Whats some of the things you wish you would of done sooner in your shop?

Just like the title says what should you of done sooner in your shop?

I personally have 2

Out feed table for my table saw. Makes it so much easier and safer to work with. All and all a couple 2x4's and a sheet of plywood a box of screws. If you have the space it is defiantly worth it.

and 2

Running receptacles around the shop where they were needed. For the longest time I was using an extension cord. So much easier then having to drag a cord over every time you want to use something new. Also a safety plus.

Additional outlets and a panel-board that will handle additional breakers is a huge plus!
An out-feed table would be nice, but my garage serves a garage first and my shop second. So I have to recognize the first purpose as I do not want to leave the wife's car outside or my motorcycle (not that both have not been on rare occasions).
Saw-horses come in handy, I keep around a couple 2x6's and 4x4 sheets of plywood so I can add a 4' or an 8' out-feed table if necessary, then take it all down and put it away. This set up also serves well for when someone needs a big project table for whatever reason, because I hate being on the floor.
Organization is always key in a shop. Matters not if you own decking screws or not, or even 10K of them, if you cannot find them then they are not doing anyone any good. So I have a wall with some decent shelving, 3/4 MDF ripped to about 12" wide, used some 2x4's to make it rigid, then got some heavy duty shelving brackets. Keep rarely used items, tools, hardware........on the high shelves which require a ladder, and keep the common and often used items within reach on lower shelves.
I also have the wife save the empty trail mix containers, they are plastic, cleat, big 5" hole in the top, work very well for those different length of multi-purpose screws. I also keep a 2 high step ladder in my garage, it is lightweight and stores easily.
When I made my bench for the miter saw I left the bottom area open enough so I could slide items underneath it, like my floor jack, jack stands, motorcycle jack..............
When I added extra receptacles I ran the wiring in metal conduit and attached the metal boxes or put them on top of the sheet-rock, instead of recessed into the wall like normal outlets. This way if we ever sale the house, for whatever reason, and the new owners do not like the additional receptacles, well then all of that stuff can come right back out and all I will have to do is some drywall repairs. I also used my label maker and made labels identifying each receptacle and what breaker those receptacles are on, placed it on the conduit just right above the 4x4 box of receptacles, marked them as 110V or 220V as well.

Adding a ton of lighting and a cyclone for dust control

Yes shelving is definently on the list of things to do.
How bad does dust get?

Spent money on good dust collection

Buy combination machines sooner

Regards, Rod.

Insulated the walls, raised the ceiling, and leveled the floor. I still haven't done any of those things. It would have been really easy 25 years ago. Now, not so easy. :eek:

Install 120 outlet on the front or side of every big machine, Roof vent with door to close it off from the ceiling in winter.

Really good protection for my hearing.

What combination machines do you like?
I always heard alot of combos were lacking? But never owning one probably just my misconception.

This is a great one too. If you haven't tried them yet the 3M bluetooth muffs are great. I bought those for mowing never thought about bringing them to the shop.

Adding natural gas heating. I spent too many years using kerosene to heat my shop.

My shop is in a 30x36' dedicated, free standing building. The shop is actually 24x30'. I should have made the overall size of the building larger -- say 30X46' or 30X50'-- as at the time I had the money and the land. Now it would be too costly in terms of increased assessed property tax evaluation and construction costs, both of which have increased dramatically the last few years.

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Originally Posted by Nicholas Dirks

Yes shelving is definently on the list of things to do.
How bad does dust get?

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I assume that you mean dust collecting on the shelving? It all depends, my table saw is on the opposite side of the garage, but I have also had that bay emptied out, vacant of a car, in order to do other work. So when operating a sander in that area yes the shelves accumulate dust. A dust collector would be a good addition, used to have one, ran out of room, got rid of it. I keep an electric leaf blower that I use for some light lawn stuff and primarily purchased it to blow out the garage on occasion. Actually I keep our old area rugs in the garage, near the door to the house, vacuum them out once a week and blow the garage out when I do.
I went with making my own shelves over buying premade or predisgned stuff because I had a better idea of what or how I wanted them to be arranged, what was going on them, and wanted to make sure I could maximize all my efforts. I think the bench, shelves, lumber and shelf brackets all came to $400 or so. The self brackets had a 500# capacity rating to.

Cabinets to replace shelves for storage. Bought the Sauder HD Classics from Sams. So much cleaner, better looking and various plans notes etc can be stuck to the doors with magnets

Mini split AC with full insulation and a LOT of LED lighting. Finally got both done and now I can work comfortably in the shop, even on 120 F days. I just put on sunglasses if the lights are too bright :)