Shop set up question

[Fireant]

If you could go back a start all over again, what would you change or do differently to you workshop? I am about to have one built and would like to avoid some common mistakes. I know to make it larger than the original plan, more outlets, raise the outlets up higher, and lots of light. What else?

[HS101]

Is it just a reloading area, or wood working / metal working/ general purpose shop ?

I wish I had run a pvc duct system to hook up a shop vac. That way, you can just hook the vac up, and plug the hose in at different, convenient places. Not the best idea for powder, but saw dust, metal, etc...

Along the same line, run air hose along the same areas. Then, what you can not vacuum, you can blow.

Also, a shop sink is important. Hate cleaning the sink after washing my hands.

[Sarge]

My boss built a garage with a heated concrete floor. Just a bunch of tubing imbedded in the concrete and a water heater. Since he put a shop sink with a water heater in he also put in a urinal. Genious!

But more realistic things might include a fridge, and if you insulate the shop maybe heat and a wall mounted A/C unit. And finally a small flatscreen TV mounted up high on the wall.

[Fireant]

This is for a general metal working and reloading/gunsmithing shop. I do plan on insulating it and putting in some AC and heat.

[Chills1994]

can you get 3 phase power run to your new shop?

[Dan Sierpina]

Definately look into 3 phase power. Make it bigger than you think you need. It might not be too small then. Power for industrial equipment is the most important thing to me. It will make equipping the shop much easier.

[warpspeed]

The one thing I wish I had done was put in a bathroom. The walk to the house is not far but I'd do that differently.

I put plugs all over the place and I still seem to run out. I think I'd put in the kind where there are 4 plugs instead of 2 every so often.

Also, an outside plug. that I did not do and one of these days will add on.

[CSEMARTIN]

I had a 4" cement platform poured for my Bridgeport and love having the machine up a little higher. Plus, this served as a leveling pad.

The other thing I would like to do is run air hoses so I can "plug" into an air source without having to cart around my small compressor or run the air hose long distances.

I think that a bathroom is a great idea. At the very least, a sink and a urinal. I did get a refrigerator and wished I had done that sooner.

The other thing a buddy did for me when he wired my shop was to have a 2-3 foot extension cord that drops down from the ceiling above one of my benches. He also suggested I have each of the plug ins on my outlets run to separate breakers. If one pops, I can just plug it in the outlet above or below it and keep working.

I live in the outskirts of town. Because of that, we have frequent power outages so I'm looking into getting a generator.

I bought a surface grinder, but I have mixed feelings about having it in the same area as my lathe and mill. If I were going to build a shop, I would have a separate room for a blast cabinet and surface grinder with decent ventilation.

I put shop lights everywhere and don't regret the extra effort or expense. I still need more outlets and wish I had put more in.

With all the chips flying everywhere, and since my home shop is in the basement, I'm thinking about putting down one of the sticky mats in front of the door out of my shop.

I also want to get my safe up off the floor just in case I get water down there. So far so good, but still could happen.

If I were building a shop on the ground level and away from the house, I would put in a steel door and dead bolt it.

My shop is heated and air conditioned, obviously, since it is in the house. With machines, I am very particular about humidity control. My wife and I are having a humidifier installed on our geothermal unit for the winter. It gets really dry down there. In the summer, I run a dehumidifier.

One of the other issues that has come up is the weight of all the tooling I have purchased. I picked up several gorilla racks from Sam's Club that will hold 300#'s per shelf (if my memory is correct). The other thing I did was I picked up a two Craftsman Tool Chests that I keep my files, stones, etc. in so I can literally roll my tool chest over to whatever bench I'm working on.

[Fireant]

I have not checked on real 3 phase power, but I do have a phase converter. I figured a 20 foot by 20 foot with one wall a 20 foot long work bench with shop lights every 6 feet over it would be good. Most of the opposite wall will have some heavy duty shelving on it and the safe. The 3rd wall will have the mill and lathe and the fourth wall will have the roll up door. I am not putting in any other openings other than the hole for the air unit to keep things more secure and to keep anyone from peeking in that should not be.

I like the hanging electric plug idea. I worked in a garage one time that had that and was nice. I plan on figuring out how many outlets I think I need and then doubling it to hopfully have enough. Plumbing is out of the question. The walk to the house is not far. I'll also make a note about the outside outlets. The guy that built my house forgot those too. And the 4 in pad for the mill. Very cool idea, I'm always bending over/down working on my buddies mill.

Thanks.

[Round_Gun_Shooter]

Along with the HVAC system, I would install air intake and exhaust to keep air moving. Fatigue is caused by dead air and keeping it moving and fresh also keeps the odors out. In the small room where I do the little work I do, air flow is bad and I will be installing air flow soon.

[Bigpops]

I cant say enough about good lighting. I installed the "white lights" from a reputable company. I was amazed. When I first installed them you could not even look at them when turned on. After a few years now they still burn bright and give a very crisp and clear light. The yellow tint is a thing of the past.

Along with that I painted my floor white. Even the smallest screw cannot hide now. This combo is great for aging eyes.

[G-ManBart]

I'd also think about flooring surface. I'm considering options on that in case we build a house with an outbuilding/garage/shop. I'd want something that's not slippery, easy to clean, and resistant to most things we'll spill....oil, gas, etc. R,

[CSEMARTIN]

Along with that I painted my floor white. Even the smallest screw cannot hide now. This combo is great for aging eyes.

