Small Workshop Design // My 4 Essential Tips
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 มิ.ย. 2024
- Small Workshop Design doesn't need to be complicated. My 4 tips will help you optimize your small space. Covering layout, design and overall improvements. Forget everything you've read or heard about setting up a small workshop. I will go into detail and give you specific do's and don'ts to turn your small space into a safe and efficient workshop.
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Hello from Best Carolina. Isn't Etsy for girls?
Love the channel! It has been a huge help for me getting my one car garage shop off the ground. Thank you!!! Did you by chance do a video when you built your large work/outfeed table? Couldn’t seem to find one among your videos. Curious to know how you constructed it. Thanks again and keep the (very helpful) videos coming! 👍
This video should be required viewing for anyone trying to work out of a garage shop. He who dies with the most tools definitely does not win, he just spends all his shop time moving tools and machines around in order to find a flat space to repair the toaster.
Thank you very much! and lol at the toaster comment so true
@@Lincolnstww So...you've seen my shop...;-)
Wait youve seen my garage?
Perfectly said !
Who REPAIRS a toaster these days? Okay, I'll fess up, I did a few months ago.
I could drone on blubbering how great your videos are but everyone else has already done that. Really great, thank you.
I really appreciate what you're doing on TH-cam. You're not a professional shop owner, telling us how great a $5k cabinet saw is when you pair it with the $4k dust collection system. You tend to give practical advice, which is relatable for 90% of woodworkers. Your shop also happens to be the size of the 'average shop'; 10' x 20', 1-stall garage, or half of a 2-car garage.
Another point in a small shop that people tend to overlook: it's worth a little extra effort to establish a standard height for certain tools. For instance, putting your planer at the same height as the tablesaw means you can set up the planer right in front of the tablesaw (or outfeed table) for supporting long boards -- no need for extended planer tables or support stands. Put your miter saw at the same height and it can use your outfeed table for long pieces. This approach takes a little more work up front building a shorter stand or raising a tool on blocks, but the mobility and space gains for worth it.
Its a great point!
I do that as well, works great
It's a good point but very difficult, especially in a garage as the floor is always inclined upward away from the door to avoid flooding (this is true in the UK, I'm unsure about other countries). My floor is pitched at 0.025 degrees leaving the back of my garage 1" higher than the entrance. It makes levelling a real pain in the ass where most of my tools are on mobile bases, otherwise I would definitely do this.
I’m new to woodworking (2yrs) and in the beginning I just wanted to do woodwork so I needed EVERYTHING. Then after a while I found I was showing more interest in furniture than anything else. About the same time I realised I was happier using machines than hand tools. Then as my skills and confidence increased I found myself attracted to Mid-Century Modern furniture.
I ended up selling everything that I didn’t need to build solid Mid-Century Modern furniture and used that money to invest in quality tools specific to do it.
I guess the best tip in woodworking I’ve discovered is that it’s expensive to work out exactly what you want to do in your shop.
Because you’re new and don’t know what this is yet, sales people also know this, which is why they sell you stuff they know you will offload to the next sucker once you work out what it is you want to do in your shop.
For me, the most expensive thing I’ve bought was knowledge. Knowledge of wood, knowledge of tools, and most importantly knowledge of what I wanted to do in my shop.
Tip 3, especially, is gold. I've spent so much time designing, building and perfecting shop furniture and storage that I would have been better off spending on projects! Great insight for the beginner.
If I have a tip 5, it is to clean the shop regularly. I tend to get absorbed doing multiple projects, and let dust accumulate. It's better to take a little time to clean up more frequently than to take a whole weekend to deep clean once in a while.
As someone who only has one side of a two car garage, this is great advice.
The point about building storage solutions instead of actual things is spot on. We all get sidetracked. 🤣
Well done, I never thought someone would be able to fit a Mitch hedberg clip into a wood shop video. He was the best.
one of my favorites!
This is by far the best TH-cam Video on Small Woodworking Workshop. Great advice. Wish I had seen this sooner.
I’m about to finally move into a shop that’s roughly the same size (20x10) and this was absolutely incredible advice, one of the best woodworking tips videos I’ve seen on here
Thank you Michael
I like the way you buck conventional wisdom to give practical advice. Your suggestions make a lot of sense. Only place where I differ, and this is just a personal preference, is that I enjoy building the shop furniture (like a drill bit rack that no one else will care about) and find it a good way to improve my skills for the friends and family projects.
