OK, I'm In!

[Bluenose]

I am in the middle of building my first small shop (10x12) and the reality became apparent that I just don't have room for in feed and out feed. I was thinking about getting a used Shopsmith but then I discovered a green cool-aide. Placed an order tonight with Bob for a TS 55 EQ, CT 22 and an MFT/3 when they come. I have a lot to learn but I am excited.

Bill

 

[Warrior]

can't you make it bigger?

 

[Michael Kellough]

can't you make it bigger?

Of course not!  It barely fits on the grey carpet as it is. 

Nice work Bluenose. Good decision and welcome to the FOG.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

      You have selected a great starting point with that order.    The MFT will become the center of your shop and the CT will be the supporting unit for everything.    Just curious what are the two tanks in your plan?

Seth

 

[Ned]

Welcome, Bluenose.

Seth's right--you've started your set of Festools with the best foundation possible.

Unless you never work with sheet goods, you'll be buying at least one additional guide rail soon.  Here's a thread to think about:  Never buy the same size rail.

I also forsee a sander in your future.  (Ooh! I'm psychic!)

Ned

 

[robtonya]

Welcome Bluenose, I know you will like Festool over Shopsmith ( I own both).

 

[Dixon Peer]

Hi,

      You have selected a great starting point with that order.    The MFT will become the center of your shop and the CT will be the supporting unit for everything.    Just curious what are the two tanks in your plan?

Seth

What are those tanks???

 

[dltflt]

Welcome aboard!!  You definitely made the right decision, I use to own a Shopsmith and the best feature on that was a horizontal drill.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Move the shop to the house and live in the shed, problem solved.

 

[Bluenose]

can't you make it bigger?

No, not easily. 120 square feet is the maximum without any sort of permit. Plus I have some serious propertly line offset issues. If I went the permet route, the county is involve, the community board is involved and the land owner is involve (don't ask). I started out planning an 8 x 10 so this feels like the Taj Mahal. Put some rafters up today.

Of course not!  Wink It barely fits on the grey carpet as it is.  Smiley

Nice work Bluenose. Good decision and welcome to the FOG.

The gray "carpet" is actually the gravel pad I put down. I just couldn't find a nice gravel in google sketchup.

You have selected a great starting point with that order.    The MFT will become the center of your shop and the CT will be the supporting unit for everything.  Smiley  Just curious what are the two tanks in your plan?

That's how I see things as well. My furture plans are to build a MFT cabinet on wheels that houses the C22. That way I can layout my "shop" in whatever seems like the best way. I am already thinking about a new wooden dinghy in my future. So if it looks tight now...

The two tanks are my catchment tanks for irrigation. Actually I only have the green one installed as I am holding off on the black one until construction is further along.

Seth's right--you've started your set of Festools with the best foundation possible.

Unless you never work with sheet goods, you'll be buying at least one additional guide rail soon.  Here's a thread to think about:  Never buy the same size rail.

I also forsee a sander in your future.  (Ooh! I'm psychic!)

Thanks for the advice on different sized rails, I will keep that in mind. And I do need a good sander. I am already reading about the dual mode sanders try see if there is any down side. Boat bottom painting is a yearly event for me so dust controlled sanding is high on the list.

Welcome Bluenose, I know you will like Festool over Shopsmith ( I own both).

Thanks. I quite liked a lot about how the Shopsmith worked. In ultimately came down to the fact that I couldn't find a way to feed wood to a stationary tools. There is a chance that I still might dabble in a Shopsmith in the future if I find I need a bandsaw and a drill press. Shopsmiths are occasionally shorted into a mini version that makes a nice bench top sized bandsaw, drill press and sanding station.

Move the shop to the house and live in the shed, problem solved.

My new wife just okayed a new "shop" and 2k worth of tools... So I think I will hold off on telling her about you bigger shop idea ;D

Cheers and thanks for the encouragement and advise.

Oh, I hung some rafters today. Great fun.

 

[robtonya]

Looking good. If you have any shopsmith questions, I can try to answer them for you. I have the bandsaw on mine, My only complaint is cost. They list their bansaw at over $400, maybe close to $500, but you have to remember you have already purchased the motor that drives it, so you could buy another brand for the same amount of money. You would think that since you already have all the electronics, it would be cheaper. The one good thing about the shopsmith, is the quality seems to be there, and if they design an improvement, they include this improvement on all further models. I noticed some improvements on the bandsaw after purchase in their catolog, and I checked mine, and already had it on there, the other was a retrofit for earlier models. Are you confused yet?

 

[Hoover]

can't you make it bigger?

No, not easily. 120 square feet is the maximum without any sort of permit. Plus I have some serious propertly line offset issues. If I went the permet route, the county is involve, the community board is involved and the land owner is involve (don't ask). I started out planning an 8 x 10 so this feels like the Taj Mahal. Put some rafters up today.

Oh, I hung some rafters today. Great fun.

