Lighting & workbench?

[SPIKER]

LOTS of good suggestions, I built my workbench a few months back (sorry no photo) but like others siad Imade it higher than a standard cabinet size. it is ~40" high and was more or less all scrap material. 1- 4x8 sheet of 3/4" ply solid core! then cut down to 26 or 28' (forget which) to make the top then used the drop to make the bottom shelf. used 8' 2x4's mounted and built frame for the small sized ply to go inside & under the upper top. the vrame was braced diagonally too across the back using 2x4's. the top frame is smaller than the 3/4 so I ahve an overhang to clamp things to. the vice is mounted to the right corner like others said. (i'm right handed) works nicely there and can piviot at the corner while closed for working in the two different clamping planes. I painted mine with some inexpensive white outdoor house paint. White makes seeing a bit easier (blinded us outside while painting it! lol) I also chanfered the edges a bit with a belt siadner so the edge & ends are rounded over nice. as far as electrical & lighting there is never enough after you are done, so go with as much as you can get a 50 amp is min size I would say for a work shop. 60 or 100 or 200 beter! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I have 200 amp service to my barn, put in myself and have been slowly wiring stuff myself as needed...


MarkM /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

I built two of my own workbenches that were perfect for my purposes, but maybe not for yours. I made them taller than you're considering (legs about 42" if I remember right) because I worked there a lot standing up, or sometimes sitting on the barstool in the picture. The top, and the bottom shelf, were 3/4" particle board, legs were "landscape timbers", perimeter 2 x 4s under the top and a single 2 x 4 under the middle of the bottom shelf and all assembled with 3" countersunk screws. The shop had lots of plain incandescent light bulbs only, so I hung the two tube 4' florescent fixture over the spot where I worked the most. And I put my 4" swiveling vise on the left end of the left bench, the bench grinder toward the left end of the right bench, (and a 3 ton arbor press out of the picture on the right end of the right bench).

 

[Boxman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(
As for lighting, what's the approximate price for a double 4' T8 fixture? Any particular brand better than another. I'll see what I can find.)</font>

The orange box store sells 4' and 8' T8 fixtures. As far as I know T8 bulbs only come in 4'. The 4' fixture is about $25.00 each and two can be joined to make an 8' fixture, the 8' fixtures are about $45.00. The 4' takes two 4' bulbs and the 8' takes four 4' bulbs. Bulbs are about $1.60 or so each. Each bulb typically uses 32 watts and each 4' fixture typically draws .5 amps.

Boxman

 

[Tdog]

Thanks again to all. I went to the orange box store this afternoon & bought 8 double 4' T8 fluorescent fixtures. They were $27+ apiece. Also bought some coaxial cable to bury when the trench is open, along with some wire for a phone jack.

Bird, what a great looking workbench. Mine will never be that neat or complete. I work at it but I always seem to clutter. I plan to install a couple of 4 x 8 pegboards - - maybe that will help.


My builder says we can pull more than the original 30 amps I mentioned. Says he will know more when he gets to the panel in my garage. Maybe tomorrow, but we are expecting rain.

Thanks again to all - - as a cartoon character might say, 'dis is grate'.

 

[PineRidge]

<font color="blue"> Bird, what a great looking workbench. Mine will never be that neat or complete. I work at it but I always seem to clutter. I plan to install a couple of 4 x 8 pegboards - - maybe that will help.
</font>

Tdog I used pegboard on two walls in a 24 X 24 garage at my last home and it was great for hanging the tools just where you needed them. Unfortunately every spider on my block seemed to make a home in the multiple pegboard holes and there was no getting rid of the critters. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Since I'm really not fond of spiders I elected to use OSB to finish the inside walls of my present pole barn. It's easy to drive a nail into the OSB to hang the tools wherever you want them and the spiders now live elsewhere.