Totally agree! Great place to show off your craftsmanship as well!
As 35 year woodworker I can tell you this is spot on. The work flow tip was pure genius once I realized it.
Thank you Mike. For one reason or another its become a buzz phrase with no substance behind it in small hobby shops.
Hollow core doors are great for making shelves and other items. They’re easily found at thrift stores and yard sales. Easily cut, very rigid and light weight.
This has been the most refreshing shop setup video I've ever seen!!! Thank you for reminding me about using a little common sense to set up everything. I've been watching these shop tour videos for the past 2 years trying to come up with ideas for my new place but hated every single layout I came up with! I honestly felt like I worked better in a damn 12x8 shed/outside then I do now in 2 sheds (16x12, and 10x6) and it's all because I've been trying to set it up like it's a production/professional shop. Thank you for bringing me back to reality and for helping me look at everything in a more realistic and relaxed approach!!!
Great tips. Especially the pushback on the 'shop flow' dogma.
Thanks - thats always drove me crazy
Thanks for inserting a Mitch Hedberg joke. I love that guy and am subscribing now.
I'm an old, retired guy who is trying to get into woodworking. I'm glad I found your channel because your tips make sense, are entertaining, and are funny. I have subscribed. This video has helped me to focus on a great solution for my garage shop. Thanks so much!
This is probably the best shop setup video I've seen! Thank you sir
Great video. I am a hobbyist woodworker that had to take over a family single car garage. So far I have conquered 70% of the garage with 30% more to go.
Soon it will all be yours!
Looks Great. My two cents. Always finish what you start. Router Table in the saw outfeed worked best for me. Always build what ever you can in components and assemble on site. Proper planning prevents piss poor performance.
I'm late to the conversation but my biggest tip is "Try to keep heavy tools where you can use them."
One example of mine I have is a heavy, bulky spindle/belt sander it's awesome but getting it out if the box setting it up, setting the extraction up then putting it all away after took ages. Now it is set up in a corner and it stays there so the most I have to do is connect the workshop vac hose and turn it on. If I have a spare 10 minutes I can do 9 minutes work. You can't do this with everything in a small workshop but if you can do it with some of the tools you use the most it makes a massive difference to productivity.
You did a wonderful job of giving practical advice! You really got me with the rubber mats on the floor & the insulated garage door! I don't have space for an outfield table for the table saw, but I have placed mine adjacent to the garage door so that any long stock can be ripped with the Garage door open. A couple of folding sawhorses catch the offcuts, but they live under my Mitre Saw station. A good tip is to move the tools such as a plainer out onto the driveway where nature can deal with the dust. Also on that topic, I put an entry door opposite the garage door, so that by opening both nature can take the dust out of the shop air. Finally The Mitre saw is in an enclosure between two workbenches. One is always ready for a place for new work. The other is covered with the current project. Finally, I have been told that drawers are where tools go to die, so I can find almost all of mine on the pegboard walls behind the workbenches. Yes, I know that Pegboard is out of fashion, but believe me it is a lot more space efficient than French cleats. After all, space is the issue in a small shop . Finally, Dust in minute particle size is deadly and I am searching for a good small dust collector. Too bad those available are large and expensive. Go cheap on this tool will only fool yourself, get the one micron filter.
This is easily one of the best videos to watch when setting up a shop. You just saved me a lot of money in 3/4” plywood for planer/shop vac/mitre saw carts I was planning to build.
The Mitch Hedberg clip was fantastic
great tips and the mitch hedberg bit was an awesome surprise.
One of the best!
Really great advice.about ""workflow"", creature comfort for the woodworker, Flexibility in moving
big machines around and space utilization. Also good advice about needing everything to begin, and expect to change as you grow into your shop. Also, "Don't listen to bad advice!"
It doesn’t matter how many times I hear the same thing repeated, these are all great tips and things to know for a beginner moving forward. For me personally the most daunting thing is building a good outfeed table/bench for my table saw to sit in to. Did you make a video for your build? I absolutely love your videos and breakdowns. You have a great way of breaking things down and explaining them in a retainable manner. Thanks, as always for the amazing content!
Thank you! No bench video. But I am going to rebuild it at some point and do an entire video
Huge props for that Mitch Hedberg clip.
