Help! New house = new shop

[mikefm101]

I have a 3 HP cabinet saw but a narrow and long shop too so I opted for the 32” rails rather than the 55” (or whatever it is) full length rails.

In 20 years I can count on one hand the number of times I wished I’d had the longer rails.

Just pointing out an option if you have the full length rails now.

Mike

[Latech15]

My first shop was 12x16.  I had all the tools, just the small versions.  If I had it to do over again, I would go all hand tools in a small space and be just as happy, just slower.

Don't take over the garage.  Been there done that.  Always regret making my wife and kids trudge through the shop every day to get to the car parked outside.

[fredhargis]

Gator, what's your thoughts after reading these opinions?

[Tahoe Gator]

Gator, what's your thoughts after reading these opinions?

Lots of great opinions!

Certainly, some confidence that I can make good use of the narrower shop. I'd definitely remove the refrigerator (believe current owner is taking it anyways) and redo all the cabinets (I prefer under-bench shelves on heavy duty slides rather than fixed shelves). 

When I think about my "big" tools, re narrower rails on the table saw, I do have a router table in my table saw that I do find quite useful. I also have a full size bandsaw, joiner, planer and big dust collector. My one thought is put the tools I need for dealing with rough lumber in the garage or the utility room (though I suspect I would have to be very considerate of sawdust with the heater/boiler in there, so maybe garage it is), keep my raw lumber in the same area, and use those tools only when getting raw lumber into s4 condition (I have a second smaller dust collector that can go in the location the larger one does not), then do most/all the rest of my work in the actual workshop and accept that it might take more use of hand tools (or the Festools) and require a bit more methodical of a workflow. 

I'm not concerned about having cars in the garage. I never put cars in the garage anyway (pieces of metal with wheels, we lease them, they get replaced every few years--my tools far outlast my cars!), but, regardless, I do think the folks saying they'd not make the garage their shop have a point. And the suggestion to swap things around and put the dirt bikes in the workshop and make the garage the shop is not a bad one, except for loading and unloading the bikes (and all of the accompanying gear) on and off the trailer, the workshop is completely on the other side of the house from the driveway, and one story lower, so that's less appealing. 

I am thinking this:

1. Have the movers put the bigger tools -- table saw, bandsaw, dust collector, joiner & planer -- in the garage to start
2. Remove most everything from the new shop -- remove fridge, cabinets, shelves, etc.
3. Make a mockup of the table saw out of leftover moving boxes, maybe same for the bandsaw and dust collector
4. Build new benches/shelves, considering the feasibility of having the table saw and bandsaw on wheels so they can slide in and out (joiner & planer get much less use and they require significant feed room front and back)
5. Pay a college mover type service to help me move the table saw and/or bandsaw down the the workshop if it turns out feasible to have them there

Other ideas:
- take the router table out of the table saw and build it into a bench top to make the tablesaw smaller and/or so I can keep the router in the workshop if the table saw must be in the garage
- get a smaller table saw for the workshop for light duty and save the 3hp saw in the garage for rough lumber work

A caveat to all of this is where I can get 220v to? That could dictate things as well. 

Next time I'm in the house, I am going to take some better pictures and post them. I suspect with more info, those of you generous as you have been so far will have even better advice.

Thanks!

[EricU]

my shop isn't that narrow, but I am getting rid of everything fixed along the walls.

[bhh]

First "real" shop was 16x16.  Worked well with two conditions: 1. Stuff that was not woodworking was not in there -- electrical, plumbing, paint, gardening, etc.   2. To rip 8' boards I had to turn the table saw diagonally and go corner-to-corner, or through one of the two doors.

Second shop 12x27 (roughly a 1 car garage but in the basement).   Held lots of stuff -- unisaw*, Hitachi jointer-planer*, drill press, Shopsmith*, belt-disk sander, single stage dust collector with 30 gal garbage can pre-separator, Danish workbench, office desK* converted to assembly table and benchtop tool spot, cabinet with hand and portable power tools.  (* = on wheels).    Everything worked fine but needed to spin the Unisaw 90 degrees to swap between ripping and cross-cutting long boards.  There were times, like when building any of the 4 sets of bunk beds, things got a little tight and needed to move components around.  But it worked fine for 25 years.  

Current shop is bigger but irregular space.   Large area for lumber storage, an area next to it for glue ups outside the assembly and cutting area and a main 'work triangle" -- Saw, planer, workbench, assembly table.   Got rid of some tools, replaced with another.


You can make it work.

[janie2]

You can keep bikes and helmets from being a road hazard with either wall-mounted hooks or floor racks. like shown in picture. URL DELETED is exactly how I am making room for my bikes and helmets