Modified Shop Layout with Slider

[Jon Snider]

I’ve made some changes in my potential shop layout since becoming interested in a sliding table saw. Nothing is set yet, but getting close enough to starting that I need to think about underjoist pipes, electric conduit and compressed air to center cluster plus elsewhere.

Send me your suggestions, gentle criticisms, etc. Shop is 40x26’. Drawing shows a 17’ whitewater dory which is among the shop’s functions. I’ve added the footprint for a K700S w/ a 10’ table, thinking anything I might get would be the same or smaller. The slider infeed overlaps the boat which will be fine, both for when there’s no dory inside, plus height will just clear gunwales of middle of boat. Plus I can always roll the dory outside.

Assembly table will fill that area when boat is out. Some (many) of the machine locations are undecided, but I’ve got to get duct drops from below to potential areas. Don’t own a CNC yet and will prob push it down a little and fit SuperMax sander in the corner area.

Planer - some commented on planer being so far from DC last time. I’d rather push it outside (will be a 4’ porch cover later) and just sweep up chips for stove kindling, esp when it’s Port Orford Cedar! Same for my belt sander and spindle sander which so far have defeated all dust collection efforts. So outside with them too. Or maybe sit on top of down draft table I’ll build in next to SCMS.

Main question - how should I use the space b/w 10 - 12:00 o’clock next to slider? Maybe one or both band saws, which I use a lot? The small one for curved work, the large one for ripping and esp resawing lutherie wood. Router table is also an option. Or maybe put the PM 66 there, but see below? I’m thinking about maybe getting a shaper/ slider combo but not sure how much I’d use it. Also down the road maybe a joInter / planer combo - but for now I like individual tools w/o having to swap b/w setups more.

PM 66 is shown in corner next to planer. I’m not ready to give it up and will see if I want to keep it on rollers for long rips and dados. We’ll see.

Thanks again for all previous and any future help. It is greatly appreciated.

Jon

[Jon Snider]

I didn’t understand some of Felder’s layout dimensions in their catalog and forgot the outrigger extension on the crosscut fence. New drawing below includes that 8.5’ at full extension. Pretty much squeezes the jointer out of original spot and it’s now along the wall where it can be pulled out on mobile base for longer lumber.

I moved a few other things around too.

[Jon Snider]

New diagram

[Kevin Jenness]

If it were me I would have the jointer and planer clustered together pointing in opposite directions. I would keep the cabinet saw and tuck it into the NW corner of the slider, again pointing opposite. If I were buying a new slider for a shop this size and had the money I would add the shaper with a router spindle.

[Patrick Kane]

+1 to what Kevin suggests. I ran my jointer in the same orientation as you have drawn for 4+ years. A few months ago i moved it to nest with my planer in opposite directions, and love the switch. I handle material a lot less now. Take it off a cart/saw horses on the infeed of the jointer and drop it off on a cart/horses on the outfeed of the jointer. Now, it is on the infeed of the planer with horses on the outfeed side ready to hold material as it comes out the outfeed. I would also nest the cabinet saw with the felder's outfeed table. I would need to play with it, but i dont know how i feel about the monster slider sitting in the middle of the room. I think it might be better to put it up against a wall. The right of the machine against a wall, i mean.

You need to think about work flow. I dont build boats, so i cant help you there, but just about all projects involve material selection(I like to have all my boards flat on a table or horses to view), breaking down of material into project parts(chopsaw, RAS, jig saw, circular saw, however you work), milling(joint, plane, potentially SLR with the slider), the actual shaping of the project parts into your project, final hand tool and finish prep, assembly, and finishing/sealing. Looking at your layouts, i see a project part jumping all around that room to complete the typical life of a woodworking project. I would layout the room so you are moving around in a circle from the door around the room to match the operations. Obviously some tweaks will need to be made to accommodate a boat in the room. The boat is essentially just your "assembly" area. Thats my $0.02. Im not a pro, and my layout isnt perfect, but ive made numerous errors over the years wit my layouts, and i see some of them repeated in your designs.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Jon, consider running the saw on a diagonal, so infeed lines up with the doors, and outfeed is to the little bandsaw, or the other way with infeed to the NE, outfeed to the SW. Because most functions of the average slider shop (in my experience) don't require full stoke/width, this diagonal layout gives you access to a lot of real estate off the left and right of the saw to use for assemble spaces, temporary parking/storage, or a place for some other tools, AND maintain full slider capacity when needed. Good call on the Felder

[Mike Heidrick]

I share infeed and outfeed between planer and jointer (20" and 12") - Why do you guys suggest jointer opposite direction of planer?

[Kevin Jenness]

I orient each piece of stock going over the jointer to minimize tearout. With the planer pointing in the opposite direction each piece goes into the planer in the same orientation, otherwise I would have to reverse its direction.

[Jon Snider]

Thanks for all replies. I’ll address a few questions.

