x-no-archive:yes
How big is the area you work. Right now I have everything in my garage
and it is very cramped. And a pain to sweep up all the sawdust when
doen to keep it from being tracked in the house.I would liek to build
something but funds are short. I have a 12x16 shed, but it has a gravel
floor and no electricity. I am just seeeing what you guys do. Would a
plywood floor be ok?
bob wrote:
> I probably hold title to the world's smallest shop, at 13 x 15, but with
> good organization, it works very well.
I think I have you beat - less than 9'x11'. No TS, BS and DP are on
wheels, lumber is stored under the bench, almost every wall space and
most of the ceiling is covered with shelves or hanging tools. Hence,
the queen size bed I'm finishing right now is spread all over the
apartment upstairs (SWMBO has been amazingly patient and has even done
most of the finishing!)
Router table is next to the workbench, and gets pulled out when needed.
Since it's in the basement of an older house, a dehumidifier is very
important - I've been trying to decide recently whether I can somehow
suspend that from the ceiling, or build a work surface over it. I just
got a belt/disc sander, and right now that's hanging on the wall above
the dehumidifier.
Sheet goods obviously have to be cut down before entering the shop.
Outfeed roller stand for router table or BS often sits outside the shop
door when working with longer pieces. Dust collection and cleanup is
accomplished with a 9-gal shopvac + HEPA filter.
It's far from ideal, but since we have to rent right now, I'm grateful
for any shop space at all, for a generous and flexible landlord, and
for a patient downstairs neighbor (whose TV is just upstairs from the
shop). Shop space is definitely a priority when we buy a house
(hopefully in the very near future!). It's also a good thing I've kind
of started down the slippery slope towards galoot-hood - you can spend
a lot of money on hand planes without taking up much space in the shop!
Andy
PS - there have been a variety of threads on small shops here in the
past - search google groups archives for "small shop" for more
ideas/stories.
stryped wrote:
> x-no-archive:yes
>
> How big is the area you work. Right now I have everything in my garage
> and it is very cramped. And a pain to sweep up all the sawdust when
> doen to keep it from being tracked in the house.I would liek to build
> something but funds are short. I have a 12x16 shed, but it has a gravel
> floor and no electricity. I am just seeeing what you guys do. Would a
> plywood floor be ok?
If it was me, I'd spend the money to put insulation in the garage.
It's not that bad to sweep up the floor after a day of wood working. If
you're in a rush, just clean off the walkway into the house.
I don't think a gravel floor lends itself well to woodworking. Even if
it's always dry, what happens when you are putting together a bookshelf
or trying to finish it? The dust and crap will come up from the gravel
and ruin your finish. Not to mention a gravel floor will make it
impossible to roll things around on mobile bases.
Stay in the garage. Especially since you have electricity in there.
Move the bikes, shovels, and all that crap to the shed, so you have
more room in the garage.
roemax wrote:
> My shop is 32x22 and could be twice the size
> 60x40 would be just about right
>
> what ever you build, it will be to small
Enough space is definitely a good thing, but I do believe there's a
point of diminising returns. And it comes much earlier than I once
would have thought. The trouble with too much space is that I lose my
incentive to use it efficiently. Rather than thinking about how I can
fit all of my clamps into the area around my assembly table, and
building an appropriate storage solution, I can just hang them on the
wall on the other side of the shop. Takes just a couple minutes to
screw a board to the wall. But then, late in a complex glue-up, I've
got to hustle across the shop to grab one, bruising a rib on an
overhanging 6-footer I used because it was the only one nearby, and
generally getting pissed off about the whole process.
JP
"stryped" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> How big is the area you work. Right now I have everything in my garage
> and it is very cramped. And a pain to sweep up all the sawdust when
> doen to keep it from being tracked in the house.I would liek to build
> something but funds are short. I have a 12x16 shed, but it has a gravel
> floor and no electricity. I am just seeeing what you guys do. Would a
> plywood floor be ok?
>
My shop is my garage. It 18' x 25'. That sounds large and is for a 2 car
garage but it daily houses my wife's car, washer and dryer, freezer, water
heater, 2 large and tall tool chests, drill press, router table, dust
collector, 15" planer, spindle sander, garbage container, 20 gal compressor,
jointer, 50" rip capacity cabinet saw, 16" Laguna band saw, work bench,
scrap wood bin, 36" lathe, and a 4 drawer fire safe file cabinet.
All stationary tools listed are on casters except for the spindle sander,
IMHO that is the trick. They are all kept around the perimeter of the
garage so that my wife can park her 2004 Accord in the garage with enough
room for her to fully open the drivers door and with it wide open walk
around the door. With the car out of the garage I have a 12" x 20" clear
work area to move any tool into that may need the room when in use.
Between the dust collector and my yard leaf blower the garage stays pretty
clear of saw dust on the floor.
stryped wrote:
> How big is the area you work.
