Few questions 15x18 Workshop

[Scott Winter]

Hey all,

I am getting ready to break ground in my basement to convert it to a workshop. I'll have a dedicated 15'x18' space to make things happen. It's not ideally how big (or small I guess) I would like it to be, but I've drawn out plans to make sure I'll have enough room for my essentials. I'll just have to get crafty when it comes to storage and things like that.

Q1. My home HVAC is in a closet that is built under my stairs to go upstairs which will be part of my workshop. I don't want any saw dust causing issues with it. I was thinking of hanging a thick blanket (maybe a sports theme one to look decent?) in front of the door to sort of "filter" the air going into there. Right now my closet doors are louver style, so there are plenty of places for dust to find its way into the closet. Would love some recommendations.



Q2. I have most of the portable power tools, and hand tools to get me started (drills, impact drivers, block planes, stanley 3 thru 8 bench planes, saws, etc etc), but I am pretty limited on the larger tools. I have a Hitachi C10RJ job site saw that works for my needs now (have to do all my big cuts outside), but definitely not something I want as a dedicated table saw. Here is my "wish list" that I tried to keep under $5k (incl. shipping). These prices are all new, so I will definitely look at the secondhand market to save some money. Do you think a 15'x18' workshop would be able to house these comfortably? I mean they look fine in my drawing plans, but that doesn't always work out in reality!

1) Sawstop 36" Contractor Table Saw w/T glide fence $1950
2) Rikon 1.5HP 14" band saw $800
3) Dewalt DW735X Planer w/Shelix cutter head $1100
4) Festool ROS $200
5) Strong shop vac + Dust Deputy for dust collection ~$200
6) Disc/Belt sander combo $75 (Harbor Freight)
7) Spindle Sander $130

[Thomas Canfield]

Some more information about the HVAC system would help. Where is the return air and filters? Is this gas or electric, and if gas will the combustion air be coming through the blanket/door filter? Does HVAC provide any air to basement? Lots of questions, but dust will be a big issue in any case. I have a 16x24 shop with more than your list including a Powermatic 3520 and Nova Comet Midi lathes and floor drill press. Shop gets full and it will depend on the type of work you are planning. I cannot do any major cabinet or furniture type work, but interest has turned to turning so still use most tools.

[Scott Winter]

Some more information about the HVAC system would help. Where is the return air and filters? Is this gas or electric, and if gas will the combustion air be coming through the blanket/door filter? Does HVAC provide any air to basement? Lots of questions, but dust will be a big issue in any case. I have a 16x24 shop with more than your list including a Powermatic 3520 and Nova Comet Midi lathes and floor drill press. Shop gets full and it will depend on the type of work you are planning. I cannot do any major cabinet or furniture type work, but interest has turned to turning so still use most tools.

It is electric, and there is no vents into the basement. It only heat/cools upstairs.

[Bryan Lisowski]

I will tackle your tool list.

Personally I would go for a grizzly 691 or 1023, or a used cabinet saw. The step up from a jobsite saw to a contractor saw is minor in my opinion. As for the planer, I would skip the Byrd head. You don't mention a jointer and the savings from the table saw and Byrd head would get you close. Bandsaw is fine. Being a big fan of festool, I won't argue with the sander, but I would consider adding a festool CT instead of your shop vac. The auto on feature is what sold me, I always forgot to turn regular shop vac on. I would get the Rigid spindle sander instead of the 2 you mentioned. Hope this helps.

[Robert Cherry]

I agree with Bryan. Table saw, jointer, a way to cross-cut and dust collection would be tops on my list, then a bandsaw, then the sanders. Don’t underestimate the space needed for materials and assembly as well. With careful planning you can use the tablesaw out feed table as your assembly area to save space. With 18’ you will not have enough room to rip a 4x8 sheet of plywood (unless you are really skinny) so perhaps a good track saw as well.

That would be my recommendation for a general woodworking shop in that space.

[Van Huskey]

I'll also take a stab at the tools.

I would never push someone away from a Sawstop unless their budget allowed a good slider. The SS contractors saw is solid, I prefer a cabinet saw but your fingers are not my fingers.

The Rikon 10-324 is an OK saw but I think you would be better served by waiting and getting the 10-326 when it is on sale it is just $100 more than the regular price of the 10-324.

Given your small shop you might want to look at the long term (since you will almost certainly want a jointer) and consider jointer/planer combos. They help make the most of small shops.

The Festool you are talking about is the ETS 125, it is a good sander BUT it is a small orbit finish sander best suited to grits 180 and above (I have several of these and never have lower then 220 on them). If you budget rules out the more general purpose Festool ROS then I suggest getting the Bosch ROS65VC which is about the same price and only a small step down from the similar Festool offerings.

Not a fan of shop vacs for dust collection for machines. Dust collection is one place you should not skimp on especially when the shop is not completely isolated from living space.

Stationary sanders are more of a luxury than other machines that you are "missing" IMO. A jointer, drill press and router table are just three that would be a higher priority for me. Putting them off allows more time to get good used deals on better quality sanders. Sanders for the most part just do what you can do by hand faster, while true for a jointer, drill press and router table too you save much more time and effort with those than small stationary sanders.

[Tim M Tuttle]

The step up from a jobsite saw to a contractor saw is minor in my opinion.