The assembly area area of the shop is where the boat is, the usual biggest “assembly” piece. That location is fixed as it has to go in and out of the carriage doors, and that’s the best spot for them b/c of outside access.

When a boat isn’t being built, or God forbid repaired (going down the Grand next summer), the assembly table moves over there. I probably won’t park the assembly table on the left, just drew it in at the last moment to not forget it.

The left half of the shop is the machinery area, and closest to the DC. It’s under the loft w/ a 10’ ceiling. If I orient the slider somewhere else such as show in this latest pic on the back wall, it seems at first glance I lose an entire wall of spots for other machines. I’m def open to any ideas here though. Will have to play with my tool cutouts at home and see how a diagonal slider fits. I’m more of a square and 90 degree kind of guy, but looking.

Putting something next to the “northwest” corner of the slider is a top interest. Just not sure what, esp if I get a combo shaper/saw. Router table is an option but many say shaper has replaced that for them. I like my router table but there plenty of other less prime spots it can fit. Kevin’s idea of putting the PM 66 there is a good one but if what everyone who has a slider says is correct, it will soon not be needed. We’ll see, which is why I “parked” it near the door for long rips, maybe dados (although my router and track guide work great for that). If PM 66 gets fired, I can just use that spot for something else. Right now I’m not deciding every exact spot, just trying to plan for duct, conduit, and air lines under floor.

Planer / joiner - some day I might get a combo unit and place it somewhere on the left. Right now I plane a ton of long stuff for boat parts plus oars, etc. For now I’d much rather send the chips outside , thus location next to door, rather than put in a left shop location and have to hook up, and fill up, the DC bin. I admit I’m a little quirky here but we all use our shops differently.

I rarely use my jointer unless for lutherie (where I don’t need length) and the occ furniture project. If a slider removes much if not all of edge work, I’ll need to see how the jointer fits into my future work flow.

Thx again very much. Please keep sending ideas my way.

[Jon Snider]

Pic didn’t load. With slider next to wall, seems like I’m wasting too much space in center and bottom part of shop.

[Jim Becker]

Good catch on the outrigger. That's what caused me to cut down the slider's table to the right on mine so that I had better use of the outrigger which I leave on full time now, given I can actually walk buy it after that change. You don't really need a lot of table to the right of the blade once you adapt to using the slider to its full potential relative to material handling. Diagonal certainly is an option...as long as your shop floor is flat and not sloped as a garage might be. If it's sloped, the slider is best either with the slope or across the slope. You can place other gear around the slider any way you feel comfortable as per my post in the other thread...it's mostly a matter of compatible heights and insuring one machine's "parts" don't interfere with another machines "actions".

I have my J/P in a position that would appear at the bottom of your diagram and parallel to the slider. That allows me to bounce between them in a convenient way and in my particular shop, is the most efficient placements of them.

[Jon Snider]

Thanks Jim, was hoping you’d chime in. Replies to some of your comments below:


You don't really need a lot of table to the right of the blade once you adapt to using the slider to its full potential relative to material handling.

Assuming you want to rip a sheet of plywood in half, you could cut distance from blade to table edge down to as little as 24” (leaving some space for board overhang off table)? What am I missing here for why you’d need more?


Diagonal certainly is an option...as long as your shop floor is flat and not sloped as a garage might be. If it's sloped, the slider is best either with the slope or across the slope. You can place other gear around the slider any way you feel comfortable as per my post in the other thread...it's mostly a matter of compatible heights and insuring one machine's "parts" don't interfere with another machines "actions".

Shop floor is flat but I’m not yet seeing how a diagonal opens anything up. Will play w models tonight. My wife thinks I’m either nuts or have reverted to childhood. Or both.


I have my J/P in a position that would appear at the bottom of your diagram and parallel to the slider. That allows me to bounce between them in a convenient way and in my particular shop, is the most efficient placements of them.

And take out my beloved SCMS?! Actually, I’m looking at cutting down size or moving location. Could also just park it on my Dewalt Work stand.

Thx again.

[Jim Becker]

You only really need the table to the right to support the "off-cut" reasonably. Cut down, mine is at about 32" and if I didn't have a wall like I do, I could live with shorter since material could then hang off the end.

If you reverse the direction of the slider, you could put the J/P in essentially the same arrangement I use for "bouncing"...and have no need to disrupt your beloved miter station.

[James Baker SD]

what happened to the drill press shown in the earliest sketch? I was going to suggest not putting it in a corner as you might need to drill a hole in the middle of a long board. I have my drill press close to my bandsaw, both in the middle of a wall space. by adjusting drill table height, it doesn't interfere with resawing a long board and when drilling in the middle of along board, I just move the bandsaw's fence out of the way. Unlike you, I don't have a dedicated shop, mine has a car parked in it at night, so I had to play some games with cramming stuff in.

[Jon Snider]

Good eye. The drill press cutout is floating around with the router table one, looking for a home