home shop layout

...I would cordon off an area for my lathe and mill and tooling to keep it free of dust. Then I could do whatever outside of that room without worrying about my machine tools.
I like this idea and am thinking about something like this, which should have room for a mill and lathe:
garage_end_open_subRoom.png
 
+1 to Mikey's suggestion about a dedicated space for the machine tools and as you have drawn it.

And +100 to the risks of this disease: I would make your machine room even bigger.

No matter what you decide, have fun; that's what this supposed to be about!
 
I am going to be the odd man out on this one. Everything they are saying is correct, but here is my view. I am a hobbyist and I am using old well used machines already and the type of stuff I do doesn't warrant extra high precision. My grinding, cutoff, and welding are with in ten feet of my machines. If my machines are beyond use after I have well been planted in the ground I will have gotten full use of them. But, I am thinking that they will out live my and then some even with my bad practices. Now mind you, I do like to keep a tidy shop, but it does get dirty because I do use it. I have been in industrial shops that had separate areas for all the operations, some had walls and other not. I think if you keep your machines well oiled and maybe covered you have nothing to worry about. Here is my machine shop lay out that is the same 40 x 50 room as my lift, office, and restroom. You can see the stock rack, cut off saw and welding bench locations starting at the corner in the upper left. Sorry, I just think all these separate rooms is just over-kill for a hobbyist. I really like the freedom of doing big jobs and having the room to do them with out the confines of walls. Quite honestly, the dust you are going to get in the air everyday without grinding or welding is just as harmful. I really think that if you are really concerned, covers would be your best option. Again, sorry guys, just my 2 cents.

Machine Shop 05.JPG

Here is the lift area in the same room. And to the right of it is the office with the furnace on top of it.

Shop 01.JPG
 
My grinding, cutoff, and welding are with in ten feet of my machines. . . . I just think all these separate rooms is just over-kill for a hobbyist. I really like the freedom of doing big jobs and having the room to do them with out the confines of walls.
First, that's a beautiful shop and thank you for posting. It's very helpful to see how others have done it.

Second, this is exactly why I wanted to get a sense of the magnitude of the concern. It's great to know that it's not necessarily the death knell to have an undivided space. I will not be using my machines all that often and it would be much more convenient to keep the space undivided. That said, I do understand the concern and agree that if I do leave it undivided, I will want to give some attention to covers and protection for any precision machines I have. I may end up with some fashion of a divider, but perhaps not a built wall.

I started cleaning and set in place: the belt sander, drill press, and the start of a welding table. Here's how the room looks currently:
IMG_2936.jpg
Getting things in place is helping me sort out the electrical and lighting configuration.
 
I have found the use of the plastic welding screen (curtains) mount on wheels are really very helpful in temporarily dividing things off. I use them to protect my machine when vehicles are washed or to contain heavy grinding. You can see them in the first picture behind the one tool cabinet.
 
+1 for Randy. Was wondering why no one recommended the welding screens. Your available space is great, but as others have said the lay out is an ongoing project/work in progress; the more permanent walls you put up the more restrictions you will place on yourself in the future changes. The vast majority of us do not have the luxury of space. The close proximity of different operations is not that great of a problem to deal with.
Also as said above I would concentrate on lighting and electric.
dd
 
Randy

THAT IS A KILLER SHOP SPACE!

Especially like all of the pump globes in the lift area...
 
Mine like yours is a work in progress. I've divided it up into separate, specific use areas partly due to the pre existing area of the new building, and partly due to having everything in one large area in my current shop, I could see the advantage of keeping some areas segregated. I do a fair amount of welding, grinding and fabrication and that produces a lot of abrasive dust and debris, is hard on the floor, and doesn't play well with other activities like engine assembly, and painting. Also having things sectioned off will allow me to heat just the areas in use during the cold months that I'm around. In the pics here https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/a-bit-more-progress-on-the-shop.49101/ you can see in the second from last pic three bays. In order from the left is 15x22 machine shop, 15x22 welding and fabrication, and the last tall one will be 4 post, movable lift and general work area, convertible to paint room. I guess in the end it boils down to what you intend to do, and personnel preference. You have a nice large space there, so the options are wide open (pun intended). Cheers, Mike
 
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