# New shop pics



## ADHDan (Aug 17, 2012)

Well, after posting numerous thread and possibly annoying some fellow LJers with my constant barrage of questions, I figured it's time to show the progress on the workshop. When I started, this was just a gigantic open section of a laundry room with exposed studs and some terrible cheap paneling. After moving a dividing wall, installing Roxul insulation, putting up two sheets of drywall, installing cabinets and lumber/clamp racks, and organizing my shop layout, I finally have some progress. It's not big - 12×16 feet - but it should suffice.

The benchtop tools are generally where they will end up along the wall, as is the table saw and the DC and the shop-vac cabinet. The next tasks are to build a tri-fold pegboard storage cabinet (from the Complete Small Shop plans), build a dedicated miter saw stand and mount my bench grinder to the opposite side of my planer flip-top cart, and build a nesting outfeed/work table for the R4512 (from the woodstore.net plans). I also have a contractor coming in this weekend to run my new electric lines - a dedicated 110v circuit capable of handling the amp draw of my benchtop tools and DC, and a 220v outlet for when I upconvert the table saw.

Obviously, this is still far from done; the shop is a mess, my hand tools are jammed in cabinets, my DC lines aren't set up yet, and I still have a lot of organization to attend to. But considering this was literally a bare room when I started a few weeks ago, I'm pretty pleased with the progress.

And I couldn't have done it without all the helpful tips I received from everyone on the site. You guys and gals ROCK, and I appreciate all the advice you provided.


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## MarkE (Feb 26, 2008)

Looking good Dan.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

You're doing a good job. It's going to be nice.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

looking good.

a word of caution - I noticed you have pipe clamps (and other clamps) hung high on the wall - I would recommend to either construct some form of locking those in so that they cannot tip and fall of unintentionally, or mount them lower on the wall - not above head level.

those things can crack a head if they fall from above it - trust me - I know. not pleasant and is a major cause for delays in shop time


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## ADHDan (Aug 17, 2012)

Hmmmm… the pipe clamps are mounted in the Rockler pipe clamp rack, which has a lip at the back to keep clamps from sliding out. I don't think I have a good lower space for them, since that back wall will end up being used for cabinets or tool carts. To be honest, I don't think they can tip out because of the rack design, which is very sturdy and seems well thought out - http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=25237.

What sort of safety improvement do you think I could make?


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## TravisH (Feb 6, 2013)

Looks like you are making some very good process. I absolutely hate the process of organizing and getting everything set up. Constant shuffling of things from one corner/stack to the other. I am about in the same shop size as you and hope to have everything organized today so I can get to making some things this weekend (flip top cart for the planer/mitersaw being the first).


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## ADHDan (Aug 17, 2012)

That flip-top cart is a major space saver; mine currently houses a miter saw and planer, but I'm going to swap out the miter saw for my bench grinder and give the saw it's own station.

Part of me hates the process of getting set up, but another part of me loves seeing things come together and progress from a state of chaos to a state of order. I can't control entropy outside my shop, but I sure as hell can reverse it within those four walls.


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## ADHDan (Aug 17, 2012)

Also, one thing I LOVE about the shop is that, since I have a split-entry houes, my workshop windows are above-ground. It gets quite a bit of natural light during the day, which is a big plus.


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## sb194 (Feb 19, 2010)

Dan,

Shop looks good. Where in the metro are you located? I am up in Blaine.

Sean


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## ADHDan (Aug 17, 2012)

Sean - I live in Edina, about a mile west of Southdale off 66th street. But I work in Roseville, which isn't TOO far from Blaine. It's always nice to see another Twin Cities resident on the board!

On that note - do you know of any local places where I can get a cheap fiber drum for a DC separator? I found a guy on Craigslist who sells them for $15, but he won't sell unless I buy three and I don't need that many.


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

I consider my shop to be my "haven"...you look like you have a great place to hang out. Hang on to those photos, rest assured it will not look like that in a few years…..
Make every effort to economize on space, because as you buy more stuff (There is always the deal you run onto) it will get tighter!
Mike


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## ADHDan (Aug 17, 2012)

Mike, I totally agree - it's very nice to have a little room of my own for woodworking. We really wanted to turn that space into another bedroom, but with a two-car garage and Minnesota winters it just wasn't realistic to move my shop out to the garage. So, I got this room.

Shop space is pretty tight but I'm doing my best to maximize 12×16 feet. Here are my big space-saving ideas.

(1) All bench tools that work wood horizontally are against the back wall. Miter saw, router table, spindle sander… eventually I'd like to build all of these things into a wall bench so that all tables are at the same height, with bench space in between the tools to provide additional side support.

(2) Nesting outfeed/work table. I barely have room in this space for a proper workbench, and I don't do much hand tool work anyway, so I'm going to build that outfeed table that can swing up on casters to fit over the table saw. With sufficient bracing, that can double as both an outfeed table and a work bench, rolling over the table saw when I need more space.

(3) Tri-fold (flip-out) hand tool cabinet. I saw this design in the Small Shop Tips guide. It's a tool cabinet that has three "leafs" (double-sided pegboard panels) - the first one opens to the left, the second opens to the right, and the third is permanently mounted to the wall. This effectively quadruples (quintuples?) the square footage of the wall space it takes up.

(4) Flip-top tool stands. I'm going to mount my planer and grinder to the flip-top stand I currently have. If I need more space, I suppose I could make another to mount two other bench tools, but I'd rather keep them all against the wall.

(5) Using vertical space. I mounted my clamp racks up high to give me useful space underneath them, and I built my shop-vac into a rolling cabinet with a corral on the top to hold my Vortex separator. I may be able to squeeze useful space out of the wall above my bench tools as well, depending on how they end up being situated.

(6) Everything on casters. Except for my wall-mounted cabinets, every single bench, cart, or tool in my shop is mobile. Hopefully I can keep it that way when I build my "bench tool wall."

If anyone has additional ideas/concepts to maxmize space in a small shop, I'm all ears! Especially for plywood storage - I don't ever have full sheets (and if I do, I can keep them in the garage), but I have lots of 2-4' by 2-4' pieces of cabinet grade plywood, melamine, etcs. that I use for various projects. I'm hoping to find wall space somewhere to mount a roll-out plywood rack; maybe against the back wall, if it doesn't interfere with the clamps?

I'll post more pictures as the shop gets cleaned up and I figure out how to better utilize my space.


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## bowedstraight (Jul 18, 2013)

looks warm and cozy to me, love to have something in the house close to the couch, TV and fridge


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## ADHDan (Aug 17, 2012)

That it is. Since we're in a split-entry house, the room adjacent to my shop is a finished family room/playroom with large above-ground windows. It's nice to be able to take a break, walk maybe 15 feet, and chill on the couch and watch some TV. Just in case I want to make it even more comfy, I ran a coax line through the drywall when I put up the shop walls, so I could put in a TV. And a mini-fridge, that'd be good too.

New space-saving idea: assembly table with underside mini-fridge and microwave cabinet, and a flip-up 50" flat panel TV mounted under the tabletop.

Ok maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself…


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