How did you get me to watch 34 minutes of cleaning and organizing YOUR space when I should have been using that time to clean and organize MY space. Well played, sir.
@@iamthiefwastaken Well, if you actually bothered to read what I wrote, I said "nearly." But even if I had permanently blocked the channel I would still be able to respond to comments as I get notifications regardless. Its an extension called "Channel Blocker" specifically for YT. Unfortunately it doesn't weed out comments from people severely lacking in common sense.
I'd encourage you to do a bit of digging into Better Help's business practices and reconsider them as a sponsor if you can afford to. There have been some worrying allegations directed at them recently. Love the videos and keep up the good work!
I prefer managing scrap and material by capacity. Have a fixed size space for a type of scrap. Once that space is full, prune away in much the same manner you described. So you'll always have some of what you need, but never so much that it creates new problems.
You can tell Bob was a software developer in a past life listening to him work through his shop setup. I like listening to you work through all of this. Great video.
Because of Bob's background and the fact that I discovered his channel around the same time I started reading the Bobiverse series. He is my image of "Bob" when reading or listening the audiobooks now. 🤣
For the storage room: Maybe you make like those slidable shelves, where you only need to account space for one aisle. This saves ton of space and is presentable as well, cause it looks cool.
Or fill that ailse and have all the shelves roll out into the walking space in front of the storage area. Fully uses the space for storage and you could have each shelf store a different category of objects.
@@TheMillstone99 Then you need to account for the dept of the shelves in front of the area, doubling the footprint. Sliding side to side with one aisle is more space efficent.
one idea for the clean room; put a fan in there that pulls air into the room. it'll create a slightly positive pressure in your clean room and help keep dust out. alternatively, you could have some exhaust fans in your shop that pull air out to create slightly negative pressure in your shop
6 หลายเดือนก่อน +7
I came in the comment to throw the same idea of a positive pressure room, so that the dust stays out!
Another thing that helps me personally is using covers for tools. I started using old sheets to cover a bandsaw, snow thrower, lathe ect. I have cheap covers I bought off of amazon as well. This helps keep most of the stuff in my shop from getting dirty throughout the year.
Yeah I always say I want to remove a cover to use a tool. Then put the cover back on when I'm done. Wait, no, that's not what I want to do at all! Here's what I really want to do. I just want to walk up to a machine and use it. Flip a switch and go. If it gets dirty that's what an air gun is for. Or the machine can just stay dusty and dirty. Who cares? It's a machine.
I really appreciate this particular video. My shop is an absolute nightmare and I think your methods are going to be very applicable to me getting control over the chaos. Enjoy your channel. Thanks for the work sheets.
Great stuff, Bob! One idea, when you were showing your in-process 3D projects, is some sort of project locker? Section of varying sized cabinets that you assign projects to, and then you can put all the stuff from each project in there (plans, parts, build, etc), then clean it out when the project is finished. Just a way to clean up the background visually when filming.
Bob, super cool to see how you’re breaking this town into smaller chunks even though it’s a huge project. Great point on how to prioritize with key things in mind and then build out the space from there. Thank you so much for sharing. It’s been great to hear about this on the making up podcast and see the video here on the TH-cam.
I have a suggestion for the clean room. If you have several smallish 3D printers, you could try a multi-level station with each space being big enough for maintenance purposes. Evan and Katelyn have an old video on their channel about how they built a modular one out of extruded aluminum.
Mr. C is pivotal among the maker community. The reasons include: He is a genuinely nice guy, he is a husband and father who still gets it done, and he always tries to help us. Much respect and appreciation.
Dude, i'm exactly where you started in this video. I'm unhappy with my setup. I have decent space but its not functional for all the same reasons you have. I really appreciate how you are spending the time to explain what and why you are doing what you're doing. You could have easily editing this video to be 15 minutes long but you didn't. This video was a huge kick to get me started. Thanks!
Kudos on the transparency. Cluttered spaces yield cluttered minds. Refreshed spaces refresh the mind - can’t wait to see what comes next, and when your mind says make and your shop says yes!
I absolutely LOVED this episode! I am currently having the exact same problem in my shop, and I am looking forward to seeing the future changes you make.
Brother, this is so the vid I needed right now. Going through some very similar rearchitecting with life and the business and the way you articulate your problem solving process and share with us is just so perfect. You're a fantastic teacher and storyteller and I appreciate you 11/10. Can't wait to see what's next.
I love your channel. The one that got me hooked was your rollaround powder coating device that was great thank you for what you do. I hope the day finds you and every other person likes to make stuff smiling
Thank you for the plan idea! I'm going to use that to organize my sign shop. Oh and just an idea for behind your miter saw, why not do a french cleat wall? That way you can make boxes, shelves, or even just handy areas to put scraps & quick tools when you're needing something within reach. Also, you have all those exposed rafters...why not screw boards across them and keep your scraps up there? That's what I do with bulbs & led lamps I use for signs. If you're worried about the wiring, you can align the boards with the wires and attach them to that. That way your wires are more secure and it gives you nice little hidden shelves :)
Fantastic video!! I used a similar approach to my craft room. I converted a small bedroom/office into my craft room. I got 3 Ikea units but otherwise I had to use what I already had and work within the constrainsts of the room and property as we're renting right now. I made tons of lists and finally decided my priorities, and then drew out floor plans to see how I could work within the space I have. I am very happy with it. I create more, my mess is contained, and O figured out organization that works great. And that changed how I organize in other spots in the house. I love how you are working out HOW you need your space to function, eliminate items you won't likely use (I save a lot of interesting things and scraps too), and how to consider what you need to work around. It's helpful watching this become a workspace in a large area with large tools and supplies. I'm looking very forward to updates!
I've been using these steps all my life for every projects and I really appreciate being able to put words on it now. Also, thank you for the working sheets they'll be very helpful.
