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What do you think of this workshop layout?

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What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby will1983 » 14 Feb 2018, 14:49

I posted the following on UKW earlier but as there are so many good workshops being built on here I would like to hear your thoughts too.

This is a plan of my garage, 6.650m x 4.250m, which is a good size. however the presence of my long running classic car restoration takes up a portion of it. This also results in the woodworking area being an awkward L shape.

I've labelled up all my stationary tools and some of the measurements. Along the top side I plan to construct work bench 'modules' 1.200m x 0.700m, mounted on locking castors but will join together with latch toggle clamps like these. These will incorporate lots of storage in the way of drawers and cupboards.
https://www.goodhanduk.co.uk/Catalogue/Toggle-Clamps/Toggle-Clamps-With-Safety-Lock/Latch-Toggle-Clamps-With-Safety-Lock
This should give me a bit more flexibility when dealing with longer bits or larger assemblies. The table saw/outfeed/router/assembly table on the left will be four modules, also mobile, that will join together in a similar manner.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby old » 14 Feb 2018, 16:00

I would position car restoration project adjacent to the opposite wall not opposite the large door. so a total rearrange of your plan, put everything on castors except the bench .this allows for long material, moving machines outside or in better positions and a large door for larger finished projects .also try to keep surfaces at the same height i set it at the height of my wrist watch arm at the side.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby RogerS » 14 Feb 2018, 16:57

I can see why you've put the car where it is....so you can get it outside when you've finished !
But it doesn't help !

I don't know what sort of projects you'll be working on and therefore size of timber. But at the moment, the location of the table saw restricts you to a maximum length of around 1m or just over (if I read your drawing correctly. And likewise the morticer is going to be nigh on possible to make, say, doors.

Ideally your three 'long wood' pieces of equipment (table saw, morticer and P/T) would be wheeled so that they could move to the centre of the room to maximise the length of timber that you handle.

I'm a great fan of the workshop 'island'.
workshop island.jpg
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Here you can see my 'long wood' machines at 90 degrees to each other. Heights adjusted so that wood clears adjacent machines. We have the table saw on the left (wood goes 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock in the photo). Behind it, the drum sander (wood goes L > R in the photo) . My 'go-to- bandsaw is on a roller base and so can be wheeled out of the way when I need to use the drum sander. Then the large P/T (God, how I miss it....wood goes 1 o'clock to 7 o'clock) and lastly the morticer.

I subsequently moved the morticer out of the way as I wasn't using it that much and replaced it with a linisher.

The floor is never this clean.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby Woodster » 14 Feb 2018, 17:06

Put the lathe under the window. I did that in one past garage workshop and also in the current workshop.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby will1983 » 14 Feb 2018, 17:43

Thanks Chris, Roger & Woodster.

As you can see the position of the car makes it difficult doesn't it?

I usually make rectilinear stuff for the house, got a 7' long painted sideboard, some matching alcove units and a rotating storage carousel planned for the near future.

I didn't say earlier but everything will be the same height, not only will it make it simpler to build but everything can be used with everything else.

The proximity of the wall behind the table saw is my concern too, I just cannot see where else or what orientation to put it where I will still have enough room either side to be able to cross cut bigger bits. the router table is ok though as I can angle bits to go out through the small door, I don't think the table saw module will have enough room to be able to do that though.

I see what you are saying about the morticer but I am not that concerned as that and the drill press are both relatively small bench top tools so can be moved if required.

Woodster, good spot on the lathe! I'll swap it with the sharpening station. Cheers!

Chris, I'm in Crewe so only a few miles up the road!

Any other suggestions gratefully received! I've been looking at this for so long I've become solution blind!!

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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby RogerS » 14 Feb 2018, 18:07

I always cross-cut using my mitre saw.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby Mike G » 14 Feb 2018, 21:18

Just a quickie.......My workshops have all had hatches in them to allow long bits of wood to stick out through the walls. This eases the location problems associated with Roger's "long wood machines". I won't have machinery on wheels: if it doesn't earn a permanent part of the floor plan it doesn't come into the workshop in the first place. Hatches resolve many of these moving-machines issues.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby old » 15 Feb 2018, 20:44

PM sent.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby will1983 » 16 Feb 2018, 09:57

Mike G wrote:Just a quickie.......My workshops have all had hatches in them to allow long bits of wood to stick out through the walls. This eases the location problems associated with Roger's "long wood machines". I won't have machinery on wheels: if it doesn't earn a permanent part of the floor plan it doesn't come into the workshop in the first place. Hatches resolve many of these moving-machines issues.


That's a good idea Mike, however as my workshop is actually a precast sectional concrete garage I can't cut hatches into it, well not without borrowing a Stihl saw from work! I might be able to utilise the door on the left in a similar manner though.

As for cross cutting with the mitre saw, I really should get into the habit of that, I spent a silly amount of money on a really nice Bosch blue saw in the summer so need to make it pay for itself! In the workshop's currently disorganised state I haven't been using it much as it requires digging the mitre saw out and setting it up each time. Once I have some units made and can set it up properly in a permanent location it will be a lot easier though.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby Rod » 16 Feb 2018, 10:27

Give it a try but be prepared to move things around until you achieve the optimum placement.
My workshop isn’t big enough to have everything fixed permanently. My workbench, TS, BS and Woodrat are pretty well fixed and so is my lathe which forms a central island with my moveable P/T and BobbinSander.
For long lengths of timber on my router table I open my garage door.

