Setting Up New Shop

[Rick_B]

Good morning folks - I'm new to NC and this forum (see intro here http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=59782). I'm setting up a new shop and will likely have tons of questions as I progress.

I have a full basement that will serve as my shop - basically 1400 square feet divided into two areas by a partition wall. One area is basically an oversize two car garage (roughly 29 x 26) that contains a furnace and water heater and the other is a 29 x 19 open space. There is a 36" wide door connecting the two. The 29 x 19 space is designated for metal working and wood working (bench, hand tools, layout, assembly, wood storage) and has an AC/heating duct The other area is designated for wood working fabrication and will contain the dust producing equipment (there will be a cyclone dust collector there).


Unfortunately the connecting door was not wide enough to get the Bridgeport and WT 20" drill press through so I had to cut an opening through the partition wall. I got the equipment into its designated areas (getting close to posting some pictures) but now I have this opening to deal with in the wall. I like the opening for the convenience of passing through and potential future machine movement but have some concerns with dust migration and loss of heated/cooled air in the 29 x 19 area . The options I see are:
1. Do nothing - leave the opening alone
2. Put some type of curtain up
3. Sliding barn door (uses up wall space)
4. Standard swinging doors
5. Pocket doors


Looking for some thoughts on the best long term approach from the above options or ideas I may not have thought of. The opening size needs to be a minimum of 45" so 48" is the likely result. Given this - I think any "door" solution would be a double door configuration.


Thanks
Rick

 

[dancam]

+ on the dbl door

 

[Hmerkle]

Welcome Rick,
Looking forward to pictures! Sounds like many of us will have shop envy!

Just a suggestion, but if you "Normally" use the 36" wide door and that suffices in almost all cases, how about building a "false wall" one that keeps the dust, heat / cool in it's place yet can be removed simply by taking out a few screws or even cleverly set with hinges. (that is if you only intend to use it infrequently) You could even install weather stripping to "seal" in proper joints since dust fines find themselves EVERYWHERE!

 

[Bill Clemmons]

This is the entrance to my finish room. It's extra wide, and extra tall, so no standard door package would work. I started w/ a cased opening, then made two doors to fit the opening. The doors have a 3/4" pine skeleton, skinned over w/ 1/4" plywood on both sides. I used caulk (weather stripping would work) to make them air tight. They are held in place w/ a barrel bolt top and bottom. The right hand door has an overlap at the seam to stop air flow.

​

 

[Henry W]

Re: Setting Up New Shop - load bearing?

Rick
Because you don't specifically mention this for the wall opening, I will ask.

I'm not sure what you have considered with regard to this wall with a new opening - but please ensure that if it is load bearing (perpendicular to the floor joist above you?) that you install a proper header and framing in the new opening for the load.

Terms vary, and I know some people will use the term partition wall for a non-load bearing wall, but I wanted to ask anyways. Apologies if you had this all covered already.

Henry

 

[Rick_B]

Re: Setting Up New Shop - load bearing?

Rick
Because you don't specifically mention this for the wall opening, I will ask.

I'm not sure what you have considered with regard to this wall with a new opening - but please ensure that if it is load bearing (perpendicular to the floor joist above you?) that you install a proper header and framing in the new opening for the load.

Terms vary, and I know some people will use the term partition wall for a non-load bearing wall, but I wanted to ask anyways. Apologies if you had this all covered already.

Henry

Thanks Henry - I appreciate your concern regarding the type of wall - safety can never be mentioned enough. In this case the wall is running parallel to one ceiling joist so it does not appear to be a load bearing situation.

regarding the frequency of use - I'm not sure at this point. Given the newness of the layout it could go either way. I can see it being a useful/convenient access point but some of the ideas mentioned for closing it up are appreciated. I'm thinking if it was an actual door then any gain from it would require that I constantly be opening and closing it when I am using the dust producers. Right now I'm leaning towards either filling in the hole with a removeable wall or shop built door that would only be used when necessary to move larger pieces of equipment back and forth. I'd like to say that stuff won't move but that has not been my experience so far .

Rick

 

[gator]

Re: Setting Up New Shop - load bearing?

Have you thought of vinyl strip curtain doors?

Google vinyl strip curtain doors and there are lots of suppliers out there.

George

 

[Rwe2156]

Re: Setting Up New Shop - load bearing?

Confused reading your post whether the metal area is separate from the ww'ing area?

I can see some issues if you don't pay attention to what direction your grinding ;-)

Definitely keep your sharpening station completely separate.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

This is the entrance to my finish room. It's extra wide, and extra tall, so no standard door package would work. I started w/ a cased opening, then made two doors to fit the opening. The doors have a 3/4" pine skeleton, skinned over w/ 1/4" plywood on both sides. I used caulk (weather stripping would work) to make them air tight. They are held in place w/ a barrel bolt top and bottom. The right hand door has an overlap at the seam to stop air flow.

​

Bill,
What size is your finishing room? If you were to make it again would you change the size?

 

[McRabbet]

I would first agree with Henry W that you need to determine if the wall is a load-bearing wall and if so, install the appropriate header and framing to carry the load above. My recommendation would be to use a sliding barn door (either single or double) versus swing-out hinged doors since it will take less overall space. It could be positioned so it fit into space behind machinery where wall space is not needed. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Bill,
What size is your finishing room? If you were to make it again would you change the size?

