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Daniel McCurdy
02-20-2008, 3:04 PM
Alright, here are some early drawings of my shop layout. The shop has dedicated space located in the back of a garage that I store my vehicles in as well as my father's RV. (At some point, but not for a couple of years, there will be a second floor over the entire area, minus where the RV is.) The structure is 38'W x 60' L.

I have outlined and marked the measurements for the dedicated shop area in the drawing. The 2x4 beam you see is to hang dc duct and wiring for additional 220 and 120 outlets. I have set up the planer to take advantage of the open space left for RV clearance, and the jointer uses open space in the garage.

Mobile bases will be under the:

Drill press
Band saw
Disc/belt sander combo (not in drawing)

Also not pictured are wall and base cabinets. I have a bunch, mostly from a remodel done on my brother's kitchen. I haven't decided on all the storage yet, since I figured I'd be basing that around where I set up my tools. **Same goes for lumber storage. I'll tackle that after the tools are in place. I may opt to go over the filing cabinets and workbench since I have so much vertical space open.

I wanted at least 8' in feed and out feed, and the current layout accomplishes that. *Oh, and I'll be making a shorter base for the planer so it will be lower than the top of the radial arm saw table.

Please let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas for altering the layout.

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x270/dmmccurdy/WorkshopLayout1.jpg

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x270/dmmccurdy/WorkshopLayout2.jpg

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x270/dmmccurdy/WorkshopLayoutTopView.jpg

Aaron Koehl
02-20-2008, 3:46 PM
Nice sketches! Where did you get your power tools models? (Unless you modelled them yourself!)

Daniel McCurdy
02-20-2008, 3:54 PM
Thanks, still new to CAD, but getting the hang of it. I got the models from:

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/

I did modify some of them (added cabinet to the RA saw, made the TS right tilt, etc.), but I certainly can't take credit for making them!

I'll upload the SketchUp file...but I'll have to zip it...which I haven't tried before...so that'll be another first.

Joseph Ragsdale
02-21-2008, 12:25 AM
This is just a thought, but I prefer changing my shop layout or arrangement of my tools based on the project I'm working on. Every heavy machine I own is on a mobile base.

A very large project may require me to move all my heavy machines out of the way against, say, a single wall.

Definitely make use of your vertical space. I installed shelving up the walls in my shop and it's invaluable.

What kind of work do you normally do?

Daniel McCurdy
02-21-2008, 11:10 AM
This is just a thought, but I prefer changing my shop layout or arrangement of my tools based on the project I'm working on. Every heavy machine I own is on a mobile base.

A very large project may require me to move all my heavy machines out of the way against, say, a single wall.

Definitely make use of your vertical space. I installed shelving up the walls in my shop and it's invaluable.

What kind of work do you normally do?

The goal here is to keep the most frequently used tools (which are also the ones ususally requiring the greater in feed out feed space) stationary. Leaving a good amount of room open in the middle should work for me for any projects I'll be doing.

I don't really have a type of work I normally do. This is actually my first shop. All my other experience has come from working with my dad in his shop. We both just woodwork for fun...so we'll just get creative and make something whenever a need arises.

For example, I picked up a nice Brunswick slate top pooltable from someone in town for free because they were remodeling. Its a pretty basic model with black laminated surfaces. Two side pieces had broken, so I'll just make some new ones and paint them black for a quick fix. Then later on, I'll probably take it back apart and make a really nice hardwood body with inlays and use the original frame and slate (both of which you don't see, but are the expensive parts!)

Daniel McCurdy
02-21-2008, 12:33 PM
Here's an alternate layout which might be better for dc, plus, I might not even have to put the bandsaw and drill press on mobile bases this way. Wow having this stuff in the computer sure makes this whole process a whole lot easier!

BTW, someone asked me if I already have the tools, and the answer is yes.

Thoughts on either layout???
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x270/dmmccurdy/Workshopalternatelayout.jpg

Larry Fox
02-22-2008, 10:07 AM
Nice looking space and very cool layout diagram. My thoughts are that your DC might still be a bit far away from the big dust-producing machines - specifically the planer and jointer. The jointer that I have is a closed-stand DJ-20 and the dust chute used to clog quite a bit and my DC was closer than you have yours positioned in the layout. The planer, as you know, throws off dust and chips like nobody's business and you want that as close to the DC as you can get it. Your TS might be close enough but your bandsaw might be a bit far away also. The dust collection setup on them is sub-par at best anyway and I think your CFM will be pretty low at that distance (depending on the number of bonds you have).

Just my $0.02 but I am not an expert on DC by any means.