It brings me great ease that a guy who makes his living making stuff also has many projects lying around that feel like work to him. Thank you very much for sharing not only your super cool finished projects, but also the process, your thoughts and struggles!! You keep inspiring me to try new stuff, get better at and use old stuff, and just do projects that i want to do and make me happy, even if it maybe does not get finished! Hope the best for you as you are a great influence for me🖖
I don't have any suggestions, just words of thanks! Thanks for the inspiration, I've been desperately needing to do this with my house / "maker" spaces. I hadn't even thought about the space giving inspiration and allowing for ease of coming in and working right away until you mentioned it. After you said that I looked around at my area and thought, yes, this is exactly what I'm struggling with right now! So thanks again for giving me the extra kick I needed to start making some changes!
There's a lot of friction to work in my one-car garage shop. It's in desperate need of cleanup and organization. While I already think like you do in a lot of ways about this process, this is a good reminder of what to keep in mind while doing it. Thanks for sharing!
I have been working on something similar. My first step is getting rid of everything I no longer want or need. Donating what I can (Habitat For Humanity getting the bulk), recycling/scrapping what I cannot donate, trashing what I cannot recycle.
This is super helpful. My shop is about the same size. And I have some constraints. I have four posts down the center. I have a stairway that goes upstairs. And doors…. Double doors outside, door to one part of the house, another door to another part of the house, a door to a small room that the whole family uses and a door that goes to the back yard. LOL. Lots of doors. Recently my shop was out of control. I did a big purge. I’m still not doing great at throwing out scraps. But… I did purge some of them. I got rid of lots of tools. And i got things out of the room that just didn’t belong. It has made keeping the shop clean so much easier. I still have another purge… or even two to go. But I’m on the right track. Your method would actually really make sense for me. Also… I’ve never wanted to make the shop into “rooms”. But lately I’ve been considering it. It will be interesting to see how this works out for you.
WALL CONTROL AAAAA! I love those, I got my work to buy some for the workstations that I set up and they're my favorite things in that space! Having both pegboard holes AND the ability to just use magnets has made organizing so easy!
Visually, paint the ceiling black or cover it in white plastic or something. It’s the least “presentable” element by far (epoxy floors would help too). Put a real usable white board on your blank wall and make it a strong narrative tool. Lastly, I would say that dusting and wiping down the tools would do a lot for shootability. Great video!
I love what you've done with the woodworking area so far. I'm in the process of starting to build my first semi-permanent workshop myself (38, finally bought a house last year) with dedicated workbenches and a bug assembly table, so a lot of this is resonating with me, from specific tool use and placement to the general process of figuring it all out. One thing that was sticking out to me was the cart. I built an A-frame cart years ago for similar functions, but it was outside in the garage. Now that your woodshop will be physically smaller, having a cart that big might just be in the way, like it was for me. And especially that it's two-sided, where you'll need to pull it out to get to the stuff on the back side. My thought would be to disassemble the cart, and mount all of that stuff with French cleats or more of the hanging boards you bought. Having it mounted higher up on your walls (above and behind tools) might give you some more floor space back, without getting rid of everything on that cart.
Thank you for sharing this whole process, Bob! Believe it or not, I started doing the same thing to my shop just yesterday. First came feeling the urge to change my small and cluttered shop.I started by sorting out all the containers full of 'junk', clearing out all things that really don't belong in the shop anyway. Next will be making a new stand for my contractor table saw (although leveling the concrete floor might come before this). We'll see where this will take me, but watching you going through a similar process is helpful!
To help keep the feeling of space while still creating barriers you should make that big wall have a perspex window looking between the two rooms. You can always add a blind or something if you don't want distraction through it. But by having a clear view through you will be able to keep an eye on 3D prints while in the woodwork room plus you won't feel as tight in either room. Also for you, you can film from the other side allowing more movement space without restricting film options
This was a fantastic master class in not only how to think about workshop space, but just in problem solving in general. Having guiding principles for the overall, then breaking it down, making priorities, and continuing to break it down and tackle things is SO CRITICAL! Absolutely love seeing the thought process and insights into how the space is going to be continuing to evolve in the future
I love how alike our shops are... Even down to the 500 projects on ever surface. Mine is more automotive focused, but I also have a billion other hobbies. Love watching your progress and ideas, always sparks me to get of my a$$ and make something. Keep it up brother!
I decided to set up a french cleat wall on 3 sides of the garage. The tv mount like you have I put a small panel with a cleat and a block so I can slide a block to keep it from unhooking. I also put cleats on the metal shelves and mini refrigerator. This helps me rearrange the garage at will. My garage is still a disaster
my garage is an old horse barn.....and i love it bc each room is about 8x10 and each one i have something different...like one is my welding room, one is table saw room and so on
Everything goes on wheels until it can be decided it is in it's final position, and that's assuming your work space doesn't need to adapt to the projects you bring in. In my case Everything is on wheels, racks, tables, work benches, desk, etc. When I need more space unlock the caster and wheel it around. This gives me access to the walls when need be, allows me to adapt to the project, versus the project adapting to my space, and if there are ever any repairs, or lighting upgrades, everything just moves / adapts.
Bob, so much of this resonates with me right now. You said on the podcast that you wanted a better name than clean room … I have a clean room too. I’m looking forward to seeing how you seal up the door. Also, inspiration is huge. My workshop is such a wreck right now that I don’t enjoy going in there. Thanks for doing projects like this!
Do you have a camera gantry. Would recomend to build one. Put a rail over the roof so the gantry can ride along the entire shop and swing out to do your shot. Also haxman built a pretty cool storage for his tools / other misc items. Its a several sliding shelfs kind of.
Bob have you investigated what solutions a factory workshop can use for dust enclosure in work areas ? I've seen industrial enclosures made of PVC strip curtains that looked awesome. Benefits : no masonry needed, ability to reconfigure the workshop easily, and as it's transparent you're not missing on natural lighting in your shop.
Really like this style video of walking us through your though process to a problem, solution, and troubleshooting. And providing a solution guide for us too!
Hey Bob. Awesome and helpful video once again. Just an idea for the basement. Why not put windows in some of the walls? This way the rooms feels bigger and you can still see the entire space. Just like the family room/office. And it prevents you from cluttering the walls.