Two suggestions that might help a lot for such a small space.  First, on the gable end, make a little door on the top, like you see on barns, so you can store 10' material and other things easily.  Getting boards through the 2x4 ceiling joist would be impossible for anything longer than 4'.  Second, you can get a small overhead garage door, say 5' wide, or maybe a little more, and put that on the gable end rather than the normal door.  The extra width will help all the time and in good weather you can open the door and give the shop more space.  Make sure you put something angled on the floor for the garage door though, you want the water to pitch off the structure rather than onto the floor.  The best steel door in my area is Garaga, a canadian door company.  I have this set up on a utility shed and my similar sized work space.

 

[Corwin]

When you get that shop done and your Festools moved in, space will be tight.  You may have seen plans for those flip top workstations -- usually a planer stand that flips under so you have a second top.  Well, you might construct your own flip cart where one top could have an MFT mounted (w/legs folded) and the flip side have a router table -- or whatever you preffer.  Just an offbeat idea.

One very handy accessory for Festool usage is the boom arm.  Mounted on the vac, it tags along with you across the shop.  With your limited space you might be equally served with a user made boom tailored to your space.  Some good examples here on the FOG.

Good luck,
Corwin

 

[Bluenose]

Thanks for the continuing suggestions. I know space will be tight but It will be my first dedicated space ever. Currently what tools I have are on my covered porch. So I am starting with a pretty low bar.

Two suggestions that might help a lot for such a small space.  First, on the gable end, make a little door on the top, like you see on barns, so you can store 10' material and other things easily.  Getting boards through the 2x4 ceiling joist would be impossible for anything longer than 4'.  Second, you can get a small overhead garage door, say 5' wide, or maybe a little more, and put that on the gable end rather than the normal door.  The extra width will help all the time and in good weather you can open the door and give the shop more space.  Make sure you put something angled on the floor for the garage door though, you want the water to pitch off the structure rather than onto the floor.  The best steel door in my area is Garaga, a canadian door company.  I have this set up on a utility shed and my similar sized work space.

I sort of followed a set of plans for this shed. By sort of I mean everything but having ceiling joists. I hate them and wanted a tall ceiling. So I put in a structural ridge beam and rafters on 16 inch centers. Your door idea is interesting and one that I hadn't thought about. My current design, and framing, calls for a 36 inch sliding door. I was trying to balance a large enough door to get things in and out without losing precious wall space.

When you get that shop done and your Festools moved in, space will be tight.  You may have seen plans for those flip top workstations -- usually a planer stand that flips under so you have a second top.  Well, you might construct your own flip cart where one top could have an MFT mounted (w/legs folded) and the flip side have a router table -- or whatever you preffer.  Just an offbeat idea.

One very handy accessory for Festool usage is the boom arm.  Mounted on the vac, it tags along with you across the shop.  With your limited space you might be equally served with a user made boom tailored to your space.  Some good examples here on the FOG.

I am sure you are right about space being tight. I have been doing all my cutting on a 3' x 5' table in my shop (although boards are constantly sticking through the walls) to try and get a feel for space and possible work table size. I also really like the idea of a flip top cart for a planer and maybe my miter saw. I also like the idea of the boom arm. I sort of thought of a two station workshop to start out with. My primary table with be a custom MFT with storage and the flip cart. I have been reading though the post here but for ideas but I have a ways to go. I will start with the basic table and go from there.

Looking good. If you have any shopsmith questions, I can try to answer them for you. I have the bandsaw on mine, My only complaint is cost. They list their bansaw at over $400, maybe close to $500, but you have to remember you have already purchased the motor that drives it, so you could buy another brand for the same amount of money. You would think that since you already have all the electronics, it would be cheaper. The one good thing about the shopsmith, is the quality seems to be there, and if they design an improvement, they include this improvement on all further models. I noticed some improvements on the bandsaw after purchase in their catolog, and I checked mine, and already had it on there, the other was a retrofit for earlier models. Are you confused yet?

Thanks so much, I am sure I will take you up on this offer in the future. If I go the Shopsmith mini route for accessories I will definitely buy used. Since I don't care about a table saw (a lot of the upgrades seemed to be aimed at table saw safety and fence accuracy) I can pick up an older model for a pretty good price. I have seen older Mark V's with a band saw and a jointer for $600.

Although I am practically limited in size in many ways this shop reflects my philosophy of living. I know that I couldn't afford to outfit a 16' x 20' shop with the quality of tools that I would want. But with my limited space my tool budget can be pretty extravagant since I just can't have that many of them. The trick will be to get the capability and usefulness out of the tools and space that I get.

I am following the same philosophy in a boat that we are have modified. I wanted the nicest daysailor / weekender that I could get. So I picked a boat just large enough to convert into a fast, luxurious daysailor. If I had picked a 35 footer with standing headroom and all the comforts of home, I would have had to settle in quality.

Bill