Best Workshop/Bench Design Concepts

[Paul_in_CT]

cedar heres a link to some flexible tubing that is rated for air lines, water lines. Everything can be put together with compression type fittings. The engineering data pages have alot of info. I`m currently going to run the orange stuff for my radiant heat. http://www.ipexinc.com/kitec

 

[Chillimau]

Paul, excellent site, I've been there before.

They also have a lot of information on pvc pipe and condiut.

Gary

 

[Chillimau]

Bird,

What are some of the changes you would make?

I am starting to put ideas together for a shop. Looking at somewhere between 50x70 to 50x100x 14 or 16.

Any suggestions appreciated

Gary

 

[Bird]

Gary, I'd probably have gone with 12' walls and a 10' door (though if money were no object, I'd go as high as 16' walls and 14' door), preferably steel frame instead of wood, insulated (mine isn't and it has a ridge vent as well as open all the way around the eaves), a better foundation and floor (part of it has settled, leaving some cracks in the concrete), water and sewer inside the building (there's a hydrant just outside at the back of the shop, but none inside), an entirely different electrical wiring and lighting design (this one was done by an idiot and was dangerous - I've changed it enough to make it safe, but still haven't done it right), and provided for better heating and cooling (I just use some portable fans in the summer, don't spend a lot of time out there in the winter, and the only heaters I have are good to warm your hands over - that's about all).

 

[Pks]

I am considering a 10 foot ceiling. Why would you make yours higher; got an RV?

 

[beenthere]

Doc Great idea. Mounting the cut-off saw high, allowing for room underneath makes a lot of sense. It gave me another idea to mount my DeWalt planer on a sliding shelf low to the floor, so it will slide in (and out) under the bench top. Quick to access, not handy to bend over but still out of the way except when using it. I think it would work directly below the cut-off saw.
Also, I would like to put a vertical shaper head in the back of the bench top, to use as a jointer for long boards. I saw one that a woodworker used like that. He would lay a board flat on his bench top, and run it past the vertical head, jointing a straight edge. His long fences were adjustable. No need to balance a long piece on edge and keep it uniformly pressed against the infeed and outfeed tables of the jointer. It would serve as a great shaper too. Maybe a built-in heavy-duty router would be sufficient.
I have a 24 foot wall in my new garage that I am contemplating turning into a shop, with work bench all along that wall. I could handle 10ft lumber with ease, if the main shop tools were centered along that wall.
Thanks for the idea.

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>considering a 10 foot ceiling. Why would you make yours higher; got an RV</font color=blue>

Ten feet is usually enough for most things. There are always some exceptions, but generally you would use a door that's 2' shorter than the wall. In my case, I have 10' walls, but only a 7' door and it only gives me 3 or 4" of clearance for the tractor ROPS and canopy. Then there are always times, like recently when I bought a new upright freezer, and would have liked to back the truck with the freezer all the way into the building with the freezer upright in the bed of the truck. RV? Not any more; have owned 6 in years past. But I have a brother with a 36 foot motorhome and a neighbor with big tractors with cabs; might want to get one inside to tinker with it if the door were big enough.

It's not a big deal, and mine is really quite adequate for my uses, but if I were starting from scratch, and had the money, the bigger the better.

 

[DocHeb]

I put the cutoff saw along my long wall. This allow my dimensional lumber storage (3/4 inch black pipe in 7/8 inch holes drilled into the studs), shorts storage (wire closet shelf turned upside down on the same black pipe), and plywood storage (on a swing out rack hinged to the wall at one end) to be aligned along one wall. The two pictures show the roller arms that support stock for the cutoff saw. I put them every second stud - they roll easily and make moving the wood easy.

 

[DocHeb]

This picture show my whole cut-off saw wall, with the lumber storage above and the short cut-off racks below to the left.

 

[HalseyGreen]

I was enjoying looking at the photo's and noticed that about half of them showed one of the same important tools, that good old radio, but was discouraged that their location appeared an after though. Has anyone prewired their shop for audio?