Since I'm going through the same process at the moment... what exactly is your ideal height for your tables? The 'usual' deck height of a SawStop is ~ 34", but I couldn't see if you had the base on it or not, which can make it about 35.5". It's looking good so far. One recommendation for your electronics space is to make it a pressure positive room.
Over here in Europe we have a fantastic storage standard based on the euro palettes. It is every version of the 30x40 cm (wich is the size of beer crates). 60x40 cm for example is commonly used by bakeries. I love them so much I would love to organize my whole live in Euro boxes.
My hoarding tendency and my organization tendency are butting heads over trying to do this. I know I have more stuff than space, at least for it to be neat and useable, it’s a tough one, but you are certainly giving me ideas !
I have metal shelving on wheels in our storage area, it's great to be able to move our X-mas decor closer to the stairs to carry what we need upstairs... I'm actually looking to get one for upstairs in a different room (an area we're not utilizing for anything) for some of the X-mas stuff.
My priority is the lathe, you gave your lathe to your sister. I have been organizing my shop. just built a wood storage cart, that really cleaned up the floor space. Over all thanks for your tips and suggestions. I have a long way to go. I do have a rack for my lathe chisels that fits between the studs of my garage wall.
For a lot of folks lathes are occasional tools. They don't really fit in with traditional joinery woodworking. I know how little I've used a lathe. Good for making chisel handles though. I like me some socket handles for my chisels.
I'm only 1:20 into the video, and I'm already excited to see the rest. I've been going through the same loops in my space, and need to figure out how to get it done.
Currently rethinking my own workshop too! Only mine is about 10’x14’ 😂 Still takes so much thought though to keep a small space usable! Definitely will write down some priorities to fall back on 😊
We've decided to scale down on some stuff, and we have a long ways to go, so I sent this on to my mom cuz she's defs overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we have around to sort through, so this defs helps us look into how we can compartmentalize everything to make it easier to tackle and work with. Personally, I also got a bunch of stuff for my projects, so these organizational ideas defs helps. Can't wait to see what you do with the clean room and how this task gets broken up into smaller pieces. Keep them coming ✌️
Great video! It has been decided I'll be moving in 5 years and I will be about 65 years of age by then. I need to "pre-pack" so the physical move will be less "physical" on me or my spouse as I do have a complex home office/3D workspace and woodworking "objects" (what to store and how) situation. Thanks for your three legged approach: Priorities, Constrains and Interactions. Most helpful! Thank you!
I was able to receive 48’ of free shelving from an auto parts store and have spent the last rainy several weeks getting my 2,000 square foot shop organized. I wish this had come out before I started! Absolutely love it.
This is such a great analysis and breakdown of how to organize! It really makes you think and come to a solution. Thanks for this, extremely helpful and explained so nice.
I don’t comment on any TH-cam but… this was amazing!!! A couple months ago I stared the same thing/ kinda lol. Long story short, after watching this I know exactly how to finish my space with wood a literally forgot I had, and the next steps to get me there. I should film it… it’s going to be fun! Thanks!!!😊
I needed to hear this. Having to move living space and shop into a single room to take care of my elderly mother, and have been overwhelmed at starting
A big organization thing for me if you have multiple work areas, get duplicate tools, dedicated for those areas, money permitting. If you find yourself in the electronics room needing a wrench for a pcb standoff and you have to get it from the garage, the electronics area needs a wrench. Helps keeps tools from getting scattered about and keeps your workflow and brain uncluttered
I'll be interested to see how you handle the Air Flow/Exchange for the 'Clean' Room... Right now with the wide open space you have lots of general circulation but if you block off a chunk like you're wanting to so you can minimize dust/debris infiltration you're going to have to deal with air exchange/filtration on some level... If nothing else you need to have venting for the 3d off-gassing from SLA printing and certain FDM Filaments....
Such an awesome video that really spoke to me and the things I struggle with in my own brain 😂 Thanks for putting this together! Can’t wait to see morw
I would advocate that you at least drywall / drop ceiling your ceiling, exposed floor trusses (with electrical, plumbing and hvac) will always be a distraction since it occupies the totality of your headroom in most of your shoots. Btw it's pretty common over here (Canada) to have electrical panel in a non-mechanical rooms (we have a lot of finished basements over here), it's usually been covered up with a simple wood frame and a door a little taller and wider than the panel so it can be serviced / expanded easily yet ain't an eye sore. Cheers, love your content as always.
Perfect timing for this one :) I’m in the middle of re-doing my whole shop as well, did a video of the initial cleanup, place got filled up again (my added «constraint» is my workshop is *also* quad roller skate shop … BUT! One thing I’ve started making is a flexible project storage section for my shop, which I’m doing a video on soon and which might solve one of your problems: A dedicated space, floor to ceiling, where all «in progress» projects are stored. Currently I’m testing 3 feet wide, 1.5 feet deep. all shelves are moveable, and all projects (big ones), are stored on plywood shelves that slot into the «unit». Smaller parts for those projects go in boxes on on the «project shelf». Smaller projects go into bins also stored on movable shelves. so the key is the slots on the side that allow me to move shelves up and down, adjusting height based on bins or height of project parts. might be doing a unit of 3 one foot wide boxes for X height as well, for smaller projects on smaller shelves, but again: movable and height adjustable whenever needed. Having this dedicated «work in progress»-space has eliminated almost *all* the crap laying around in terms of half finished projects, and parts for projects. and the shelves and boxes can be color coded on the front. «Waiting for parts», «ready to continue», «in progress/being worked on/active project» and so on. And *if* the «ongoing projects» unit is full … then it’s a full stop on *all* new projects until some of them are finished and space freed up. Of course, when they are done they go into deep storage or get deployed where they should go. I also have *one* specific space for «things to find a space for» or «things to put back where they belong». Having one space dedicated to this makes quick cleanups a breeze. Put everything in the *one spot* and it’s ready for organizing later, while you can get on a new project if needed, not having things spread all over that needs to be organized. Having all ongoing projects stored in *one* space makes it very easy to see if too many projects are ongoing at anyone time. Dating them as well makes it easy to see if it’s been «sitting too long», and might have to be discontinued, or continued on. This was all based on how I sometimes clean everything up: piling *everything* in one big pile, so the rest of the shop is «clean», and the grouping and re-storing things grouped by context or relevancy (since over time things tend to be placed where there is space, not where they logically belong with other similar items. Doing these top to bottom sections for other «logical groups» like «model materials» (cardstock, plastics, rods, pieces etc) and then only filling it halfway up … then putting related tools, glue, fasteners, on top - etc etc
I used to sort by type, drivers, wrenches, sockets, saws, etc. I switched to function auto, electrical , plumbing, woodworking, etc and I’m happier and more efficient. Yep, “stuff” is the devil. Did a scrap metal run yesterday. 😊
I've been a longtime fan/watcher and this might be the best video you've ever made. It was incredibly helpful for me as I struggle with the same things you pointed out. Keep up the awesome work!
