Advice for a small shop

[jteneyck]

You shouldn't be forced to limit the size of your projects based on the size of your shop, you should figure out how to make the projects you want with the space you have. Much harder, but possible. I have a larger shop than many with around 750 Ft^2, but it's in my basement. My problem is getting large machines and materials down into it and finished projects up out of it, since the only access is down 12 steps with a 32" door at the top. But I've built a lot of large projects by building them in sections and doing final assembly upstairs. Sometimes I've used KD fittings, sometimes I've glued them up upstairs. Sometimes I've been forced to finish them in my garage, even a spare bedroom once. But there's almost always a way. You certainly don't need as many tools and machines as I have now either though it sure makes it easier. I built a lot of cabinets when I first started out with not much more than a Sears TS and router and basic hand tools. The Inca J/P I finally was lucky enough to buy takes up very little space but can joint and plane nearly anything needed to make cabinets and furniture. A 14" BS and a few nice hand planes, a couple of hand saws, some chisels and a ROS and you are pretty much set.

John

[Texan]

I would add don't forget about the importance of good dust collection, especially in a small shop that is enclosed. It's worth setting aside the space and the money on a good cyclone and filter.

[Bill Lyman]

Mike77 said:

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If I had it all to do again, I would have a quality 14" bandsaw, a good drill press, a good table saw, router table, DW 735 planer, work bench and the rest would be hand planes and festool.

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Too Mike's list of basic tools quoted above, I would add a jointer and include in the Festool category, the tract saw and the tracts. Invaluable. Used mine again today. (If you can afford it, add the Festool Multi-Function Table - set up to cut perfect 90 degrees.) Maybe there are knock-off that are as good, but as a beginner in retirement several year ago, I can't begin to list all of the things that purchasing those items allowed me to build well.

[Bibliophile 13]

I work in some very confined spaces, and I have for years. Here are my big five tips, which I've listed on my blog.

1. Go Vertical. Use your wall space and even your ceiling space for storage. Install shallow cabinets for hand tools and hardware and wall racks for clamps. You can store lumber in wall racks or even hang it from the ceiling, which I’ve seen done effectively in garage shops. You haven’t really filled your shop until the walls are full, too.

2. Get Rolling. I’m not fond of big machines on wheels. The casters raise some of the work surfaces a little too far above a comfortable working height for me. And locking casters are seldom as stable as a machine standing directly on the floor. Nonetheless, being able to pull out a drill press and then push it back into its corner is a major space-saver. Collapsible or multipurpose out-feed tables help, too.

3. Go Outside. Patios, driveways, and porches offer big spaces, natural lighting, and good airflow. Just sweep or rake away the chips and shavings when you’re done. Don’t have space for a dedicated assembly table? Use a picnic table. Don’t have space in your shop for a chop-saw station? Set up a temporary one outside with a couple sawhorses for workpiece support. In the summer time or during rain, you could put up a canopy under which to work. Do your finishing on the patio or on the porch–you could even build yourself a collapsible spray booth out of tarps and PVC pipe. I do all my finishing outdoors where fumes are minimal and sunlight enriches the natural colors of many woods.

4. Use Your Hand Tools. If you learn to saw accurately by hand, you will find that some machines and many jigs are unnecessary. If you learn to joint boards by hand, then you can forgo a powered jointer but keep the thickness planer. Plus you can work with boards of any width without having to work within the limitations of a powered jointer. If you do your joinery by hand and get a good bandsaw, even the table saw becomes optional. A dovetail saw takes up less cabinet space than a dovetail router jig. A large set of molding planes takes up less space than a router table. A mortise chisel takes up less floor space than a mortising machine. Most of my tools fit into a single tool chest, which rolls under one end of the workbench. The rest are stored in two wall-mounted racks. So long as you don’t start collecting hand tools, they’re quite the space-saver.

