New Shop Recommendations

[Jared Greenberg]

Just looking to get some advice on a new shop for my business.

It'll be a 22x22 garage. The wife wants at least half of it for it's 'proper' use. Here's what's going in it so far.

T124 Lathe - I will be selling this after we get the whole setup of the T5 down pat.
Centauro T5 1600 Lathe
Stand Up Drill Press
Shelving for Stock (billets)
Work bench with mitre saw/grinder.
Regular lathe.
Dust collection - T5 has a great set up for dust collection. What I would really like is a set up that collects the shavings/dust, drops the shavings and then collects the dust.


What I am looking for is some recommenations on:

Set up - Ideally I would like to have half of it to park a car. I am wondering if I should go with a two door garage. Reason for this is I can tarp off or seperate work space and parking space. Anyone use anything in particular to seperate work space? This may be unrealistic with the T124 in there, but I could keep it at current space until next summer.

Heating - winter gets quite cold here. I would like to keep it heated since the T5 has a hydraulic set up. What is the best cost-effective way to do this. Are there heating blankets for lathes that I can just throw over the T5 so it keeps the hydraulics good to go.

Dust/shaving collection - any recommendations for the above type set up? I don't need it to be running with a lot of duct work. Something that I can empty easily/quickly.

Lighting - I think a light over each lathe would work. I am not doing a lot of actual hand/detail work, so not that important as some other applications.

Drywall/Insullation - My main concern here is the noise factor. Also to keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Window location as well.

Electrical - T124 and T5 both run off of 220. The T5 needs a phase converter (3 to 1), but I have that taken care of. I would assume more outlets the better.

I think that's about it. Any suggestions are welcome, or if there is anything I forgot please don't hesitate to mention.

[Andy Calenzo]

Jared,

My name is Andy Calenzo and I am an engineer here at Oneida Air Systems. I am glad to note in your post that you are considering acquiring a good dust collector. Many people feel that this is the single most important tool in a woodshop because the health of your lung tissue depends on it! For a shop the size you describe, you can simply use a 7-5 reducer at the cyclone inlet and then attach 15 or 20 feet of 5" diameter flexhose allowing you to move it from tool to tool. The beauty of the 2 horsepower Super Gorilla is that because it produces a very low level of noise (about 80 dBA at a distance of 10'), it will be one of the quietest tools in your shop and you won't necessarily need to enclose it.

Regarding a system that can distinguish and separate shavings from dust, any reasonably priced commercial available dust collection system will be unable to do this. I suppose that it is theoretically possible to engineer a system that could do this but it would have to be extensively tested before it could be introduced to the market. A poor man's way of separating chips from finer dust could be accomplished by placing a screen at the top of a container (box, drum, etcetera). This screen would have holes in it large enough to allow fine dust particles to fall into the container below it. However, the larger shavings would lay on top of the screen where they would be accessible and they could be moved into another container (you could attach the screen to the bottom of a box that would hold the larger chips - this box could be carried/moved).

Quick comment on the heating/cooling aspect as it relates to the dust collector: Because the filter cartridge on the Super Gorilla filters down to .2 micron (.2 micron is bacteria sized dust particles), 100% of the air from the dust collector can come right back in your shop without creating a health issue.

I hope that you find this post helpful. If you have any questions, please let me know.

[Joe Jensen]

Jared, will this be new construction? I live in AZ where we don't need heat, but I grew up in Iowa where they do. It's my understanding that most who heat their garage or shops there use infloor radiant heat.

I am a big believer in a lot of light. I built recessed flouresent fixtures into my ceiling. Also, make sure you bring in plenty of power. When I started in my shop 17 years ago, I only ran 50 amps of 200 to the shop. I am now limited by power and this winter I'll likely run a 100 amp line into the shop...joe

[David DeCristoforo]

The first thing I would do is have a talk with your spouse about what constitutes "proper use"....

[Jared Greenberg]

Proper use would be to park a car in it so she doesn't have to scrape the windows...proper use to me is to make the income so she can keep the car!

The slab has already been poured. I was thinking of using a wood burning stove in there and using our waste to heat it. I am going to have to contact the city to see if this is allowed. I was also looking at this option
http://www.calcana.com/garage_why.html probably in the propane function as I don't really want to pay for the expense of running natural gas.

Now that I am thinking about it, I am going to need a fair amount of power especially for the two lathes. I have already had the electrician run a 220V from the back of the house (we built it). I will then need another 220 for the T5. Plus another few additional outlets. I think it maybe too late to add any more amps to the main electrical panel (maybe not I am by no means an electrician). Can this be done with a sub panel in the garage?

I am going to do the insulation thing as well. Any recommendations for the Canadian winter on the R rating for walls and ceiling?

[David DeCristoforo]

You're gonna park a car in your shop?????