I’m same way, think of a solution before figuring what to resolve. Anyway, now thinking of attaching 2x4s to overhead joists to hang French cleats all around the basement so it’s a constant organizational modular unit.
One idea/thought on projects that you have paused on, do like you suggested on scrape wood, put the date on it when you pause it. Then when you come back and look at them, you can ask yourself if you're really going to restart it or just hanging on to it for "reasons" and it might be time to let it go.
This video is VERY HELPFUL as I am working on the ManGarage now. and my ManCave Wood Shop out back is an absolute mess! Is 5S+1 even a factor here? Great vid and inspiring to me. Thanks!!!!
It's wonderful to see your process and to work out the arrangement of all of the elements that you're using. My husband suggested hanging a white sheet where the new wall is going to be; which will give physical barrier. The TV could go on a rolling stand if you want to illustrations on big screen. Could you put the small band saw on one of those appliance garage lifting shelves? We wanted to put our air fryer on one, but it didn't fit. lol
I like your process as you worked through things. Everyone tends to slightly different organizing styles. I like precise, right down to the nitty-gritty. I can use enclosed storage, but when you open it up, it has to be detailed oriented. My dad always covered our garages with peg board, and everything had it's own home. He'd use enclosed containers to protect paint, etc. from heat and dust. I put slat-wall in my garage (mainly because I had it and a lot of hooks/etc.) but I'm not done. I have empty wall space that I'm going to put peg board up in. A lot of people forget about vertical storage. Blank walls are great, but that is valuable space. I love how your screwdrivers, hammers, etc. got placed on the wall together. That satisfies my micro in a macro space of organizing. :)
The wood shop definitely looks so much cleaner now! I forget who said this but in their miter station build they had the t-track imbedded on the work surface and not in an extension fence (they didn’t build any) because the only fence they need is the fence built into the saw because it needs to be square to the saw blade.
Great video Bob. It gave me a lot to think about in the current re-organization of my 2-car garage/shop (which still has to hold 1 car...). I recently sold the 3-piece former bedroom dresser furniture that was my entire drawer space, but then I had no organization to store all the different categories of 'stuff' I was mostly keeping in those 14 drawers, like glue guns and glue; caulk and adhesive tubes; Kreg stuff; gloves; sandpaper; tape (all kinds). So I bought a bunch of those Sterilite tote boxes of different sizes to fit all the stuff. Once I get a new work bench there will be space for some of it, but I think a lot of these tote boxes will be permanent storage. As to planning the garage layout, I've taken the measurements of everything as you did, but I'm not into 3-D modeling on a computer, so mine will be 2-D, but twice - once for an overhead floor layout view, and another one for 'wall view''. They'll be 3 of those. I'll used poster board to cut out the various shapes of the items. Scale will be 1/2" = 1 foot, done on 11' x 17" graph paper.
shop already looks way better. I use solidworks constantly to design or layout space. I recently redid an outside stairway by taking dimensions and figuring out exactly how I wanted to rebuild them which made it WAY easier to fabricate. Lucky for me, I moved from a house that had a difficult basement space to a house that has a fairly large detatched garage that I intend to turn into a shop/gameroom once I get my new garage built.
Consider using a glass (or some kind of transparent) wall for the clean room. It has the effect of not being a place where junk piles up, while also being cool to photograph or backdrop...
How did you get me to watch 34 minutes of cleaning and organizing YOUR space when I should have been using that time to clean and organize MY space. Well played, sir.
Or you could simply embrace the chaos. That's what I've chosen to do.
I've already organized my space, I only need to occasionally do tidying
Didn't get me. At about 3 minutes in I said enough is enough and nearly permanently blocked this channel.
Then how are you commenting?@@URackADisciprine
@@iamthiefwastaken Well, if you actually bothered to read what I wrote, I said "nearly." But even if I had permanently blocked the channel I would still be able to respond to comments as I get notifications regardless. Its an extension called "Channel Blocker" specifically for YT. Unfortunately it doesn't weed out comments from people severely lacking in common sense.
I'd encourage you to do a bit of digging into Better Help's business practices and reconsider them as a sponsor if you can afford to. There have been some worrying allegations directed at them recently. Love the videos and keep up the good work!
You know what? Money's green!
@@1pcfredso is jealousy and jello
I prefer managing scrap and material by capacity. Have a fixed size space for a type of scrap. Once that space is full, prune away in much the same manner you described. So you'll always have some of what you need, but never so much that it creates new problems.
You can tell Bob was a software developer in a past life listening to him work through his shop setup. I like listening to you work through all of this. Great video.
This is true!
Totally, I half expected Bob to start assigning jira points
I must have missed my calling I love making my workshop more efficient I'm so good at it I've had friends of mine hire me to do their workshop.
@@oliverb7897 And dividing the work into epics, and assigning rag status … Jira project lead and tpo here
Because of Bob's background and the fact that I discovered his channel around the same time I started reading the Bobiverse series. He is my image of "Bob" when reading or listening the audiobooks now. 🤣
For the storage room: Maybe you make like those slidable shelves, where you only need to account space for one aisle. This saves ton of space and is presentable as well, cause it looks cool.
Or fill that ailse and have all the shelves roll out into the walking space in front of the storage area. Fully uses the space for storage and you could have each shelf store a different category of objects.
