How much space do I leave around a Lathe?

[Brendan1152]

Hi All,

I am finally getting a shed, better late than never, only small - 2.9m x 3.9m and I plan to have the following free standing items;
Lathe
Band Saw
Compressor
Thicknesser
Jointer
Shopvac or similar
The following will be small and workbench mounted ( maybe on a lazy susan layout as someone has mentioned in a previous post)
Table saw
Drill Press
Grinder/Sharpening station
Space will be at a premium and I plan on having the workbench down one 2.9m side.

For the lathe (and other free standing items) how much room should I allow around them? I am looking at getting a lathe that has a 90degree swivel head, I am left handed and would prefer to work in front of the head. I will be doing mainly bowls etc.

Are there any books that give layout designs for small areas? Has anyone here got a similar size shed?

All comments and suggestions gratefully received.

Regards

Brendan

[Manuka Jock]

Brendan ,
will this shed will be smaller that a single garage for a small car ?

[Brendan1152]

Hi,

2.9m x 3.9m - not sure of garage sizes but you might fit a small car into the space.

Regards

Brendan

[Manuka Jock]

Brendan , looking at your machinery list , I doubt whether you have the room to put all that gear in to such a small shed , and still work with safety .

Measure up the work space that each machine needs , and add it all up .
Not just the machines footprint , but the square footage of each piece including safe working area , and then tally it all up .

Compare the total , to the size of your shed .

[Manuka Jock]

Hi,

2.9m x 3.9m - not sure of garage sizes but you might fit a small car into the space.

Regards

Brendan

Over here in NZ , a one car garage is

20 ft x 12ft .

Converting your metric measure to Imp. feet and inches ,the shed is

12.3/4 ft X 9.1/2 ft

Its' easier to picture ......... for us oldies eh :D

[thefixer]

You've gotta be kidding. No offense intended, but my secondary shed is that size (and then there is the third shed and then the storage area between sheds:oo:)and all I keep in it is stuff that I don't want cluttering up my workspace. There is no way you can fit all that machinery in there and still be able to work IMHO. You definitely need a bigger shed than that.
I am also left handed and work from both sides of the lathe. Spindle and face turning from the front and hollowing from the back. That would require about half of the shed you have in mind.

Cheers
Shorty

[nalmo]

From my humble experience, if you're turning bowls, they usually end up somewhere between 50% and 75% of the blank size, and produce about 300% in size of shavings. So estimate what space you're going to need, then quadruple it and you should be about right (jk). But seriously, for a great setup in limited space, Stu in Tokyo has a video tour of his workshop in his basement ("the dungeon") on Youtube which might give you some good space saving ideas.

[hughie]

Its gonna be a tight squeeze, single car garage is around 5.5mx3.0m or 16.5sqm, yours is a round 11.3sqm.
I think your gonna have to get creative and perhaps have some stuff on wheels so you can move it around to gain space to operate different bits of gear.

[Ed Reiss]

I
I think your gonna have to get creative and perhaps have some stuff on wheels so you can move it around to gain space to operate different bits of gear.

Brendan, it can be done, but it will be tight as hell. Mobile bases for sure. With that in mind, placing the lathe dead in the middle wouldn't be out of order. That would allow complete movement around it...yep, there are times that you'll be working from the back of the lathe:o

Attached are pics of the my first workshop (shed) I built in 1982. The size was 3.65m wide x 4.87m long x 2.43m high. It had the bare minimum of tools - Shopsmith combo tool (saw, drill press, lathe, etc), bandsaw, workbench, and shelving/cabinets...tight quarters for sure!

Good luck with your workshop:2tsup:

[hughie]

it can be done, but it will be tight as hell. Mobile bases for sure. With that in mind, placing the lathe dead in the middle wouldn't be out of order. That would allow complete movement around it...yep, there are times that you'll be working from the back of the lathe

Attached are pics of the my first workshop (shed) I built in 1982. The size was 3.65m wide x 4.87m long x 2.43m high. It had the bare minimum of tools - Shopsmith combo tool (saw, drill press, lathe, etc), bandsaw, workbench, and shelving/cabinets...tight quarters for sure!



Yep thats tight.Mine will also be tight 3.5x6.0 plus a lean to.

[orraloon]

Brendan,
As some of the others say it can be done but life will not be easy. I have the same size shed and have in stages been quietly noving some machines out of the shed and back to the double garage. I have the 14'' bandsaw on wheels still in the shed with a 2m x o0.8m bench and some storage shelves along the wall opposite the bench. I found it a squeeze to construct a 1.6m garden bench in there. The table saw did not last long in the shed due to not enough space to move the wood around and I was having to cut things out the door. I mostly now drag it outside to cut long bits of wood. Lack of head room is another limiting factor. There are ways of making it all fit but I am not a tidy worker and like space more than machines. With my lathe it is a bit heavy to move about so has a permanant place in the garage. I guess I just need another bigger shed and her indoors is not happy with the garage being full of wood and tools either. I have been thinking of a paved area with some shade rigged up outside the shed then with the machines on wheels a lot of work can be done in the open.
Woodworkers will always find a way to work with what they have got.
Regards
John

[DuncanH]

Bah, I don't get what you are all complaining about... My shed is 1.5m by 96cm. Just big enough to stand in :p

[bigfish]

Bah, I don't get what you are all complaining about... My shed is 1.5m by 96cm. Just big enough to stand in :p

Drop the lid onto the pan and you have an instant workbench. :D