Whether you have your workshop in the garage, the basement, a shed, or a small back room, here are some tips to help you make it work for you.
To determine where to place your bench and power tools, make a scale drawing of the room, and make paper cutouts of each item. Move these around till you find a suitable location. As you’re doing this, consider how you’re going to use the shop. If you’re bringing in larger pieces of wood or plywood, make sure you don’t block the entrance. And think about where you’re going to place the biggest items: the table saw and bench. Again, if you’re often cutting larger pieces, you’ll want the table saw positioned correctly. The center of the room may be best spot.
If you’re going to be using the table saw and jointer in tandem quite often, then keep them close together. The further they are apart, the more you have to carry the wood back and forth.
Depending on your requirements, and how often you buy wood in advance, don’t neglect space for racks for storing the wood.
Look at the existing outlet situation, and determine where you’ll need to add or route outlets.
Also, consider where you’ll want to have a dust collection system, if that’s in your plans.
Once you’re done your rough plan, cut out large paper pieces the size of the footprint of each item, and actually place them in the room. Then you can move around and see if your plan actually works in practice.
Next time, we’ll look at more ideas and tips to consider before you actually start putting the shop together.