Your Workshops

[Richard Findley]

Hi Guys,

I currently use space in someone elses workshop which is ok at the moment but I plan to build a small workshop at the end of my garden. What I wondered was... What size workshops do some of you guys work out of and what kit have you squeezed into the space available?

Cheers:2tsup:,

Richard

[Sebastiaan56]

Hi Guys,

I currently use space in someone elses workshop which is ok at the moment but I plan to build a small workshop at the end of my garden. What I wondered was... What size workshops do some of you guys work out of and what kit have you squeezed into the space available?

Cheers:2tsup:,

Richard

Hi Richard,

2 x 2.5m by 3m high. I resides at the bottom of the garden and butts onto the chook shed which also houses chook food, garden tools etc. It has a bench 1m deep so there isnt much room. I bolt the lathe onto the bench when I use it, there is a smaller bench with a grinder and the shelves between the joists house my stuff. Basically I can only do one thing at a time, eg turn, route, etc

Get something bigger than mine,

[johnc]

For years it was 2.7 x 3.6 with not much more than a bench and handtools, the garage sometimes got used to assemble if required. Recently an extension expanded size to 3.9 x 8.0 which is like heaven compared to the old space. Equipment is a dusty, benchtop thicknesser and jointer along with a router table and drill press which came from the old shed.

[hughie]

I currently use space in someone elses workshop which is ok at the moment but I plan to build a small workshop at the end of my garden. What I wondered was... What size workshops do some of you guys work out of and what kit have you squeezed into the space available?


Hi Richard, :construction:

Build as big as you can afford or as big as your allowed to. The more space the better, my last workshop was 6x6x2.5 and it was too small.


Having lived in the UK for several years I realize that you may be hampered by a small backyard. But still build one as big as you can,you might need a heater tho'...:U

As for kit, I have two lathes, grinder, polishing mop setup, drill stand, two benches, sundry power tools, a truck load of shelving to go around the walls, and a Burmese cat supervisor :U

[rsser]

There's one or two articles on WWW WW sites on workshop design that are worth a scan.

Hughie is right IMO. Go as big as you can. Machinery and timber will expand to fit any space available ;-}

The layout can make life easier; grinder, toolbench and lathe need to be grouped, bandsaw and drill press can be further away. Bandsaw on quality castors helps maximise what space you have. Most of all, think about the routing of the dusty ducts to minimise bends as well as pipes underfoot.

Good luck!

[rsser]

eg: http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/wk_planning/article/0,2037,DIY_14427_2277993,00.html

http://home.comcast.net/~hchute/woodshop_shoplayouts.htm (http://home.comcast.net/%7Ehchute/woodshop_shoplayouts.htm)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?referrerid=5960&t=44350

My shed is 5 x 5m; would be OK if I finished one or two WIPs and got them out.

[orraloon]

Richard,
Go as big as you can. I have a 2.8x3.8 tin shed that I put in the back yard when her indoors decided that the garage was for cars. I have the bandsaw on wheels and set up the table saw or thicknesser so that the timber points out the door. It is one task at a time then move stuff to do the next bit. I have to put any decent size projects together in the garage in any case with a lot of back and forth looking for the tape or the pencil. Not the ideal set up. I am sure a lot get by with less space and I have seen some clever use made of small spaces. Working space is the thing I crave more than the latest hi tech bit of sawdust making equipment.

Regards
John

[Ashore]

6M x 7M workshop and 6M x 7M storage and the car stays out in the weather
No matter how big it's never big enough and the more space you have the more you fill :U

[munruben]

Have never measured it but I use half of a 4 car garage and its still not enough room.:)

[China]

Go as big as you can, but I warn you, it will never be big enough!

[OBBob]

My last one was really small ... but the great thing was that it was organised, everything had a place ... and it had large double barn doors. I could open it up in good weather and work inside and out. Apparently it isn't teh siz that counts but the way you use it ... or was that about something else?

[wheelinround]

1st was out doors using saw horses and top of dads wooden tool box back steps anything as a bench.
later on built 6'x6'shed
now use small garage shared with car

[rat52]

Code OF Practice

5.1 SIZE AND SHAPE.
Any given shed shall ALWAYS be too small.:D

[wheelinround]

Code OF Practice

5.1 SIZE AND SHAPE.
Any given shed shall ALWAYS be too small.:D

and never enough tools



6.1. A bloke shall NEVER have enough tools. It is an immutable Law of Shed Physics that there is no known quantum of any given tool that can be considered to be in excess of requirements.

This will always equate to the size of shed needed devided by the amount of tools/machinery plus work area needed to use said tools.

[glock40sw]

G'day.
Yep. Never big enough...

I have a 7mx9m shed with a 7m x6m covered car port.
ran out of room in the shed, so closed in the carport. Have now run out of room again. Am now looking at fitting a 9mx6m skillion off the side of the shed.

[Wild Dingo]

Richard bein from the UK as you are I wonder at how much spacial room you have available to use for a workshop?

