Garage overhaul from electrical/wood shop to wood/machine shop

[Dstiggy]

Hey all,

Finally getting to setting up my garage with all of royesses/my late Father in Law’s machining tools!

First thing on the list is restructuring an old 30 drawer tool cabinet we found in a barn to be able to hold the lathe and mill, as well as all of the tooling and material. I was hoping to use the workbench that the tools were mounted on, but to save the trouble of a family fight over non essential items, I let the bench go...

Currently cutting up some 1/8” 1x square tube for the base, will post a few pictures in the AM.

If anyone has any pointers on a good setup for a small area, I’m trying not to occupy more than a single car garage space...

 

[Eddyde]

Hi, and welcome to HM.

I have a relatively small metal, wood & machine shop.
For me the table saw is the biggest problem/space hog, So it doubles as a bench when not in use.
Having some machines on wheels helps to be able to easily move them out of the way. Things that are seldom used, like in my case the thickness planer and the spot welder, can be buried in a corner and brought out as needed.
Take advantage of overhead space, racks for storing materials etc. Also power drops or ceiling outlets, strategically placed above benches etc, eliminate the need for extension cords.
Plan the space in a CAD drawing or a scale drawing on paper. Before I had CAD I would draw a scale floor plan on paper then make scale paper cutouts of the machines (simple shapes of their maximum dimensions and required clearances) and arrange and rearrange them on the plan until the best arrangement was found.

 

[vtcnc]

Welcome to H-M dstiggy!

Harbor Freight has a mobile base kit for about $40-50. If you go to Lowe’s, they have 1-1/4” newel posts for about $4ea. I put a surface plate on those since they are rated for about 300lbs.

Easy to put together and would be perfect for the table saw to stay mobile and be dual purposed as a bench space as Eddye suggested.

Lots of small spaces in H-M member shops! If you search some of the forums you are bound to get some good ideas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dstiggy]

Sorry guys,

I was a little too vague in my description. I have a total of a 2 car garage space, and the majority of my woodworking tools are mobile.

My questions on space pertain more to the machining tools, I have very little experience using them, and have no idea on space requirements/clearances needed. The mini lathe and mill will be mounted to an 86x20 stationary bench, height TBD (I’m 6’6” and my boys aren’t too far behind...) The bandsaw is mounted to a moveable base, and the 5 grinders/buffers/polishers all have their own stands.