@@TheMillstone99 Then you need to account for the dept of the shelves in front of the area, doubling the footprint. Sliding side to side with one aisle is more space efficent.
one idea for the clean room; put a fan in there that pulls air into the room. it'll create a slightly positive pressure in your clean room and help keep dust out. alternatively, you could have some exhaust fans in your shop that pull air out to create slightly negative pressure in your shop
I came in the comment to throw the same idea of a positive pressure room, so that the dust stays out!
Negative pressure in the shop also means less dust in the rest of the house.
Remember that any resin printers and soldering area would benefit from an exhaust system. Soldering and resin fumes are bad for your health
Same idea I’m implementing in my basement shop(which happens to be very similar to Bob’s). Dust control!!
Another thing that helps me personally is using covers for tools. I started using old sheets to cover a bandsaw, snow thrower, lathe ect. I have cheap covers I bought off of amazon as well. This helps keep most of the stuff in my shop from getting dirty throughout the year.
Yeah I always say I want to remove a cover to use a tool. Then put the cover back on when I'm done. Wait, no, that's not what I want to do at all! Here's what I really want to do. I just want to walk up to a machine and use it. Flip a switch and go. If it gets dirty that's what an air gun is for. Or the machine can just stay dusty and dirty. Who cares? It's a machine.
I really appreciate this particular video. My shop is an absolute nightmare and I think your methods are going to be very applicable to me getting control over the chaos. Enjoy your channel. Thanks for the work sheets.
Great stuff, Bob! One idea, when you were showing your in-process 3D projects, is some sort of project locker? Section of varying sized cabinets that you assign projects to, and then you can put all the stuff from each project in there (plans, parts, build, etc), then clean it out when the project is finished. Just a way to clean up the background visually when filming.
Bob, super cool to see how you’re breaking this town into smaller chunks even though it’s a huge project. Great point on how to prioritize with key things in mind and then build out the space from there. Thank you so much for sharing. It’s been great to hear about this on the making up podcast and see the video here on the TH-cam.
I have a suggestion for the clean room. If you have several smallish 3D printers, you could try a multi-level station with each space being big enough for maintenance purposes. Evan and Katelyn have an old video on their channel about how they built a modular one out of extruded aluminum.
Like 80/20 i.e. aluminum T-track beams. Awesome stuff to work with for projects like that.
Mr. C is pivotal among the maker community. The reasons include: He is a genuinely nice guy, he is a husband and father who still gets it done, and he always tries to help us. Much respect and appreciation.
Dude, i'm exactly where you started in this video. I'm unhappy with my setup. I have decent space but its not functional for all the same reasons you have. I really appreciate how you are spending the time to explain what and why you are doing what you're doing. You could have easily editing this video to be 15 minutes long but you didn't. This video was a huge kick to get me started. Thanks!
Kudos on the transparency. Cluttered spaces yield cluttered minds. Refreshed spaces refresh the mind - can’t wait to see what comes next, and when your mind says make and your shop says yes!
I absolutely LOVED this episode! I am currently having the exact same problem in my shop, and I am looking forward to seeing the future changes you make.
Brother, this is so the vid I needed right now. Going through some very similar rearchitecting with life and the business and the way you articulate your problem solving process and share with us is just so perfect. You're a fantastic teacher and storyteller and I appreciate you 11/10. Can't wait to see what's next.
I love your channel. The one that got me hooked was your rollaround powder coating device that was great thank you for what you do. I hope the day finds you and every other person likes to make stuff smiling
Thank you for the plan idea! I'm going to use that to organize my sign shop. Oh and just an idea for behind your miter saw, why not do a french cleat wall? That way you can make boxes, shelves, or even just handy areas to put scraps & quick tools when you're needing something within reach. Also, you have all those exposed rafters...why not screw boards across them and keep your scraps up there? That's what I do with bulbs & led lamps I use for signs. If you're worried about the wiring, you can align the boards with the wires and attach them to that. That way your wires are more secure and it gives you nice little hidden shelves :)
Fantastic video!!
I used a similar approach to my craft room. I converted a small bedroom/office into my craft room. I got 3 Ikea units but otherwise I had to use what I already had and work within the constrainsts of the room and property as we're renting right now. I made tons of lists and finally decided my priorities, and then drew out floor plans to see how I could work within the space I have. I am very happy with it. I create more, my mess is contained, and O figured out organization that works great. And that changed how I organize in other spots in the house.
I love how you are working out HOW you need your space to function, eliminate items you won't likely use (I save a lot of interesting things and scraps too), and how to consider what you need to work around. It's helpful watching this become a workspace in a large area with large tools and supplies. I'm looking very forward to updates!
I've been using these steps all my life for every projects and I really appreciate being able to put words on it now. Also, thank you for the working sheets they'll be very helpful.
It brings me great ease that a guy who makes his living making stuff also has many projects lying around that feel like work to him.
Thank you very much for sharing not only your super cool finished projects, but also the process, your thoughts and struggles!!
You keep inspiring me to try new stuff, get better at and use old stuff, and just do projects that i want to do and make me happy, even if it maybe does not get finished!
Hope the best for you as you are a great influence for me🖖
Looking great! I have been redesigning my own workspace and that has been much more work than i had estimated.
I don't have any suggestions, just words of thanks! Thanks for the inspiration, I've been desperately needing to do this with my house / "maker" spaces. I hadn't even thought about the space giving inspiration and allowing for ease of coming in and working right away until you mentioned it. After you said that I looked around at my area and thought, yes, this is exactly what I'm struggling with right now! So thanks again for giving me the extra kick I needed to start making some changes!
There's a lot of friction to work in my one-car garage shop. It's in desperate need of cleanup and organization. While I already think like you do in a lot of ways about this process, this is a good reminder of what to keep in mind while doing it. Thanks for sharing!
I have been working on something similar. My first step is getting rid of everything I no longer want or need. Donating what I can (Habitat For Humanity getting the bulk), recycling/scrapping what I cannot donate, trashing what I cannot recycle.
