# Sketchup Models of Shop Furniture for a Small Shop



## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

*Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*

I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.

So, to make sure that I had the right designs and that everything would fit in the shop and still have room to reorganize and work, I started making SU models. These are the first three that I have done.

The first model is of a set of mobile wooden shelves. I built these first and purchased a smaller set of metal wire shelves later. This set of shelves is 70" long and 76" high by 20" deep. They were sized to fit under and behind the roll-up garage door track and between another cabinet and the garden hose. I adapted this model from a set of plans from Wood magazine's "Best-Ever Workshop Tips, Jigs and Organizers", 2004.










Below are a couple of shots of an expandable, adjustable assembly table. I adapted this model from plans in Issue #30 of ShopNotes. I only changed the legs to give it more height, the top from MDF to melamine and, the handles for the adjustment pins to make them easier to grab. Collapsed the top is 36" X 36". Expanded, it is 60" X 36".



















The last model is a materials cart for lumber and sheet goods. I cut this plan down from a 32" X 96" footprint to a 24" X 48" footprint. The original plan came from Issue #55 of ShopNotes.



















These are my first models and I know they are not the best. Any suggestions or comments are most welcome. I have to thank DaveR for his blogs on SU. Without them, this would have been much more difficult to do.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*
> 
> I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.
> 
> ...


Thats cool I wish I knew schetch up that well.


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*
> 
> I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.
> 
> ...


Hi Jack;

Great job with the drawings. These shop "helpers" will be an excellent addition to any shop.

Nicely done!

Lee


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## gwurst (Nov 28, 2007)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*
> 
> I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.
> 
> ...


I love Sketchup, but you're way more ambitious than I was as far as shop layout. I just did basic blocking and measurements to see how to arrange things.










Nice work on the models, though. That's what I usually do before I build a new project.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*
> 
> I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.
> 
> ...


I appreciate the comments.

Greg - I started with the block layout in Visio but, because of the close quarters, I wanted to see how it would be in 3D with human model inserted to verify elbow room . I also wanted to practice with SU for future designs and to make sure that the plans will work. For example, in the assembly table, I found that the deminsion of two pieces in the plan were off slightly.

Anyway, it's been fun learning SU. I have several more to work on as you can seen in the block layout below.


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## gwurst (Nov 28, 2007)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*
> 
> I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.
> 
> ...


Just looking at your block layout I can tell I hate you.  (Just kidding!)

I wish I had that much space. My basement shop is only 15'x12', and that's not even it since I lose 1/4 or that to the mechanical room. My table saw workstation and such have to stay in the garage. I keep telling myself "next house".


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*
> 
> I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Dave. And, thanks again for your help. SU is far more powerful that I realized and yet easier to use than many 3D modeling programs.

Jack


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## JWood (May 9, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*
> 
> I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.
> 
> ...


Jack,

When I built this table a long time ago, I resized the main table to 36" x 20" expandable to 48". I believe the dimensions worked out to 1 sheet of mdf. I was working in a 10' x 12' shop at the end of the garage. After over 10 years of use, this table is one of my favorites. Great idea on the height peg handles and using melamine for the top. I had to refinish the mdf top after using it to work on a wet snow blower. I use it now mostly as an infeed table for the table saw. Nice models!


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*
> 
> I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.
> 
> ...


If you like my Sketchup models and are able to, please show your appreciation of my work by making a donation through PayPal to [email protected] Thank you!


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## Kerux (Oct 7, 2007)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*
> 
> I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.
> 
> ...


What is the angle of the Lumber/Panel piece? And the width of the horizontal boards that are in the middle?

I really like that.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Mobile Shelves, Expandable Assembly Table and Materials Cart*
> 
> I have a small shop, about 200SF. It's not as small as it once was, about 90SF, and it's not as big as what I hope to have some day, about 600SF. To keep from climbing over things and make it easier to move things around to accomdate the operation of the moment, I thought I would adopt the "everything on wheels" strategy and double up what tools I could in single cabinets.
> 
> ...