Four car detached garage - cement floor, 220V 60 amp service,
water line, gas line and sewer line. Bought this 1100 sf 2 Br one
bathroom place because of the detached garage. Divided up into
two separate areas - one for dust and noise and the other for
layout, assembly and finishing.
Though I haven't update the floor plan layout to show the current
set up this should give you how my shop's set up.
NOTE: Wall hanging cabinets with deep doors let you get a lot
of your hand tools and small stuff in one place, doesn't
use up any precious floor space AND almost doubles
the wall space they occupy.
http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/ShopMap.html
> Right now I have everything in my garage
> and it is very cramped. And a pain to sweep up all the sawdust when
> doen to keep it from being tracked in the house.
DUST COLLECTOR! - preferably a cyclone - and one with a lot
more CFM than you think you need. The other dust capturor
is a small vacuum cleaner type thing - like the Fein or Festool.
Catch the dust at the source and sweeping up time will go down.
Ain't cheap but neither are new lungs or a divorce .
> I would liek to build
> something but funds are short. I have a 12x16 shed, but it has a gravel
> floor and no electricity. I am just seeeing what you guys do. Would a
> plywood floor be ok?
Plywood on gravel doesn't sound very flat or stabile. Doesn't
take much to stop a wheel on a tool stand. If the gravel were
compacted and leveled and you went with mud sill and floor
joists it would do - but then it would be easier to just pour a
slab. You can pay for improvements with dollars or sweat, but
woodworking gets expensive.
charlie b
stryped wrote:
> x-no-archive:yes
>
> How big is the area you work. Right now I have everything in my
> garage and it is very cramped. And a pain to sweep up all the
> sawdust when doen to keep it from being tracked in the house.I
> would liek to build something but funds are short. I have a 12x16
> shed, but it has a gravel floor and no electricity. I am just
> seeeing what you guys do. Would a plywood floor be ok?
Shop size/floor is as shop size/floor does. At one time my (former)
condo master bedroom was my shop. The radial arm saw made a handy
place to set the TV but that was a nuisance when I wanted to use the
saw. PITA getting the sawdust out of the wall to wall carpet too.
Now I have a large house with a separate but attached 20x25 shop with
a slab floor. The size is adequate for working but I'd sure like
another 12' in length to store lumber and sheet goods. The sawdust
and chips - especially the chips - are still a PITA...
--
dadiOH
____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
stryped -
While my 'shop' is a bit larger then yours, my 'floor problem' was very
similar to yours.
When we moved in, about 25 years ago, we had other concerns then the what
was basically the rear extension of the driveway !!
To make a long story a bit shorter, it was simply the same 4 to 6in depth of
course broken stone, with a few patches of 'smoothish' concrete - here &
there. {found out later - they were the 'empties' from the foundation
pouring}. The previous owner left a LOT of other JUNK as well.
Anyhow, when I decided to make this area into a simple, covered, shop - a
'flattish floor' was my first concern . . . and how to do it with NO MONEY
!!. What I did was 'turn junk to gold'. Although Joanne wasn't to happy with
the 'preparations'. There were a couple of business around that simply piled
their old SHIPPING PALLETS outside until they could be taken away. I would
'sort' through the piles to find 'good' ones, bring them home, and stack
them in 'our' backyard. When I figured I had enough {plus extras . . . TOO
LONG by Joanne's calculation !!}, I laid them down on top of the stone and
'leveled' them with bricks & chunks of scrap PT lumber. I then took the
junked wall paneling, and laid that down on top of the pallets. Where I
needed extra strength, or 'flatness', I put down 4x8 sheets of OSB.
Although the paneling is thin, the load is spread enough that it works.
Other then certain places around the edge, it is STILL holding up.
Of course I still dream of pouring a concrete slab . . . . but something
always comes up . . . and now I have a LOT MORE tools, benches, cabinets,
etc. to move . . .
Regards & Good Luck,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop
"stryped" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> x-no-archive:yes
>
> How big is the area you work. Right now I have everything in my garage
> and it is very cramped. And a pain to sweep up all the sawdust when
> doen to keep it from being tracked in the house.I would liek to build
> something but funds are short. I have a 12x16 shed, but it has a gravel
> floor and no electricity. I am just seeeing what you guys do. Would a
> plywood floor be ok?
>
I probably hold title to the world's smallest shop, at 13 x 15, but with
good organization, it works very well. The tablesaw is on wheels and can be
positioned to cut 8 foot boards by running them diagonally or out through
the doorway. I cannot rip a full 4x8 sheet, but I can't get one home in my
car anyway.
The router table is on wheels, as is the drill press. Even the bench is on
massive, locking wheels and though it slides around easily for different
tasks, is dead stable when locked. Clamps hang on the wall, lumber is stored
in the garage, with small, skinny stock up between the joists.