Absolute masterclass! One of my favorite videos on this channel ever
Thanks for this.
I've been struggling how to fit everything in a relatively small space with a bunch of big tools and lumber.
Good work.
This is super helpful. My shop is about the same size. And I have some constraints. I have four posts down the center. I have a stairway that goes upstairs. And doors…. Double doors outside, door to one part of the house, another door to another part of the house, a door to a small room that the whole family uses and a door that goes to the back yard. LOL. Lots of doors.
Recently my shop was out of control. I did a big purge. I’m still not doing great at throwing out scraps. But… I did purge some of them. I got rid of lots of tools. And i got things out of the room that just didn’t belong. It has made keeping the shop clean so much easier. I still have another purge… or even two to go. But I’m on the right track. Your method would actually really make sense for me. Also… I’ve never wanted to make the shop into “rooms”. But lately I’ve been considering it. It will be interesting to see how this works out for you.
WALL CONTROL AAAAA! I love those, I got my work to buy some for the workstations that I set up and they're my favorite things in that space! Having both pegboard holes AND the ability to just use magnets has made organizing so easy!
Visually, paint the ceiling black or cover it in white plastic or something. It’s the least “presentable” element by far (epoxy floors would help too).
Put a real usable white board on your blank wall and make it a strong narrative tool.
Lastly, I would say that dusting and wiping down the tools would do a lot for shootability. Great video!
I love what you've done with the woodworking area so far. I'm in the process of starting to build my first semi-permanent workshop myself (38, finally bought a house last year) with dedicated workbenches and a bug assembly table, so a lot of this is resonating with me, from specific tool use and placement to the general process of figuring it all out.
One thing that was sticking out to me was the cart. I built an A-frame cart years ago for similar functions, but it was outside in the garage. Now that your woodshop will be physically smaller, having a cart that big might just be in the way, like it was for me. And especially that it's two-sided, where you'll need to pull it out to get to the stuff on the back side. My thought would be to disassemble the cart, and mount all of that stuff with French cleats or more of the hanging boards you bought. Having it mounted higher up on your walls (above and behind tools) might give you some more floor space back, without getting rid of everything on that cart.
I relate to this so much dude. My workshop is constantly evolving. Thanks for the tips 🤙
My workshop is constantly devolving.
Thank you for sharing this whole process, Bob!
Believe it or not, I started doing the same thing to my shop just yesterday. First came feeling the urge to change my small and cluttered shop.I started by sorting out all the containers full of 'junk', clearing out all things that really don't belong in the shop anyway. Next will be making a new stand for my contractor table saw (although leveling the concrete floor might come before this). We'll see where this will take me, but watching you going through a similar process is helpful!
To help keep the feeling of space while still creating barriers you should make that big wall have a perspex window looking between the two rooms. You can always add a blind or something if you don't want distraction through it. But by having a clear view through you will be able to keep an eye on 3D prints while in the woodwork room plus you won't feel as tight in either room. Also for you, you can film from the other side allowing more movement space without restricting film options
This was a fantastic master class in not only how to think about workshop space, but just in problem solving in general. Having guiding principles for the overall, then breaking it down, making priorities, and continuing to break it down and tackle things is SO CRITICAL! Absolutely love seeing the thought process and insights into how the space is going to be continuing to evolve in the future
Admirable diligence and down-to-earth personality. Congratulations!
I just reorganized my shop in order to run a heavy up for an induction forge. Love the way you approach upgrading spaces.
VERY timely video!! Literally in the process of organizing and cleaning out my shop TODAY!
I love how alike our shops are... Even down to the 500 projects on ever surface. Mine is more automotive focused, but I also have a billion other hobbies. Love watching your progress and ideas, always sparks me to get of my a$$ and make something. Keep it up brother!
What a great video. Love to hear you think out loud and your approach to this huge undertaking. Thank you for sharing!
I love watching you back into 5S. Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.
Speaking of, I’d love to spaghetti map your current interaction with the space.
I decided to set up a french cleat wall on 3 sides of the garage. The tv mount like you have I put a small panel with a cleat and a block so I can slide a block to keep it from unhooking. I also put cleats on the metal shelves and mini refrigerator. This helps me rearrange the garage at will.
My garage is still a disaster
my garage is an old horse barn.....and i love it bc each room is about 8x10 and each one i have something different...like one is my welding room, one is table saw room and so on
Everything goes on wheels until it can be decided it is in it's final position, and that's assuming your work space doesn't need to adapt to the projects you bring in. In my case Everything is on wheels, racks, tables, work benches, desk, etc. When I need more space unlock the caster and wheel it around. This gives me access to the walls when need be, allows me to adapt to the project, versus the project adapting to my space, and if there are ever any repairs, or lighting upgrades, everything just moves / adapts.
Bob, so much of this resonates with me right now. You said on the podcast that you wanted a better name than clean room … I have a clean room too. I’m looking forward to seeing how you seal up the door. Also, inspiration is huge. My workshop is such a wreck right now that I don’t enjoy going in there. Thanks for doing projects like this!
Thanks for bringing us along and for teaching us good principles!
Do you have a camera gantry. Would recomend to build one. Put a rail over the roof so the gantry can ride along the entire shop and swing out to do your shot.
Also haxman built a pretty cool storage for his tools / other misc items. Its a several sliding shelfs kind of.
Bob have you investigated what solutions a factory workshop can use for dust enclosure in work areas ? I've seen industrial enclosures made of PVC strip curtains that looked awesome. Benefits : no masonry needed, ability to reconfigure the workshop easily, and as it's transparent you're not missing on natural lighting in your shop.
I thought about curtain walls.
Really like this style video of walking us through your though process to a problem, solution, and troubleshooting. And providing a solution guide for us too!
Hey Bob. Awesome and helpful video once again. Just an idea for the basement. Why not put windows in some of the walls? This way the rooms feels bigger and you can still see the entire space. Just like the family room/office. And it prevents you from cluttering the walls.
Yes, this was the super well created shop organiser video i needed. Now it's time for my shop...
