Workshop Layout

The workshop is located in a 2-car attached garage offering 20x20 feet of workspace. 

Entry to the shop from the house is through a steel entry door - shown in the upper-right corner. Moving counter-clockwise is a refrigerator we use to store extra food and beverages. My sheet goods are stacked next to the fridge. 

I use several removeable tool panels on 2x2' plywood or MDF panels. These are stored next to the sheet goods and hold small tools like the bench grinder, belt/disk sander, scroll saw, and a pocket hole jig. The workbench to the left of the panel storage has 3 of these removable panels above 3 old kitchen cabinets. There is board storage above this workbench.

Turning left, we find the miter saw station.  This is a 12" Hitachi saw used exclusively for wood. (I have a second 10" saw that is used for metal and plastic.) This saw is flanked by custom cabinets. The right side has storage for glue, sandpaper, and a small socket-set.  The left cabinet has pegboard doors with frequently used tools on the outside, other tools, jigs, and chisels inside. The base stores various jigs used on the table saw and router table, air nailers &  staplers, plus some less-often used tools.

The next cabinet holds a Ridgid spindle sander, a small shop vac with a HEPA filter, and a 5-gallon "bucket head" dust separator. The large shop vac is stored next to this cabinet. 

A Grizzly 3 HP blower is wall mounted above a Super Dust Deputy XL, which is connected to a plenum box and two 250 square foot Farr style filters. A 30-gallon drum collects the chips and dust below the Dust Deputy. The shop is plumbed with 6" PVC, 4" PVC drops, and short hose sections to connect the ducting to the machines. Most hose sections are 4-6" long and exist only to help isolate any vibration. The only machines connected by flex-hose are the 13" Planer, the Harvey C-14 bandsaw and the Grizzly jointer, because they often move around and share the dust port. A 20-gallon air compressor tucks neatly into the corner below the filters. You can read more about the construction of the Dust Collector.

The Grizzly 6" jointer is stored near the garage door. It shares the dust port with the bandsaw. The Harvey C14 bandsaw is mounted on a custom rolling base. The two dust ports are hard plumbed with pipe and connect to the blast gate port via 10' of 4" hose. This hose is also used to connect to the jointer.

Next to the bandsaw is a 6-drawer tool cabinet that holds sockets, wrenches, and a large assortment of fasteners. The chimney juts into the garage a bit, and this is where I have mounted my clamp racks. A pair of old studio speakers lets me fill the shop with music. The wall space wraps up with the 14" floor-standing drill press. The dust port also provides a shop-vac hose connection for general cleanup. Shelves on both sides of the chimney store adhesives, paint, finishes, and a few projects waiting for time to complete them. An 18K BTU mini-split is mounted high on the chimney between the speakers to provide heat during the winter months and air conditioning during the summer. 

The center of the shop contains a Harvey 4HP cabinet table saw with a 52" wide extension on the right side of the blade. The left wing was replaced with the Harvey router table, which holds a 3.25 HP Porter Cable 1/2" router. The outfeed side of the saw is a 2" thick maple island top attached to a craftsman 12-drawer cabinet. The top has dog holes and T-track for assembling projects. The cabinet stores most power tools, drill and router bits, and other items needed when assembling projects.

This layout allows me to work full-size sheet goods on the table saw. The rolling cart has a panel with wheels facing up and allows sheet goods to be well supported even when I work alone. This cart can roll out into the driveway to support the smaller miter saw or the planer. Since the panels can be installed in any orientation, I have "wings" that attach to the side of the cart to support cutting boards with the miter saw, and by placing the planer turned 90-degrees, these wings provide in/out feed support. 

There is plenty of light in the shop - four 4-tube LED arrays provide 4000K bright white lite, with an additional LED spotlight positioned over the table saw. The light closest to the garage door is positioned such that it shines through the garage door windows if the door is open.