STARTING A GARAGE WORKSHOP

[homeworkshop]

Hey everyone, I want to get a little non industrial wood workshop set up in my garage, the garage is well sized at ( W 6m, L 10m, H 3m ) i need to know what are the best tools and machineary to buy for the space that i have for buliding my chairs, stools, tables etc if there are any wood working machinery for sale sites maybe even stores located over the country that you the people can garuntee?? Any help would be really helpful

Thanks

 

[sunnybob]

6 metres x 10 metres?
Any damn tool you want. Thats a warehouse compared to most.

But bandsaw, router table, and sliding mitre saw would be my first choices. And dont skimp on the dust extraction. No point having a racing car if you dont have brakes.

 

[homeworkshop]

6 metres x 10 metres?
Any damn tool you want. Thats a warehouse compared to most.

But bandsaw, router table, and sliding mitre saw would be my first choices. And dont skimp on the dust extraction. No point having a racing car if you dont have brakes.

It is quiet a big space but machinery is not the smallest, That's really what i need to know will the standard basics of machinery fit nicely? i am 1 of those guys that gets frustrated when playing on a pool table when the room is too small, if you get where i am coming from. obviously i know there is enough space to fit all my hand tools i have already got a set up on the wall's. And when you mention extraction due to saw dust etc will it end up in the garden or is there some sort of filter system i can use ?

Thanks a lot

 

[PAC1]

You need to make a scale drawing of your workshop marking doors and windows. If you do it on a cad system you then need to draw the foot print of your machines in the shop and move them around to ensure working space and work flow. As for dust extraction there are lots of options but most dust extractors have filters to stop some of the dust escaping. Sounds to me that you have a lot of research to do on machines and tools to select the best mix for your needs

 

[sunnybob]

My garage is 5 x 3. i have a medium large bandsaw, a metre square router table, a belt / disc sander, and a combi mitre /table saw along one wall.
AND the dust extraction system!

I will emphasise again the importance of dust extraction. machine dust comes in bulk. Even my hobby set up can produce several litres of fine dust in a day. Breathing that can shorten your life by many years, and make your last few a misery on earth.

And dont buy the cheapest or smallest of anything even if youre not sure you will use it much. Ask lots and lots of questions (of course youll get a dozen different answers to each, but you will learn the overall feeling of the answers).

 

[homeworkshop]

You are effortlessly right i need to do a lot of research and planning just thought i would start here and you have already been a great help. do you know of any websites i could check out? like step by step guide/getting started etc??

Thanks again for you'r time

 

[heimlaga]

The basic set of stationary machines for ordinary joinery and cabinetry are in order of importance:

-First and foremost a good solid workbench with front and tail vices. It is not a machine but it takes up space like a machine.

Then come the machines:
-Cirkular saw bench
-Surface planer
-Thicknesser
-Grinder for the hand tools

If you want to get more work done efficiently you can pick from this list:
-Band saw
-Spindle moulder (or router table if that is enough to cover your needs)
-Mortiser
-Lathe

The space requirements of theese machines depend on whether you want all to be separate or whether you are a systematic person who is able to use combinations.
I have a big old combination with planer, thicknesser, cirkular saw bench and spindle moulder all in one. It weighs around 1200 kilos and sometimes it is rather frustrating when one use gets in the way of another. However it is great for cramming in the most possible machine capacity into a 2,9 by 5,5 metre workshop.
Large scale professional workshops use only separates for efficiency.

However you are a hobbyist so for your use and space I suggest a rather solid planer/thicknesser combination. If you are handy with machinery buy secondhand so you get more machine for your money. The bigger fully professional ones tend to go surprisingly cheap on the secondhand market because small businesses are getting fewer most hobbyists don't have space enough.
Then get a mid sized cirkular saw bench with a small sliding table. A Rapid or Wadkin Bursgreen AGS would be rather ideal. I don't know what the new ones look like and are called.
After that you can let your needs govern further purcheses and let the wokshop grow little by little the way you want it. Don't buy anything you don't need. Half of what they say on youtube is baloney.

As I always do I suggest that you buy stationary machines which are a good bit better and bigger than most people buy. Then you can recover at least 50% of that extra cost by not buying any of those gadgets that every tool dealer and many youtube videos try to convince people that they need. The rest of the increased cost can be regained by omitting the lower end of my list.