Since I'm going through the same process at the moment... what exactly is your ideal height for your tables? The 'usual' deck height of a SawStop is ~ 34", but I couldn't see if you had the base on it or not, which can make it about 35.5".
It's looking good so far. One recommendation for your electronics space is to make it a pressure positive room.
Over here in Europe we have a fantastic storage standard based on the euro palettes. It is every version of the 30x40 cm (wich is the size of beer crates). 60x40 cm for example is commonly used by bakeries. I love them so much I would love to organize my whole live in Euro boxes.
My hoarding tendency and my organization tendency are butting heads over trying to do this.
I know I have more stuff than space, at least for it to be neat and useable, it’s a tough one, but you are certainly giving me ideas !
I have metal shelving on wheels in our storage area, it's great to be able to move our X-mas decor closer to the stairs to carry what we need upstairs... I'm actually looking to get one for upstairs in a different room (an area we're not utilizing for anything) for some of the X-mas stuff.
My priority is the lathe, you gave your lathe to your sister. I have been organizing my shop. just built a wood storage cart, that really cleaned up the floor space. Over all thanks for your tips and suggestions. I have a long way to go. I do have a rack for my lathe chisels that fits between the studs of my garage wall.
For a lot of folks lathes are occasional tools. They don't really fit in with traditional joinery woodworking. I know how little I've used a lathe. Good for making chisel handles though. I like me some socket handles for my chisels.
I'm only 1:20 into the video, and I'm already excited to see the rest. I've been going through the same loops in my space, and need to figure out how to get it done.
Currently rethinking my own workshop too! Only mine is about 10’x14’ 😂 Still takes so much thought though to keep a small space usable! Definitely will write down some priorities to fall back on 😊
We've decided to scale down on some stuff, and we have a long ways to go, so I sent this on to my mom cuz she's defs overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we have around to sort through, so this defs helps us look into how we can compartmentalize everything to make it easier to tackle and work with. Personally, I also got a bunch of stuff for my projects, so these organizational ideas defs helps. Can't wait to see what you do with the clean room and how this task gets broken up into smaller pieces. Keep them coming ✌️
Really great video Bob!
Hey! Love seeing makers support other makers! Especially when they are totally awesome 😎
Thanks Bob. The small museum I work at is going through this very process; your worksheets look helpful.
Thank you, Bob. I have a garage workshop and basement workshop that both need massive organization.
I’m going to be building a shop soon. This is an awesome exercise in shop planning and I LOVED seeing your process!!
Failing to plan is planning to fail. That's all I've got to say about setting a shop up.
Great video! It has been decided I'll be moving in 5 years and I will be about 65 years of age by then. I need to "pre-pack" so the physical move will be less "physical" on me or my spouse as I do have a complex home office/3D workspace and woodworking "objects" (what to store and how) situation. Thanks for your three legged approach: Priorities, Constrains and Interactions. Most helpful! Thank you!
Bob over here making company goals and team rocks for his shop. Love to see it.
I was able to receive 48’ of free shelving from an auto parts store and have spent the last rainy several weeks getting my 2,000 square foot shop organized. I wish this had come out before I started! Absolutely love it.
This video would have a perfect jump off point for a new channel called I Like To Talk About Making Stuff.
This is such a great analysis and breakdown of how to organize! It really makes you think and come to a solution. Thanks for this, extremely helpful and explained so nice.
Thanks for sharing this Bob. I really appreciated the video and your thoughts. I truly believe this will help me.
I don’t comment on any TH-cam but… this was amazing!!! A couple months ago I stared the same thing/ kinda lol.
Long story short, after watching this I know exactly how to finish my space with wood a literally forgot I had, and the next steps to get me there.
I should film it… it’s going to be fun! Thanks!!!😊
Hi Bob, I'm Bruce and I like to watch you make stuff! 😂
I needed to hear this. Having to move living space and shop into a single room to take care of my elderly mother, and have been overwhelmed at starting
A big organization thing for me if you have multiple work areas, get duplicate tools, dedicated for those areas, money permitting. If you find yourself in the electronics room needing a wrench for a pcb standoff and you have to get it from the garage, the electronics area needs a wrench. Helps keeps tools from getting scattered about and keeps your workflow and brain uncluttered
I'll be interested to see how you handle the Air Flow/Exchange for the 'Clean' Room... Right now with the wide open space you have lots of general circulation but if you block off a chunk like you're wanting to so you can minimize dust/debris infiltration you're going to have to deal with air exchange/filtration on some level... If nothing else you need to have venting for the 3d off-gassing from SLA printing and certain FDM Filaments....
Such an awesome video that really spoke to me and the things I struggle with in my own brain 😂
Thanks for putting this together! Can’t wait to see morw
Great video it gave me a lot to think about as I’m just trying to get a shop set up so this is very helpful. Thanks for sharing
I would advocate that you at least drywall / drop ceiling your ceiling, exposed floor trusses (with electrical, plumbing and hvac) will always be a distraction since it occupies the totality of your headroom in most of your shoots.
Btw it's pretty common over here (Canada) to have electrical panel in a non-mechanical rooms (we have a lot of finished basements over here), it's usually been covered up with a simple wood frame and a door a little taller and wider than the panel so it can be serviced / expanded easily yet ain't an eye sore.
Cheers, love your content as always.
What a project. I get overwhelmed jus thinking about redoing my 120sqft shop.
Yeah I gave up a while ago. If I need to use a tool I just accept that I have to dig it out.
Perfect timing for this one :) I’m in the middle of re-doing my whole shop as well, did a video of the initial cleanup, place got filled up again (my added «constraint» is my workshop is *also* quad roller skate shop …
BUT! One thing I’ve started making is a flexible project storage section for my shop, which I’m doing a video on soon and which might solve one of your problems:
A dedicated space, floor to ceiling, where all «in progress» projects are stored. Currently I’m testing 3 feet wide, 1.5 feet deep. all shelves are moveable, and all projects (big ones), are stored on plywood shelves that slot into the «unit». Smaller parts for those projects go in boxes on on the «project shelf».
