Looking for shop advice

[aggie4you]

Okay, here's the deal. My wife and I are currently in the process of buying a new house. I currently don't have a shop and any woodwork I've done was done in my father-in-law's shop. The new house has an absolutely amazing detached garage. Neither of us care about keeping any vehicles in the garage, so it is going to become a workshop (at least, some of it is). My wife wants (at least some of) it to become a workout room. Based on the size of the garage, I think that we'll be able to do both and still be plenty happy.

It's not set in stone by any means, but I imagine that the RV portion of the garage will become the shop (with the possible exception or the loft area at the back) and the two car portion will become the workout room.

The walls are all insulated. There is lighting and electrical (110) run throughout the garage.

I expect that I'll end up separating the two spaces with walls, but that's about where I get overwhelmed with the possibilities.

If you had this space, and no tools to fill it, where would you start?

I'm looking specifically for recommendations on which tools you would purchase, what order you would purchase them (assuming you're working on a budget and can afford one major power tool every month or two), and any other suggestions that just pop into your head.

I'm thinking I'd like to end up with a nice table saw, a full size drill press, a router table (with router), a planer, a jointer, a drum sander, dust collection, and a belt saw. I figure that I'll end up building worktables, assembly tables, in/out-feed tables and such. At some point, I realize that I'll also need to plan for shelving and wall hanging areas (pegboard), but I'm not anywhere close to designing a layout yet.

So, whaddaya think?

[mikem]

Congrats on the house purchase! Looks like you will have a lot of space to work with! My only recommendation would be to move the DC and Bandsaw up higher in your priority list, probably before the planer. One thing I would be thinking about, even if your are not going to to do it right away, is consider DC ducting layout. That will feed in quite a bit to your tool layout.

[JimB1]

Very nice, congrats on the new house...

It sounds like you've pretty much decided to stick with 110 since it's there already that also limits the locations of your equipment. I'd also check to see amps available on each circuit and how many circuits are in the garage. Since you are looking at all new machines, it may be worthwhile to think about 220V. It opens up a whole world of equipment to you that you just can't get in 110V (I am really into the Hammer C3 combination unit right now, can't afford it and have no place to put it but damn that's a nice unit ). Just a suggestion though...

I think I would think about dust control next, There are reams of data out there on dust control and I'm still in the shop vacuum and box fan with a filter stage so I'm not the best person to ask.

Then I would think about lighting. Personally I get migraines so I can't use fluorescent lighting in my shop (went with halogen and incandescent floods ) but others have good luck with them. In a finishing area you may want to think about full spectrum lighting because you don't want to have issues with color matching and shadows where you are finishing. It'd also be helpful anyplace you are finish sanding or detail work as well.

Grizzly has a shop planner online that is pretty cool to help you figure out where to put things. Might be helpful.

Good luck with it. I can't wait to see how it comes out...

-Jim

PS, since it's detached, you are probably going to want to think about heat/AC...

[aggie4you]

Congrats on the house purchase! Looks like you will have a lot of space to work with! My only recommendation would be to move the DC and Bandsaw up higher in your priority list, probably before the planer. One thing I would be thinking about, even if your are not going to to do it right away, is consider DC ducting layout. That will feed in quite a bit to your tool layout.

Thanks. It's not mine yet, but all signs look good as of now.

What I posted wasn't really a priority list so much as a "I think these are probably the pieces I want when it's all said and done" list. I appreciate the modified priority list though. :-)

If anyone has any suggestions for stuff you think I've left off my list of wants, I'd love to hear those too.

[Dyami Plotke]

Chris,

Nice shop space. I hope the house is as nice as the garage. As for you're tools, I'd put them in this order (though keep in mind this is a very subjective question).

1) Tablesaw

2) Jointer

3) Planer

4) Band Saw

5) SCMS

6) Dust Collection

7) Drill Press

8) Drum Sander

Hope that helps.

[Stampy]

I would plan all of the mechanical in concert with your tool layout. Maybe get some 220v set up as well. Start with where you want your dust collection and go from there. The closer it is to tools and the straighter the runs the more efficient it will be. Look into getting plumbing in there to if it isn't all ready. Very handy for clean up.

You could layout the space with masking tape on the floors to see how it all flows together. Just like Les Nessman.

Stampy

[Sac]

Chris,

Nice shop space. I hope the house is as nice as the garage. As for you're tools, I'd put them in this order (though keep in mind this is a very subjective question).

1) Tablesaw

2) Jointer

3) Planer

4) Band Saw

5) SCMS

6) Dust Collection

7) Drill Press

8) Drum Sander

Hope that helps.

If you didnt get them at the same time, I would switch 2 and 3. Get the planer first then the jointer. You can always make a planer sled for face jointing the first side of a board. But otherwise, I would get them in about that order.. 220V is a definite priority, if you plan on having a cabinet saw or stationary planer, or 8" or larger jointer. A decent dust collector that would be able to cover that amount of space will need 220V, if you plan on doing central dust collection with piping. Hope it all works out for ya. Building a shop is fun.