For me as a part time professional everything boils down to getting as much productivity and versatility as possible per euro invested........ but I think you will get more satisfaction from your hobby working with a few good tools than bogging down in the usual quagmire of low quality gadgets.

 

[MikeJhn]

You are effortlessly right i need to do a lot of research and planning just thought i would start here and you have already been a great help. do you know of any websites i could check out? like step by step guide/getting started etc??

Thanks again for you'r time

Surprised no one has mentioned Axminster tools, they are country wide and very helpful: http://www.axminster.co.uk/stores/ not one of their functions, but take a floor plan into the store and I am sure the store manger will give you all the help you need, certainly start you off in the right direction, but do have a budget in mind they can get carried away. :mrgreen:

Mike

 

[homeworkshop]

I just want top thank everyone so much for your time and effort put into helping me! great bunch. all the information i have got here should give me more than a head start! already saved a fortune and trips to and from shops which can be a nightmare! I will keep everyone up to date with my floor plans and then the project as its getting built.

Thanks again!

 

[Lons]

Hmmm... As far as workshop layouts and tool / machinery reviews and recommendations are concerned if you do so searches on this forum you will find enough posts to keep you reading for many weeks.

I think you might be approaching this from the wrong angle perhaps and that first you should carefully consider exactly what you are making and what else you may want to produce as you get more experience. That will dictate which machines you should be looking at e.g. a bandsaw might be more useful that a tablesaw or the other way around. Perhaps you don't need either and a tracksaw and or mitre saw might doo the job. Do you need to dimension timber accurately? What is the maximum width and thickness of planed wood you use? That will determine the size of planer / thicknesser you need if you need one at all.
It's very tempting indeed when faced with a nice big empty space to just fill it up with machinery which could just end up gathering dust.

Then as said, draw a plan and move footprints of the bench and machines around. Loads of info on the web and in books ( local library perhaps) to give you ideas before you spend your hard earned.

My advice would echo others in that you should buy good quality, perhaps second hand and buy only as you decide you need it just in your plan leave space for shiny new additions. If you buy cheap and fill up your workshop all you'll do is throw away your money as it's guaranteed you'll be selling much of it pretty quickly.

Do your research, it's fun anticipating and buy decent - buy once!

The other thing is do as I say not as I do - I've been seduced on very many occasions bu shiny new toys :lol:

cheers
Bob

 

[custard]

I just want top thank everyone so much for your time and effort put into helping me! great bunch. all the information i have got here should give me more than a head start! already saved a fortune and trips to and from shops which can be a nightmare! I will keep everyone up to date with my floor plans and then the project as its getting built.

Thanks again!

Before you sink too much money into your kit, maybe think about investing some money into your skills?

Loads of inaccurate and unreliable bargain-basement machinery, but not much in the way of skills. That might give you a momentary sugar rush of shopping joy, but it's truly not a winning formula for successful woodworking.

Just saying'

Good luck!

 

[Lons]

I just want top thank everyone so much for your time and effort put into helping me! great bunch. all the information i have got here should give me more than a head start! already saved a fortune and trips to and from shops which can be a nightmare! I will keep everyone up to date with my floor plans and then the project as its getting built.

Thanks again!

Before you sink too much money into your kit, maybe think about investing some money into your skills?

Loads of inaccurate and unreliable bargain-basement machinery, but not much in the way of skills. That might give you a momentary sugar rush of shopping joy, but it's truly not a winning formula for successful woodworking.

Just saying'

Good luck!

=D> =D> =D> Well said custard - sound advice

 

[NazNomad]

10m x 6m? Buy everything and put it anywhere you want.

This post bought to you buy a small 'garage workshop' that has to put every damn thing on castors.

 

[giantbeat]

you have loads of room, my business's main workshop room is 8 x 7m

i have several large work benches (4 or 5 i think), a wadkin sp12 panel saw, 3m bench for my vac/air press, spray booth, pillar drills, router tables, large floor standing bobin & disc sanding machines, polishing equipment & UV clear coat curing booths.

