Workshop Interior - suggestions and critique

[Molynoox]

yeah pretty good thanks - I went out and bought the wood after 50 million redesigns of the cabinet design in sketchup, I'm still designing it now, but that's just my brain doing its thing and I need to let it roll so I can settle on something that ticks the boxes before moving on. My plan is to finish messing in CAD tonight and then create a cutting list and blast out a few things tomorrow.

I used this superb on line cutlist tool last time I built a 'cabinet' and I will use it again:

Today I bought:

• full sheet of 18mm birch -£150 (for drawer carcass and rails and possibly tops if I have enough)
• full sheet of 9mm MR MDF - £40 (for drawer slides / cabinet lining)
• 4 x 2.4m lengths of 4x2 - £22 (for some cabinet structural parts)
• pocket hole jig £25 (primarily for drawers but also for some of the 'rail to 4x2' joinery)
• wood glue
• magic beans (the term I use for items that are not really essential, but appear to be so when in the shop)

Screwfix Brentwood were out of pocket hole screws so I need to go out and get some of those tomorrow at Basildon branch.

I also tidied up the workshop massively and organised things all ready for frantic construction tomorrow:

Martin

 

[BucksDad]

Nice - what grade was the ply and where did you get it from?

 

[Molynoox]

I get all my wood from my local wood yard, Vickers in Brentwood. It's only a 10 minutes drive away and they also do free delivery if you order enough stuff. Very friendly guys too.

No idea on the grade I'm afraid. It seems pretty nice but I'm no expert. I'll ask next time I'm in there.

Martin

 

[Molynoox]

I'm looking at these two designs:

LEFT DESIGN
Rails are 18mm ply and are connected to the 4x2 legs with pocket screws. Never used them before but seems simple enough.

RIGHT DESIGN
Same torsion box deal but 4x2 is notched such that it can support from below. Normal screws, probably 40mm, will connect the 18mm ply to the legs.

I haven't put the bottom shelf in yet but I'm thinking about notching out the legs and using ply rails again.

The question is do I need to do the right hand design? Or is the left strong enough. The top is resting on the legs in left design but with right the whole torsion box of resting on legs.

Martin

 

[Jameshow]

I would just screw the ply rails over the legs, rather than butting up with pocket screws.

Then if you fit doors they will be flush with the rains. Just my opinion.

 

[Molynoox]

I would just screw the ply rails over the legs, rather than butting up with pocket screws.

Then if you fit doors they will be flush with the rains. Just my opinion.

I gave this some thought and I think you are probably right, it will be strong enough, but I did it the other way anyway as you never know I may need that extra strength at some point, and it didn't take much more effort to notch out the legs on the bandsaw.

Martin

 

[Renegade]

Enjoying this thread - I have even less space than you so everything on workshop is on (locking) castors so that it can be moved if needed and at the same height - just need to work out a way to lock them together now!!
As for materials - check out FB marketplace and / or Freecycle - I got an entire kitchens worth of cabinet doors and a 2m piece of worktop for free so I only had to make carcass and then add the doors. Drawers next!
You could also put your clamps in some kind of vertical storage in the corner next to the French doors & the space between the window and the fence doors so you aren’t using up ‘wall space’ for them.
Then some wall mounted shelves / cleats or an old school peg board on your free walls would be ace for hand tools etc.
The other idea I have used in my space is a wall mounted, fold down bench top which is handy when I need extra surface for glue ups etc but isn’t taking up floor space all the time.
Ps might not be suitable as doesn’t look super high but ceiling could be used for long piece storage (some kind of hanging rack). There’s a decent site called saws on skates Saws on Skates - Tool Tips, Small Workshop Ideas & Woodworking Plans that has lots of small workshop plans and ideas.

 

[Molynoox]

Enjoying this thread - I have even less space than you so everything on workshop is on (locking) castors so that it can be moved if needed and at the same height - just need to work out a way to lock them together now!!
As for materials - check out FB marketplace and / or Freecycle - I got an entire kitchens worth of cabinet doors and a 2m piece of worktop for free so I only had to make carcass and then add the doors. Drawers next!
You could also put your clamps in some kind of vertical storage in the corner next to the French doors & the space between the window and the fence doors so you aren’t using up ‘wall space’ for them.
Then some wall mounted shelves / cleats or an old school peg board on your free walls would be ace for hand tools etc.
The other idea I have used in my space is a wall mounted, fold down bench top which is handy when I need extra surface for glue ups etc but isn’t taking up floor space all the time.
Ps might not be suitable as doesn’t look super high but ceiling could be used for long piece storage (some kind of hanging rack). There’s a decent site called saws on skates Saws on Skates - Tool Tips, Small Workshop Ideas & Woodworking Plans that has lots of small workshop plans and ideas.

