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Thread: Hybrid Workshop Size?

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
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    Edmond, Oklahoma
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    Joe, based on the lay out work I have done so far using models and scale drawings, I am very impressed with how well you have made your space work. I appreciate all of the good storage ideas too.

    One question, what is an SCM, a sharpening station?

    Thanks and regards,

    Stew

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Fairbanks AK
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    The paper cut out model to scale is brilliant. I have done the entire living area of our home, with furniture pieces, so my wife can commit to a thing before I move the couch the first time. Same in the garage/shop for me.

    One thing you might add is a scale model of the typical parts for whatever thing it is you want to make - and where are those going to go in the shop while you are making the last pieces?

    In my current iteration I have room for both my bench and an assembly table and I really like having an assembly table. Alas, I will eventually have to give back some floor space. I just finished painting the entire garage, so I have heaps of items on the south and east wall of the garage, but room for a temporary assembly table in the NW corner.

    I am also about to bump the "sharpening station thread" with my own findings added to some good stuff already posted.

  3. #18
    Jealous of those with the big shops.

    But I've had a hybrid shop(s) over the past 25 years, none more than 450 sq ft. Sometimes it would be tight when I was working on a big project. But I've always been able to make do. It does help that they've been dedicated and not shared with cars/lawn equipment, etc.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Lafayette, Indiana
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    1,378
    SCM - Sliding Compound Miter. The station is fairly crude cabinet that provides storage for hand power tools, nail guns, files …The dust hood is just a plywood box with a 6” dust port in the back. These are old pics. I have since put a face frame on it and added some cubbies on top to hold more stuff - masking tape, moisture meter, square. Since this is not up against a wall, the back of the dust hood was free for F clamp storage.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  5. #20
    About the paper cutouts, I used ductwork cutouts to design my system dust collection layout. I did both vertical and horizontal plane layouts. The cutouts showed me whether an idea worked or not. I was packing my branches closer together than most commercial shops to create a tool cluster. In several instances, the fittings were too big to make the connections I wanted and the cutouts helped me visualize the problem within a inch or so. I still had to do some math and design some custom fittings before I ordered parts. A CAD expert could have drawn it within a fraction of an inch and avoided the math. I am not that kind of expert.

    I used mostly Sketch-Up for layout of tools with models of major tools from the Sketch-up Warehouse. Sketch-up can be frustrating and time consuming for someone who does not know it pretty well or have ready access to an expert. Eventually, I got a good picture of the shop layout that is substantially the way it wound up, mainly because I refused to quit working on it. I don’t know if I would use Sketch-up again. Might go with paper cutouts.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
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    A friend of mine is trying to frame up her Shop.....a 24' x 24' with a poured concrete floor...and trying to swing 24' trusses up, by herself...
    A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    N. Idaho
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    1,621
    Hi Stew,

    Great to hear you’re about to get a shop. I’m on my fifth or sixth shop, now in a double car garage. A couple thoughts:

    -for the last two, I designed them with sketch up. In the last shop, I printed out a version on paper and that was easier in the end. In both cases, the exercise was merely a starting point for knowing that all the machines could fit with reasonable clearances around them. But it took literally years of fiddling to get to the current configuration and I’m probably not done!

    -the most important thing I’ve done to improve the shop has been to build a separate shed for the majority of my wood storage AND a bunch of the “stuff” that one finds in a garage.

    -the biggest improvement I could make would be to separate the shop from a garage because it remains a constant challenge to keep “stuff” from accumulating in the open spaces and flat surfaces as we go through daily life. Separating storage/garage space from WW space might be more important than the absolute amount of space once over 300-400 sq ft. And becomes even more important in shops smaller than 300 sf.

    -go read through Derek’s website on his shop layout if you haven’t. I have a slightly different layout but followed many of the same principles.

    Will enjoy watching your progress!

    best,
    Chris
    "You can observe a lot just by watching."
    --Yogi Berra

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    New England area
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    588
    While he obviously didn't have machine tools, Duncan Phyfe's first shop was purported to have been about the size of a modern two-car garage, and he had employees at that time as well.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Fairbanks AK
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    As Christopher Charles has already explicated elegantly, the paper cutout idea is intuitive and easy to use.

    I sincerely hope in our next home I will not be competing for shop space/vs garage/ vs long term storage space with my spouse. This one is, as happily married space sharing folks already know, an elephant with big tusks and a short temper.