A plywood floor would probably be OK, as long as you could join the sheets
so as not to pose a tripping hazard, but you'd also want to ensure that you
can prevent water from infiltrating. Keep in mind that humidity is the worst
enemy for many tools as well.
--
Bob
Travel and Astronomy Photos
http://www3.sympatico.ca/bomo
"stryped" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> x-no-archive:yes
>
> How big is the area you work. Right now I have everything in my garage
> and it is very cramped. And a pain to sweep up all the sawdust when
> doen to keep it from being tracked in the house.I would liek to build
> something but funds are short. I have a 12x16 shed, but it has a gravel
> floor and no electricity. I am just seeeing what you guys do. Would a
> plywood floor be ok?
>
My shop is 32x22 and could be twice the size
60x40 would be just about right
what ever you build, it will be to small
"bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I probably hold title to the world's smallest shop, at 13 x 15, but with
> good organization, it works very well. The tablesaw is on wheels and can
be
> positioned to cut 8 foot boards by running them diagonally or out through
> the doorway. I cannot rip a full 4x8 sheet, but I can't get one home in my
> car anyway.
> The router table is on wheels, as is the drill press. Even the bench is on
> massive, locking wheels and though it slides around easily for different
> tasks, is dead stable when locked. Clamps hang on the wall, lumber is
stored
> in the garage, with small, skinny stock up between the joists.
> A plywood floor would probably be OK, as long as you could join the sheets
> so as not to pose a tripping hazard, but you'd also want to ensure that
you
> can prevent water from infiltrating. Keep in mind that humidity is the
worst
> enemy for many tools as well.
>
>
> --
> Bob
>
> Travel and Astronomy Photos
> http://www3.sympatico.ca/bomo
>
>
>
>
> "stryped" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > x-no-archive:yes
> >
> > How big is the area you work. Right now I have everything in my garage
> > and it is very cramped. And a pain to sweep up all the sawdust when
> > doen to keep it from being tracked in the house.I would liek to build
> > something but funds are short. I have a 12x16 shed, but it has a gravel
> > floor and no electricity. I am just seeeing what you guys do. Would a
> > plywood floor be ok?
> >
>
>
On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:26:14 GMT, "roemax" <fsteddie2000@[email protected]>
wrote:
>
>My shop is 32x22 and could be twice the size
> 60x40 would be just about right
>
>what ever you build, it will be to small
>
We're moving to our new house in Mexico in October and into the first shop that
isn't shared by a washer, dryer, sink and family junque...
It's 18 x 21' and money permitting would be at least twice that size, too..
Space is something that I've never had enough of and from what I've seen it
makes both work and cleanup easier...
OTOH, I'm grateful for what I do have and it beats the hell out of the 1 car
garage I used to use, also shared by the laundry and family artifacts..
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm
On 29 Aug 2006 05:32:09 -0700, "stryped" <[email protected]> wrote:
>x-no-archive:yes
>
>How big is the area you work. Right now I have everything in my garage
>and it is very cramped. And a pain to sweep up all the sawdust when
>doen to keep it from being tracked in the house.I would liek to build
>something but funds are short. I have a 12x16 shed, but it has a gravel
>floor and no electricity. I am just seeeing what you guys do. Would a
>plywood floor be ok?
My current shop is 16' x 24' and it is dedicated. It has become far
too small. I have machines (several shapers and a Laguna 16HD) in
storage I can't set up. And no stationary dust collection. I was
contemplating moving before Katrina, now contemplating doubling the
shop size at my current location.
Biggest problem I run into is when I get to the point of finishing.
If it is the wrong season to do it outside, I'm stuck with tarping
everything, cleaning up the dust, and then the shop is out of service
for anything but spraying on additional coats of stain, sealer,
finish.
If I double the size, I'll make provisions for a knock down booth of
sorts. Still not a perfect solution, but better than current
situation. When I was considering moving, I had a 26' x 40' with a
permanent finishing booth planned. I think that would be ideal.
Don't see anything wrong with a plywood floor properly supported.
Frank
On 29 Aug 2006 05:32:09 -0700, "stryped" <[email protected]> wrote:
>x-no-archive:yes
>
>How big is the area you work. Right now I have everything in my garage
>and it is very cramped. And a pain to sweep up all the sawdust when
>doen to keep it from being tracked in the house.I would liek to build
>something but funds are short. I have a 12x16 shed, but it has a gravel
>floor and no electricity. I am just seeeing what you guys do. Would a
>plywood floor be ok?
I have a gravel surface in our new carport that I was planning to cover with
plywood and 2 x 4's to extend my shop area... thinking that it was the next best
thing to cement but lots cheaper..
I found out that if you figure it out by the square foot, (at least in Mexico),
it's actually cheaper to pour a slab over the gravel that build a plywood floor
over it...
Cost balance between countries would be that labor is a lot cheaper but re-bar
is more expensive because it's "imported", but it still came out less expensive
and should be longer lasting and a lot more stable.. (I hope)
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm