How did you achieve your dream workshop?

Hi Avayan,
I don't think that I would feel bad about 19 x 20. When I lived in Oakville, ON I had about 350 sq ft and I had a complete woodworking shop as well as a 12" shaper, 10" South Bend, a knee mill, arbour press, 3 grinders, and a horizontal band saw. My welder was in the 1 car garage. To get machines in I had 2 steps up from the garage, around a corner, across the den and down about 11 steps. With really heavy things like the 12" Hendey shaper it took it partially apart, reinforced the stairs and used all my ingenuity. That was when I was in my 40's.
I started acquiring wood working machinery when I was 23, as I need to build furniture. When I was 38 I bought my first lathe and knee mill. With the exception of my table saw which I bought new in 1981 evverything has been traded up at least once.
I've moved 18 times due to training and moving up in my company.
In my new and final house which I built myself beginning in 2007 I have a 1600 sq ft basement with an entrance from the garage. Now I can lower and raise the heavy stuff with the loader on my tractor.
Michael
Final word - if you have any choice do not wait until you retire to buy machines. You likely won't have as much money after you retire and if you buy a machine when your 40 you will get to enjoy it for maybe 40 years - not likely so when you are 60.
 
As soon as you've achieved your dream shop your ready to aquire a better one or your too old to continue. Does it ever end while your capable still?

Hi, I'm Steve and I'm a workshop junkie.
 
Ray C said:
Yeah, I could run it anytime I want. No rules against it but, she's in her mid 70's and I'm not big on antagonizing folks who are older than me. One of these days, I'll relocate the thing. For now, I just run it for 15 minutes every few months when she's not around.

What really bugs me is for the last 14 years, I used to shovel her sidewalk in the winter... That ain't happening anymore and she'll need to bug her son to come and do it.
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first thing I'd do is remove the muffler!!! Last hurricane here the sound of gen sets echoed for weeks as well as chain saws 24/7

correct shovel your snow over the fence!!! whats she gonna do arrest the whole east coast?????????
 
I built it from the ground up....with very marginal help.The struggle now is the justification to "keep it",WRT money.Taxes,maintenance vs the enjoyment and livelyhood.

I just don't need the space now,we have more than needed.I could survive(very nicely)in a two car garage...maybe a little less.Doing more with less is not a problem.
 
Ray C said:
Yeah, I could run it anytime I want. No rules against it but, she's in her mid 70's and I'm not big on antagonizing folks who are older than me. One of these days, I'll relocate the thing. For now, I just run it for 15 minutes every few months when she's not around.

What really bugs me is for the last 14 years, I used to shovel her sidewalk in the winter... That ain't happening anymore and she'll need to bug her son to come and do it.
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I think I would have told the old fool to go pound sand.....:nuts:
 
I dont want to say its a dream shop, but it keeps my tools dry... 3 car garage, basically L shaped, 1 bay is 2 deep and the other is a single set back. no heat right now, dirty, disorganized... many would not be happy with it, but it is better than what it has been for the last 15 years or so:nuts:. If business picks up and i can manage to keep making a living she will slowly evolve into the shop that i envision her being. In the mean time I'll keep learning machining, sheetmetal frabrication and custom building (throw in architectural metalworking and woodworking)... for some the journey is as important as the destination!:))

rich
 
Fascinating and very inspiring stories. Thanks for sharing! Our experiences are all unique and hardly repeatable, but there is plenty of very useful knowledge which can definitely help me in my search towards the ultimate shop. I think it will basically happen two years from now when I can move to a larger house. The house that I am in is just not worth while to expand and the two car garage is just too small. I have a shed in the back where I can store materials but at the moment is so muddy I have not been able to wheel a bunch of the tools I use the least back there.

The curious thing is I would prefer to have everything in one place not because I am lazy and don't want to walk back and forth but because I am super positive once I use the shed just for storage, in a few months I won't even remember what I have. And hence I will end up buying the same stuff over and over! Believe me, I am not "thinking" this is going to happen. I KNOW it will happen!
 
It's all relative. I grew up dirt poor on a corn farm in Ohio and even after moving to Atlanta, Ga for better opportunities my family and circumstances just weren't able to afford me much of a head start that would put me in a position of now owning the house and shop I'd love to have. But wouldn't we all love to have a bigger and better shop I guess. Before we had indoor plumbing and long before central heat we were laying block to build my grandpa's blacksmith and machine shop which where I learned most of what I know today. That shop fed our family and built a heritage since nearly the day he retired from the Navy and Merchant Marines though. So to get to the point, I may not have much, I've slowly built up my inventory of tools and equipment over the years with hard work, just inherited a few of my grandpas things, and very proudly opened Rampant Iron Works two weeks ago out of my two car garage and 10x12 metal shed. I may not have much compared to many, but I have a lot compared to some and I've worked dang hard for what I've got and I'm proud to have it, my own shop, business, and the heritage that was passed down to me.
 
This is probably a good place to mention that I have had to move my shop four times, including into and out-of storage while surviving a tough divorce. All I can say is if you love it, it is worth working hard for!

And if anyone is wondering if it is worth storing machines, as opposed to selling them and buying again "someday", I would say that for me, storin them, as expensive as it was, was worth every penny. Besides the money, all the trouble I went through finding all the small parts, accessories, etc etc etc... I sure don't have that time again right now. After three years, every bin I re-opened was like Christmas- and exactly what I wanted! Because I put it there myself!

I can't imagine ever having to move it again, and won't have to :) , but if I did have to, I would. And it would be worth it. You gotta find a way to do the things that matter to you.


Bernie
 
My shop is a 2 car heated garage... it's been probably 15 years since I got a car more than halfway into the garage to work on it, and I miss that. My project for this spring is to extend it about 12' out the back, with the addition being dedicated strictly to woodworking, keep the machine tools in one side of the garage (sawdust and oil/grease don't mix very nicely), and have the other garage half for car repairs or moving big projects around. The rafters of the new addition will also give me room to store all the R/C airplanes and stuff I inherited from my Dad... I don't fly them much any more but we flew them a lot together and I can't part with them.

I told my wife I needed to build the workshop before the major kitchen/living room remodeling, so I can properly build cabinets, etc., and she agreed... but I have to finish the house before I can start building an airplane...
 
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