# shop layout



## johnnypeg (Feb 23, 2009)

*i want to set up a woodworking shop in a two car garage so i have plenty of room .my question is where do i place the equipment is there a formula to the layout .i will have a work bench, sander, table saw, band saw. jointer etc...or do i just place the equipment in any random position ...can anyone advise me in this area.thank you.*


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## Big Dave (Sep 16, 2006)

My theory has always been to place the equipment so that you can work the longest peice of lumber you plan to work with without having to move the equipment to do it. I like my table saw in the middle and out close to the garage door that way I have plenty of room behind it and all I have to do is open the garage door if I'm working with something to long that I can't start feeding into the table saw with it closed.

As for the jointer the best place for it is up against a wall with plenty of room in front and behind to run your lumber through. A bandsaw can go just about anywhere up against a wall. From this point it's just a matter of filling in any unused areas with whatever you think would work best. Try to set it up so that your not having to take your wood to one side of the shop to do one thing and then have to carry it all the way across to the other side to do something else. Have it set up so you can start on one side and work your way across and then out the door with a finished project.


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

When I set up my new shop, I was thinking about tool placement before I poured the floor. I knew for sure I wanted my table saw in the middle towards the front and router table well spaced behind. If you look in my album under "new shop" I don't believe there is any kind of formula. It is just about what works for you and the space that you have.


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## Geoguy (Feb 22, 2008)

That's good advise from Big Dave. Once you get started working, you'll probably move stuff around to new positions that seem to make more sense. And if you're like me, you'll give it a few months and move it back to where you had it in the first place:laughing:.


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## smitty1967 (Feb 24, 2008)

Hey Johnny: good advice from all three so far....you definately don't want to have to be moving machines. Doing so leads to them moving out of tolerance, which leads to sloppy projects and unsatisfactory results. That being said, the only formula I could recommend is to consider your infeed and outfeed requirements for each machine. 

For instance, my planer and jointer stand side by side. The planer makes use of 14 feet of outfeed space, and I can get that much infeed space with my roll-up door open. (Same for the jointer if I use rollers for support.) Then, perpendicular to that space sits the cabinet saw. Utilizing the same area of the shop for its infeed space, I have approx. 14 feet of infeed and outfeed on the cabinet saw. I can load full sheets of plywood, and stand behind them and feed the cabinet saw for ripping the 8' dimension with plenty of room to spare.

Now, if you're not operating on this scale, don't worry....just apply these principals to whatever machines and available space you have. Grizzly has a super-cool, super-easy shop planner on their website at < http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/workshopplanner.aspx > It lets you drag and drop tool silhouettes around and maneuver them in a space that you design. You might find this quite helpful. Easier than doing it with the full-size machine.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
regards,
smitty


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## steve mackay (Oct 5, 2008)

I'm the odd-ball. I can sit on my stool and spin it to any machine. I still use the kitchen theory from high school drafting & architcture. The shop, like the kitchen, gets layed out in triangle fashion. Sink - fridge - stove, with no obstructions between. In the shop use the most used machines / areas. Then turn or place machines for maximum out-feed. I've still gotta get the wheel rig for the TS though. If I could pull it out to the center of the floor it would buy me a couple more feet of out-feed then slide right back.


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

I'm also set up in a two car garage. I have a steel post right smack in the middle and my table saw is next to that. The router table is on the other side of the TS fence so it's out of the way, but still in the middle of the garage. On the back side of the table saw (not in the way of outfeed) is a short row with a band saw and belt sander. I dropped an extension cord with a power strip and zip tied it to the post. Since I can only use one tool at a time, it's plenty of power. Along one outer wall, I have workbenches set up with a benchtop drill press at one end and a chopsaw near the center of the wall for chopping long pieces. Back wall has toolboxes and pegboard, third wall has lumber. One corner of my garage has all of my yard tools - lawn mowers, pressure washer, rakes, shovels, etc (I wish I had a shed!).

I only recently set all this up when I inherited a whole shop's worth of tools. I _was_ working in a tiny corner of my garage. I had built a platform "jig" that fit on top of my old delta table saw. When I needed to crosscut, I'd put the jig on, then put my chopsaw on that. It was a pain in the back.


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## the miz (Feb 24, 2009)

This may not be relevant but you want to make sure you have power to all the machines so that may dictate placement. If this is not an issue then the other posts all have good ideas. I'm used to laying out large shops as well as small shops and once you figure out exactly how you like to operate that will give you your final layout. All you need to decide is what kind of projects you are going to do and that will help. I recommend dust collection if you don't already have it as dust can be a fire hazard especially in a small space. Are you going to do any spraying? This can take up space as well and you need ventilation.

Back to the electric, you may want to add a circuit or 2 for your garage as I have due to the fact that multiple machine usage can tax you breakers, especially a compressor.


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## terrysumner (Oct 5, 2008)

You think you have more than enough room now...but just you wait. You'll see that soon you will find yourself saying, "Geez, I need more room". :yes:

My suggestion would be to place some of the not as often used tools on mobile bases so you can move them out of the way when not in use. I have mobile bases under my router table, band saw and 15" planer and have never experienced any ill effects by moving them around. I will agree though that I don't care too much for a mobile base under the table saw. That one I'd rather leave in one stable spot. The attached pictures show why...it's too big to move around.

My shop is what you might call a double size garage. I would guess that most garages are about 24 X 24...mine is 24 X 48 and I still wish I had more room. You know what it is...for me anyways? It's the storage of the raw materials...lumber and sheet goods...that takes up a lot of room!!!


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