definitely makes shop rearrangement...and it will happen more than once!...really difficult. Overhead duct work is preferable in my book. Since I established my present shop in 2000, I've made no less than 4 major changes that required rerouting of dust collection duct.

Out-feed needs on the table saw vary depending on the type of work you do, but in general, I think that you should be able to manage 8-10' from the back of the blade if you can, for ripping sheet goods and rough lumber.

[Jon Sinner]

Thank you Jim

[Rob Bodenschatz]

I'll be interested to hear some feedback on this as well. I've always wanted to have my DC under the floor but I definitely hear what Jim is saying. I wouldn't want to be locked down into a specific shop layout dictated by the ductwork. Since 2000? Heck, mine has changed four times since April!

[Michael Gibbons]

Jon, In my future shop ,I will have the ductwork for the tablesaw only, under the floor. Everyhting else will be up high like most others. Since the TS will be basically sitting in the middle of the floor, I don't want to have to step over or around and pipes (see tripping hazard).

[Terry Hatfield]

Jon,

Agree with Jim about running the ductwork overhead. The only tool I would ever consider plumbing under the floor would be the TS but I've had no issues at all with plumbing overhead to mine. I've rearranged my shop/dusts about 10 times and it was a pain but it would have been nearly impossible if the ducts were under the floor.

Ideally you should have approx 8' in foro of and behind the tablesaw. I actually have 7' fromt the front of my tablesaw to a wall bench. Very handy for laying full sheets of plywwod down while preparing for the cut. 8' of room past the blade is obviusly a must if you intend to be cutting full sheets of plywood.

HTH,

Terry

[Ken Werner]

I'd like to echo the thought that you may need to move tooling around the new shop for a while before you settle on a specific layout. I'd suggest keeping everything fairly mobile for the first few weeks or even months. BTW, I keep my TS on a mobile base, not too far in front of a window. If I need to rip long strips, I can move the saw, or open the window. Won't work with sheet goods, but I usually cut them on a sacrificial table with a cutting guide and circular saw.