Thread: Setting up a new shed with machinery help

G'day Mountman,
I can't help you with your choice of machines but I am fitting out my shed and I have discovered a few things which might be valuable.
1. Don't be afraid to buy second hand machines. Things like sawbenches and lathes are pretty robust and you can save money for other things.
2. If you are in a very hot/cold area insulate the shed BEFORE you start putting anything in. I did not do this and I regret it. Summers get very hot here in Perth and my 5 x 4 m shed gets really hot. And it is a pain trying to fit insulation in after you have put stuff in the shed .... and now have to move it.
3. I think that deep shelves are wasted as the stuff at the back gets hidden. I would only have a couple of deep shelves for things like 4 litre paint cans or boxes, and have narrow shelves about 100 mm deep and about 100mm apart for jars and tins of screws, nails, tools etc.
4. Consider lining the inside of the shed with particle board or MDF as it is very handy to be able to bang a screw or nail in anywhere to hang something.
Good luck and don't forget photos of the shed!

I'm seriously considering lining it with MDF, but just have to figure out how thick. I'm thinking about 12mm.

I never thought about having skinny shelves, it makes sense now that I think of it!

Mountnman, I have recently built a new shed and have insulated it, then lined it with 16mm Whitepaper covered chipboard. Why, because I dont like painting You may want to see the "Show us ya shed" thread for more ideas . . . or confusion

I asked a very similar questions 4 months ago now and I can tell you if you are anything like me you will be spending a lot of time on websites, visiting the major vendors of wood working equipment trying to decide. I would encourage you to take a look at MWE as well even if just for comparison with some of the jet and trupro tools. I have some of each and I am very happy with them.

You asked what priority order to buy the tools in. What I can tell you is:

You will be surprised by how much you use the drill press - I was, its almost my favourite purchase and I cannot believe I considered not buying one!

The bandsaw is my most used tool, its so convenient for more than just cutting those blanks. Its great for ripping pieces that do not have a straight edge and obviously good for cutting out templates, etc.

You can cut mortises with a router. The MortisePal has some interesting features that might make it an option, but I know that several forum members have built their own jigs for doing this.

Try to have fun and be wary for analysis paralysis

I must read the entire thread properly . . .

If I had my time again, the order of tool purchase would be Bandsaw - cuts a lot quicker than a handsaw, straight and curves, Drill Press - straight holes, even gets rid of 90% of the mortice waste, Lathe for turning big hunks into matchsticks, Dusty - you are only issued with one set of lungs, then Tablesaw/Thicky/Jointer.Smaller hand powertools can be picked up when needed/cheap.

If your setting up don't forget the footprint of the machines -that is the distance required to feed the work in and room for outfeed.

There's a nice little planner here (in imperial measurements though):

Grizzly.com -- Workshop Planner

My shed is being built next week. They are installing insulation before the roof goes on. The slab was done recently and the shed was delivered yesterday.

One thing you might think about. Build a water proof shelter on the outside for your dust extractor and cut a hole to feed the pipe through the wall. This is so you are not loosing VALUABLE space inside. I am getting a 9 x 6 shed built and I realise that space will go quite quickly especially with the amount of equipment you are looking at getting. If you get an air compressor, that could go outside as well - under cover of course.

Couple of suggestions

Re the shed:

Try really hard too get it finished before you move gear into it, its a pain but more practical in the long term. By finished, I mean insulated, wired, lined, and your prefered floor coating/sealant in place. This helps a lot with dust containment and transfer, and being able to clean up quickly and regularly.

Consider a couple of whirlygigs for the roof, they go a long way toward providing climate control by venting hot air. However beware that sunlight entering the shaft through the leaves will penetrate to ground (or bench/machine table) level and can produce strobe patterns. Choose locations where these patterns are least likely to pose an optical hazard for you.

Obtain and install a goodly number of fire extinguishers, particularly if you using the shed for car garage and as a workshop. I know someone who lost 3 classic racecars plus a hell of a lot of other stuff, plus had a week in hospital after his workshop caught fire while he was working inside. Cause, he was grinding and sparks landed on a shelf and set off wood dust that had settled of a shelf about a metre away and above his work location. This fire destroyed the main workshop, a seperate machine shop, and one outer wall of his house.

Re machinery:

Secondhand quality goods can be better and cheaper than new indifferent items.

With the bandsaws that you considering, you will have reasonable resaw capacity. You might like to add a medium size jointer in the plan if you are going to consider a thicknesser. Remember a thicknesser will get a face parallel to another, but it isn't primarily intended to get the first face straight and flat.

When checking out drill press, wind the feed to the bottom, raise it about 12mm and hold there then grasp the chuck body and check for movemnent. Ideally there should not be any, the worst I have found is about 2mm. This is caused by poor machining of the spindle bore in main casting and cannot be rectified, so it is better to avoid a machine/model that exhibits this problem, which is very common in Chinese units. The movement allows the bit to move in the work causing inacurate drilling. It doen't show with the spindle fully up or down as it is damped by the stops in these positions.

Also lean heavily on the table to ensure that it is rigid and does not flex. Flex in the table is caused by thin wall columns and insufffient metal and ribbing in, or poor machining of the table mounts, and will result in holes that are not at right angles to the face of the material being drilled.

Best of luck with your development.

Tablesaw:
I like the Carbatec 10" model MJ2325CT. I like the power of the 3hp, but other than that I'm not sure what else I need in a table saw.

I bought one, but ended up sending it back, and bought a TSC 10 -HB - great cabinet saw.

The MJ2325CT had mitre slots of different width, the blade was way out of alignment with the mitre slot, and there was no accurate way of fixing it, being a contractor style saw. Also, the dust hose to the guard was useless. Dust overall was a problem. The only good thing about it was the riving knife setup and the large table.

The main shortcomings of the TSC -10HB are: no riving knife, just a fixed splitter; the blade angles to the right ( not left); the arbor only takes up to 15mm Dado blades.

But it is a great saw, easy to align , like all cabinet saws

My most used shed tools, in order of priortiy

1. Drill press ( Hitachi B16RM)
2. SCMS - Makita
3. Table saw ( with Thien separator and 2hp dust collector, which runs outside the shed)
4, Router Makita 1306B
5. Router table
6. Wire brush wheel on bench grinder
7. Nail gun ( Bostitch)
8. Jigsaw ( Makita)
9 185mm circular saw (Makita)

I was taught at an early age to buy the best tools possible, because they will last a long time, and give you good service. My Makita router is nearly 30 years old, and still going strong.