Shopsmith Forums

I'm going to be building a small shop in the back yard in the future & am looking for input as to the layout.

The attached picture is pretty self explanatory. I'll be building a shedrow style building 12 ft. deep, with 2 bays or rooms 10' wide & an open "run-in" that is 8' wide, for Storing the woodpile.



I'll potentially expand my shop section to be 12' wide but am planning it out at 10' so that any extra square footage will be a bonus.

The middle bay will be yard tools storage & gardening centre for the wife, although I'll be putting the compressor in there as well! The air will be piped in to the workshop. Bicycles will likely get stored there during the winter months.

Obviously design is dictated by function. I would like to use the shop for knife making while keeping it versatile enough for household wood working projects.

The main feature will be the Shop Smith which will be the most space effective solution.

The other tools shown are:

Circled V = Small Shop Vac, for clean up & dust collection. It'll fit under the Shop Smith
6" Jointer
Circled G = Garbage
G/B = Grinder / Buffing station
Mitre Saw
Trusty workbench!

Everything will be on rollers & if you look at the shops door, it is a double hinged Dutch style barn door. I'll keep everything on the level of the lower door so that I can run the work out the top while using the door for support if needed.

The mitre saw work area is the same height as the workbench & the jointer work area so that shorter pieces can be run onto the bench & longer pieces are run out the door.

The grinder is on a rolling stand so it can be shuffled around as needed.

I'll be making liberal use of the wall space as well for hand tools, charging station, material storage, clamps, finishing equipment, etc.

This will be my first dedicated shop & project of this nature. Is there anything I am missing that a well equipped small shop should have? Design or layout ideas? The plan is done in excel so is quite easy to modify.

Thanks!
S.

I have yet to be in a shop that was excessively well layed out or organized. Though I can think of one that approached it. His was very similar to this link.

http://americanwoodworker.com/blogs/sho ... -shop.aspx

P.S.
Heat and comfort and humidity. Between rust and wood warpage and your willingness to hang out in the shed, you probably should consider a window a/c and some sort of heating. For double the money, there are window a/c heater combo units.

I'll definitely have a heater installed. I'll look at options to hardwire in, otherwise I will use an oil filled radiator style. Its a pretty small space...

I live in Alberta so AC wont be an issue! If its too hot I'll open the top door.

My initial plan had a window in front of the bench but I think I'll really need the wall space... I may try to work a sanding table into the workbench as well...

S.

Edit: Those slats are a pretty neat idea. Only trouble I can see is that you would spend all your time building holders for all your gear!

[quote="sharp21"]I'm going to be building a small shop in the back yard in the future & am looking for input as to the layout.

The attached picture is pretty self explanatory. I'll be building a shedrow style building 12 ft. deep, with 2 bays or rooms 10' wide & an open "run-in" that is 8' wide, for Storing the woodpile.



I'll potentially expand my shop section to be 12' wide but am planning it out at 10' so that any extra square footage will be a bonus.

The middle bay will be yard tools storage & gardening centre for the wife, although I'll be putting the compressor in there as well! ]



After you have worked in it a while you will quickly move the firewood outside either under a tarp (brown, not blue. Blue tarps are truly ugly. ) or you will add a carport type roof on the left end and stack it there. You will close in that big opening with a door and your lawnmower, yard tools and compressor will all move there. You will put another carport type roof on the right end with one end wall at the back and put the potting bench there along with a lot of shelves.
You will then add a porch across the front with a wood deck so you can sit a rocking chair there but the rocking chair won't be there long before it is crowded off of the porch by shop stuff and you close in the porch to make it part of the shop. The potting shed will be moved out under a tree so you can close in that end carport like space as shop too.
Then the firewood will................


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I don't know if your open space for a "wood pile" means you're storing lumber there or firewood, but if it's for lumber you might want to think about building that area adjacent to the shop space so you could expand into it if necessary.

Also, if you're ripping 8' long pieces of wood or plywood using the Shopsmith, you'll need at least that much room in front of and behind the saw to accomplish the task. You can do this through an open door provided everything fits, but it might be nice to accomplish this inside, so give some thought to designing that open area so that you could enclose it and install a floor in the event your needs change over time.

I thought I would toss in a link to https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=4596 since it ties in so well here. I especially enjoyed Eds comments on space and stuff.
Yes, I have that affliction big time.


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When I say wood pile I mean pile of firewood. I also read the thread about stretching the workspace earlier today!

Maybe I could make it a 12x15, but I am still limited as to my maximum space...

I did think about making a bit of covered porch across the front so that I could expand outdoors on sunny days!

S.

robinson46176 wrote:After you have worked in it a while you will quickly move the firewood outside either under a tarp (brown, not blue. Blue tarps are truly ugly. ) or you will add a carport type roof on the left end and stack it there. You will close in that big opening with a door and your lawnmower, yard tools and compressor will all move there. You will put another carport type roof on the right end with one end wall at the back and put the potting bench there along with a lot of shelves.
You will then add a porch across the front with a wood deck so you can sit a rocking chair there but the rocking chair won't be there long before it is crowded off of the porch by shop stuff and you close in the porch to make it part of the shop. The potting shed will be moved out under a tree so you can close in that end carport like space as shop too.
Then the firewood will................


.

So funny, because it is so true!

I'm in the process of planning out the shop I'm about to build. I'm hoping to go 14'x24' with a 14'x8' add-on to the end (dirt floor, open on the short sides) to park my motorcycle. I got a bundle of landscaping timbers for free and I'll use those for the wall studs. I haven't even started planning the layout on the inside yet.

Shop considerations...
Access: Plan on having one wide door. My father in law built the shop I inherited with a back door that is 45" wide and only about 2" above ground: a great convenience for moving sheet goods as well as storing bicycles.
Wood storage: I no longer keep a big supply of wood: the few boards I have on hand are stored in the rafters. They're easy enough to get to but out of the way.
Windows: My shop has several windows: I really like sunshine and fresh air but wish I had more wall space for hanging things where they'd be readily available but out of the way.
Storage: I'm planning to build storage cabinets on wheels to fit under the workbench, which now has one row of drawers and one shelf about 6" off the floor. The shelf isn't necessary for strength or rigidity and isn't a convenient storage space, either.

I would recommend putting the firewood storage in the center between the shop and the garden storage. This gives you room to grow in the future if you decide you need it.

I second the large door recommendation as well there's nothing worse than realizing a. the wood doesn't fit in the door except of course b. what you built can't get out of the shop!

I also like the idea of a porch. I have a large paved RV storage (No RV yet) area next to my garage and on nice days it is great to wheel the SS out there and enjoy the great lighting and fresh air while making sawdust.