Kerux - The angle is 5 degrees. The width of the shelves will depend on where they are placed. I n my model, they are (starting from the bottom shelf) 8 7/16", 6 3/8", 4 3/8", 2 1/2". This is measured across the bottom of the shelf. I angled the edges 5 degrees to mate with the sides. I hope this helps.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

*Drill Press Cabinet*

*Edited 8/21/09 - *The drill press cabinet is the latest in my SU models for laying out my shop. This is the same cabinet as seen on my project page.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Drill Press Cabinet*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09 - *The drill press cabinet is the latest in my SU models for laying out my shop. This is the same cabinet as seen on my project page.


great sketch good plan


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## Bureaucrat (May 26, 2008)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Drill Press Cabinet*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09 - *The drill press cabinet is the latest in my SU models for laying out my shop. This is the same cabinet as seen on my project page.


I don't know how you guys can do this 3d stuff. It's really great. I advanced to Turbo Cad 2d and have never been able to get the hang of any of the 3d programs. I'll keep trying. Thanks for posting.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Drill Press Cabinet*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09 - *The drill press cabinet is the latest in my SU models for laying out my shop. This is the same cabinet as seen on my project page.


Thanks for the comment, Jim.

Gary - I must have tried 4 or 5 3D programs over the years and never could get the hang of it either until recently. I don't know if it was my persistance or that the programs are getting better that I have finally been able to start creating 3D models. Certainly SketchUp is the easiest one that I've found.

Jack


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## KeithH (Jul 28, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Drill Press Cabinet*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09 - *The drill press cabinet is the latest in my SU models for laying out my shop. This is the same cabinet as seen on my project page.


I couldn't find the Sketchup File. Could you post another link to it? Thanks in advance.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Drill Press Cabinet*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09 - *The drill press cabinet is the latest in my SU models for laying out my shop. This is the same cabinet as seen on my project page.


I have fixed the link. Sorry for the inconvenience.

If you like this model and are able to, please show your appreciation of my work by making a donation through PayPal to [email protected] Thank you!


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## KeithH (Jul 28, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Drill Press Cabinet*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09 - *The drill press cabinet is the latest in my SU models for laying out my shop. This is the same cabinet as seen on my project page.


Thanks. I will be happy to send a payment if I end up making this.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Drill Press Cabinet*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09 - *The drill press cabinet is the latest in my SU models for laying out my shop. This is the same cabinet as seen on my project page.


I hope it works out for you. Let me know if you have any questions.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

*Bench Top Carving Bench*

*Edited 8/21/09:* A couple of years ago I took an intro class on wood carving. The school had on hand some carving benches for the students to use but, naturally, I had to make my own design. Below is the design that I came up with. It was small enough for me to lug to class and large enough to handle most of the carving projects that I anticipate doing. It also allowed me the flexibility to accommodate various sizes of work and be able to reposition them without unscrewing and re-screwing braces. It can be clamped to a workbench for stability and a task light can be clamped to it. The dog (pup) holes are also handy for holding a few gouges at the ready without them rolling off the bench top.

My Sketchup model of the bench top carving bench.









My actual carving bench in use. I had not yet installed the drawer because In hadn't settled on a final working height for the bench itself.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Bench Top Carving Bench*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09:* A couple of years ago I took an intro class on wood carving. The school had on hand some carving benches for the students to use but, naturally, I had to make my own design. Below is the design that I came up with. It was small enough for me to lug to class and large enough to handle most of the carving projects that I anticipate doing. It also allowed me the flexibility to accommodate various sizes of work and be able to reposition them without unscrewing and re-screwing braces. It can be clamped to a workbench for stability and a task light can be clamped to it. The dog (pup) holes are also handy for holding a few gouges at the ready without them rolling off the bench top.
> 
> ...


Hi Dave,

Nice to hear from you. I measure the drawer sides as 4 3/16" each. The front edges are chamfered which might account for measuring less than 4 3/16" but I'm not sure how the left side could be measured with an extra 3/16".

