Thread: Small sheds

I knew a bloke that worked in a 2.1 x 1m lean to turning out cutlery handles and stuff for the tourist trade.

Used to assemble them in the kitchen though.

Originally Posted by scubabob

i sit here, crying and drooling into my keyboard as i look at the pics of guys really beaut and lovely (in a guy sense) sheds and dream of such things in my garden. Unfortunately, i have neither the funds nor the real position to put a nice working shed.

I have a large verandah (spelt "verandah" but pronounced "rather large pot plant holder") which houses my Triton Mark3 and Triton Router table. I have a 2x3m shed but everything is in there so when i want to play, it's drag everything onto the verandah, move the pot plants, etc, etc.

Council will let me put up a 3mx3m shed with many provisos and it has got me wondering, what is the smallest shed that anyone has that is practicable for woodworking?

I'm in a similar situation - my shed is 2x3m. Mind you, the onld one was 3x1.4 (rather like a toilet cubicle), so I'm happier now!

My shed is on the side of a wide carport (7.5m wide), and opens with double doors along the 3m side, which gives reasonable access. In it I have a drill press and a bench down one side, a disk sander an my lathe along the back wall, and the other side has a grinder and band saw. The floor space is taken up with a Triton WC2000 which I can roll out, and a dusty is shoved into the remaining space which has to be rolled out to even get in the door. a real PITA.

The lack of space has forced me to spend a lot of time thinking about how best to manage it all. I am in the process of lining the walls with yellow tongue flooring so I can put up more shelving and tool hanging space, and I need to get mobile bases for the drill press and bandsaw, so they can be left in situ for smaller jobs but wheeled out when I need to work on bigger jobs. The lathe is setup so that the grinder is next to the tail stock end, which is ok for smaller items, but it can be removed if need to turn longer spindles. The one real negative here is that I don't have an outrigger and the headstock doesn't swivel so I'm kinda stuck for larger bowls. My plan here is to get the outrigger at some point and get some sort of mobile base on the headstock end of the lathe so I can swing it out from the wall if/when I do such a project.

Being next to the carport is the saving grace - I can wheel the triton out to do work on it, though LOML isn't always that impressed with the front of the house looking like a construction zone!

I'll post a photo of it all once I get the lining sorted. At the moment it's all just an amazingly unusable pile of mess which is driving everyone nuts

Cheers,
Dave

I do all my work out of a 3m x 3m tin shed. I really don't see what the attraction of a bigger shed is.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

I do all my work out of a 3m x 3m tin shed. I really don't see what the attraction of a bigger shed is.

Big sheds are for the guys who don't know how to use hand tools WW

Oh don't worry; if I had a 9m x 6m shed, it would be just as full as my little shed!

My dad's shed used to be the old out house after it was no longer used for the original purpose. So 3ft x 3ft x 12ft h. Saw horse and improvised work benches to make such as children's toys to cabinets.

There is a wonderful book by Mark Thomson published by Angus and Robertson 1995 called Blokes and Sheds. The smallest there is 2 square metres. I work in the last third of a garage. The car goes outside when I need the space. I find that is just fine for turning and general woodwork. There are a couple of photos in my album.

WOW !! i am impressed. i know we would all like a shed the size of our houses but i never realised so many people were in the same situation. It have been a couple of decades since i saw my shed empty, so maybe there is hope for it yet. Me thinks i will clean it out and see what i can do. Thanks guys.

A couple of years back there was a thread from a guy here, who woodworked in his kitchen in an apartment on the upper floors of his block. He had a demountable benchtop which he clamped to the kitchen units. I tried to find the thread, but I can't.

You remind me, in an old issue of Fine Woodworking there was an article by a guy whose first workshop was in the stairwell of his apartment. I think the whole issue was devoted to setting up a small workshop. There was one in a trailer. If there is any interest I'll get into the archives for the reference. Probably 20 years ago.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

I do all my work out of a 3m x 3m tin shed. I really don't see what the attraction of a bigger shed is.

Mine is twice as big as yours and its perfect for me. That said, my last one was 300m2 and it was always full of so much crap I hated it. My 6x3 is always tidy and when i do run out of space i work under the pergola.

The latest Aust Woodsmith (issue 84) has some ideas for organising a small workshop, or any workshop for that matter

wheels are a great idea - lockable casters

Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker

wheels are a great idea - lockable casters

I reckon they are the number one essential accessory in a small space. I couldn’t live without mine on the table saw. The hardest part was installing them that were easily the trickiest thing I have ever done by myself.

Two solutions I can see here
1/ Build a fernery for the pot plants. Can be as basic as 4 poles (not european type you fool) with shadecloth attached.

2/ purchase old deliver truck with enclosed tray (no motor needed) and use as wookshop.Tell busybodies you are converting nto a motorhome
Cheers
Pete
OK back into the pointy hat corner