This video really helped me to get my head straight about organization. I was really stumped about workflow considerations and that aspect really was slowing my progress. It makes so much sense to lessen the importance of that in a truly small shop and come to think about it, all of that workflow advice was from TH-camrs who had lots of dedicated shop space. Thank you for adding some common sense to that aspect and for living up to your "no B.S" promise! Subscribed.
I appreciate your channel, and your humor!
Liked the video very much. I like just watching the shop videos just to get different perspectives. Your’s is a fresh one. Take it easy brother.
As a new owner of a 5-in-1 combination machine I am suprised how little I see these machines in hobby shops on TH-cam. I too have a one car garage myself and my SCM C30g takes up maybe 3x4ft of floor space in it's smallest configuration without add-ons (accessories hang on my wall). I would really recommend one to a serious hobbyist!
This has definitely made me rethink the layout in my 820 square foot shop. Thank you for the video!
I needed to hear these as I'm building out my garage for my first workshop now and was convinced by the big woodworkers that I needed the ultimate shop. Thank you.
Work with whatever you have. I built for years setting up and breaking down outside on my back porch. We are resourceful when needed
These videos are fantastic. Easily one of my favorite new woodworking channels, really looking forward to seeing more.
Thanks Kai. I greatly appreciate the kind words. Ill do my best to keep up with interesting content.
thanks for the reminder to drop the expectations down a peg! i spend way too much time thinking about this stuff.
You're teaching an old dog new tricks. Over 40yrs I've worked in basements, driveways, 2 car garages with other stuff, now I'm building a 20x20 workshop, that will be my space. You keep it real with re-using cabinets and the simplicity of dust collection, and I'm just flat out impressed with the boom arm
All great advice and applicable also to larger shops. Who doesn't want to maximize space
Just found your channel. Awesome videos. I’ve been wood working for 15 years and I got so many tips. Went from from a three car to a two car garage so this is really timely. Especially on the boom arm and the dust collection on your saw stop. And the placement of the saw.
Thank you very much. I LOVE the boom arm
THANK YOU I already have embraced tip #3 and am using a repurposed buffet my wife wanted to get rid of. It has given me storage and work surface for drill press and combo sander. Tip #2 is a huge help, and am thankful for all four tips follow your channel is one of the best woodworking decisions I've made.👍
Love this!
This video an essential for planning a small or most hobby workshops for sure.
LOVE this video. PRACTICAL knowledge that is immediately impactful! Thanks!
Building shop projects out of cheap ply can be great practice for completing that very special cabinet you make for mum.
I like the "keep it real" attitude you always bring. Thanks
I keep rewatching your videos! The practicality I need. Recently moved and 1 car I’m making a shop is a blank slate. No storage, shelves or cabinets, and I’ve been stressing how to find the time to make custom organization. I’m gonna borrow your layout and keep rewatching to stay practical. Please keep sharing!
Thats awesome, I'm glad you're finding the videos helpful. Look forward to hearing how the shop comes together.
8:47 Starting to get serious about woodworking and bought my first table saw. I needed to hear this...
Glad it was helpful
Great video, easily understandable, common sense filled. Crisp and intelligent narration. You've got me for a fan!
Finally! Super sensible advice on setting up a home shop. So many people, including myself, get wrapped around the axle trying to "optimize" their shop rather than just using it, already!
Right on!
Thanks dude, I’ve always wanted to learn woodworking skills but never set aside time and money for it. However, I just started to delve into woodworking projects and videos like yours and it’s making things seem a lot more doable. Thanks again.
Best of luck!
I am in the process of a total small shop remodel. Took everything out and am starting from scratch. You gave me some really good ideas for bench placements, that never even crossed my mind before. Thanks!!! I really hope you keep up with making videos.
Keep it real.
Thanks Donnie. Glad you found this helpful. If people keep watching, I will keep filming!
You and 3&3 custom are by far the coolest, thoughtful, and no nonsense...refreshing
Thank you
Thank you! high praise - I'm a huge fan of Tamar
Thanks - good to hear a different take on shop design and use.
I love that you advocate for reusing old furniture instead of buying/build task specific carts.
Yes now I have everything on carts that I built along with those funky folding extensions that you see everyone on youtube make, and I love it but when I was starting out I was using old cabinets. Hell my first work bench was an old computer desk I found along the side of the road...
Speaking of which one thing to add, when repurposing old furniture don't be afraid of particle board furniture. So long as it has adequate support/thickness that it wont bow when you put any weight on it you are golden.