Its a good idea about the clamps, I had a similar thought - its a bit of dead space otherwise. Thanks for the tips on the materials too! My ceilings are fairly minimal; 2.15m at front and 2.05m at back so I am not sure if I will do the material storage option, still computing that one. I will have a look at that website, sounds right up my street...

I will add some pictures of today's progress in a minute.

Martin

 

[Molynoox]

I have settled on a design for the MFT - I will probably mirror this design, or very similar for the other 3 units I have planned. I may reduce down the structure in certain places as now that it's built it feels a little over engineered. Somebody did mention this at the very start actually....

Here is the design:

Although I haven't finished it yet, here is the main structure all completed today:

It really glides around the workshop - actually it's quite addictive, maybe I have a simple mind but I found myself 'playing' with this for quite a while. It's immensely satisfying being able to reconfigure your space in a matter of seconds, lock the castors and have a solid bench all ready to roll (excuse the pun!). I suppose it will be quite a bit heavier and harder to move once I have the draws in place and full of erm... 'useful stuff'.

Next tasks
The boards you can see behind are two full sheets of 9mm MR MDF.
The plan is to use 18mm birch ply for the draw structure, 9mm MDF for the drawer bottoms / slides, and 9mm for the rails.
There will be a 9mm side panel and another 9mm spacer panel glued in place, thus creating a 10mm gap for the 9mm drawer bottom to run on. OK, that probably makes no sense, just look at the CAD. Its basically a copy / borrow of the design from the Dennis video I linked to earlier.
Havent decided on the drawer fronts yet - I might use birch ply (if I have enough left over, cant afford to buy any more of that right now), or I might use the 9mm MDF, possibly painted anthracite, and with chamfered edges.

Martin

 

[Molynoox]

For anybody interested, here is how the legs join to the torsion box bit:

I notched them out on the bandsaw - it was pretty efficient, I just set the fence to the thickness of the birch ply and ran the 4x2 through it twice. Note: there are two 'components' and 4 'locations' as there is some handedness going on. Is that a word?...

Also, here is another detail, I used 200mm x 8mm Reisser construction screws for the horizontal rails at front and back. Once built I realised it was overkill but I have another 3 to build so I can evolve the design

Bottom rail spaced 30mm off the floor as castors are 71mm and this gives me 100mm for my toes to slot under. Now its built I reckon I could handle just 70mm for toes and just have the bottom rail all flush with the base and more space above for drawers / shelves.
I also think that 2x2 would be enough for these rails, and I have in fact bought a load today for the next 'prototype'

Martin

 

[Superduner]

I don't know if these photos will be helpful. My ceiling beams are 2.4m off the floor, and I'm 1.94 tall. All of the tools are above head height for me, but are pretty easy to grab.
I'm saving a large area of wall space, which is in short supply - the workshop was a small single garage before I took it over.

 

[BucksDad]

I'm guessing the reisser screws were left over from your workshop build though, so they may be overkill, but they were free!

 

[Molynoox]

I don't know if these photos will be helpful. My ceiling beams are 2.4m off the floor, and I'm 1.94 tall. All of the tools are above head height for me, but are pretty easy to grab.
I'm saving a large area of wall space, which is in short supply - the workshop was a small single garage before I took it over.

I don't know why but that looks really funny I'm sure it works really well as like you say its not taking up wall space. There is an old guy on you tube with a TINY workshop that uses the ceiling extensively, its all very impressive what he crams in there.
Martin

 

[Molynoox]

I'm guessing the reisser screws were left over from your workshop build though, so they may be overkill, but they were free!

yes indeed, you are absolutely correct
I used them on the pergola, to hold the spars onto the cross beams

 

[BradyS]

Hi and good work!
I'll add a personal suggestion since I didn't see anything about it here.
There are some pretty smart and useful castors out there which could make a big difference especially for MFT or other bench where a lot of vibrations are present. I'll drop a link, check them but if you want to purchase them pay attention to selecting the right load for your case.
I like them and I'm going touse them for a few benches because they are one of a kind from a functionality standpoint.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skelang-Re...8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
Best of luck!

