Shop Build...should be a fun journey...

[Leigh Betsch]

I'm sure you are going to find the best layout for your needs. I went through the entire process last year also. I tried hard to get my slider positioned so the outrigger would utilize the ally space in front of the overhead garage door and then pull back out of the way when I need to open the door. In the end I wasn't able to make that work. I also wanted to have my slider operator side face the walk door, so every time I entered the shop it would great me and make me smile. But that didn't work either. In the end I have a great work flow and excellent space but there is that nagging thought that it could have been better, some how.

[Patty Hann]

Looks like a Rockler DustRight thingy. I have one, it's adequate -- I lined mine with that sound dampening foam for cars, helps contain the noise quite a bit.

Thank you (Jim verified your answer in a later post).... I think I will attempt to build it as someone suggested...plywood and cut some holes.
But I will also use your sound dampening foam suggestion.

[Jim Becker]

Leigh, the bottom line really is when all the tools are in the space and you can measure and adjust and figure and dither and come up with what actually works. Even though I'm a pretty anal person, after shifting things around multiple times, I'm really a lot more comfortable with the angles than I thought I would be and more importantly, it made things more functional for material movement and workflow. It surprised me for sure...

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Limited time today due to some other commitments, but I got some coat hooks installed near the door so I don't have to toss outerwear onto a tool anymore and also got the supports installed up in the ceiling for the air filter. I'll get that hung as soon as I have a second person to help...even on the scaffold, it's too much weight up above my head to deal with safely. With two people, it will also be a lot easier to slip the four eyes on the unit over the four hooks on the supports.

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[Alan Lightstone]

Limited time today due to some other commitments, but I got some coat hooks installed near the door so I don't have to toss outerwear onto a tool anymore and also got the supports installed up in the ceiling for the air filter. I'll get that hung as soon as I have a second person to help...even on the scaffold, it's too much weight up above my head to deal with safely. With two people, it will also be a lot easier to slip the four eyes on the unit over the four hooks on the supports.

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I figured out a neat way to install the air cleaners myself safely. I attached a long chain to each hook with a carabiner. I then went one at a time reducing the length of the chain (moving the carabiner up the chain), moving that corner of the air cleaner up maybe 4-6" at a time. Took a long time, but I was safely able to lift the air cleaner to the desired height by myself. Once at the desired height, I substituted a shorter chain with carabiners for each hook.

I did this in my old and new workshop, and it really worked well. Even on a scaffold, I'd have no desire to lift one of those over my head.

[Jim Becker]

I thought about doing something like that, Alan, but I'd have to buy chain, etc. I'll just get my daughter's SO Dan to stop by for ten minutes since they live just down the street. They were in Boston for a comedy club show this weekend and got back late last night, so I need to let them sleep a bit.

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Yesterday, I spent some low-key time cleaning up my tool storage drawers; getting rid of a few years of accumulated dust/dirt/shavings and culling un-needed/un-worthy things to donate rather than taking up space and never getting used. I did buy a shade for the window near the CNC, but it's too narrow and the actual size I need doesn't seem to be on local shelves. So I ordered one from Amazon. Late afternoon sun is brutal through that window when standing at the computer for the CNC, so a shade on the upper half of the window is necessary. Today, I'll be puttering some more.

[Jim Becker]

I decided that I liked the machine arrangement and proceeded to get provisions for electric and dust collection to the two spots that needed it from overhead. After a quick trip to the home center for "stuff", I had what I needed. My original intention was to use a couple pieces of Unistrut, but I honestly couldn't justify $37 a pop (for just the strut, not the other things needed) vs $5.75 a pop for a 10' 2x3. So wood got the nod and after it was painted it blended in nicely, too. Since it's not a good idea to put untreated wood directly in contact with the floor, especially end-grain, I slapped a small piece of PVC on the bottom of each pole to isolate the wood from the concrete.

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Aside from drilling some holes in my nice concrete floor, each pole got a 2x4 support that spanned the relevant trusses after I located the position where each needed to live to avoid any conflicts with machine operation. And then a coat of the same paint that's on the walls.

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I then moved on to getting the electrical needs satisfied. The BS/JP and DP got two 240v 30 amp outlets plus a duplex 120v outlet and the TS/Aux position got one 240v 30 amp outlet plus a 120v duplex outlet. These are all associated with the existing machine shared circuit for the 240v tools and the "utility B" 120v circuit. Some termination work is completed, but I need 10 additional feet of 10-2 to complete the work...the 250' of 10-2 I bought for the shop project just wasn't quite long enough. LOL The local electrical supply sells by the foot so I'll pick that up in the morning.

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The quick connect ductwork I used in the temporary gara-shop is just enough 5" components to handle these two drops from the ceiling with a 5" port for the J/P and the TS and a 4" port for the BS and for Aux use near the saw, such as for the router table or one of the other mobile tools. I'll get that up next so it's out of the way and can then start working out the duct work needs for the rest of the solution and get the components bought. (ching...ching...)