The desk I had mentioned was such a beast. As an added bonus when I went through my " Lets hand plane everything!" phase the desk was extremely heavy which meant I didn't get much wobble while I planed the boards unlike I did with the second work area which was just osb on sawhorses.
" Lets hand plane everything!" LOL
@@Yourresultsfitnesscoach Had no room for a jointer or planer and found myself when using an electric hand planer working a bit too fast/carelessly. Add to that the satisfaction of seeing that nice long shaving coming off.... Yeah for a while there it was hand plane for all.
just binged watched all of your videos! Excellent presentation today! I really learned a lot. Any time you have a Mitch Hedberg video clip on your video will always have my heart. Well done sir!
great no nonsense tips that take years for many to figure out
Ive been watching videos about small shops lately to try and accumulate better ideas for our garage. It is also a one-car garage which it seems NO ONE on youtube has...except this one. This has been very helpful and I appreciate the tips. They are unique and crucial for small shops. We have to split ours in half so storage on one side and "shop" on the other. Its a tight fit.. The insulation is a nice thought too; I did not consider the door letting out/in so much sound. I am glad I finally found a relatable video; thank you for sharing!
glad it was helpful!
I like the blunt honesty in sharing tips. My favorite channel.
No BS here
Perfectly practical tips. Just what I needed!
Great common sense video. having dealt with shop layout issues for years and trying to implement ideas from others, i realized it's sometimes a puzzle taking parts of ideas from one and using with another to get what you're looking for.
You're videos are absolutely fantastic man! Great work, and keep producing tip videos man. I think your tip videos are some of the best online!
Excellent advice. I've worked in an 11 x 22 foot garage workshop for 30+ years. Had as many as six friends working inside making toys to give away. Your suggestions parallel what I've learned over the years.
Thank you!
Very fitting video as I try to get my small shop up and running in the third car space of a garage. Great vids man. Keep it up.
Great video John. I am rebuilding my workshop soon so these tips (and your layout video) are going to come in handy. Looking forward to seeing more from you. Glad to be one of the first subscribers to what I suspect is going to be a big number of subscribers soon!
Greatly appreciate the comments. Glad you found this video helpful.
I've found it helpful to strike a balance between build vs buy in the shop. Making shop things is great practice for "the real deal" projects, but avoiding getting sucked in to the notion of having to build everything takes care and attention. Plus, long term maybe you still build things out in your shop, just don't let it block you from the other projects ya want to do!
Love the fact that you know Mitch Hedberg! R.I.P!
This video made me feel good about the decisions I have made about my work space. Great advice!
I like your no bs advice on tools and workshops!
Thanks Dave
Great advice! As for the "Don't build everything", I use Ikea Spice racks on my French cleat wall to hold tools... I just added the cleat to the spice rack...
hahaha thats awesome
I saw this video a while back and it really helped me. Might make a video response with my setup and shop furniture.
Really appreciate your content! Looking forward to the day you're on par with all the other big woodworkers here on TH-cam.
Thanks Thor
This is a fantastic video with truly unique tips!
Holy... this guy is smart. You articulated the same thought process of building camper vans (what I do) with the the workshop example (what I'm about to do). So stoked to have found your channel man, slapped the crap outta that subscribe button.
thanks for the slap!
Dude you might be the best woodworker on TH-cam. Sooooo practical.
I truly appreciate the kind words. Thank you
Absolutely true! Great video!
Your comment on not having to build everything to for your shop, AMEN! I think people get waaay to hung up on that. I'm currently building 2 fairly tall planters for my mom for her birthday next month, that's far more enjoyable then some fancy miter saw station.
its a tough lesson to learn!
This is a great video brother. The "common" sense that everyone seems to miss. Thank you.
12x20? Pure Luxury.
I have a converted small bedroom of 8x11. Still squeezed in 3 work benches (8’,6’ and a 4’ on casters), bench bandsaw, mobile tablesaw, bench pillar drill, relocatable vice and a bench grinder . My little work-cave covers woodwork, light metalwork and craftwork. I have a three foot length of ‘low bench’ zone with a wheeled chair for more delicate work, but material storage is tight.
Surprisingly thorough and well-thought-out. video
Just subscribed. You do an excellent job of describing your decisions and explaining why in a clear concise manner.
I can’t tell you how valuable this was for me! GREAT advice’ I have some thinking to do!
