Hi all. This is a great forum, which I found recently as I have started to think more about getting a machine tool or two. In college and grad school, I spent a lot of time in the machine shop, mostly with manual machines but a bit of CNC. That was fifteen years ago.
I know there are plenty of threads on this but I'd really appreciate people's thoughts on how to organize my space. I made a model of it in SketchUp to try a few things and make it easier for you to see what I'm working with (I believe most things are to scale but there may be a few errors).
The garage is large, about 100' x 55', but serves many purposes. It only has 9' ceilings. There are ~2 exposed walls, the other two are underground; on the exposed walls there are a number of 20x30" windows high up; on the long exposed wall are three garage doors, and there are two outside people doors plus one to the house. One corner, including a garage door, has a sectioned-off room (2x6 walls) that is 20'x34'. The corner of the room that is empty in the model is full of household storage.
I do a mix of work; a good bit of automotive, some wood, and now trying to include more metal. As you can see in the model, I have a lift in one corner. At this point I could rearrange nearly everything, though the lift needs to stay where it is. Because of that constraint, I'm inclined to continue developing that area for automotive work. I put the press over there because I typically use it for automotive projects, though it's possible I will use it as a press brake in general fabrication.
The shop space that is contiguous with the main garage space has been set up as my woodworking area. It has two 8'x4' tables, one of which has a table saw set into it. Other than that I have a miter saw and a scroll saw, and some portable power tools. (Right now the drill press and belt sander are in there too but I plan to move them.) I may acquire additional tools as projects require.
I recently started welding, and have plans to continue my general fab capabilities. I'm just a hobbyist, working in evenings and weekends. Many of my projects are automotive related, but I have some other projects around the property/house. The enclosed space is what I'm figuring will be a metal shop. I currently only have a drill press, belt sander, and MIG and TIG welders. I plan to get a 4x6 bandsaw in the near future and a relatively small (~10x30) lathe after not too long. I put the bandsaw in the model adjacent to where I plan metal-storage racks.
I understand that abrasive operations are undesirable around precision instruments. In the model, I have placed the belt sander and bench grinder in the metal shop, as I think they will likely be used frequently. I could section off a corner with curtains if abrasive dust is a serious concern. I could also move them to the automotive corner, but that means a lot more walking back and forth. I think that's okay for the press since it won't be used as frequently. My bigger concern is grinding as associated with welding. That generates a lot of mess and I'd prefer not to have it in the machine room. So, I could plan to move my welding operations over to the wall where the press is, in the automotive corner, which would keep grinding dust away from machine tools. I already have outlets for the welders over there.
As drawn, there's still room to park a car in the metal shop. That would be more convenient than using the third garage door for two cars. But there is room to have the cars in the main space, especially if an active project requires the space in the metal shop.
That was a little longwinded but hopefully you get a sense for what I'm working with and will let me know your thoughts.
-jason
I know there are plenty of threads on this but I'd really appreciate people's thoughts on how to organize my space. I made a model of it in SketchUp to try a few things and make it easier for you to see what I'm working with (I believe most things are to scale but there may be a few errors).
The garage is large, about 100' x 55', but serves many purposes. It only has 9' ceilings. There are ~2 exposed walls, the other two are underground; on the exposed walls there are a number of 20x30" windows high up; on the long exposed wall are three garage doors, and there are two outside people doors plus one to the house. One corner, including a garage door, has a sectioned-off room (2x6 walls) that is 20'x34'. The corner of the room that is empty in the model is full of household storage.
I do a mix of work; a good bit of automotive, some wood, and now trying to include more metal. As you can see in the model, I have a lift in one corner. At this point I could rearrange nearly everything, though the lift needs to stay where it is. Because of that constraint, I'm inclined to continue developing that area for automotive work. I put the press over there because I typically use it for automotive projects, though it's possible I will use it as a press brake in general fabrication.
The shop space that is contiguous with the main garage space has been set up as my woodworking area. It has two 8'x4' tables, one of which has a table saw set into it. Other than that I have a miter saw and a scroll saw, and some portable power tools. (Right now the drill press and belt sander are in there too but I plan to move them.) I may acquire additional tools as projects require.
I recently started welding, and have plans to continue my general fab capabilities. I'm just a hobbyist, working in evenings and weekends. Many of my projects are automotive related, but I have some other projects around the property/house. The enclosed space is what I'm figuring will be a metal shop. I currently only have a drill press, belt sander, and MIG and TIG welders. I plan to get a 4x6 bandsaw in the near future and a relatively small (~10x30) lathe after not too long. I put the bandsaw in the model adjacent to where I plan metal-storage racks.
I understand that abrasive operations are undesirable around precision instruments. In the model, I have placed the belt sander and bench grinder in the metal shop, as I think they will likely be used frequently. I could section off a corner with curtains if abrasive dust is a serious concern. I could also move them to the automotive corner, but that means a lot more walking back and forth. I think that's okay for the press since it won't be used as frequently. My bigger concern is grinding as associated with welding. That generates a lot of mess and I'd prefer not to have it in the machine room. So, I could plan to move my welding operations over to the wall where the press is, in the automotive corner, which would keep grinding dust away from machine tools. I already have outlets for the welders over there.
As drawn, there's still room to park a car in the metal shop. That would be more convenient than using the third garage door for two cars. But there is room to have the cars in the main space, especially if an active project requires the space in the metal shop.
That was a little longwinded but hopefully you get a sense for what I'm working with and will let me know your thoughts.
-jason