[Patty Hann]

I figured out a neat way to install the air cleaners myself safely. I attached a long chain to each hook with a carabiner. I then went one at a time reducing the length of the chain (moving the carabiner up the chain), moving that corner of the air cleaner up maybe 4-6" at a time. Took a long time, but I was safely able to lift the air cleaner to the desired height by myself. Once at the desired height, I substituted a shorter chain with carabiners for each hook.

I did this in my old and new workshop, and it really worked well. Even on a scaffold, I'd have no desire to lift one of those over my head.

Wow. I already considered doing exactly that way if I couldn't get help to lift my air cleaner (I'm 5-5 @135# ...and not a lot of upper body strength.)
Good to know it isn't a harebrained scheme (I get them---H-B ideas---every so often)
The only thing I didn't think of was using the carbiners.... great idea.

[Jim Becker]

I'll take a healthy twenty-something over a chain and carabiner setup anytime. LOL

[Alan Lightstone]

I'll take a healthy twenty-something over a chain and carabiner setup anytime. LOL

Still have to lift this beast over your head.

And about finding that healthy twenty-something...

[Jim Becker]

The "twenty-something" is easy for me...younger daughter's SO (they live about a mile from here) and promise of dinner afterward. Pretty good pay for ten minutes of work!

[Jim Becker]

This afternoon I moved on to starting the dust collection. As previously noted, the 5" quick connect ductwork I had in the temporary gara-shop is being employed for the drops to the two "machine islands" plus a little more. I'll then be able to plan for and spec out what I need from the nice folks at Blastgate Company to build out (and back to the DC) from there. For these two drop locations, I fabricated from cleats from 2x3 scrap to both provide for a way to hold the duct work as well as to offset it from the posts so the duct would clear structure up above. Those cleats were positioned after taking some measurements from the duct assembled on the ground, BTW. The cleats were "made pretty" with some paint once fastened to the posts. It's a little thing, but it really makes things look clean and neat as well as helps "disappear" the posts into the visual background. I like that and I have plenty of the paint. LOL

I got the back "island" with the J/P and BS completed today and am very happy with it. It served a good purpose, too, as it gave clear indication on what appears to be the best way to lay out the entire duct network. I am trying really hard to keep it compact with the exception of one "end of run" utility drop that will get pushed forward in the room to serve overhead for tools like the drum sander and my downdraft table which are both mobile.

Today's results:

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You will note from the second photo that I'm running the ductwork up above the lower chords of the trusses which makes it also "disappear" from view in most cases.

[Jim Becker]

I forgot to post about it yesterday, but the air cleaner did go up on the ceiling hooks on Tuesday evening and things got buttoned up yesterday. It's out of the way, doesn't block light in any material way and works just fine with the on/off switch on the wall. This tool is fed from the "Utility C" circuit which is more or less all the outside outlets plus a feed to the shed. With little actual use, tagging the air cleaner to it made sense instead of connecting it to the two general 120v circuits that are tagged for in-shop use.

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Today was more "cleaning up loose ends". As the last components I needed to finish up the air system finally arrived, that project was completed and works exactly as intended. I have to say that working with the RapidAir setup is easy, neat and pretty hassle-free. In addition to that, the second "machine island" DC drop was hung. This also worked out exactly as it was expected to and now that all the components from the temporary gara-shop are accounted for, I can work on finalizing "the list" of what I need to run out/back the rest of the ductwork system.

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At the end of the afternoon, I started mentally working out the lumber storage setup by loosely laying down the supports that will keep the ends of stuff off the floor. This helps to visualize the space and envision various ways to provide appropriate support and separation of materials for easy access. Most of the storage will be vertical in this shop, including sheet goods which will be in the corner. There will be no rush here as getting it "right" is the goal for the first and hopefully only iteration.

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[Patty Hann]

Jim, I noticed you hung the filtration unit quite some distance from the the walls.
I was reading about where to mount those types of units and regardless of the manufacturer (jet, Rikon, Wen etc) they all say pretty much the same thing: at least 6 feet above the floor and on a long wall with the intake no more than, oh, I guess 6 to 12 inches from the wall.
So except for being 6 feet above the floor, yours isn't really near any walls (not within 12 inches, anyway).
So does it really matter? (I've wondered that for a long time after I'd seen the variety of locations where these things are hung).
I would dearly love NOT to put mine 12 inches from a wall.

[Jim Becker]

Patty, I think you'll find that most folks hang them somewhere in the middle. While I personally prefer it close to the wall...and that's how I had it at the old shop...there were some other considerations, including having it closer to where I will be spraying finishes (waterborne) but not taking it away from near the CNC machine. It's also more in line with the airflow from my mini split so if I feel I need to augment airflow during extreme cold using the air cleaner as the fan to do so, it's in a good spot. There are always compromises. Ideally, I'd have two of these, but I don't. A big part of placement for air filtration is getting a flow going through the room and using a wall to help with that is part of the theory.

[Jack Frederick]

Patty, I think every shop has a personality. Not only yours, but equipment and its lay-out, all of which will influence the air circulation in the space. Putting it by the wall may facilitate circulation flow but the real determinant is how do you run it? If it is always on it will do a great job. If you run it intermittently it will do less. I’m moving into my third work space with the same unit Jim has. I am going to place it away from the bench area as I don’t want to hear it so much. I appreciate quiet in the shop when I can get it.