Thank you, I'm glad you found the helpful!
This guy has the potential to be youtube gold.
I'm in a small (20x20) 2 car garage and you validated my layout. Put tools where there's room. Great video.
Thank you Dan
Excellent tips. My favorite hack: I took the arms off an old folding director’s chair I found in a dumpster, screwed a scrap piece of plywood across where the canvas seat went and mounted my drill press to that. It was just the right height and was easy to move if needed.
I do think that building cabinets for a shop is helpful in that you can work out your flow/layout and make mistakes on pieces that are not for public consumption.
One of the best videos I have seen yet, I love my shop and like you it has taken ages to get everything just right, but I think I will always tinker alittle, thankyou fro the excellent tips, Louie Northern Ireland uk
Thank you for your video it was awesome made me think about how I want to set up my new shop, although I have a fair amount of space, 20 x 40 shop, I want to utilize it so that I can fit in my microbrewery as well. You brought up some valid points and made me think differently than I originally had. I appreciate the fact that you really push safety also I’m a big safety conscious guy. Thanks again good job.
i like you.... you seem honest and know what your talking about... who knew....
I subscribed to your channel because you keep it real. I like the no nonsense attitude.
I appreciate that
You have such a sensible outlook on your shop, just found your channel, I'm really enjoying it
Thanks Steve
How the hell do you only have 600 subscribers? Your videos are awesome
Thanks I appreciate it. I'm trying!
1 month later...nearly 5k subscribers. Nice work sir!
@@Lincolnstww Nearly 60K 👏🏻
New subscriber, so glad I found your channel as I'm embarking on my woodworking journey. Also I will be using my garage but need to park a car in it occasionally so this video is perfect. Thank you and keep up the great work
good video... my shop isn't even so cramped but I greatly enjoyed your more practical recommendations and lack of ego pumping its so easy to find elsewhere on youtube...
Shop projects are fun, man! And your #3 is in tension with #4. I end up building shop projects because I like my space to be inviting and comfortable. The other nice thing about shop projects when you’re still learning (as I definitely am) is that they’re relatively low stakes / low stress, so you can screw stuff up and get experience that pays off later when you’re doing the stuff you really need to get right.
That said, I really like your point about a workflow. Definitely enjoying your videos so far. Keep up the good work!
I hear ya. I think its all about balance. A good chunk of my shop furniture is built, the rest repurposed to help cut down on costs and time. But you're right, its a great place to learn new skills and if you people can afford it, they should build as many projects as they can. Greatly appreciate your participation and dialogue on the channel!
Don't be afraid to make mistakes. That's the best learning process. Besides, no-one is perfect, and your casual friends almost certainly won't notice .
This definitely helps. I'm currently building a woodshop in my 17' x 15' garage
Just subscribed! Love your no nonsense approach to your shop = reusing things for shop furniture. We're building a house with a 3 car garage. One of these will be my shop = small shop. I've been a woodworker for 20 years now and always had to share my shop with the cars = move cars out of garage build something, move them back in. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about woodworking with all of us.
glad you liked it!
I literally despise building shop furniture. Apparantly you can grow a pretty big TH-cam channel doing it though. Your real life approach is a refreshing change:) I have a laundry and bathroom remodel coming up and I am already planning out where I will use the cabinets that come out in the shop, lol!
I absolutely love your videos. They are great fun to watch and you give very good advices for the common folk in woodworking. Regards from scandinavia :=)
Thank you very much, greatly appreciate the kind words
I love those Harbor Freight dollies!! I use them in a similar way!
For tip #3: I'd add to check behind the local Home Depot or Lowes. I've scored cabinets that are being thrown away by the store because a part of the set had been damaged. I don't care that the vanity cabinet is missing from the BRAND NEW bathroom cabinet set I got for FREE behind the local Home Depot, it got dropped and was broken in four but the rest of the set is perfect! All I had to do was to ask the receiving clerk about the pile out back, I got a couple tall cabinets and a three drawer set - for 5 minutes of effort asking and loading!
Former mechanic here. Those little plastic crayon boxes from the big box stores are like a dollar and are super useful for storage. Small ones hold sockets, wrenches, drill bits, etc. The longer ones hold screwdrivers, ratchets, etc.
If you don't have a giant tool box, those things make it stupid easy to stack your tools in a cabinet. I've only had a few break over several years of auto shop work, and you can replace them for like another dollar.
Good advice