I know some blokes have gone nuts with their TINY sheds in their backyards in the UK... and some have converted the lower floor of the townhouse? not sure what you call them upstairs and downstairs unit thing...

And the sizes these nobs are talking about are probably blowing your mind... and your more than likely not believing them about the size... well mate believe it!!

So... I started usin a corner of the missus's laundry up north... we moved down to Perth and I was kicked out to the rented house's single car garage... THE ROOM!!! AFRIGGINMAZING!!! I was fair in heaven mate I tell yer!! :2tsup:

So then we built a house in Mandurah (southern suburb of Perth WA) and suddenly I was sans shed again... so I moved the gear into the front living room... seriously!!... amid her sewing gear the computer and everything else that was in there I measured marked and cutout of 12mm chipboard the moulds for 2 canoes... I also made a bunch of things for her highness and a couple of the kids

Then when I decided to get a propa table saw instead of the two sawhorses and the circular saw... she agreed to let me get a shed!! WHAHOOOOO!! so thinking of another single car garage I got some prices and she decided I could go bigger so YEEEEEEEEEEFLAMINHAAAAAAAAAA!! a double it was! BEAUTY!!! and so it came to be...

Tools? oh right a couple of hand tools a couple of hand powered tools and a table saw then a small thicknesser.... and that was it... had to make a bench and a wood rack and get some clamps cause somehow Id lost the ones I'd had

So move forward a couple of years and we moved down south to Brunswick Junction... just look for Bunbury in West Australia and BJ is nth east of that by about 25klicks... onto 2 acres... as part of my agreeing to our moving to the soggy wet work deprived area I had demanded "The tools I need to work wood" and she had agreed... well it was either that or I buggar of to the goldfields to live and leave her to it... soooooo... I started buying tools... yep woppa lathe woppa bandsaw whoppa thicknesser whoppa jointer ETC ETC ETC... and the plan was to buy a shed and have it up quicksmart... but the weather beat us and we got flooded out... sooooo the idea of the whopping great shed to house my tools and timberwork stuff shrunk RAPIDLY as other things became paramount and the tools were relegated to the seatainer out the back

Step forward a couple of years...

I now have a 9mtr x 6mtr shed and a 40ft seatainer for my shed... only she wont let me have the seatainer yet cause she wants to store gear crap sheila stuff in there doesnt she?... but its there it will be mine... and shes put herself on a promise that I will get the whopper shed I initially had organized to get before the shyte hit the fan...

ahem... presently I have and am using a 9x6mtr shed... its CHOCKERBLOODYBLOCK FULL!!! (You hear that Jody??? ITS BLOODY FULL WOMAN!!) I have all my timber stored out on the flat under some tarps which is NOT satisfactory AT ALL... I still dont have power and have to run 2 extention leads out there to power up one tool at a time (so if I want to use say the 10hb table saw AND the dusty... FORGEDDABOUDIT!) but you know what?


ITS A SHED!! WHAHOOOOO!! You flamin ripper!! :2tsup:

[Harry72]

Mines 40'X18'(approx)... its way to small!
Im hoping my new shed will be 80'x30'... and it will still be to small!

[pitbull]

My shop is 8'x6'8'' and i manage very well, i use trestles outside if the weathers fine so i can do most things without any problems. :;

[Harry72]

My shop is 8'x6'8'' and i manage very well, i use trestles outside if the weathers fine so i can do most things without any problems. :;
I couldn't even fit my table saw in that!

[againstthegrain]

I have a single car garage that is not used for a vehicle ( thank goodness! ) ...6M x 3M.

I do have to share it with the electronics workbench and the family clothes dryer plus storage of various other 'precious' items.:D

I guess we all wish we had more but I will get by with this plus an attached carport for fair weather work.

[Eli]

Mine's a garage at a rental house. 3x6m, but I'm inside.....
I was outside under a roof out back for four years, so even this smally one is better. Keeps you organized.....

[Sharpasaknife]

It is very true that no matter how big the shed is it will be to small over time. My shed is 30mX30m and is growing to small very fast.

[jisk]

My shed is 12m x 6m.

And contrary to most of the blokes here, I'm yet to grow into it :D:D:D. Heaps of room!

[RobTro]

3x1.3m
and here it is. Just finished.
63511

63512
The first shows the inside. As I said, just finished so not organised at all. But it does show the bench top drill press.

I should say that I don't have table saws or band saws etc. I don my dimensioning by hand.

Rob

[Pops]

Hi Rob,

Nice job on that shed, looks great. And very economical on space. Some of the locals here in Oz have huge sheds by comparison. Well done.

Cheers
Pops

[Waldo]

G'day Richard,

I've got a 9m x 7m shed and it's chockers. Like everyone will write - no matter how big you'll fill it. I've got a few more sq. metres of space that I can squeeze things into. But if i moved both cars out I'd have more room.

The XR lives outside now when I've got major projects on and SWMBO's car - well I'll never have permission to boot it out permanently :doh:.