 

[Molynoox]

Hi and good work!
I'll add a personal suggestion since I didn't see anything about it here.
There are some pretty smart and useful castors out there which could make a big difference especially for MFT or other bench where a lot of vibrations are present. I'll drop a link, check them but if you want to purchase them pay attention to selecting the right load for your case.

1. I like them and I'm going touse them for a few benches because they are one of a kind from a functionality standpoint

Best of luck!

Those look brilliant. I would get them but...

• I have bought 4 sets already
• I only paid about £5 a set or something and stretching to £45 would be a big jump

Martin

 

[BradyS]

Those look brilliant. I would get them but...

• I have bought 4 sets already
• I only paid about £5 a set or something and stretching to £45 would be a big jump

Martin

Yeah, I feel you. I need to buy 5 of those sets and I pay almost 50% extra for duties and shipping to my country. So, for the time being I only admire and recommend them.
The only thing I want to add to your topic is to be careful, at £5 a set they do sound way cheap. Make sure their supported weight matches your needs.

 

[BradyS]

I just read your initial post from the other thread, when you started this project.
So there was a lot of planning involved. Come to think of it, quick question about 'planning': Where is your planer/jointer?

Jokes aside, the funny thing is that, just like you:
• I am an overthinker
• I get lost in planning and want to solve a lot of the world's problems before acting on it
• I have a room with a footprint of approx. 3.85 m x 3.6 m, the window and doors in the same positions and similar in size
Therefore -> facing similar issues and I might have overthought them for a while longer because I'm about to remove everything (shop furniture), dismantle it and restart with version 2.0 and way less thinking.

So, long story short, I was about to start building a dedicated building for my woodworking workshop. And then the war came and I live in a neighbouring country. We aren't more affected than the rest of the world, it's just too risky from an economical perspective as well to invest everything in building and furnishing another workshop atm.

So back to my 3.85 m x 3.6 m space full with new ideas and way more power tools, plus way more hand tools (which I'm sure you, too, will add to yours in time as the need arises)

I will share with you all my main ideas I gathered so far, in hope it will help you achieve your goals and save some space for leisure in a space with good quality air and no sawdust. I will return to write the practical stuff a little later, after the day quiets down a bit (clearly, yes, I believe most of your 1-4 list of needs from the space are 100% achievable).

Until then, I'll leave 2 links here, both with inspirational space saving ideas, and another one who also adds functionality to small spaces.

▷ Woodworking Plans and Projects for DIY - Paoson Woodworking - Paoson Woodworking - my number one favourite
https://ibuildit.ca/https://hookedonwood.online/Shop-Improvements/

 

[Molynoox]

Here are the castors I bought. Got them from Amazon, they seem pretty good so far. Can't remember the rating but they were more than enough.

Martin

 

[Molynoox]

I just read your initial post from the other thread, when you started this project.
So there was a lot of planning involved. Come to think of it, quick question about 'planning': Where is your planer/jointer?

Jokes aside, the funny thing is that, just like you:
• I am an overthinker
• I get lost in planning and want to solve a lot of the world's problems before acting on it
• I have a room with a footprint of approx. 3.85 m x 3.6 m, the window and doors in the same positions and similar in size
Therefore -> facing similar issues and I might have overthought them for a while longer because I'm about to remove everything (shop furniture), dismantle it and restart with version 2.0 and way less thinking.

So, long story short, I was about to start building a dedicated building for my woodworking workshop. And then the war came and I live in a neighbouring country. We aren't more affected than the rest of the world, it's just too risky from an economical perspective as well to invest everything in building and furnishing another workshop atm.

So back to my 3.85 m x 3.6 m space full with new ideas and way more power tools, plus way more hand tools (which I'm sure you, too, will add to yours in time as the need arises)

I will share with you all my main ideas I gathered so far, in hope it will help you achieve your goals and save some space for leisure in a space with good quality air and no sawdust. I will return to write the practical stuff a little later, after the day quiets down a bit (clearly, yes, I believe most of your 1-4 list of needs from the space are 100% achievable).

Until then, I'll leave 2 links here, both with inspirational space saving ideas, and another one who also adds functionality to small spaces.

▷ Woodworking Plans and Projects for DIY - Paoson Woodworking - Paoson Woodworking - my number one favourite
https://ibuildit.ca/https://hookedonwood.online/Shop-Improvements/

Sounds interesting, I will look forward to your updates.
I do feel like I am managing my over thinking situation a little better nowadays. I'm aware of it, and I'm compensating. I'm still nowhere near the right balance but im making progress, and that pretty good going even if it has taken me 47 years....

Martin