New workshop from scratch - need design ideas

[mpooley]

HI folks!
I am pretty new to this forum so hope i am putting this in the right place.

I have in the past had a workshop approx 30ft x 30ft but was not really happy with it. when i first layed the machines out it all seemed logical but it soon became obvious that i could have laid it out better.
Having watched "The great British workshop" on sky i noticed that this guy has a long fairly narrow workshop. Which seemed better than my old one.
What do you think, long and narrowish? I am thinking 40-50ft X 16ft.
I am limited to max 50ft long but width is a bit more flexible.

This is just a hobby for me. I am just early retired and want to have the workshop i've always dreamed about!

I have a sheppach TS250 . Elu radial arm saw, bosch chop saw, mortiser, Home built router table, Kity bandsaw, and am going to replace some other stuff ie, I'm going to buy a jointer and a separate thicknesser. Plus a new pillar drill.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Mike

 

[Alf]

I have in the past had a workshop approx 30ft x 30ft but was not really happy with it.

Too small...? :wink:

What do you think, long and narrowish?

Well it's a funny one - I've always thought wider was better, but then I have long and narrowish. Could be one of those grass-is-greener things :? The benefit of width is you can take better advantage of diagonals, I'd have thought. But I'll be interested to see what the consensus is on this one. If there is a consensus... :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[davy_owen_88]

I think if you have a table/panel saw in the middle of the workshop then you want a fair amount of space all around it which becomes difficult in a long narrow workshop without moving everything out of the way. But if you are happy moving things a long workshop has the advantages of giving plenty of space in between wall based tools (planer, mitre saw, RAS)

Why not have long and wide?

 

[OLD]

I would say have the shop as big as the site and cost allows and fit the services out to allow easy alterations lets say power and extraction from overhead some m/cs on casters ,then let the shop adapt to you and what you are doing eg some jobs require a large assembly area some long in and out feed to m/cs so create a wish list to determine the initial layout.

 

[mpooley]

I suppose i'm thinking that most tools can be placed on the walls so having long walls is better?
i was thinking even my table saw could be placed with the extension table up the wall.
Oh and in a way yes the old workshop was too small ! I had so much timber in there all badly stored (which is entirely another problem) that i kept tripping over it LOL.

I had loads of room round my tablesaw before but you only really need the infeed outfeed room plus 4ft max to the left of the blade dont you?

Mike

 

[ByronBlack]

If I had the choice, I would go for as wide as you can get. I think 30ft wide is very nice if you can match it up with decent length.

The best thing about a wide workshop is that you can put all your main machines in the centre and have it as a 'hub' while you have the less used machines on the walls.

I don't see a particularly great advantage with a narrow workshop personally

 

[ike]

As I see it an 'elongated' area is useful for storing, ripping and planing 'full' length timber i.e. up to 5.2/5.4 metres. hence a workshop at least 12metrs long is good in that respect.

However if it is too narrow, it can become more awkward to flip/swing timber around. Another advantage over a squarer plan is the roof span is less therefore cheaper to build, an can be inherently stronger in order to utilise roof space for storage.

A longer but not too narrow workshop (maybe 5 meters) plan would get my vote.

 

[wizer]

blimey, all i can say is with all that space and as others have said, go as big as you can. If you don't think you will use all the space initially then i'm sure you could use it for storage or something. Then when you realise it's a bit cramped, you can easily expand.

 

[Inspector]

Looks like a compromise is needed.

How about shaped like a 'P' or if you prefer an 'L'. Then you have the long wall to rack your wood stocks if thats what you like, along with the chop/miter/radial arm saws. The end could be walled off to make a finishing area or the dust collector/compressor rooms to cut down on shop noise. The main area is then setup to facilitate your work flow, and can always be changed to suit new needs or preferences in the future.

The suggestion that a narrow roof is cheaper to make may be true but the larger one can have standing room and more volume for storage. The dust collector can also be centred up there too, to cut down on duct lengths and again the noise. If a cyclone is placed at the end and angled slightly so that the bottom sticks outside the dust is able to drop outside into a larger than usual bin. Keeps the mess out of the shop.

If you can afford to, make the shop as big as possible because there will never be enough space. If in the unlikely event that it is too big, it can be partitioned off and used for other pursuits. Another option you have is to site, design and construct the shop with expansion in the future in mind. (Long made wider or square lenghtened,etc.)

There are at least 3 Taunton press books on workshops that you should look at (The Workshop Book by Scott Landis, Setting Up Shop by Sandor Nagyszalancy, and Workshop Idea Book by Andy Rae) and there was a book by Jim Kingshott, The Workshop: Designing- Building- Equipping - ISBN 0-946819-42-4.(I have to admit that I am still looking for that one)

Take your time and daydream about your ideal shop. Then when your finished building you'll have fewer I should have's. ](*,)

 

[Barry Burgess]

This is getting as bad as The Aussie site - there was a thread about who had the biggest workshop. Some of the largest were bigger than a good few houses in the UK - it raged for weeks - boys and their toys. Then some bright spark started a thread on who had the smallest(workshop) - not too many small workshops in Aussie. The good thing was that there were loads of photos. Gave you ideas on how you could improve your own workshop. Don't it be great if all people who comment on this thread show a photo of their shop???
Barry

 

[Alf]

Tsk, never mind a photo - workshop tours! Get thee to the workshop tour board and post 'em.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Freetochat]

Well Mike, having got over the jealousy of your space, time to get serious. If I had 30' width, I would keep it so that I could position my table saw in the middle, and have plenty of work space alround. I would also section off two rooms. One small room to hold the dust/chip extractor and compressor to reduce noise and dust. The other room for finishing etc. Other than the table saw, most other machines can be worked off a wall.

