# Workshop Layout - Chicken & Egg



## ratkinsonuk (4 Jan 2018)

After many years of neglect, I'm going to 'properly' set up my workshop, but I've got a bit of chicken and egg situation going on regarding the basic sequence. Do I concentrate on getting tools set up first, e.g. table saw outfeed, chop saw station, etc, or do I work towards storage first?

If I start with storage, then making cupboards, drawers, etc, is going to be a chore and potentially innacurate. If I go for tool configuration, I'll be constantly working in a tight mess until I reach a certain point and can then turn my attention to storage projects.

I suspect the optimum answer is going to be a balance of both - get the table saw station up and running, then build a bit of storage to clear one of the walls of clutter, then work on a chop-saw section, followed by some more storage.

Any additional comments or sage advice?


----------



## cutting42 (4 Jan 2018)

As you suspect a bit of both. I did this last year and setup the table saw first to cut all the ply sheets for the benches and storage drawers. Once they were built I installed the rest of the stuff.

I really did not want to end up like every other workshop I have built with the storage being a second thought. Pictures after building storage and before the tools all went in.


----------



## ratkinsonuk (4 Jan 2018)

A nice clean setup Gareth.

I see you have/had the same quandary as me - ply's very expensive, so what can I use instead 

I didn't need to go the OSB route as luckily, I work for a distribution company. We recycle endless sheets of fairly decent chipboard and MDF. I'm planning on making the storage carcases out of them, and then facing with pine face frames and ply doors/draws.

Rat


----------



## cutting42 (4 Jan 2018)

Thanks Rat

Carcasses are all ply, only the wall linings are OSB


----------



## ratkinsonuk (4 Jan 2018)

Out of interest, have you managed to find a super cheap ply supplier, or do you just pay the £25-£30 standard rate?

I keep looking on eBay for some cheap cabinet-grade stock, but very little comes up in my area. I can get it for as little as £18 a sheet (12mm), but it's then a 300 mile round trip, so not worth it even if I were to buy 10 sheets.

Rat


----------



## cutting42 (4 Jan 2018)

ratkinsonuk":11bk1wld said:


> Out of interest, have you managed to find a super cheap ply supplier, or do you just pay the £25-£30 standard rate?
> 
> I keep looking on eBay for some cheap cabinet-grade stock, but very little comes up in my area. I can get it for as little as £18 a sheet (12mm), but it's then a 300 mile round trip, so not worth it even if I were to buy 10 sheets.
> 
> Rat



I paid £16+vat for the 12mm and £20+vat for the 18mm which was as low as I could get it and £20 for delivery. 

From Builders Depot https://www.builderdepot.co.uk


----------



## MusicMan (4 Jan 2018)

It may help to sort out your wall storage first of all. I love the french cleat system, and you can quickly knock up standard length holders (I use 250 and 500 mm) to store chisels, screwdrivers, abrasives, sharpening stuff, cupboards etc while you are working on the bench etc. The beauty of it is that you don't have to figure out your long term solution. Just put them on any handy wall to begin with, and as the layout converges, move them to their 'permanent' positions. Which you can change later on. I do agree that a table saw or bandsaw would be a good start, as you will use these so much in the construction.

Keith


----------



## ratkinsonuk (4 Jan 2018)

Hi Keith.

This pic (sort of) shows my tool board in the top-left. It's all the racking at the back I knocked up as a temporary measure about 10 years ago  that I'd like to replace with proper cupboards to begin with. The right hand wall will then become my long bench, with a chop saw, etc.

My quandary is that if I build the out-feed first, I'm going to be squeezing round the shop for perhaps a year until I get to a good stage. The white cages on the left are full of motorbike gear, and destined to live in my new bike garage. You know what it's like - one job backing up on another!


----------



## MusicMan (4 Jan 2018)

The tool board looks quite efficient. It could be replaced with french cleats but not essential at first. I agree the back wall is the least efficient and most ugly.