    One step I have taken with say jointer, tool chests and work bench is to draw them on paper with the drawers open and my feet in front of the open drawers to more accurately understand the space required.

    In 600sqft with spouse vehicle in, and my shave horse sold online, there simply isn't room for a chip collector. At 24x60 inches my snowthrower is bigger than my 24x48 workbench, and I keep a face cord of stove wood in the garage in our six winter months. YMMV, but I take my planer and jointer out onto the driveway for stock prep.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Edmond, Oklahoma
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    Thanks for the heads up on Derek's website, but do you have a link, or what I can do a search for?

    The way things look now, it will probably be six months at best before I will actually have a shop. There are permitting hoops to jump through, a dirt work contractor to hire, a concrete guy to hire, electricians for the main lead in, etc. I don't know how much of it I will build myself either. I may do the walls, insulation, much of the wiring, etc., but will likely hire putting on the roof.

    Stew

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    SCal
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    1,478
    I too just built... about 1400sf + 300sf of shed space for wood storage and supply storage.
    I downsized a lot, to make it work, but sadly still too tight for my liking.
    I have TS, BS, J and PL, oh, and drill press and scroll saw. I have lots of work surfaces, benches, assembly tables, storage tables, etc. Outside, i have a 5x10' cut table set up on saw horses and 2.5" thick styrofoam for sheet break down. I love work top area, it always gets filled. Ceiling height matters a lot, I went with 14ft ceilings, and spent a fortune on New Age Storage racks all along the walls and drop down 4x8 storage to get things off the floor! I built a tool room wihin the space, 12x9' to hold any tool that can rust.. .I have a dehumidifier in that room that keeps humidity below 30%, NO RUST. It feeds into an AC condensate pump to a drain. I hated the constant maint on my tools to prevent rust or even worse, to remove it...very happy with this decision. gosh does it work! When u think about it, your tools are barely used 3% of the time, if you live in a rust prone area, well they spend 97% of their lives in rust free climate....
    A lot depends on how much work top space you need, as those are major floor hogs. Bottom line, it worked out too tight, but like all of us, we find a way to make it work. I had no option, could not go bigger. While in between shops, I worked out of a 500sf garage, and made that work too, of course, most of my stuff was in storage
    A few issues on construction...
    going bigger, does not cost the same per sf as the base size, so u get more bang for the buck on the later sf u add, most costs do not scale, except things like concrete, roof, etc.
    high ceilings matter if you need storage, that frees up floor space, easier to swing boards around.
    the basement is a great idea if u can pull that off, for me, not an option due to codes...
    If u are too far from the house, or its a trip up stairs, put a john in there , very few sf taken.
    As others mentioned, if you build much bigger than you think, within months, u will have filled that space...of course, budget considerations matter, not overlooking the obvious.
    Be sure to bring enough power in, even if you dont use it all, for re sale...200amp panel minimum IMO. Be sure you have the capacity available first, same with sewer lines for added sink and drains, etc.
    Lighting, I used LED lights throughout, about 100w fixtures mounted above all surfaces, controlled by motion, so never turn lights on and off, so put receptacles everywhere.
    Windows eat up wall space, but they sure let in light... if you have the roof above you, consider skylights, so bright and cheerful, assuming u work during the day. you can save a lot of useful wall space for storage. Of course codes typically require so much sf glazing per sf of floor.
    Ventilation.... be sure to move stale air out, unless its ice cold out, so fans and dampers on the two ends...
    Flooring... a sound absorbing flooring sure helps, and is easier on the feet...
    A lot to think about, u are doing it right by asking for input
    hopes this helps

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Edmond, Oklahoma
    Posts
    1,749
    Will,

    Thanks for the input. I am currently on hold, as we are remodeling the house, and I am currently building shelves for the wife's kitchen pantry as the current project, etc. You are right about the input from this site, great suggestions from folks, several things I had not thought about.

    I am very thankful for all of the input from everyone. When I can get back to the shop planning, permitting, etc., I intend to read all of the notes again, maybe 2 or 3 times so I don't overlook good points!

    Thanks and regards,

    Stew

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
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    If you can you might want to have a way to enclose a small part of the shop for heating and cooling. Maybe a movable (sectional or folding) wall. This could help on heating and air conditioning costs while having a comfortable place to work during different seasons.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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