Looking for help upgrading my workshop.

[Cheese]

I'm in with Ron on this one...any amount of space you can free up will be a huge bonus round. I have a small 30" x 60" workbench that I work off of. It's in the basement and the space is tight. There's a Vac Sys on one end and a 60# vise on the other. While they can both be swapped end for end, it's still a tight fit. There's also a myriad of tools and items that seem to just naturally relocate themselves to the middle of the bench.

So I decided to make an extension wing for the work bench. It's comprised of 3 pieces of 80/20 extruded rail and it takes literally, 2 minutes to set up. All the frame members also store easily underneath the work bench. It's used only for those times when I need more real estate to finish a project.

Is there an area where you can mount a single horizontal run of 80/20? If so, the extended wing concept becomes an extremely stable support base, more so than the MFT which just kind of moves and shakes as it is want to do. I never really warmed up to a $700 table that shakes, rattles & rolls when you use it.

 

[Jdb123]

It all depends on what you want to do. As Mr. P my mentor (RIP) used to tell me " Its all personal preference . So here is mine

I said many time here , Festool is a system there are 3 pieces that form the foundation of the system, MFT, TS 55 (or which ever saw you decide to choose) and a CT, I have the 26 and 22.

You'll need to look into guide rails, I suggest 2 holy rails and rail connectors.

Sanders , personal preferance but Id have at least 1 which is a rotex.

Now if I were to have only one, Id go with the 125.

Now with the MFT your going to need some clamps, I suggest a set of clamping elements and quick clamps.

Their are options for you, Instead of a MFT you can research the site here and see what others have built and find that meets their needs. The Ron Paulk work table seems to be popular with the folks here,you can buy the plans and make your own or buy the bench through Fast Cap they have options for you
http://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=57263

Tim Tools portable work benches (he has 2 he designed) are pretty good to.

You should consider getting a router table since you need it portable the CMS should meet your needs.

Mike Sloggat has some good videos for working in a small space mainly sheet goods but you may find helpful
=PLpBJfh9Law-C7dXa_9y1DHOvKJF4cuhSf

Lots of options for you

As my my man Sedge says " I hope this helps"  [big grin]

Thanks, @jobsworth - good to know on the directions you’ve gone.  Seems like I’ll be joining the TS / MFT / CT crowd soon.  Sander will be a tough call...but the 125 is definitely in the running right now.

Completely agreed on clamps. Appreciate the video links too. Looking forward to watching those.

Router table will come later...but I’ll make due until then with the crappy set I have.

 

[Jdb123]

I'm in with Ron on this one...any amount of space you can free up will be a huge bonus round. I have a small 30" x 60" workbench that I work off of. It's in the basement and the space is tight. There's a Vac Sys on one end and a 60# vise on the other. While they can both be swapped end for end, it's still a tight fit. There's also a myriad of tools and items that seem to just naturally relocate themselves to the middle of the bench.

So I decided to make an extension wing for the work bench. It's comprised of 3 pieces of 80/20 extruded rail and it takes literally, 2 minutes to set up. All the frame members also store easily underneath the work bench. It's used only for those times when I need more real estate to finish a project.

Is there an area where you can mount a single horizontal run of 80/20? If so, the extended wing concept becomes an extremely stable support base, more so than the MFT which just kind of moves and shakes as it is want to do. I never really warmed up to a $700 table that shakes, rattles & rolls when you use it.

Looks like a great job making use of a smaller space, @Cheese. Plusses for my neck of the woods include great weather and the ability to be outside all year round.  High on the minus list is small houses, no basements and really no surplus space.

Will be focused on building something...

Thanks for the thoughts and the pics!

 

[Jdb123]

Well, folks...you’re going to laugh at this update.

So, you got me thinking about space - and I do have the possibility of expanding outdoor space on my lot - and I spent some time looking at various options online. And, my wife noticed that, and in trying to solve her problem of my tools taking over her space and my desire for a workshop, she got me a shed for Xmas. 14x8, so not enormous, but enough to get started.

And, I’ve since gone out and invested in a CT26 (since now I’m inside, of course), an MFT, a TS55, a ET125 sander and a Trion jigsaw. So far, all have been amazing, except for the Trion - visibility is essentially nil with it, from what I can tell.

Anyway - just wanted to say thanks to all of you for your counsel...having fun and making some good stuff so far.

 

[Vondawg]

Check out richards shed set up its very thought out and plenty good ideas
[member=8712]Richard/RMW[/member]http://festoolownersgroup.com/works...-based-shops/small-shopmodular-work-surfaces-(aka-how-to-cram-10-in-a-5-sack-)/msg367878/#msg367878

 

[Sanderxpander]

Comgrats on the upgrades! Sounds like luxury to me (I don't have a shop, just remodeling/renovating in the home and dreaming of a future shop).

From what I can tell, people have nothing but praise for the Mafell P1cc if you're ever wanting to upgrade the jigsaw. That's what I plan on getting when retiring my green (ouch) Bosch. Currently I don't need it often enough to justify the (significant) cost though.