I should decide on the height of all your working surfaces first, and the default would be the height of your table saw. You could make a mobile 600 x 600 mm cupboard first, with locking castors, which could be fitted with storage drawers and would be your table saw outfeed. with other uses later. Another mobile 600x600 drawer cupboard to take the chop saw, this time with the height of your chop saw table being at the standard height could be used in combination with the outfeed table to do your chop sawing at present. This would be sufficient to build your wall cupboards etc (again I'd hang them off french cleats) and long bench, and the chop saw would roll into its place in the centre of the long wall in your final setup. In the meantime, the drawers in the mobile units would handle e.g. the bulky portable power tools, which always look messy.

A nice alternative for the outfeed table would be the small (but standard height) joinery bench that was discussed in a recent thread.

I would not be afraid of intermediate solutions, in fact I would look for things that will help you make your final plan and then slot into it. Also, you have no storage space spare at the moment, so it is hard to start. A good clear-up principle is to make at least some storage/waste bin etc space first, then you can dispose or sort into homes the stuff that you take out of the temporary accommodation.


----------



## will1983 (5 Jan 2018)

One thing that you may already have considered is make drawers not shelves. Shelf collect muck and you can never remember what is at the back of them. Drawers allow you see everything in there at a glance and keep it all clean.

However don't make your drawers to deep, even though they are more work and more material shallow drawers prevent things from piling up inside them making them easier to work with in the long run.


----------



## ratkinsonuk (5 Jan 2018)

Will, thanks for the advice.

I've done a mock-up of how I'd like it to look. As you can see, the whole back wall will be storage using a good variety of methods - e.g.fold-out wings, drawers, cupboards, sliding uprights, sliding shelves, etc, etc.

I'm getting a lot of inspiration from John Heisz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s4t68HVkCQ for instance.


----------



## ratkinsonuk (5 Jan 2018)

I particularly like his take on the French cleat system, with re-purposable sliding cleats instead. Definitely a method I'm going to incorporate, but with labels for the tool locations - my memory is shocking these days!


----------



## MusicMan (5 Jan 2018)

Looking good. I'm wondering where your bench vices are? Or is one of the portables a mini-joinery bench?

You could consider lowering the chop saw so the table is level with the long bench, as indeed John Heisz does. This is really useful (in fact I like his whole chop saw arrangement with stops).

I do think it is important to consider what your bench(es) will be most used for. My observation is that your layout will be very suitable for making cupboards and cabinets etc out of sheet stock. In my own case, I knew I was going to be making a lot of bookcases (not necessarily posh ones) so a long bench (8') was vital. Likewise in the positioning of my table saw, accommodation of length was much more important than width, so it is in the centre of a long but narrow second shed (12'x6'), which also has the lathe, small bandsaw and the heavy dust extraction. By now you'll know your priority for jobs.

Cheers

Keith


----------



## ratkinsonuk (5 Jan 2018)

You've probably guessed I love pinching other people's ideas, and this one from David Gladden is no exception as an ideal solution for the vice positioning.

https://youtu.be/l59Gx2QT0pE

I particularly like the way he's added support pegs to the ends of the bench for longer pieces. 

The chop saw will be lower - my Sketch up skills just aren't very good. In fact, everything will be level with each other so I potentially slide longer pieces across both table saw and chop saw benches at the same time if I need to.


----------



## Mark A (5 Jan 2018)

I recently converted a redundant timber and OSB ramp (I built it for loading vans years ago) into a bench for my mitre saw by screwing on legs, which I purposely made tall so my planer-thicknesser can roll underneath out of the way. It's much taller than conventional designs and I did have reservations that it would be awkward to use, but I find it absolutely fine. Most people say to build mitre saw benches low, but a high bench can provide storage space for otherwise bulky tools.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk


----------



## ratkinsonuk (5 Jan 2018)

I'm with you Mark. My eyesight is terrible, and I really struggle to read the increments on a rule. That means getting my face down low, so anything I can do to raise the work up to my level is always a bonus. Guess that rather contradicts what I said about a constant height thought. Ah well, back to the drawing board....


----------

