Best Decision and Do Over

[SoonerFan]

I am contemplating some changes to my shop since I now spend more time there than I have previously.  I am considering many options but want some input from FOG.  Thus my two questions are:

1.  What is the one decision you made when building your shop that you like best and why?

2.  If you had one “do over” to change/fix something you originally did what would it be and why?  One change besides building bigger because mine is not getting bigger anytime soon.

As for me and my shop…
- I build lots of cabinets these days but also tabletops, trays, bowls, decorations, and do lots of home improvement (trim, doors, crown, etc.)
- I have a combination of Festools (drills, sanders, track saw, dominos, routers/lr32, etc.) and floor standing tools (planner, table saw, drill press, drum sander, jointer, band saw, and a CNC)
- my shop is dedicated to woodworking/home improvement
- I have around 100 sq/m or 1100 sq/ft

Some options I am considering:
- more organized place for off cut storage
- dedicated space to prep and paint cabinets
- dedicated miter-saw station (use Kapex, mobile base and extension wings currently)
- remove the two lounge chairs I have to chat with those that come by and get a floor standing edge sander for cabinet drawer/door edges, etc

Thanks.

 

[nclemmons]

For me, I have a 3 car garage and store my tools in one car potion with cabinets across the entire front and both sides.  Kapex station was a big improvement.  A wall mounted lumber rack and storage bin was a big improvement to get more stuff organized by species and length.  I have cabinets above most of the entire space for paint, hardware, sanding supplies and assorted other items, and adjustable wire shelves below that gives me a lot of flexibility for fitting in various storage needs including Systainers, bolt and nut bins, etc.  I use a lot of Systainers and use a lot of SYS-AZ drawers for their storage on mobile workstations and under the Kapex station.  All my benches are on locking casters which makes it very easy to move things for larger work needs.

I do have a mini-Split for heat and air which makes a huge difference.  I ran air lines around the perimeter and have central dust collection for all the stationary tools which controls dust. 

 

[luvmytoolz]

Trolleys! I put almost everything on tool trolleys! The drawers give a massive amount of storage as well which is a huge benefit.

Benches I fit wheels to. My workspace is tiny so it makes life so much better when you can wheel stuff around.

My drum sander lives on a 48" tool trolley which is the perfect size for it, and all my sandpaper stock is in the drawers.

 

[rmwarren]

2 things, stationary work surfaces around the perimeter with stuff on casters stored below. I've yapped about this in other threads.

My setup uses 27" deep work surfaces 40" high (I'm 6' and like a high surface) that are 38" underneath and mostly self supported, i.e. few legs or obstructions. The mobile stuff is 37" tall and around 24" deep.

All the stationary stuff like drill presses, disk grinders, etc. live on top of the stationary surfaces. Mobile stuff like tablesaw, planer, etc. are on carts below. I just roll out whatever is needed for the task at hand but the bench tools are always usable.

I'd like a do-over myself, if I could I'd rebuild all this with a steel frame to be fully self supporting and eliminate the few ubstruction I have underneath. Have flexibility to rearrange the mobile stuff is really handy in a small space.

Have fun with your project.

RMW

 

[SoonerFan]

Thanks for the input so far. 

Ilike the idea of storing lumber by length and species and will look into options.  As far as mobility goes, I have some but not all my tools on mobile carts.  I can move my jointer, planner, drum sander, drill press and router table all easily.  Technically I can move my SawStop with the mobile base but with a large out feed table and sliding cross cut table it is rarely moved.  Bandsaw is harder to move and the CNC is as stationary as stationary gets.

 

[sancho57]

I moved to Az from Calif about 3-4 years ago. So I documented the entire move in this thread.

Now pertaining to your question, I also had a 824 sq ft stand alone shop built. A good portion of this thread is what i went through getting it built from the architect to getting permits . Be aware the plan approval and permitting were during the COVID thing, so it took a while to get things moving. But here is the thread its long but detailed, just sort through the moving process and get to my thoughts about the shop then on to the.  building process.
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/...s/whats-a-good-shop-size/msg643780/#msg643780