[nateswoodworks]

If I were you start out with the table saw, DC, and router w/router table, bandsaw, and a couple handplanes and chisels. After that let your projects lead you. As for the layout, when you work in there you will get a preference of how you want it layed out, and you will change it about 100 times!!Don't worry too much about the layout and tool collection, it will progress as you do, the main thing is having fun. Keep us posted and good luck

Nate

[DeGauss]

A couple of other considerations for the space would be to add a sub panel (makes adding and changing outlets much easier) and flooring. I added a wood floor to my shop (a bay in my garage) and it has been one of the best investments I made.

On the big power tools I would go:

1. Tablesaw - Mine is a foundational piece of how I work in the shop. You can also use a track saw but I prefer the TS.

2. Router (and table) - One of the most versatile woodworking tools out there.

3. Bandsaw - add curves to your work.

4. Oscillating spindle or belt sander (Ridged makes a great starter one)

5. Dust Collection - It is important

6. Jointer/Planer Separates or a combo.

-Gary

[jHop]

A couple of other considerations for the space would be to add a sub panel (makes adding and changing outlets much easier) and flooring. I added a wood floor to my shop (a bay in my garage) and it has been one of the best investments I made.

On the big power tools I would go:

1. Tablesaw - Mine is a foundational piece of how I work in the shop. You can also use a track saw but I prefer the TS.

2. Router (and table) - One of the most versatile woodworking tools out there.

3. Bandsaw - add curves to your work.

4. Oscillating spindle or belt sander (Ridged makes a great starter one)

5. Dust Collection - It is important

6. Jointer/Planer Separates or a combo.

-Gary

I agree with the shop flooring. Concrete floors suck.

As for this list, I'd move 3 and 4 to the end of the list, but keep them in this order. (on a personal note, I'd argue to avoid the table saw all together, just get a chop saw/ sliding compound miter saw and some hand saws, and use the bandsaw for your primary cutting, but that's just me.)

I'm torn, though. One of the things I could see doing with this kind of space is putting in a lift for cars... That's a lot of workspace for vehicles that you'd hate to lose later. Maybe put the workout room in the loft? Or put the lumber storage up there? Or a lounge area?

What about cable/satelite connections? Internet? music? access? Hate to put the thought in your head, but what about when (if) you move out, what will you do for resale value?

Me, I think car maintenance areas and wood work shops improve the value of properties, so this might be a moot point. But don't forget all those things that need storage in virtually every garage. Things like raw wood, lawn mowers, sports equipment, vehicles, snow removal, ladders, extra children, pet food, pantry room overflow, etc.

Congratulations on the find, and I agree with putting in the dust collection now. This will also help you determine where the tools can go, let alone where they should go. as long as you're moving in and still have boxes, use them as a mockup for shop layout.

[ChetlovesMer]

When I built my first shop I undersized (read that as tried to save money on) my dust collection system. It always bugged me. It still bugs me today. I have only just recently discovered hand tools. Up until now, I've always been a big Normite. (In truth I still am.) Which means I produce two things: cabinets for customers and dust. If you'd like to learn from my mistakes, and you plan to be a Normite, trust me and set up your dust collection bigger than you need. You won't be sorry for the room to expand. Your lungs with thank you. Your wife will thank you for keeping the dust out of her workout room. There are plenty of great resources out there for how to set up dust collection. Marc's video is an awesome place to start.

Now if you are going to start out as a hand tool (Neanderthal) guy. Then this probably isn't as great of a concern. Sweeping up shavings from a well tuned plane is a lot different than sucking up the mountain of dust a planer makes.

Good luck, and enjoy.

[flairwoodworks]

My wife wants (at least some of) it to become a workout room. Based on the size of the garage, I think that we'll be able to do both and still be plenty happy.

To Chris' Wife,

Hand planing is a great workout for the upper body. Moving sheets of plywood and big pieces of wood is a great workout for the whole body.

[aggie4you]

To Chris' Wife,

Hand planing is a great workout for the upper body. Moving sheets of plywood and big pieces of wood is a great workout for the whole body.

From Chris' Wife

Normally, when I move sheets of plywood and big pieces of wood I move them in 2 mile increments. While the new shop is big, I don't know if it's THAT BIG!

[jsiard]

That is a difficult question not knowing some particulars such as budget, type of work and current tool inventory. First and foremost it is critical that you have a good selection of hand tools such as planes, chisels, saws along with the knowledge and ability to keep the sharp. Hand power tools like circular saw, jig saw, routers and drills are also necessities. As for the larger tools I break with conventional wisdom and would choose in the following order;

1. Band saw

2. Jointer

3. Planer

4. Drill press

5. Table saw

Knowing what I know now I would skip the TS as the first large tool simply because nearly every operation that is performed on the TS can be executed with a variety of hand tools. When considering the versatility a band saw is far more flexible than a TS. The jointer/planer tandem opens the door to surfacing rough sawn material, together with the band saw you can resaw and customize thicknesses.