You know, now that you mention it, I am constantly dropping the smallest part of whatever I'm working on. I wish I would have thought of this. Great idea...

[Joe4d]

mine is 20X26 and it runs out of space quick, have to move stuff around to get truck in, Alot of things you can add later but some things you can do now that will make things easier in the future.

A couple 240 volt receptacles, and an exhaust duct to run vehicle or generator inside.

When I ran power from my house to the shop I buried way over sized 4 conductor cable, I then wired it so I could back feed the house and my 240 receptacle turns into a generator hook up. I have a simple generator and some manual disconects but the exhause duct lets me run it in side a locked building.

[Chills1994]

I have an X BIL who is a union painter.

he told me that the success with painted concrete floors starts long before the first concrete truck shows up.

he says that you need a really heavy plastic or poly sheeting put down on the ground before the concrete floor gets poured. I think that plastic sheeting also goes by the name "visqueen" .

he also went on to say that moisture or water seeping up through the concrete will make even the best two part epoxy floor paints literally pop off.

[G-ManBart]

I have an X BIL who is a union painter.

he told me that the success with painted concrete floors starts long before the first concrete truck shows up.

he says that you need a really heavy plastic or poly sheeting put down on the ground before the concrete floor gets poured. I think that plastic sheeting also goes by the name "visqueen" .

he also went on to say that moisture or water seeping up through the concrete will make even the best two part epoxy floor paints literally pop off.

That's good advice right there.

Having driven mixer trucks from the time I was 18 until I graduated college, I can say that the absolute biggest problem with concrete is that most folks want way, way, way too much water added. That makes it easy to work with, but it's going to crack within a few years (at most). If you can be there when they pour the floor, tell the driver you don't want the concrete to be any wetter than a 4" slump...that's just wet enough you can work it, but not so wet it will crack if everything else is done right. R,

[Bigpops]

My garage floor was already a couple years old when I painted it. I had been warned concerning new concrete as you mentioned above.

I was fortunate enough to get the same paint we use on our aircraft hangar floors. Though pricey it's some very tough stuff. Friends of mine have tried the Home Depot and Lowes brands and they just peel up after time.

Prep is the key. I did an acid wash/scrub with a buffer, rinsed with large amounts of water, dried and then laid down the paint. I also added a little non - skid using a hand held grass seeder contraption and wearing spiked shoes. It's been several years now and no sign of chipping or peeling.

[Toolguy]

Don't they make concrete in colors? Maybe you could just get white and have the color all the way through and not have to paint it.

[Jim Norman]

Ceiling Height, Don't skimp here. 8 feet is NOT enough, go with 10 feet. If you are installing any decent sized machinery, get a really good insulated garage door door, they make them with R-Values of over 17! that is better than the walls in most homes. Make the door as tall as possible, a 10 foot ceiling can get you a door that is 8-9 high. this will allow you to move equipment easily in and out. Cost is not that much more than a regular door.

Do a 6" or thicker floor and use 4,000 or heaver pound Concrete. This is a shop, not a garage to park the family car in.

Outlets and enough ampacity as well as 3-phase power. More branch circuits, not fewer. Light, lots of it, but controllable in groups. You want to be able to light the whole place really bright, but not all the time. many times you just want to putter at the bench, or run out for a tool. You don't need to light up the whole place like an operating theater.

Skylights if you can. Natural light is fantastic and nearly free.

A head, slop sink, fire and burglar alarm, CO monitors. Exhaust hood if you are welding, heat, A/C, good rubber anti-fatigue mats, central vac, central air pressure with a proper air dryer, etc.

Build it bigger that you think you need, but not too much, 50% is probably good, too big and unused costs, too small and over stuffed also leads to dis-use.

Just a few of the things

[vernbo]

one wall outlet wired to its own 0 to 6 hour countdown timer,so you can turn on vibrator as you are leaving the shop.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#cycle-timers/=9u1hij

[gino_aki]

You probably already did this but if not, mount your BIG vise on a post (4" plus pipe or I beam) bolted to the floor. I don't know how many times I wished I could work 360 degrees around what I had clamped up in the vise mounted on the bench.

[Flexmoney]

I figured a 20 foot by 20 foot with one wall a 20 foot long work bench with shop lights every 6 feet over it would be good.

I upped my garage to 24x24. Leaves room for an SUV/truck...with room to spare.

Plumbing is out of the question.

5gal bucket in the corner?

[CSEMARTIN]

Plumbing is out of the question.

5gal bucket in the corner?

I was thinking of a funnel with a 3/4 inch hose run through the wall of the shop to the yard outside. Maybe hang a sheet in the corner for some privacy just in case you have guests over.

[Graham Smith]

I don't know how much fine work you do, but I saw a setup that I want to build if I can find a place for it.

It's a small workbench about 24" square. The top is covered with a rubber mat and the edges of the top are raised about an inch all around so that a dropped part can't roll off. Extending up the back, sides and across the top is a clear lexan "hood" which is intended to catch those pieces that always go flying off of whatever you are working on. On one side is a goose neck lamp and on the other is a goose neck magnifier. The whole thing was attached to a cart with a bunch of drawers for small tools and parts and stuff.

I've just gotta get me one of these things.

[D.Hayden]

I had a Hot Dawg heater put in mine. Natural gas, heats the place up quick.

I also had some outlets put into the ceiling, for retractable cord reels.

Too many windows though.. I should have eliminated one. Mine's for woodworking, I could have used the wall space for wood storage