Smaller projects go into bins also stored on movable shelves. so the key is the slots on the side that allow me to move shelves up and down, adjusting height based on bins or height of project parts. might be doing a unit of 3 one foot wide boxes for X height as well, for smaller projects on smaller shelves, but again: movable and height adjustable whenever needed.
Having this dedicated «work in progress»-space has eliminated almost *all* the crap laying around in terms of half finished projects, and parts for projects.
and the shelves and boxes can be color coded on the front. «Waiting for parts», «ready to continue», «in progress/being worked on/active project» and so on.
And *if* the «ongoing projects» unit is full … then it’s a full stop on *all* new projects until some of them are finished and space freed up.
Of course, when they are done they go into deep storage or get deployed where they should go.
I also have *one* specific space for «things to find a space for» or «things to put back where they belong». Having one space dedicated to this makes quick cleanups a breeze. Put everything in the *one spot* and it’s ready for organizing later, while you can get on a new project if needed, not having things spread all over that needs to be organized.
Having all ongoing projects stored in *one* space makes it very easy to see if too many projects are ongoing at anyone time. Dating them as well makes it easy to see if it’s been «sitting too long», and might have to be discontinued, or continued on.
This was all based on how I sometimes clean everything up: piling *everything* in one big pile, so the rest of the shop is «clean», and the grouping and re-storing things grouped by context or relevancy (since over time things tend to be placed where there is space, not where they logically belong with other similar items.
Doing these top to bottom sections for other «logical groups» like «model materials» (cardstock, plastics, rods, pieces etc) and then only filling it halfway up … then putting related tools, glue, fasteners, on top - etc etc
Some of the points covered here hit painfully close to home. I need this SO much! Saving it for future reference!
I used to sort by type, drivers, wrenches, sockets, saws, etc. I
switched to function auto, electrical , plumbing, woodworking, etc and I’m happier and more efficient.
Yep, “stuff” is the devil. Did a scrap metal run yesterday. 😊
I love this stuff - organizing and efficiency!
I've been a longtime fan/watcher and this might be the best video you've ever made. It was incredibly helpful for me as I struggle with the same things you pointed out. Keep up the awesome work!
I’m same way, think of a solution before figuring what to resolve. Anyway, now thinking of attaching 2x4s to overhead joists to hang French cleats all around the basement so it’s a constant organizational modular unit.
fantastic video! been wanting to rejig my workshop (single car garage) for ages, and this has given me a few ideas on how to actually do it!
14:45 such a deep dive into the atom level on organized spaces.
One idea/thought on projects that you have paused on, do like you suggested on scrape wood, put the date on it when you pause it. Then when you come back and look at them, you can ask yourself if you're really going to restart it or just hanging on to it for "reasons" and it might be time to let it go.
thank you you;'ve given me food for thought with my gawdaufal work space
This video is VERY HELPFUL as I am working on the ManGarage now. and my ManCave Wood Shop out back is an absolute mess! Is 5S+1 even a factor here? Great vid and inspiring to me. Thanks!!!!
this is so very helpful. i have a similar workspace and my scatter brain just causes chaos. so many half projects laying around especially. thank you.
It's wonderful to see your process and to work out the arrangement of all of the elements that you're using. My husband suggested hanging a white sheet where the new wall is going to be; which will give physical barrier. The TV could go on a rolling stand if you want to illustrations on big screen. Could you put the small band saw on one of those appliance garage lifting shelves? We wanted to put our air fryer on one, but it didn't fit. lol
soooo satisfying. love spending time wth this guy in his thought process.
I like your process as you worked through things. Everyone tends to slightly different organizing styles. I like precise, right down to the nitty-gritty. I can use enclosed storage, but when you open it up, it has to be detailed oriented. My dad always covered our garages with peg board, and everything had it's own home. He'd use enclosed containers to protect paint, etc. from heat and dust. I put slat-wall in my garage (mainly because I had it and a lot of hooks/etc.) but I'm not done. I have empty wall space that I'm going to put peg board up in. A lot of people forget about vertical storage. Blank walls are great, but that is valuable space. I love how your screwdrivers, hammers, etc. got placed on the wall together. That satisfies my micro in a macro space of organizing. :)
The wood shop definitely looks so much cleaner now! I forget who said this but in their miter station build they had the t-track imbedded on the work surface and not in an extension fence (they didn’t build any) because the only fence they need is the fence built into the saw because it needs to be square to the saw blade.
That sounds like @ShopNation to me
It could have been too, but I just remembered it was also The Wood Whisperer.
Great video Bob. It gave me a lot to think about in the current re-organization of my 2-car garage/shop (which still has to hold 1 car...). I recently sold the 3-piece former bedroom dresser furniture that was my entire drawer space, but then I had no organization to store all the different categories of 'stuff' I was mostly keeping in those 14 drawers, like glue guns and glue; caulk and adhesive tubes; Kreg stuff; gloves; sandpaper; tape (all kinds). So I bought a bunch of those Sterilite tote boxes of different sizes to fit all the stuff. Once I get a new work bench there will be space for some of it, but I think a lot of these tote boxes will be permanent storage. As to planning the garage layout, I've taken the measurements of everything as you did, but I'm not into 3-D modeling on a computer, so mine will be 2-D, but twice - once for an overhead floor layout view, and another one for 'wall view''. They'll be 3 of those. I'll used poster board to cut out the various shapes of the items. Scale will be 1/2" = 1 foot, done on 11' x 17" graph paper.
Amazing renovation, already taking notes!
PS: What happened with the office and the team? where are they?
shop already looks way better. I use solidworks constantly to design or layout space. I recently redid an outside stairway by taking dimensions and figuring out exactly how I wanted to rebuild them which made it WAY easier to fabricate. Lucky for me, I moved from a house that had a difficult basement space to a house that has a fairly large detatched garage that I intend to turn into a shop/gameroom once I get my new garage built.
Consider using a glass (or some kind of transparent) wall for the clean room. It has the effect of not being a place where junk piles up, while also being cool to photograph or backdrop...
Wow, i missed the others not eing there. Glad everyone is doing great!
When you talked about having room under the shelf you put under the miter station, it was like you were creating a future constraint