Opinions/Feedback Wanted

[GeorgeL]

Hi everyone,

Below is a drawing of my current shop layout including a future outfeed table for the table saw. This was done with the Grizzly shop planner and edited in PhotoShop.



I am working with K&B Duct on the layout of my dust collection system (thanks Doug!) and need to come up with a more workable layout for the main machines. For those of you who don't know, my shop is in the basement under my garage. It has 8' ceilings with 12" steel beams spaced every 5 feet illustrated by the grey horizontal bars in the drawing.

How would you lay out this shop?

Please keep in mind the table saw is pretty much fixed. The other large machines are on mobile bases.

I can update the drawing as I receive feedback.

Thanks for your help,

[Douglas Robinson]

George:

I would put the joiner and the Compound Miter Saw on the same wall. Where you have the 12" joiner seems like there is not enough room for long stock. The joiner and Compound Miter Saw wouls also be less likely to get in each others way than the joiner/belt sander. Besides you most likely will be using those tools together at the begining of a projec than the belt sander.

I also would move the Dust Collector near the door if possible. That way you don't have to drag the full barrel throgh the shop.

Just my 2 cents.

Doug

[Bas]

I would swap the router and drill press. It's really nice to have the drill press close to the work bench, when making mortises, etc. Also, it moves a major dust maker (router) closer to the other major dust makers (table saw, jointer, planer). I've never had much success rigging DC on a drill press.

Shop layout can be a time consuming, but fun process. Putting the table saw in the middle is pretty much a given. But, I found I had "blind spots" when I first tried to layout my shop, passed up on some configurations until I accidentally held my drawing upside down. As an experiment, how about putting the DC, bandsaw and belt sander where the work bench is, and take it from there. Not saying that's a good idea, but creative shuffling can help.

BTW, your shop is about twice as big as mine - YOU SUCK!!

(And listen to Doug. He is the KING of layout. Nobody is more efficient at stacking tools then the Dougmaster!)

[GeorgeL]

Doug,

I moved the jointer to the wall with the Sliding Compund Miter Saw. My only concern is the space between the jointer and table saw when working. The dust collector will not fit behind the door, plus I need to keep it deeper into the shop to minimize noise into the house.

Bas,

I swapped the drill press and router table. Now that I see it, it make a lot of sense to me. I will take a look at using the workbench space for machines but it would require quite a bit of re-wiring.




Thank you both for your input.

Anything else? Anyone else?

George

[Bas]

I like it. I understand your point about rewiring, diagrams never show all the limitations. The suggestion was mainly to help "think outside the box".

Have you considered swapping the planer/ lathe with the jointer/ Compound Miter Saw. It seems you'd have more room that way for really long stock (in a pinch, open the door). It also adds a left-to-right workflow from jointer to table saw/ outfeed table to planer. Plus, it might give you a little more room to maneuver when emptying the DC.

[Bernhard]

May want to include space for a lumber rack (sheet goods and solid stock).

Also, have you considered to mount all equipment on mobile bases? Makes re-arrangement really easy.
Just from my experience, work flow ar arrangement as drawn out on paper hasn't worked out too good --at least for me. So far I have re-arranged things 3 times, I think I leave it --for now.
Once the dust collection piping is fixed, re-arranging the workshop becomes painful.

Cheers,
Bernhard

[Makinsawdust]

How big is the DC? Unless it is on the larger size you may need to locate it closer to your big chip producers. Just my first impression of looking at the length and width of your shop.
Rob

[GeorgeL]

Bas,

Like this?



I also bumped the table saw over to the left a bit to balance out the space for both the jointer and the planer.

George

[GeorgeL]

Originally Posted by Makinsawdust

How big is the DC? Unless it is on the larger size you may need to locate it closer to your big chip producers. Just my first impression of looking at the length and width of your shop.
Rob

It's a 2HP single stage PSI. I'm currently running 4" flex hose and moving the hose from machine to machine. So far it has been able to keep up with the Wodmaster and jointer with little problems, even with a 6" to 4" reducer. It can only get beter with smooth bore 6" pipe. Soon, I hope, I wll be upgrading to a cyclone.

