Shop counter for sliding tools

[SeattleSarah]

We have an 11x19 shop and I am planning on building an 11' plywood counter at one end for workspace and to hold all the small hand tools on an open shelf. I want to be able to build plywood bases for our drill press, mortiser, and router table, and then be able to slide the tools to one side or the other if we are not using them. My simple idea was to put bench dog holes along the front and back of the counter, as well as in the four corners of the tool bases. 

Questions:

1) do I need to put melamine on the counter and tool bases to allow for the sliding? 

2) will I still need to clamp the tools to the front of the counter to use them safely?

3) do I need to over-engineer this and add a miter slot and gauge to counters and bases? (This was one suggestion that I am clearly resisting)

Please note I am a beginner so any suggestions are welcome.

Bonus question: is there ever a time when your shop is set up so well you can just go in and use it? It's a personal goal, just wondering if it exists. 

[drzaius]

Doesn't exist in my world   

Welcome to the forum.

Do you mean to have dog holes for the tool bases to key into? The issue I see with that is the difficulty in lifting heavy tools out of the dog holes when you want to move them. What about small, non-swivel, locking casters on the base of each tool?

[SeattleSarah]

Thanks for responding! 

I meant there will be holes in both the base and the countertop, and then I just slide the tool over to the holes and put bench dogs into both the base and counter hole. 

I shoud have stated; my goals are to not have to pick up and move the tools, and to add more counter / work space. 

I'll look into the casters, thanks! I didn't know small ones existed. I just knew about the larger ones. 

[drzaius]

Now I understand. That should work & having a waxed laminate surface would make it easier, but casters would be even better. I made a base for a large computer monitor (back in the days of the heavy CRTs) the I had to be able to slide along a counter regularly. It had 4 little casters & moved very easily.

[Brendon_t]

Melamine isn't required, but it's also not a bad idea.  If you can find some decent melamine covered ply,  I wouldn't hesitate to use it. Melamine over mdf or particle board would give a bit of pause.

Pre finishes ply isn't a bad idea although the face will not be nearly as forgiving as melamine.

[Eric.]

While 11x19 certainly isn't a huge space, it's not tiny either.  I don't think there's any reason you shouldn't be able to find dedicated spaces for those three tools, especially considering all three are bench-top models.

Your last question ties directly into your first...I found that when I finally figured out how to give each tool a dedicated space was exactly when I could just go into the shop and start working.  Wasting time moving tools around every time you need to use one is...well...a waste of time.  Your shop time is efficient when all you have to do is flip a switch and you're down to business.  This isn't always possible in the real world, of course, and the smaller the shop and the more tools you own, the more you have to compromise...but with some ingenuity and trial and error, you should be able to get very close.  Every time you build another project, you recognize new glitches in your workflow, and you adapt.

I have a fairly small space for a serious hobbyist (two car garage) and the only tool I have to move before using it is the router table.  All other stationary tools are set up to where I can work on an 8' board without moving anything.  It's taken about ten years of evolution for everything to fall into place the way that it has...but the point is...yes, it does happen eventually.  It just takes time and dozens and dozens of projects under your belt.  I spent basically the whole first year of my hobby working on shop projects and building a shed in my backyard to make more space in the shop before I ever built my first piece of furniture.  I considered it practice and I learned a bunch of new techniques in that first year.  It's a lifetime journey.  The more you invest in organization up front, the more time you save in efficiency in the long run.

A revelation I had early on is to organize your shop in planes.  Meaning, the more horizontal surfaces you can create that are exactly the same height, the better.  That way they don't interfere with each other as much.  Bases for tools with leg levelers - and building custom work stations - can be a huge help.  My miter station serves as an outfeed table for my bigger bandsaw.  I have a moveable fence for my miter saw so I can slide it forward or back out of the way...quickly.  My MFT serves as an auxiliary outfeed table for my drum sander.  My utility bench serves as an outfeed table for my small bandsaw.  My workbench and table saw and outfeed table are exactly the same height...etc...

[Cochese]

The smaller shop you have, the more time you'll spend going back and looking for the perfect layout, trying to get just one or two more inches. It's worse if you overstuff your shop like I have. You have some countertop tools though, and your shop is quite a bit bigger than mine.

Something you might want to consider if you have two-three thin tools like a drill press is a lazy Susan.You could use your bench dogs to lock it down after you rotate. Second the recommend for the pre-finished, it isn't that much more than nice shop grade in my area and is about the same price as just buying a sheet of laminate.

[SeattleSarah]

Thanks everyone for the help!

Brendon_t thanks, I’ll look for the different types of plywood.

Eric. our shop is unique in that one end has large French doors (I believe it used to be the garage door), and one length has the main door and a wall of windows, which makes it fun to work with. I actually am enjoying moving the pieces around on my shop to scale grid paper. I predict the three counter tools will become sort of locked into place, but I want the option to be able to move them out of the way. Thanks for the horizontal plane tip!

Cochese we have already overstuffed our shop! Nice to know we are not alone. We started with the tools, and then built a garden house to make the shop dedicated to woodworking, which helped, and next I need to get rid of the miscellaneous shelves and create more work surface. Shocker – but a padded wonky card table is not the best work surface.

[BonPacific]

Welcome to the forum Sarah! Nice to see another Seattleite. 

I think this is a really interesting idea, and it seems like it should work. Casters will probably move better, and be less impacted by the dust and crud that always collect on surfaces. My only concern would be the balance of the benchtop mortiser. If it isn't bolted down, I'd worry about tipping when powering through a big mortise. A deep enough doghole should prevent that from happening though.

[wareaglewoodworker]

3 minutes ago, BonPacific said:

Welcome to the forum Sarah! Nice to see another Seattleite. 

I think this is a really interesting idea, and it seems like it should work. Casters will probably move better, and be less impacted by the dust and crud that always collect on surfaces. My only concern would be the balance of the benchtop mortiser. If it isn't bolted down, I'd worry about tipping when powering through a big mortise. A deep enough doghole should prevent that from happening though.

Maybe anchor them with bolts riding in some channels in the countertop.  Even better if the bolts had cams to lock the machines in place when not moving.   

Oh, and Welcome to the forums Sarah!