Well it has been a crazy project building a shop and actually starting to set it up so I can make things.

There is an ever-increasing list of to-do’s but I am at a point where it is workable.

I started with the hard problems… Actually building a shop, but this gave me the opportunity to make sure that power, heating/cooling etc… were all in place. Now I am on to the little things like shop layout, dust collection, tooling, organization, jigs, and storage solutions interspersed with actually making things for around the house.

 

I am sure there will be many more updates as things get whipped into shape around here

That is awesome!

Thanks, it has been a labor of love and I really like how it is turning out.  

There is still a TON of chaos to put order to, but the bones are there and I can finally kind of see the vision coming together.

Is that a swimming pool in your shop

 

It really looks fantastic.  What sort of surface is on the floor?

Very nice shop space! After a year of working on mine, it still hasn't reached the point where it could be called anything but a chaotic jungle of tools, lumber and, miscellaneous homeless and, mysterious crap.  Only recently, have I been able to determine the floor's exact location....in spots.

1 hour ago, Cal said:

Is that a swimming pool in your shop

 

It really looks fantastic.  What sort of surface is on the floor?

Yes, yes it is

That is the puppies’ summer pool.  I can’t leave it outside during the winter or it will blow away.

 

The floor surface is a commercial grade epoxy system with the highest adhesion, wear properties, and chemical resistance I could find.

 

That is a space most woodworkers dream of.  Beautiful.

Looking good Michael !

Paul

Very nice! Very nice bones as you said.

Now that it's time to work in it, you'll undoubtedly improve as you go, because you won't truly see the real design of the shop till you start working in it. A big mistake many of us make with a new shop, is that we try to complete it before we even have a chance to work in it, only by working in it will you truly know where the benches should go, where the storage should go, where the lumber rack should go, where to bench mount your miter saw, sharpening area, etc etc. Play in it for awhile, work in it, it's at the point where like you said, you can start building things, then when you start building things, you'll see the shortcomings of the shop immediately, and then you can make meaningful improvements.

What a wonderful space!

Looks awesome! (I will admit to some envy, well okay a LOT of envy  ) I will say that I had as much fun setting up the shop, as I’ve had making anything in the shop.  

Missed this somehow. I know it's wrong "to covet thy neighbors workshop", but I'm green with envy. You probably have posted somewhere already, but what are the dimensions for your shop. Great that you included plumbing to allow for a cleanup sink too. Like others have said, organization will be on-going until you determine what flows best for your type of work. Only thing I see missing is the coffee/donut bar.

Shop dimensions are 50’x20’ roughly with a 14’ ceiling.  

The plumbing was one of the hardest parts of the build just due to the lack of fall to tie into the existing sewer, but I am glad that I went that route to get the utility sink and a bathroom. The bathroom takes up some real estate, but I think I will eventually put a storage loft on that end of the shop to reclaim some space.  Coffee/doughnut bar is definitely on the list

 

 

Edited February 2, 20224 yr by StaticLV2

One starting concept I have found helpful is to keep everything the same height. Figure out how high you prefer your workbenches and make all the tools like table saw, router table etc the same height. That way you can slide lumber and especially sheet goods around the shop easily. In a shop your size you can have a cart at the same height which again allows for easy transfer but also as an infeed assist for the table saw. 
Paul

Lively looking . Mine seems like a dungeon...

On 1/30/2022 at 7:29 AM, Gene Howe said:

Very nice shop space! After a year of working on mine, it still hasn't reached the point where it could be called anything but a chaotic jungle of tools, lumber and, miscellaneous homeless and, mysterious crap.  Only recently, have I been able to determine the floor's exact location....in spots.

All this time I have been thinking that is how a shop is supposed to be.  Now I have to reassess!  😜

Edited February 16, 20224 yr by Bundoman

Since it came up in another thread, it is time for a walkthrough of the current evolution of the shop.

Things are coming together moderately well I think and I am fairly happy with the progress so far.
I still have a TON to do and I don’t think it will ever be “finished” but learning has occurred and things are progressing anon. 

 

This is the cleanest that things have been in a long time and I don’t expect them to stay this way but for now it is nice

Color me GREEN with envy. Your floor space is incredible which definitely lends to minimizing clutter. I really like your DC chute run supports. Very functional and easily adapted or modified as needs change. The dedicated floor sweep is a great idea too. Appreciate you sharing Michael.

What @Grandpadave52 said!  Wow!!! All that room!