I have the SS contractor saw and I dont think any jobsite saw is in the same stratosphere. The fence alone is worth the upgrade.

[Bryan Lisowski]

I have the SS contractor saw and I dont think any jobsite saw is in the same stratosphere. The fence alone is worth the upgrade.

Tim, I'm sure the SS contractor saw is nice, I put a Vega fence on my contractor saw and agree it is better than a standard fence as I'm sure the SS fence is. However I wish I would have given more thought to getting a cabinet saw than upgrading from my jobsite saw to my current. I don't feel the difference is that significant. So at this time I have 2 saws and spent close to $1100 (with fence upgrade) and to my own fault could have gotten a better saw for not much more, if I sought opinions from others.

[Robert Engel]

Shop air entering your house can be a big issue, especially when dealing with products like China plywood and MDF.

1. Check the air handler that all the seams and the access doors need to be air tight (they should be anyway). Use the metal type duct tape to tape off all the seams. The access door can be dealt with weather stripping.

2. Be sure the closet has an air tight door.

To answer your other question, its doable, but its going to be tight. Lots of space saving ideas out there to research.

I would definitely invest in an air filtration unit and a good quality respirator.

35 years ago, I started out in a 12x16 shop and had a table saw, bandsaw and radial arm in there.

The first big issue right away was where to I store projects and parts because the whole workbench can be taken up just storing the project while in progress.

Now, I've got 1800 SF and need more room!!

[Scott Winter]

You guys rock!

I opted to not get a jointer because it is just too large. I am not going to be making a living woodworking, so I will just use my hand planes to joint my face/edges, and finish them on the table saw & planer. I do enjoy the "neanderthal" approach a lot, so the extra work isn't a huge deal to me.

As for the contractor vs cabinet debate. I just don't see how another $700-800 additional investment into the cabinet saw would be better served versus using that money towards other tools.

I already have a miter saw (forgot to mention), and Dewalt ROS, so I am going to hold off on the Festool ROS for now since the Dewalt works fine with my needs.

Also going to ditch the shop vac setup, and go with something like a HF dust collector and do some of the modifications to it. Then focus on additional filtration inside the shop so nothing lingers upstairs or in my HVAC closet.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Tim, I'm sure the SS contractor saw is nice, I put a Vega fence on my contractor saw and agree it is better than a standard fence as I'm sure the SS fence is. However I wish I would have given more thought to getting a cabinet saw than upgrading from my jobsite saw to my current. I don't feel the difference is that significant. So at this time I have 2 saws and spent close to $1100 (with fence upgrade) and to my own fault could have gotten a better saw for not much more, if I sought opinions from others.

I am in agreement that the jump in price to a cabinet saw is worth it over a contractor saw. After a mobile base, dust collection panel, extra brake, dado brake, and dado stack I was at almost $2600 for my SS contractor saw. I could have gotten the PCS with mobile base, the extra brakes and dado stack and still kept it under $3000. And that includes cast iron wings. My contractor saw only has stamped steel wings. I went there looking at the Jobsite saw and changed my mind to the contractor saw so I wasn't even entertaining the PCS. Wish I would have gotten the PCS.

[Jens Hoffmann]

Ask yourself if you really need a table saw. It takes up a lot of space and budget. You can do a lot with saws. Just food for thought... it all depends on how you want to work

[Frank Pratt]

The step up from a jobsite saw to a contractor saw is minor in my opinion.

I strongly disagree with this. The difference in capability between the two is huge. Tiny table, small, mediocre fence at best, loud, unstable, low power. There is far less difference between a contractor & cabinet saw. The differences between those are more along the lines of the cabinet saw being much nicer to use. I went from a 1.5 HP contractor to a 3 HP PCS & the old saw would do most of what the new will, it's just such a much more pleasurable experience to use the new saw. Well, there is the power thing too

[Bryan Lisowski]

I strongly disagree with this. The difference in capability between the two is huge. Tiny table, small, mediocre fence at best, loud, unstable, low power. There is far less difference between a contractor & cabinet saw. The differences between those are more along the lines of the cabinet saw being much nicer to use. I went from a 1.5 HP contractor to a 3 HP PCS & the old saw would do most of what the new will, it's just such a much more pleasurable experience to use the new saw. Well, there is the power thing too

If your talking the SS contractor saw maybe I would agree, but most contractor saws I am aware of are in the $500-$700 range. I'm not making this a price thing, but the OP was basically budgeting $2000 for a contractor saw, when he could buy a Grizzly or the PM 1000 saw for the same price. I have a rigid jobsite saw and a PC contractor saw, and the only reall difference is the main table is cast iron, power, ability to take dado stack is about the same, both fences stink (why I upgraded to vega). So we can agree to disagree, but my experience dictates my opinion, and also why in another post, I should have just bought a cabinet saw in the first place.

[Tom Bender]

A table saw in a small shop can resemble an aircraft carrier. A cabinet saw is a little more compact than a contractor's saw so that can help. Also I would not put it on wheels, they just take up space. Mine is slid all the way to the right against the wall. This works well. Outfeed is just a roller. So my shop is bench centered. I can work all the way around it. Lunchbox planer with sled and no jointer. Two Dewalt sanders, one with 80 grit (which it handles easily, not sure why a Festool would not) and one with fine paper. Definitely a floor model drill press. As mentioned, stationary sanders are a convenience.