Good morning all.Im finally getting my shop together but i ran into a little issue,im not sure how to use my space.Im working in a one car garage and dont have much room but it is managable and i would like not to have to keep moving my tools all around if i dont have too.Any tips or suggestions/plans would be highly appreciated
Little hard to help without knowing what tools you are dealing with. Tablesaw (if you have one) needs to be in the middle. I would suggest you get a moving platform for that since you may need to move it to accomidate different cuts etc. So do you have drill press, sanders, bandsaw, lathe, etc......I would peg board the walls of the garage to have lots of space to hang hand tools. Beyond that we need some help so we can help in return.
You won't know if you can do something if you don't try.
I apoligize i should have added that in.Yes i have everything table saw,miter,router table planer 6ft dust collector ,14" band saw and alot of the small stuff like drill press, air compressor ,plung router oh almost forgot i also have a 60X14"lathe and a whole bunch of other tools but these are the big ones
Wow, alot of tools - I am jealous..... Your floor space is at a premimum. So my advice on your table saw stands, you need to make that portable to move it out of the middle to give you space when you need it. For your other larger power tools, you need to consider the amount of space they require. Things like drill press, router table, band saw don't need a ton of space. A joiner/planer needs infeed, and outfeed space if you are planing larger boards. As I stated before, I would plan to pegboard the walls, so you can place smaller hand tools in an organized fashion. You probably can't afford to give up the space for say a rolling tool box. Dust collector is a nice to have, but takes up room. This might be a luxury you might not be able to afford. You will have to determine that as you set up. I have been woodworking for over 40 years and never owned one. I get by with a good shop vac. I made my own workbench with cabinets underneath, I store several benchtop type tools in it, ie scrowl saw, belt/disk sanders, router table, as well as my airnailers, and sabersaw that all have the plastic cases. Others may have additioanl thoughts.
You won't know if you can do something if you don't try.
With the number of tools you have and the space available in a one-car garage, you are going to have to get used to moving tools around. There isn't any way you can design a work space with that much stuff so that everything is stationary. Therefore, you should get some casters for the tools that are the bulkiest and heaviest and just plan on moving things in and out as needed. Also, how you use your tools makes a difference. Try to do all your ripping, band saw work, router work, etc. at the same time. This will reduce the amount of tool moving and also keeps your shop more orderly.
Posts: 509 | Location: Rogers City, MI | Registered: Sep 25, 2007
thanks guys for giving me some insight on how and where to place my tools.I do believe i have alot for the space i got but my intentions are not to have that small space very long.