Good Luck with your plans.

 

[engineer one]

since i am presently re arranging a room in side a flat as my space,
i am definately jealous.

i often wonder about the table saw in the middle idea. :?

i would guess for most jobs, you use the saw for a maximum of 30% of
the time,the rest it is a big lump in the middle of the shop, or wherever.

so i would consider a cover to allow work to go on over the top,
like storage for the specific job, or even glue up,or post
glue up waiting area. or having a saw that can be moved to one side.
remember to rip an 8 foot board, you need 20 feet including the saw,
8 in and 8 out, plus saw dimension.
to cross cut is easier, but you still need about 10-12 feet to allow for
the saw table, extending to say 2 feet wide, and the infeed side
which would be 6 feet. but how often in a day every day you use the
workshop are you going to use the table saw????

a lot depends upon how much sheet work you are going to do,
and then how big the pieces you intend to make are.

one advantage of an L shape is to put the saw in front of the shed doors,
and the wood storage alongside and around, then you can reduce the space you need in front of the saw by using open doors, with maybe
a porch overhanging in the front to keep off the rain. then the other leg could be other machinery, and assembly, also hand tools.

frankly most of us develop pretty messy working habits, and if you are
an amateur, then you tend to have a number of different jobs on the go,
so you need to store safely and in order. if you have to move around
the saw in the middle all the time it will i am sure get to be very boring.

also as said before a timber store, and saw table in one side of the L
would allow the main extraction equipment to be out of the main workshop.

hope this also helps

paul :wink:

 

[mpooley]

Thanks for all the replies.
I think I'll take the advice to go for the biggest i reasonably can.
Which is roughly 15mtrs by 5.5mtrs
I think that will give me enough width, whilst leaving me room to partition off a bit for storage and compressor etc.
An L shape wold be nice but i dont think i can get away with it on my plot. Think i'll have one set of double doors for getting big stuff in and out.
I'd like another room for finishing but i think maybe thats going too far!

As for extraction that is another problem!
I hope to go all 6inch pipe and a cyclone but as far as i can work out that means i'll have to make it. Is that right? does no one make one in the UK?


mike

 

[engineer one]

mike you might not be able to build an L , although have you looked
into the need for planning permission? that may make a difference
to the shape you are allowed to consider.

however, if you are able to make only a hanger type shape, i would
still consider setting up a sawing and timber storage area which
is off to one side. certainly with 15. 5 metres you can cover the
areas i thought of, but then you have an open space in the other
part of the workshop for after sawing activities and assembly.

to my mind definately worth considering. not least because you are
able then to reduce the dust movement in the whole workshop.

paul :wink:

 

[mpooley]

You dont mean an open area for sawing do you?
its a great idea to do the messiest bits out in the air but i cant imagne leaving my tablesaw out there.
I've seen timber yards where the saw and planers are set up under a hanger and its great for keeping the mess out of the workshop but i dont know what they do of a night?

Mike

 

[engineer one]

no mate, not in the open,
:? but rather at the front of the shop where the
doors are, and then another door into the rest of the shop.
i know that when it snows, you do not want the doors open, but if you can plan your cutting, then it will make the rest of the work easier.

i am suggesting that you put the saw about 1.5 metres inside the doors,
then when you are ripping panels, and need an extra 1.5 metres outside
to hold the infeed for a while, you could as i said put a porch over
that. unless all you do is panel work, and thus a lot of cross cutting
then very little of your work will come more than 1.5 metres infront
of the machine.

so no the saw is not outside, rather at the front of the process.

think about it, you bring the wood in, cut it to approx sizes, then store it
to season, then move it into the assembly shop for final sizing, and then
assembly, and finally finishing and delivery so that is how you should design it when you have such spaces available. :twisted:

paul :wink:

 

[mpooley]

Ah! Ok I see what you mean,
actually thats how i've got it at the moment in my (i hope) temporary workshop/garage.

Mike

 

[Pecker]

My workshop ( a light industrial unit) is approx 15' wide by 33 ft deep with a toilet and sink in the bottom r/h corner. I officially have 500 sq ft. It's not big enough.

I know it may seem it, but at 15 ft wide, by the time there is racking and a bench on one side, and the crosscut saw on the other, then a timber storage area, with a table saw in the middle, it is too tight.

Ideally, try to get at laest 20 ft wide. depth wise at least 35ft it is amazing how soon it will fill up, and you still need room to move sheet material about or long lengths. Having 20ft will allow you to have planer next to saw etc,
Since you are in an incredible situation, being able to go bigger - go for as big as you can. But long and thin causes problems - as does short and wide.
You're a very lucky man!

mark