Thread: Building a new workshop. Need advice

Hi Skywoolf.

I would suggest putting your saw bench on wheels or castor's.
That way you can get it right out of the way when not in use.
Just my 1c worth.

Paul.

I would suggest that you recess the dropsaw into a bench on one side of the shed so that the surface of the saw is flush with the bench.I would locate it approximately 1 third of the way down to allow for long boards. Put the table saw towards the centre and build an outfeed table which can double up as another work bench. As you get more floor mounted tools then mount them on boards with locking castors and locate along one wall.
I have a 6m x 9m shed and this is what I have done except that I have a lathe at one end and two work benches in one corner as I share the space with my neighbour. Hope there are some useful ideas

One aspect that many people forget about with shed design and layout is dust control.
This is always best dealt with as early as possible in shed design.
Most people add-on dust control and that is a major reason why it is usually far from ideal.

Dust control is generally either ducted or un-ducted, the big advantage of ducted is that this enables the DC to be placed outside the shed. Knowing what I know about dust I would not considering using an unducted DC or vacuum cleaner inside a shed so I favour ducted system.

Some people like to have a big central space so they can wheel machines in and out of they space.
Most people that have this setup used a mobile DC next to the machine in use.
This approach is much more flexible, but has greater setup time, and ducted dust control requires it to be place overhead or embedded under the floor - if you haven't laid your concrete yet I would seriously consider placing a couple of 6" dust ports in the floor and duct them back to the DC.

Wall placement of machines means ducting can conveniently run along a wall. This suits machines like pedestal drills, cut-off saws and lathes. In my shed I have the DC outside and am setting up wall ducting for the DP, BS and WW Lathe which are located along a wall. Overhead ducting in the middle of a small central space in which I use my TS and Planer thicknesser. The TS will also have a dedicated duct in the floor.

Originally Posted by HOOKED.UP

Hi Skywoolf.

I would suggest putting your saw bench on wheels or castor's.
That way you can get it right out of the way when not in use.
Just my 1c worth.

Paul.

Thanks. I guess that would work well as long as the wheels have good brakes.

Originally Posted by shedman

I would suggest that you recess the dropsaw into a bench on one side of the shed so that the surface of the saw is flush with the bench.I would locate it approximately 1 third of the way down to allow for long boards. Put the table saw towards the centre and build an outfeed table which can double up as another work bench. As you get more floor mounted tools then mount them on boards with locking castors and locate along one wall.
I have a 6m x 9m shed and this is what I have done except that I have a lathe at one end and two work benches in one corner as I share the space with my neighbour. Hope there are some useful ideas

That all sounds good. Maybe the "new fangled workbench" can be utilized as the outfeed table. I did think about making all work surfaces the same height but never considered recessing the drop saw/cut off saw into the workbench

Great ideas thank you

Originally Posted by BobL

One aspect that many people forget about with shed design and layout is dust control.
This is always best dealt with as early as possible in shed design.

Other than keeping a vacuum cleaner handy I have not even thought about dust control. I guess the same system would also be of great value in sucking out fumes when painting, varnishing, fiberglassing, etc.

I will check out the local suppliers. It is highly unlikely I can find proper ducting here but large plastic pipes combined with an industrial strength extractor fan should work. I could suck it out into a bin or a large cloth bag/sack outside.

Its too late for underfloor ducts but I have 10 feet high ceilings and the center of the roof is 6 feet above that so I have plenty of space up there to work with.

Many thanks

Hi Skywoolf.

Good quality, large castors, can be bought with brakes. They are not cheap, but I have never seen a set worn out.
Using your Work bench as an outfeed table sounds like a great idea and saves having stands hanging around your shed.

Paul.

Many things like this are easy to buy in developed countries but often impossible here in the farming country of the Philippines. But... I believe I know a hardware dealer that may have them. So after I measure the height of the circular saw table and the height of the workbench I will see what the best size will be and try to get them.