[Zahid Naqvi]

The thread is back after the mods edited some text in Andy's post that might be perceived as product promotion.

As a future reference to any parties with commercial affiliations with a tool maker or seller, please refrain from mentioning the price of the tool and anything that might be considering sales and marketing. Technical info on tools is more than welcome.

[Jared Greenberg]

You're gonna park a car in your shop?????

No...she's gonna park a car in my shop. I can't blame her though, it's flippin cold in the winter!

We'll make it work...any further ideas to the above.

[Don Bullock]

From my experience, there is no way that the car that's parked in your shop isn't going to be covered with wood dust from sawing and sanding. My wife has actually decided to park her car outside the garage (shop). I think the last time it was covered in sanding dust convinced her that the "shop" wasn't the best place for it.;) Perhaps a "state-of-the-art" dust collection system would make a big difference, but I know right now, after all I've spent on tools, that she'd go for that added cost. Actually we hope to relocate in about two years so we're working it all out right now, but she's already said that she doesn't expect to park in the garage in our next home. BTW -- We do still park our customized PT Cruiser in the garage and it's a pain to move it in and out all the time.:(

[SCOTT ANDREWS]

Jared,
For what it's worth,I have a 17'4" x 22'4" garage/shop.I have a 1023 SLX 10" cabinet saw with a 6' x 6' outfeed table,8" jointer,2 HP DC, 17" bandsaw,7' x 34" assembly table,and a mechanics roll-away tool chest.I don't have to move anything to get my PT Cruiser in there.As for heat,I would go with a small wood burning stove.I had one in my shop in CO. and loved it.Codes should not be a problem as long as you use the correct pipe.I remember days outside in the single digits and the shop inside was 75 plus.If it were me,I'd go for the 2 doors.Good luck in whatever way you go.

[Jared Greenberg]

Thanks, I am going to call the city today or Tuesday about the stove. That would be the way to go and basically free to operate as everything has an 'initital' cost.

Any recommendations on noise reduction?

[Gary Muto]

Your local building dept will have codes for insulation, for a house anyway. I'm not sure, but insulation manufacturers probably have a tool on their sites for ceiling and wall guidlines by region. I would try Owens-Corning. Oterwise I's shoot for R-38 to R-40 in the ceiling and whatever I could get into the walls R-14 to R-19?

[Bill Wyko]

IMHO I would measure all the main tools then draw to scale several ways to put it together. Try to put smaller tools on walls where they will be used with the larger tools. ie: a shelf to hold the tailstock of a lathe and turning tools with the lathe, sandpaper where you'll do most of your sanding, screwdrivers where you'll use them the most etc. etc. Then put the large stations in the order in which the assembly will happen. This makes a smooth build and if you're building multiples of something, the pieces can be at different stages and be at the appropriate station and not in the way of something at a different stage of assembly. This will make life much easier. With a shop the size of yours you should also adopt the rule "If you're going out of the shop, always out away 10 things when you leave and 10 more when you come back in." You would be amazed at how well this works at keeping things organized. Even if you're just putting away pencils and sandpaper.:D One more thing, I'd put all the outlets just above bench height. No bending down or searching under stuff to find the outlets.

[Jared Greenberg]

IMHO I would measure all the main tools then draw to scale several ways to put it together. Try to put smaller tools on walls where they will be used with the larger tools. ie: a shelf to hold the tailstock of a lathe and turning tools with the lathe, sandpaper where you'll do most of your sanding, screwdrivers where you'll use them the most etc. etc. Then put the large stations in the order in which the assembly will happen. This makes a smooth build and if you're building multiples of something, the pieces can be at different stages and be at the appropriate station and not in the way of something at a different stage of assembly. This will make life much easier. With a shop the size of yours you should also adopt the rule "If you're going out of the shop, always out away 10 things when you leave and 10 more when you come back in." You would be amazed at how well this works at keeping things organized. Even if you're just putting away pencils and sandpaper.:D One more thing, I'd put all the outlets just above bench height. No bending down or searching under stuff to find the outlets.

Thanks Bill for the advice this is some great info that I never would have thought of.

The 10 things comment is something I definately need to work on! I'm around 2 right now on a good day.

[Jared Greenberg]

Your local building dept will have codes for insulation, for a house anyway. I'm not sure, but insulation manufacturers probably have a tool on their sites for ceiling and wall guidlines by region. I would try Owens-Corning. Oterwise I's shoot for R-38 to R-40 in the ceiling and whatever I could get into the walls R-14 to R-19?

Thanks those were the #'s I came up with as well. I will do a little research into that.

[Bill Wyko]

Thanks Bill for the advice this is some great info that I never would have thought of.

The 10 things comment is something I definately need to work on! I'm around 2 right now on a good day.
Even if it's a couple pencils or a little saw dust, it really turns your shop into a well oiled machine(or it's a mess and you pull out a cott.:D )