Woodworking Shop- Your Power Tool Home

Written by admin on October 27, 2008 – 9:48 am -

Your woodworking shop is home to all your Power Tools.

Proper layout will make your woodworking shop more productive and more enjoyable.  Plan the layout carefully.  Sure you’ll make changes as you go, but if you have a plan down on paper you’re not likely to make serious blunders.  You will get built-in cabinets aned shelves where they will do you the most good.  You will get lumber storage where it will be most convenient and the least fire and safety hazard.  You will get the kind and size of power tools you can properly accommodate.

Here is how to go about setting up a lay-out.

First, make an accurate scale drawing of your shop area, indicating features such as windows, doors, stairways, posts.  A scale of 1/4 inch to 1 ft. is just about right.  Then, plan the placement of Power Tools you have or plan to buy.  Remember to make them to scale as well.  Here are some ideas for your drawing.

Draw them to scale, cut them out and place on your scale drawing of the woodshop floor plan.  By moving them you will be able to make a decision where things should go for the most efficient plan.

Placement of storage cabinets will be regulated, partially, by location of doors and windows.  It may be advisable to shift a layout to make the best use of available natural light. You can derive much benefit by studying published layouts and pictures of workshops if you carefully evaluate them in terms of your own needs.

Typical layouts show tool arrangements that best suit the average person and situation, but not all rules are hard and fast.  You may do things differently and your own layout should be geared to your methods, not to common practice.

However, you should understand the reasons behind “common practice.”  There may be a safety factor involved.  As you study, you will find that certain geneeral principles of workshop organization emerge.

Guidelines:

1.  The workbench is the heart of the shop.  Place it at the heart of the shop if possible

2.  Table saw should be placed in the center of the shop if possible as it needs clearance on all sides.

3.  Table saw and jointer are located so that when long pieces of lumber are handled they can be easily handled.

4.  Tools that are not in constant use should be placed along walls or in corners.

5.  For convenience and workability, a shop is preferably at least 10 feet wide and with some exception, the closer to a square shape the better.

It would really be nice to build a new building from scratch for you shop, but that is seldom possible so you need to use whatever you have for your shop and retreat from the every day world.  Make it a place where you can go to lose the stress and worry that attack us each day.  You will be thankful you did.

Your Woodworking Power Tools are waiting for you

Tags: woodworking, Woodworking Plans, Woodworking power tools, woodworking shop
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