Setting Up A Shop in my Garage

Come to Dadoo! No really…take a look at my shop/lab. You might find some ideas you can use.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Dadoo is the master of the “Transformer” workshop.

Workshop….....ooooo00000OOOOO0000000ooooo…....Garage

How’d he do that?

-- Happy woodworking! http://www.blakeweber.us

Nice Shop Dadoo. Yes I did get some good ideas!

Thanks!

Wes

A couple of years ago Fine Woodworking had an excellent small shops issue. I can’t remember if they do this every year now (10 gals of crap in a 5 gal bucket – losing my mind) but you should be able to go to their website and search it. I do remember that I was really impressed with the ideas.

I have to say that I have been really impressed with many of the ideas here from the group at LJ. I tend to work out of a little bit bigger shop than most guys and the space is more dedicated. You can’t even drive a car into my shop because I did not make that an option. Anyway, hang out with the guys here a bit and I think you will get some good ideas.

I must warn you – a few of the shops will leave you screaming and scratching your eyes out.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com

The wood storage unit I made really is a culmination of 3 or 4 other designs combined into one. Most of my ideas come from magazine tips and jigs that are “modified” like that,to fit my shop. Cajunpen recently posted a simple drill box storage unit, http://lumberjocks.com/projects/3005 that has given me some new ideas. The biggest thing is that sawdust gets on everything so I try and keep my goodies behind doors or in drawers. The other problem is the fact that it is a garage and the wifey-poo wants to park her car in there occasionally. The nice thing though is that by keeping things close to the walls, I get a lot of space for swinging lumber around. But get this, recently both my son and wife suggested I build an outbuilding and move my shop there! And hey! Thanx for the compliments. Also look to Tom(mot) for some other space saving ideas.

Hey Blake! You think maybe I could motorize some of that…and add a “REMOTE CONTROL”!!! Oh! I just had this real warm feeling overcome me!

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Wes,
I’m in the same position you are. I’ve worked with wood in one fashon or another all my life but really wanted a nice shop to work in when I retired. I also opted for my garage ‘cause I’m to lazy to walk to an outside building (I have a metal building but it’s a little smaller than my garage so I had to make the excuse that I needed that space for the lawn tractor and storage, and on top of that it wasn’t insulated.) I wanted to mention that if you go to the Fine Woodworking web site you can get into past issues and a ton of articles about shop design.
My biggest issue now is dust control and there are a couple of great articles in the mix about DC as well as other things. You have to be a member and if your a subscriber it’s very inexpensive (about $15.00 a year) but I use it all the time.

-- Wayne, Tennessee Mallard Design

I have similar issues. My garage would make a great shop space….it’s about 30×30 attached, however, I have a car that takes up one bay most of the time. It gets driven about 5 times per summer and I like to keep the dust away from it. The other bay is for my wifes car, the rest is for everything else…(kids toys, mower, lawn stuff, camping stuff, chairs, ext…..)

That brings me to the basement. I have a shop space thats kinda odd shaped. Maybe 500sq feet shared with the furnace, sump, well, and water softener. Very “cozy”. I just started setting things up a few weeks ago. I need to get some good dust collection going. The goal is to have all surfaces and all tools on wheels. It’s do-able. I’ve read that smaller shops tend to be more efficient….it’s required. Plan ahead before you build or buy anything else. Try and make all surfaces at the same level to double as outfeeds and supports.

-Rocko

-Rocko

-- -> Malta, IL -<

Rocko, you keep cars in the garage???

-- Wayne, Tennessee Mallard Design

LOL…oooh yea.

1972 Eldorado

-- -> Malta, IL -<

Nah: I’d go for the saw and park the Eldorado outside.

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I have a 2006 Pontiac Solstice that sits outside, even during the lovely Iowa winters. Priorities, priorities.

-- Owen Johnson - aka IowaWoodcrafter

Wes -

I work out of a small garage shop as well – Welcome to Lumberjocks!

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

Same here..one car garage filled with crap! I have all my machines on wheels, and I keep them in my basement tucked in a corner (compressed), then when I am working a project, I set up in my garage(uncompressed). It works ok, but I would love to have a dedicated shop where my stuff can stay set up all the time…I am so jealous of guys that can just walk up to a saw and cut something without doing a song and dance number, rolling cabinets around and plugging stuff in!

-- http://www.facebook.com/pages/DSO-Designs/297237806954248

David Marks commented in his shop tour episode that he started in a garage. We all have to start somewhere.

One of my neighbors is thinking of selling his 1 acre lot with a HUGE barn on it. Unfortunately it’s land locked and I’m not one of the adjoining properties…..Doh!.

-Rocko

-- -> Malta, IL -<