 

[GregJ]

Tdog,
I used some 5 inch casters from Home Depot. My 2 biggest concerns when I designed the bench was racking due to no cross bracing and being so heavy that it would be hard to roll. I glued and screwed all the joints in the bench and there is absolutely no movement or racking. It is solid. I used Gorilla glue with the screws. I have become a big believer in that stuff. As far as solid....it is so darn heavy, I had to have my neighbor come over to help me flip it back upright when I built it. I was pleased that it does roll "fairly" easily on the casters. I bought locking casters thinking that I would need to lock them to keep it from moving. That's not a problem. It stays put and takes a bit of effort to move, but not bad. As far as stability with heavy pounding, no problem.

I didn't mention it earlier, but my shop is 20x24 and I have 6 - dual 4' flourescent lights. This is very adequate light... (as long as they're all working /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif). I built the shop 25 years ago, and I think I have had all 12 bulbs working about 10% of the time.

Hope this helps,
Greg

 

[LarryD]

I've got to echo in on the power requirements, 30A is really small for a shop, what with the compressor, welder, barley pop fridge... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Even if you don't feel comfortable putting in a bigger sub panel right now due to curent house load, you can safely oversize the wire for future expansion. Even a couple of 1" conduits will let you change your configuration for power, alarms, comms or anything else you run from the house.

For my bench height, I measured from the floor to my elbow with my arms bent parallel to the floor. It is very comfortable when standing there for long periods and gets the item closer to my tired eyes. I also have an old drafting table lamp I can move to just about any position for up close lighting.

 

[mrcaptainbob]

That wall full of tools looks a lot like my shop floor! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[CTyler]

You said you have the trench open, have you considered running conduit so you can pull stuff later?

With conduit you could run a 30 amp for now to get you by, then at a later date you can run more wire. I put in two 2" conduits from my house to the shop. One for communication and the other for power.

 

[Tdog]

CTyler - - two conduits were laid, one carries power & the other contains a phone line & coaxial cable. Trouble is, with T'giving approaching, I can't get enough free time to get things in working order.
My builder finished last Friday, so it's all mine. All I need is time.

 

[shade2u2]

I'm getting ready to run the wiring for my 24X32 (10'ceiling) barn/shop & also have some related questions. I have 100 amp service to the barn. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
For now, I thought of wiring 6 over head light fixtures (for 100 watt bulbs) with receptacles. I was going to plug 3 48" dual florecent lights (with pull chains) into 3 of the receptacles to hang over the future workbench area. Is it okay to run what I just described off 1 15 amp circuit? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Which is better... plastic or ceramic fixtures?
I was then going to run 10 outlets around the perimeter of the building off of another 15 amp circuit. How would that work? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
I have a basic service box with 6 circuit slots with room to add flood lights, 220, etc later. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[shade2u2]

Also, metal or plastic?... electric boxes that is...? Whic would be better for an unheated barn/shop?

 

[sneaky_pete]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Also, metal or plastic?... electric boxes that is...? Whic would be better for an unheated barn/shop?)</font>

I just had a licensed electrician add some more outlets and switches to my shop, and he used all metal boxes and conduit. He didn't offer me a choice on plastic vs. metal. My shop is unheated, but not likely to get as cold as yours.

What is the advantage of plastic, cost? Seems like it ought to insulate just as well or better than metal.

Pete

 

[Inspector507]

Shade,
Put the outlets on a 20A breaker instead of the 15A. And put them on a GFCI.
Plastic or metal......?? Same as being asked plastic or paper at the grocery. Al in what you prefer.

 

[shade2u2]

Thanx for the info.
Why 20 amp instead of 15? I'm glad that you suggest 20 - I have 2 of them. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Do you mean GFCI breakers or GFCI outlet receptacles?

 

[DannyD]

I just built my pole barn this year.
I have a separate 100 amp service to the barn.
My wiring is this, one circuit for the lights with room for more. I use those twisted bulbs which are turned into the sockets that plug in to standard outlets. I can add more to this, currently have 2 outlets/ 4 plug ins on one circuit.
On outlets, I have 2 circuits, both with gfic outlets on the first outlet placement. (required by code).