The paint stuff & sanding gear is in 2 self contained rooms within that space.

as the others said, think about what you will be making before you just go for i, i make musical instruments from veneer & hardwood so my workshop is set for that, i have a 2nd small worksop in my cellar for messing at other wood crafting.

if i was doing a general hobby workshop for making whatever i fancied i would look at

Table saw
band saw
router table
Planer/thickener
radial pillar drill
one or 2 good large workbenches
A lathe.
extraction hooked to everything.
the rest is hand tools & power tools.

 

[BearTricks]

A few people on here are working out of 6 x 8 wooden sheds so you have some enviable space.

A lot of people tend to recommend a bandsaw over a table saw if you want to save some floor space. A table saw takes up a lot of room, especially if you include space to maneuver around it; imagine trying to play pool and knocking the backside of your cue against the pub wall, just with a length of oak instead.

 

[Bm101]

I'd go with Custards advice. If you have to ask what tools you need I'd suggest you don't need them yet. Start with some hand tools and some wood. When you have invested some time you will know what machines you need to buy. Machines need setting up and calibrating to be useful at best. You can search a thousand threads on here or on the web. 'Which bandsaw/tablesaw/shopvac?' etc, The idea of having a garage full of machinery is nice but if you start small you might save yourself a fortune in unused or inappropriate tools you never use or worse you can't use because you spent all your money on a range of rubbish tools and none of them will do one thing well. Worst case scenario you have a garage full of cheap machines that you struggle with and end up hating. Might be better to wait till you know you need a router for example, then invest in the best you can afford. When you know what tools you need to buy you'll know. I'm just a beginner but I know the feeling of thinking you can buy your way out of problems and to an extent you can. But it's a short sighted solution in the long run I've found from personal experience. Don't mean to sound harsh! Good luck and enjoy it!

 

[homeworkshop]

You are effortlessly right i need to do a lot of research and planning just thought i would start here and you have already been a great help. do you know of any websites i could check out? like step by step guide/getting started etc??

Thanks again for you'r time

Surprised no one has mentioned Axminster tools, they are country wide and very helpful: http://www.axminster.co.uk/stores/ not one of their functions, but take a floor plan into the store and I am sure the store manger will give you all the help you need, certainly start you off in the right direction, but do have a budget in mind they can get carried away. :mrgreen:

Mike

Thanks for the link, great website everything you need in one place!! I have been working on a floor plan just using white tape and all the info you guys have gave me. So far so good i can imagine everything in there now i just need the advice from one of these professionals on the floor plan then i can order everything online.... makes life easy!!1

Thanks

 

[deema]

The two machines that will help you straight away are:

Circular saw. I'd look for one with a 12" bkade that will cut 4". I'd look second hand at makes such as Startrite, Sedwick, Wadkin. Of these the Segwick can still also be bought new. I'd look for a saw with a sliding table. The Startrite TA275DS is a very compact and highly capable saw that can cut just about anything. For this reason they ar'nt cheap secondhand. The Sedwick TA315 is a brilliant saw, slightly larger with a sliding table.

In each case if you look inking at second hand try to get a saw with the stops on the sliding table fence. This will make repeat cross cuts really easy. You may have a chop / mitre saw, but if your like me you will prefer to cross cut on the table saw when you gave a sliding table.

The other machine is a Planner Thicknesser. Again I'd look secondhand. For anyone starting out I'd always recommend a Sedwick machine. Look for a light blue/ dark blue or a white dark blue machine. Get the biggest machine you can afford. Try to find one with a Tersa block to avoid all the gassed and learning of bkade changes. It's just my opinion but avoid completely any machine with lifting tables unless it's a Felder or Hammer (both are superb makes if machine but more expensive than Sedgwick)

To make chairs the following will be a great help, but not essential.
Morticer - Sedgwick 571 same colour schemes.
Drum sander - Jet or preferable an Axminster Senior Sander (only available second hand)
Bobbin sander - Jet
Bandsaw - 14" throat, Startrute, Record, Wadkin, Hammer, Felder, SCM
Pillar drill - Meddings, Fabco, Startite Mercury

 

[devonwoody]

Then you need somewhere to store all the hardwood timber boards, one board can be a cubic foot, and it needs floor space!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MikeJhn]

If looking for a Saw Table/Bench, get the same size as your Cross Cut Saw, you can then share blades between the two.

When setting your floor plan, don't forget space for infeed and outfeed from your machines, doors are favorite.

Mike