George

[GeorgeL]

Originally Posted by Bernhard

May want to include space for a lumber rack (sheet goods and solid stock).

Also, have you considered to mount all equipment on mobile bases? Makes re-arrangement really easy.
Just from my experience, work flow ar arrangement as drawn out on paper hasn't worked out too good --at least for me. So far I have re-arranged things 3 times, I think I leave it --for now.
Once the dust collection piping is fixed, re-arranging the workshop becomes painful.

Cheers,
Bernhard

Today, lumber storage is just outside the shop in the unfinished basement. That will have to change when the basement gts finished however.

Everything but the table saw is or will be on mobile bases.

Thanks

George

[Bas]

Yeah, that looks good. I like how you can now rip a board, then take it to the Compound Miter Saw to crosscut. OR cut a board to rough length and then joint it. Joint one edge and then rip the opposing edge on the table saw. Joint and then plane with the outfeed table in between to store the work pieces. Of course, it all depends on how you typically work, but this looks efficient.

Since you have the band saw, router table and lathe all on mobile bases, the precise order doesn't matter. You'll end up wheeling them to the center area when handling larger stock. You may want to consider adding an overhead DC drop there.

[Douglas Robinson]

To Bernard's point about ductwork, one of the benfits of kirk & Blum's duct work is that it is quick clamped and can be reconfigured fairly easily. Since George has sons, it will be even easier.

Doug

[cpowell]

Originally Posted by GeorgeL

Doug,

I moved the jointer to the wall with the Sliding Compund Miter Saw. My only concern is the space between the jointer and table saw when working. The dust collector will not fit behind the door, plus I need to keep it deeper into the shop to minimize noise into the house.

Bas,

I swapped the drill press and router table. Now that I see it, it make a lot of sense to me. I will take a look at using the workbench space for machines but it would require quite a bit of re-wiring.




Thank you both for your input.

Anything else? Anyone else?

George

My shop is the same width as yours but only 23 feet length (20 x 24 outside). My machine setup is close to what you have above. My planer sits roughly where you have the lathe, and my jointer sits where you have the planer. My bandsaw is a little closer to the RT, I roll it out/in for long stock.

I have never moved the planer. I move the jointer slightly away from the planer and rotate the jointer entry side a little toward the tablesaw when planing long stock. I use the assy table/tablesaw top for stock staging as I work through dimensioning. When planing a lot of stock I alternate between laying the planed stock on the assy table/tablesaw top or jointer bed on each pass.

I think you position the lathe where you have the jointer and nudge the tablesaw a little closer to the lathe.

My shop is shorter than yours, so my assy/outfeed table sits close enough to stage stock for ripping or resawing on the bandsaw. Unless the rough stock I'm using is close to finished width I usually rip rough on the bandsaw, a little oversized. If the stock moves due to stress release while ripping the bandsaw is much safer than the tablesaw and I may have a chance to salvage the stock as I work through further dimensioning.

Anyway, I like the idea of having jointer, planer, tablesaw very close together.


Chuck

[GeorgeL]

Chuck,

This one is a combination of your ideas as well as Doug and Bas.



The lathe to the right of the table saw opens up some space and allows the tablesaw to be moved more to the right.

The Woodmaster is back in its original spot allowing me to run 16' moldings without interference. Plus, the Woodmaster needs 4 outlets, 1 220 and 3 120 so in this configuration I won't have to re-wire.

The jointer can be pulled away from the wall into this position to joint loner boards and can even be moved toward the door when needed.

The Sliding Compund Miter Saw is pulled slightly from the wall to increase length capacity. Now it does not interfere with the dust collector or lathe.


Does anyone see any issues with this configuration?

I may give it a try tonight.

George

[JimmyC]

I'm staying out of the configuration game George, but I've got to say that your shop is going to be great. The selection of tools are wonderful. I do have one question though......What were you thinking when you said that you didn't have much for a shop crawl. You're going to make a bunch of us cry when we see it.

Good luck,
Jimmy