Shopsmith Forums

I am setting up a new shop in my basement for the winter, since my summer shop is not heated. I always, when making/designing a project I make a scale drawing, even if I buy/free plan, if it does not come with a drawing to scale I make a set/3 sided one.
So this past weekend clean up the basement, organized storage stuff and dedicated an area for those things, and ended up with a 15x15ft area with 4 walls, one with a 3ft swing in door to the shop area.
Last night I made up a 1"=1ft scale drawing of the floor plan and put in light pencil a grid pattern 1ft in scale, on it to match the scale. Then I took my kindergarten learned skills, and in red construction paper, made to the same scale, and shapes of my equipment foot prints. What a eye opener!!! I can set them on the white paper with the grid, see how much space I have between/around them, without measuring, move them around and play with there positions in the shop. I just may do that all day!! Today maybe in blue yarn, do the same with DC system hosing layout to the machines, and lighting in yellow.
I know you "real men" here who have CadCam or similar on your computer can do it in cyber space, but I have not elevated my skills to that yet. Besides, it drives my neighbor nuts when I am in the shop from 9ish am till 9ish pm, because he has to entertain the SO, or/and just listen to her.

Yep, that's WAY easier than moving heavy machinery around! I designed my whole house that way back about 1990, except that I bought one of those Stanley kits with a ready-made grid board and little electrostatic stickies for walls, doors, furniture, etc.

In my limited experience, CAD takes longer than your method when creating the first layout. But it pays off when you start revising, and you can easily keep/compare multiple versions.