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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby RogerS » 16 Feb 2018, 11:12

will1983 wrote:.... Once I have some units made and can set it up properly in a permanent location it will be a lot easier though.


When you make the surrounding units, put the mitre saw in a well so that the top of the mitre saw bed is flush with the adjacent units.

These photos are of the Mark 1 unit and subsequent addition to the right of the mitre saw.

mitre saw 3.jpg
(63.28 KiB)


mitre saw 2.jpg
(54.82 KiB)


mitre saw.jpg
(230.23 KiB)


The gizmo at the back is the long fence (with an inset ruler on top) and an Axminster 'stop' so that I could quickly and easily cross-cut pieces of the same length.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby Mark A » 16 Feb 2018, 11:39

I took a different approach to Roger regarding the placement of my mitre saw.

The floor of my garage is nowhere near level or flat, so if I were to install my benches so all the tops were equal height I'd had to pack up one end of the run several inches. Instead I built my mitre saw bench considerably taller than the neighbouring workbench and router table so it could be levelled independently, timber can pass over the top unobstructed and best of all; my planer thicknesser can be stored underneath with the fence removed when I don't need it. My mitre saw bench is also narrower than my workbench so the vice is still usable.

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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby RogerS » 16 Feb 2018, 12:47

Mark A wrote:I took a different approach to Roger regarding the placement of my mitre saw.

The floor of my garage is nowhere near level or flat, so if I were to install my benches so all the tops were equal height I'd had to pack up one end of the run several inches. Instead I built my mitre saw bench considerably taller than the neighbouring workbench and router table so it could be levelled independently, timber can pass over the top unobstructed and best of all; my planer thicknesser can be stored underneath with the fence removed when I don't need it. My mitre saw bench is also narrower than my workbench so the vice is still usable.

Mark


How do you support the ends of long pieces of timber ?
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby Mark A » 16 Feb 2018, 13:48

The bench is about 7ft long and I use a mini adjustable roller stand each end.

https://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-a ... ler-100052

They've doubled in price - I paid around £20 each five or six years ago. They're not worth £41.77!
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby RogerS » 16 Feb 2018, 14:01

I used to use these

https://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-f ... ent-610066

Still have to if I'm planing a long piece of timber, say, but they flop about all over the place. Deciding to make my table saw in a fixed position then adding it's outfeed table was one of the best decisions I ever made in the workshop. My mitre bench uses kitchen cabinets and so levelling them was never an issue.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby Rod » 16 Feb 2018, 14:24

I spy a WoodRat there

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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby RogerS » 16 Feb 2018, 15:06

Rod wrote:I spy a WoodRat there

Rod

Yes, Indeed. I subsequently sold it but, TBH, I think I may get another or the Router Boss
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby will1983 » 16 Feb 2018, 15:36

Thanks for the Mitre Saw tip there Roger. I will definitely be doing that.

So I've been mulling this over and gone back to the drawing board.

I can't really move the car as the floor is a bit to rough to be able to pop it up on dollies so that's got to stay where it is until I can pull my finger out and finish it.

The restricted space behind the table saw concerned me, as this is easily my most used tool it seemed logical to start with putting that where it has the most room and then position everything else around it. It is a bit close to the wall for my liking but if the whole table saw/assembly/router table thing was mobile I could still move it around a bit to send stuff out of either door.

If anyone is wondering why I have put the table saw so that I will be facing the door when stood at it, well this is so I can see the wife coming when its on, she has a habit of sneaking up behind me and scaring the life out of me when I have sharp, noisy, rapidly spinning metal things going!!

As the mitre saw is one of those fancy sliding efforts I need to have enough space behind it for the bars. Therefore the units along that wall have grown to 800mm deep but this should mean I still have enough room for the timber storage along that wall.

The unit to the right of the table saw may turn into a 0.6 x 0.6m mobile cart to hold all my most used tools and clamps or maybe a downdraft sanding table, or maybe both.

Oh, and I've swapped the lathe and grinder over to make use of what little natural light comes through the window.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby RogerS » 16 Feb 2018, 16:14

Has anyone asked ? What's the car ?
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby Malc2098 » 16 Feb 2018, 16:24

I've got a wife like that, too!! :lol:
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby will1983 » 16 Feb 2018, 16:40

Shamelessly copied from UKW, they asked the same thing there... :D

The car is a 1997 Mk1 Mazda MX5, I know, not quite a classic yet but very nearly there. We bought it in 2007, went on loads of Sunday morning group runs and exhibited it at lots of shows with various clubs. If you can bear all the bloody adverts there's loads of photos on my photobucket account Will1983_MX5.

We took it off the road a few years ago, there was pretty significant rust to the sills. This prompted me to learn to weld and they were dually repaired. It still needs respraying to get it back up to its former glory though. As for the restoration I am very very slowly working though the usual tidying up and servicing tasks. It isn't high on the priorities list though having a full house to decorate and countless other DIY jobs to do.

Hopefully I will have it done in the next 12 months though, we are planning a trip down to Italy in it once finished.
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby Malc2098 » 16 Feb 2018, 16:52

Nice. Was the design based on the Lotus Elan?
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Re: What do you think of this workshop layout?

Postby will1983 » 16 Feb 2018, 17:01

Yes, the Elan was one of the designs that inspired Mazda to build it but it pretty much shares its design with any 2 seater sports car built in the 60/70s.

It's great fun to drive in the summer but a bit noisy on motorways and gets very cold in the winter! I've actually had ice on the inside of the roof some mornings, the heater is extraordinary though! I've never felt anything like it, much more effective than a lot of more modern cars!
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