5. Set an Acquisition Limit. Every woodworking magazine and website touts the newest, most improved, must-have tool that we didn’t know we needed until we read the glowing product review. But your shop space is limited. It limits the number and size of tools you can acquire. Do not buy a new tool that you cannot store or use in a convenient location. If you absolutely must have a tool you don’t have room for, then make space by selling or giving away non-essential tools. Focus on equipping your shop with the most versatile, high-quality tools you can get and learn to use them effectively.

[Pirate]

I have a small shop and changed my old wood rack (boards laying on top of other boards) to the on edge storage rack shown in picture. Any board can be slid out to check grain, etc, without moving other boards.
Just cut dados in 6, 2x4's and used 12" wide x 8' long particle board (because I had it) shelves.
The tops of the end 2x4's are just clamped to the lower chord of the metal building trusses. So narrow, it wouldn't work free standing.
I can load boards from the end by the barn door. It's now a roll up door, and keeps critters out!
The rack can hold approx 300 bf of lumber, with a footprint of 9 1/2 sf !
I plan on adding 12" more storage on one side of it for sheet goods.
I also hang ts jigs from the trusses

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[handi]

Every tool on wheels. Being able to re-arrange the shop to suit the task at hand maximizes space, makes clean up easier and is worth a couple hundred square feet of space.

Ralph

[TGW]

I have gone the completely opposite way. My workshop is 2.90 by 5.5 metres. That is around 10 by 18 feet.

Everything centers around a big European style combination machine. 24" jointer/planer plus 3hp spindle moulder plus 5 hp 16" table saw all in one big heavy cast iron unit weighing well over 1000 kilos. Then there is a full size joiner's workbench and an industrial sized gear head drill press and the rest is mostly hand tools.

I found that dimensioning and profiling stock is the most laborious and awkward woodworking task to do by hand. Without a machine I would spend 90% of the time hand planing. Hence I decided that this is what I want to invest in. Joints are not that laborious to do by hand so that was my tradeoff.
I cannot drill 30 mm holes in 25mm mild steel plate with a handheld drill so a solid drill press was my other priority. I need to make steel reinforcement plates for work and also repair all kinds of eqipment for my tractor. I do the cutting and welding outdoors but I need a way to drill big bolt holes indoors.

My small workshop philosophy is to avoid gadgets in all forms. Invest in a few big machines which will do the most laborious tasks efficiently and do the rest by hand with simple hand tools. One can afford to spend some time on the joints if the dimensioning stage is efficient enough.

When I started to take on jobs for profit I bought a monster of a hollow chisel mortiser which lives in a neighbour's former chicken barn until I can afford a bigger workshop..... and now there are a 10hp 24" rip saw and a 24 inch band saw and a big spindle moulder awaiting in storage.......but that is another story. The transition from hobby to professional.

[Anji12305]

"My small workshop philosophy is to avoid gadgets in all forms. Invest in a few big machines which will do the most laborious tasks efficiently and do the rest by hand with simple hand tools. One can afford to spend some time on the joints if the dimensioning stage is efficient enough."

Amen, Reverend.

I have followed this one step further. I buy lumber that is already "skip planed" to be relatively straight, flat and with parallel faces.

The only hand tool operation I could do by hand that is powered is drilling holes. There is a good reason that tedious tasks are referred to as 'boring'.

Är de dagar kort, ännu?

[Joel H.]

I guess at this point the discussion reasonably splits at the "dedicated" and "shared" small workshop.

My wife insists on parking her car in my workshop every night, so my main focus is mobility and organization. As others have pointed out, use of wall space is maximized - wood storage, workbench, miter saw station, handtools, supplies, finish goods, etc.. Nothing can sit permanently in the center of the "shop", thus mobility.

Joel

[Guest]

What do y'all consider a "small" shop? Mine is 17' X 27'. I consider it "small" and wish for more room.. But So far, I've been able to build anything I wanted to build in it. I think if it were 40' X 40', I'd still wish for more room.