Could you elaborate on how to better handle the materials on the carving bench?

As to the file size, how do you maintain detail while reducing the file size? On the Wonder Pup, I had considered just using cylinders without threads and without connecting pins or clips; which would have reduced the file size considerably but I like seeing the detail when start turning the model around and looking at it from every angle.

Unless I'm missing an important technique, file size vs. detail seems like a trade off depending on individual objectives. I'm not advocating large files, I just like details. I saw an SU model on line the other day that said it was a Harley-Davidson. I could tell it was supposed to be a motorcycle because of the two wheels but it was so crudely done and lacking in detail it could have been call any one of a number of different brands. The file size was small though.

Let me know if there is a way that I can keep the detail up while getting the file size down. This model set has relatively few elements to it. You can emagine the file size when I start populating my shop model with high-detail elements like these.

As always, thanks for your feed back.


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## Brad_Nailor (Jul 26, 2007)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Bench Top Carving Bench*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09:* A couple of years ago I took an intro class on wood carving. The school had on hand some carving benches for the students to use but, naturally, I had to make my own design. Below is the design that I came up with. It was small enough for me to lug to class and large enough to handle most of the carving projects that I anticipate doing. It also allowed me the flexibility to accommodate various sizes of work and be able to reposition them without unscrewing and re-screwing braces. It can be clamped to a workbench for stability and a task light can be clamped to it. The dog (pup) holes are also handy for holding a few gouges at the ready without them rolling off the bench top.
> 
> ...


Nice Sketchup work jack. What render engine did you use for the last two images?
Dave I have to disagree with you….I almost always have separate vertical and horizontal versions of the same texture. If I paint a texture on to several boards, then I need to rotate it on one of the boards all the textures rotate, so I make seperate vert. and hor. versions of the same texture. I always apply my textures to faces only not components….mostly due to my render engine of choice (Podium) would not recognize textures applied to groups or components, only faces…but in the last couple versions they have changed it so textures applied to groups/components will render. I have learned also that though Like Jack I love details…the more the better, but after painstakingly adding minute details then rendering them and seeing them disappear due to relative camera position, I now think things through better and only do details that will be seen. If I am doing details or close up scenes, then I would make a copy of the model and add the details but remove the other larger parts of the model that wont be seen in the detail shots.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Bench Top Carving Bench*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09:* A couple of years ago I took an intro class on wood carving. The school had on hand some carving benches for the students to use but, naturally, I had to make my own design. Below is the design that I came up with. It was small enough for me to lug to class and large enough to handle most of the carving projects that I anticipate doing. It also allowed me the flexibility to accommodate various sizes of work and be able to reposition them without unscrewing and re-screwing braces. It can be clamped to a workbench for stability and a task light can be clamped to it. The dog (pup) holes are also handy for holding a few gouges at the ready without them rolling off the bench top.
> 
> ...


wow great stuff


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Bench Top Carving Bench*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09:* A couple of years ago I took an intro class on wood carving. The school had on hand some carving benches for the students to use but, naturally, I had to make my own design. Below is the design that I came up with. It was small enough for me to lug to class and large enough to handle most of the carving projects that I anticipate doing. It also allowed me the flexibility to accommodate various sizes of work and be able to reposition them without unscrewing and re-screwing braces. It can be clamped to a workbench for stability and a task light can be clamped to it. The dog (pup) holes are also handy for holding a few gouges at the ready without them rolling off the bench top.
> 
> ...


It looks like that in the dim light of very early morning, I posted an older version pf the carving desk model. The drawer dimension are correct in my later version but, I will go through it to check the other areas that DaveR pointed out before reposting it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention Dave.

And, thanks to both Dave and David for the discussion on materials.


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## jimp (Feb 7, 2008)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Bench Top Carving Bench*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09:* A couple of years ago I took an intro class on wood carving. The school had on hand some carving benches for the students to use but, naturally, I had to make my own design. Below is the design that I came up with. It was small enough for me to lug to class and large enough to handle most of the carving projects that I anticipate doing. It also allowed me the flexibility to accommodate various sizes of work and be able to reposition them without unscrewing and re-screwing braces. It can be clamped to a workbench for stability and a task light can be clamped to it. The dog (pup) holes are also handy for holding a few gouges at the ready without them rolling off the bench top.
> 
> ...


