[AJCoholic]

Guys, of course I was trying to be "funny" I mentioned before I sold my woodworking business in Kirkland Lake earlier this year and am setting up shop in Timmins now. Hopefully by the start of the new year I will be back in action.

In my house, I have not too much room to work. Just a small basement room to both store and build models, and its cramped. I will (like before) use my business shop to both store and build my planes.

Now, getting back to the home shop - I also think lighting is very important, and the new flourescents are very good. A lot of light makes work easier, easier on your eyes and less strain on your brain.

Also, flooring should be bright and easy to see dropped small parts, screws, etc. Nothing worse than working on a dirty/dark floor that seems to gobble everything you drop.

As for dust extraction - small shop vacs suck! There are many import "dust collectors" available on today's market targeted to the home/hobbiest woodworker that are much more efficient than a shop vac for collecting dust from a small sander/saw/etc. Look at the places like Busy Bee Tools, etc. Or on the used market.

For me, the most important thing for long term work is a decent bench to work on. make sure its tailored to YOUR height... a standard 30" for sitting, or 36" for standing might be too high or low if you are on the shorter or taller side of "average". I know I will have my work benches slightly higher than 36, like 37 or even 38". Makes less back strain - which again - if you are working for even a few hours at a time it makes a huge difference.

AJC

[JimMcIntyre]

Good points Andrew,

I also find tilting the workbench toward me helps in that I'm not bending over to reach further into the table. My primary building bench is now a hollow core door attached to a drafting table on an fairly steep angle. I still have the flat workbenches and will work on them but, for extended hours building, the drafting table keeps my back from torturing me. A flat table beside this houses my knives, glues, free materials and other tools.

[Max]

I would like to add that your workbench be set to a height that is comfortable to work yoru tools while standing.
My machne tools like sander, jigsaw, bandsaw, etc are all on a bench that is a good height for me to work on.

My build area is also high enough so that I dont have to stoop while working.

I also have a folding table that I use if I want to sit and relax while tinkering on a project and watching TV. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention you should have the TV in your workshop, and put that at eye level as well

[bjon]

I just simply use my garage,it's maybe not a dream shop but it works for me.

[Mike Emilio]

Originally Posted by AJCoholic

Funny thing, I am actually just in the process of setting up my own "dream shop"... and hopefully it will be my last.

But, its "slightly larger", in a 75' by 80' building with 12'+ ceilings. I have just picked my "tools"...

16" sliding panel saw with 10' carriage
20" HD helical planer
16" HD jointer
7HP tilting arbor spindle shaper
16" resaw bandsaw
20" bandsaw
108" edge sander
8' stroke sander
36" wide belt sander
14" radial arm saw
12" radial arm rough cut saw
10" sawstop bench saw
15hp 120gallon compressor
hydraulic automatic copy lathe
6 1/2 stroke drill press & radial drill press
spindle sander
modular dust collection system

All which should be more than enough to scratch build even the largest airframes.

10' spray booth & dual 2 1/2 gallon pressure pots/guns - ideal for painting even the largest of planes.

And of course many hand routers, sanders, drills, screwguns, air staplers and nailers, and more stuff than my bank account wants to admit to right now.

And it will have its own tool room with both my milling machines, bench lathe and grinders/buffers & sharpening center. A guy's gotta have room to work on his motors, right?

I will have at least 4' by 16' of work bench in the center of the work space, with drawers all around to store the hand tools and so forth.

And many clamps... can never have enough clamps!

As well as building my models, I might make some furniture once and a while to help pay for the planes too

AJC

What, , , !!! No kitchen sink !!!!

[AJCoholic]

Originally Posted by Mike Emilio

What, , , !!! No kitchen sink !!!!

Well, I generally stock a few Blanco sinks in my showroom...

For washing up I prefer a utility/laundry tub.

AJC

[WillyT]

A radio station in St John's NFLD ( OZFM) has a contest every summer - "Pimp Your shed" the grand prize I would add to all the other goodies that have been listed so far:
•one (1) LG 60/LGX Ultra Slim 52” LCD HDTV with DVD home theater system HT303SU (ARV $3,000);
•one (1) portable bar (ARV $1,000);
•one (1) acoustic electric guitar with case (ARV $1,000);
•one (1) custom leather chair (ARV $500);
•one (1) mini-fridge (ARV $300);
•one (1) portable media player with Wi-Fi mobile (ARV $419);
•one (1) dockable speaker system (ARV $350);
•one (1) dart board (ARV $50);
•one (1) rack of Lamb’s which includes one of each of the following sizes of Lamb’s Palm Breeze products, the 200ml, the 375ml, the 750ml plastic bottle, the 750ml glass bottle, the 1140ml, the 1750ml, the 3L (ARV $200);
•and one (1) Lamb’s bar starter kit (ARV $250).

[HarvardsRule]

Originally Posted by AJCoholic

Funny thing, I am actually just in the process of setting up my own "dream shop"... and hopefully it will be my last.

But, its "slightly larger", in a 75' by 80' building with 12'+ ceilings. I have just picked my "tools"...

16" sliding panel saw with 10' carriage
20" HD helical planer
16" HD jointer
7HP tilting arbor spindle shaper
16" resaw bandsaw
20" bandsaw
108" edge sander
8' stroke sander
36" wide belt sander
14" radial arm saw
12" radial arm rough cut saw
10" sawstop bench saw
15hp 120gallon compressor
hydraulic automatic copy lathe
6 1/2 stroke drill press & radial drill press
spindle sander
modular dust collection system

All which should be more than enough to scratch build even the largest airframes.

10' spray booth & dual 2 1/2 gallon pressure pots/guns - ideal for painting even the largest of planes.

And of course many hand routers, sanders, drills, screwguns, air staplers and nailers, and more stuff than my bank account wants to admit to right now.

And it will have its own tool room with both my milling machines, bench lathe and grinders/buffers & sharpening center. A guy's gotta have room to work on his motors, right?

I will have at least 4' by 16' of work bench in the center of the work space, with drawers all around to store the hand tools and so forth.

And many clamps... can never have enough clamps!

As well as building my models, I might make some furniture once and a while to help pay for the planes too

AJC

I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that with all that wood working equipment and space, the hidden agenda is a full scale Handley Page 0-400!!!!!

[Max]

Originally Posted by HarvardsRule

I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that with all that wood working equipment and space, the hidden agenda is a full scale Handley Page 0-400!!!!!

Or a full scale DH Mosquito!!

[Guest]

How about a French maid service???????