I have a circuit for just the garage door opener, again a simple plug in.

I have another circuit for the side and front lights, which are motion detecting.

Another circuit for my small out building 220 split into 2 sides of the extension box to give me 2 legs of 110 each, lights and outlets only on this.

I have one more circiut 220 for my air compressor, which by the way has 1 inch pvc tubing around the barn with several outlets that I can connect air lines or tools to

 

[keeney]

RE: <font color="red"> " my air compressor, which by the way has 1 inch pvc tubing around the barn "</font>

I always thought running pressurized air (gases) through PVC was a safety no-no? Something about what happens to the pieces if it should accidentally get cracked or impacted while pressureized (can you say 120 PSI propelled blow-darts of sharp plastic shrapnel filling the room?

Or was it some other plastic I am thinking of?

- Rick

 

[imported_OWDouglas]

I not sure, but I think he means PVC air hose, it's rated at 400PSI.

 

[v8dave]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I just had a licensed electrician add some more outlets and switches to my shop, and he used all metal boxes and conduit. He didn't offer me a choice on plastic vs. metal. My shop is unheated, but not likely to get as cold as yours.

What is the advantage of plastic, cost? Seems like it ought to insulate just as well or better than metal.

Pete )</font>
Pete, If your shop wiring is exposed, the electrician wired your shop to protect the wires in accordance with code. The conduit and metal boxes protect the wires from the damage we manage to inflict on the walls of our shops.

Plastic boxes are quicker for experienced electricians to install than metal boxes (i.e., cheaper). And, when covered by sheet rock or wood they are suitable for mounting/supporting/protecting receptacles and switches. When using plastic boxes, wall coverings are expected to be used to protect the wires.

 

[btolle]

Just to throw in a couple of items no one has mentioned.

I installed a retractable cord reel between the cars, right next to the garage door opener. I plugged it into the garage door opener outlet since I am not likely to be raising the door while using the cord reel. Really handy to have a 30' cord available in the middle of the garage. I put another one on the corner of the front porch by the driveway. I know the cheap ones are not rated for outdoor use but it is on a GFCI plug and I can replace it for $25 or $30 when it rusts/wears out. It's been there for about 4 years now and still works great.

After sweltering through a couple of hot summers I insulated the ceiling. The roof has exposed 2X6 rafters. Stapled the 6" insulation between the rafters and then ran 2' wide chicken wire perpendicular to the rafters and left a 2' gap between rows of chicken wire. Insulation will start falling after a few years without the chicken wire to hold it in place.

I was amazed at the difference the insulation made in both summer and winter. I used to be able to feel the heat coming through the roof in the summer and now it is often 2 degrees cooler in the garage than it is outside.

I put a ceiling fan in the center of the garage, above the joists. It circulates the air and keeps moisture from building up in the corners in the dead air space. I have it blowing up so the air hits the roof and then blows down into the corners.

Ditto on the fluorescent lights. My 28X32 garage has 10 4' fixtures + 2 over the workbench. I have one of those clip-on aluminum floodlights on the back wall behind the workbench with a 200 watt bulb in it in case I need a lot of light on something I am working on.

Don't forget to put in a plug for an air compressor. I put mine on it's own 20 amp circuit. The air compressor is the biggest load I have in the garage so I didn't want anything else on that circuit.

The rolling wire shelving from Sam's is about the same as the one from Costco. At $75 (?) it is about as cheap as the lumber to build shelving and you can move it around if you decide to rearrange the shop. The shelves are adjustable so I left extra space between 2 of them so I could put a tool chest and other tall items on that shelf. One other advantage of wire shelving is that it doesn't collect dust as bad as solid shelving.

Have fun with your new shop!

Bill Tolle