These are some great Sketchup model.

DaveR and Jack - Where do you guys get the realistic wood grain to use is your Sketchup modelsl?


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Bench Top Carving Bench*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09:* A couple of years ago I took an intro class on wood carving. The school had on hand some carving benches for the students to use but, naturally, I had to make my own design. Below is the design that I came up with. It was small enough for me to lug to class and large enough to handle most of the carving projects that I anticipate doing. It also allowed me the flexibility to accommodate various sizes of work and be able to reposition them without unscrewing and re-screwing braces. It can be clamped to a workbench for stability and a task light can be clamped to it. The dog (pup) holes are also handy for holding a few gouges at the ready without them rolling off the bench top.
> 
> ...


David,

The render engine that I am currently trying to get my mind around (and used on the two pictures referenced) is Kerkythea. It's free, has more capabilities than I do and it seems to have a strong user community.

The renderings were done with a simple 3-light setup as you can probably tell from the shadows.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Bench Top Carving Bench*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09:* A couple of years ago I took an intro class on wood carving. The school had on hand some carving benches for the students to use but, naturally, I had to make my own design. Below is the design that I came up with. It was small enough for me to lug to class and large enough to handle most of the carving projects that I anticipate doing. It also allowed me the flexibility to accommodate various sizes of work and be able to reposition them without unscrewing and re-screwing braces. It can be clamped to a workbench for stability and a task light can be clamped to it. The dog (pup) holes are also handy for holding a few gouges at the ready without them rolling off the bench top.
> 
> ...


jimp,

Since I am fairly new to this, I have been in serious resource acquisition mode gathering materials and plugins wherever I can find them and haven't done a very good job of keeping track of where I found them. The SketchUcation forum is a good place to start. DaveR probably has a better handle on his materials sources.


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Bench Top Carving Bench*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09:* A couple of years ago I took an intro class on wood carving. The school had on hand some carving benches for the students to use but, naturally, I had to make my own design. Below is the design that I came up with. It was small enough for me to lug to class and large enough to handle most of the carving projects that I anticipate doing. It also allowed me the flexibility to accommodate various sizes of work and be able to reposition them without unscrewing and re-screwing braces.  It can be clamped to a workbench for stability and a task light can be clamped to it. The dog (pup) holes are also handy for holding a few gouges at the ready without them rolling off the bench top.
> 
> ...


Ok. I've replaced the Carving Bench model in the 3D Warehouse with a new, slimmed-down version. The new file is about half the size of the old one. I even made the drawer a dynamic component to slide out and in.

Thanks, DaveR for the nudge in the right direction. I got the file size down without loss of detail. I never thought of making the pup holes a component. I also figured out how to rotate the texture; which eliminated one.

When I get back to the computer next week after a short trip I will see about putting the Bench Pup and Wonder Pup on a diet as well.

Again, if you like this model, find it useful, or if it just means that you don't have to spend the time to create your own model, please show your appreciation for my work by making a donation through PayPal to [email protected] Thank you!


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

JackBarnhill said:


> *Bench Top Carving Bench*
> 
> *Edited 8/21/09:* A couple of years ago I took an intro class on wood carving. The school had on hand some carving benches for the students to use but, naturally, I had to make my own design. Below is the design that I came up with. It was small enough for me to lug to class and large enough to handle most of the carving projects that I anticipate doing. It also allowed me the flexibility to accommodate various sizes of work and be able to reposition them without unscrewing and re-screwing braces. It can be clamped to a workbench for stability and a task light can be clamped to it. The dog (pup) holes are also handy for holding a few gouges at the ready without them rolling off the bench top.
> 
> ...


I really need to put together a pre-publish checklist. Thanks again, Dave. I fixed it and uploaded the corrected model.


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