Small Wood Shop
Getting Work Done In A Small Wood Shop
My current shop, not a dream shop, but very functional small work shop. It is about 350 sq. feet and is located in my basement.
The wall mounted shelves were pulled from a dumpster on a commercial remodel and recycled by me for tool and fastener storage.
I painted the floor with epoxy paint for its durability and professional quality appearance. Every few years I will clean and paint the floor. It keeps the shop looking nice and easier to clean.
The main shop, center view. The main shop is 14 x 18. Click to enlarge the photo.
Both side walls have 2×4 framed walls with 3/8″ ac plywood. Having the walls make hanging cabinets, tools and shelves much easier to do. The plywood allows small hooks and pegs to be installed.
Pipe clamp holders are located on both sides of the shop. See “How to make a Pipe Storage Rack.”
The cabinets, and shelves are RECYCLED from past kitchen remodeling jobs. They make for great dust free storage and look great.
A 3 HP router is mounted to the white extension table of the table saw. I wired a switched outlet plug for the router so I did not have to reach under the table to turn the router on or off.
To the far right I modified a small, recycled bookcase cabinet with full extension drawer slides. My belt / disk sander is mounted to the pull out shelf in this recycled bookcase. When I need to sand something, I pull out the shelf and push it in to store it.
Main shop left wall.
Wood is stored in an adjacent room behind the chop saw. Above the chop saw and on the opposite wall, out of view, are two 500 watt spot lights. These lights supplement the 8′ fluorescent lights and make for nice bright task lighting. This is needed in a basement shop.
Most of the hand tools are stored in a mechanics tool chest on the far left of this picture. The most measuring used tools hang on the wall. The least frequent used are stored in cabinets.
All of the major dust making tools are connected to the dust collection system. Quick disconnects and adapters are available to hook up the router table or a sander if needed.
A small particle dust filter is suspended on the ceiling off to the side of the table saw and router table. I employed this system early on- controlling wood dust in a small shop.
Behind me against the wall is my home made shaper.
Many of the heavy tools like the edge joiner above are mounted on wheels so they can be stored against the wall when not in use.
I employ a folding leg table that mounts to the end of my table saw for cutting sheet stock and for assembly. It mounts and dismounts easily and stores behind my toolbox taking up 5″ of space.
Having this table allows me to cut sheet stock with out a helper. When working alone you have to think what will make things easier and still allow you to produce a product at a decent rate.
Off to the upper right corner of the picture is a recycled Dayton 5 KW electric heater. A thermostat is mounted on the opposite side of the shop and can bring the shop up to 70 degrees in 10 minutes.
My second shop access, a bulkhead, is seen behind me. A recycled, store display Larson storm door keeps the temperature in the shop 15 degrees warmer.
My 40 gallon air compressor is out of view at the bulkhead door and is hard piped into the shop, see yellow hose off ceiling in earlier pictures.
Any room for expansion will mean getting rid of the exercise equipment in the rear of the shop….. hmmmmmmm?
Not exactly my dream shop but it will do.