The room is 12 x 12, w/ a 10' ceiling. For everything I've done so far this has been a good size. Not too big: Not too small. Don't know that I would change anything about it.

The largest project I've had in there so far was a 108 x 36" table top. I was able to put it on the lazy susan and spin it around 360*.

 

[Michael S.]

I like the idea of a double pocket door... one from each side. That way you don't lose wall space, nor do you have to account for door swing. Of course, the wall may need to be a bit thicker (2x6 vs 2x4), but that is a minimal sacrifice (IMO)...

Mike

 

[Rick_B]

Thanks to all for the good ideas - I think I have decided to simply put the wall back as a removable panel. This is the cheapest solution, allows for future removal if it becomes necessary for equipment movement, frees up wall space and is the quickest solution so I can move on with other layout issues. I can easily walk this decision back in the future if necessary. Even though I don't think its needed I do plan on putting a header in the opening.

So on to the next issue - I have a situation that I have never faced before - a lot of empty space with no interruptions (supporting poles). This allows me to place machines in the center of the shop versus everything close to a wall or supporting structure. The questions is what the preferred method would be for getting power to these machines? I'm anticipating a need for both 110 and 220 outlets - the space has a sheet rocked ceiling so I'm thinking right now that I would use conduit and surface mounted fixtures/boxes. I'm looking for ideas on dropping the power from the ceiling to the machine level that doesn't involve extension cords or long power cords from the machines to a wall outlet.

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks
Rick

 

[aplpickr]

Install some wall outlets at least 50" off the floor. This allows plywood to be stored, leaning against the wall without covering the outlets. WATER HEATER: if gas fired caution with flammable vapors and combustion air requirements. If air conditioned, install filter media on the returns that is visible on the outside. You may need to clean it DAILY! Install a 10# fire extinguisher. 5# extinguishers are for TOY FIRES. Install a good first aid kit that is kept full. Put proper labels on these emergency items. Guests need to be able to find them. Install MORE lights and outlets than you think are necessary. Have a mix of fluorescent, incandescent, and LED lights. Fluorescent lights can "stop the action" of saw blades, lathes, etc. Never grind metal during the final fifteen minutes in the shop. Hot sparks and shavings are a fire hazard. Allow time for the smoke to appear. A safe shop is a fun shop! Never have lights and power tools on the same breaker. After an overload on the table saw trips the lights, are you going to stand still for 50 seconds, not moving your hands, for the blade to stop? Permanently install a flashlight in the shop. NEVER borrow its batteries for anything else. Install a hand sink if possible with soap and towels. Drain can be a 5 gallon bucket if necessary. SWMBO will be happier if she does not have handprints in her house. If you pipe compressed air, all lines should slope downhill to a drain valve.

 

[JimD]

I don't think there is a great way to get power to a table saw or other tool in the middle of a concrete floor unless you lay conduit down before pouring the concrete. My table saw cord goes over to the shop vac so it can auto start it and is in the way on the floor. You can get things that make it so you can roll tools over it but the cord is still a trip hazard and therefore, to me, in the way. I guess you could drop it out of the ceiling on the end of the saw where you would pipe suction for a connection on the blade guard. That way it would not obstruct wood movement through the saw.

 

[Rick_B]

Lots of progress being made - even it may not look like it I think I have all of the major pieces of equipment in their new home but there is still a lot of stuff laying around that needs to be put away. As a reminder - here is the starting point









this is a full basement approximately 1400 Sq Ft with a dividing wall which creates a space roughly 29' x 23'. This has been designated the space for metal working, wood storage (mostly), work bench and other storage. The cabinet storage may change a bit to allow for clamp storage closer to the bench. also - you will see a pile of machines between the bench and metal working equipment - with the exception of the WT 15" drill press that is the temporary rat hole. They will either be refurbished or moved along.













The other space is basically a 2 car garage (29 x 19) - again - lots of stuff to put away but equipment is located.









I feel like I have made huge progress when I look at the starting point pictures. There are three helpers that were life savers in this process.

1. A lot of equipment is on wheels which allowed easy placement and re-placement
2. a 1000 lb die lift - anything not on wheels is designed to use this die lift for movement



3. A purchase I made before moving - actually in anticipation for moving - was a mobile base for the Bridgeport. The movers were able to put the Bridgeport in the base so it was very simple for me to roll it were I need it. This was the main cause of me having to remove a section of wall.



Next step is dust collection piping but I am open to any layout suggestions folks may see as they view the pictures and I apologize for the lighting in some of the pictures - lights come after dust collection piping.

Rick

 

[Rick_B]

Still making progress - although slower than I would like. I got all of the wood working machines in their "final" parking spot and dust collection installation is 99% complete.









I'm putting machines back together and getting them tuned up while I'm considering what to do about lighting.

Lighting seems to be a very complex area in terms of design so I'm looking for some simplification. I realize there will likely be a debate about LED versus standard T8 - right now I'm leaning towards T8 because LED seems to have less information (at least that I can understand ) regarding amount of light and placement of fixtures. Just as a starting point I did find on the internet some references to using a value of 2 watts per square foot with T8's. If I use 2 bulb fixtures that would be 64 watts per fixture which works out to a little over 9 fixtures for the 23 X 28 woodworking space. I'm thinking I would jump to 12 fixtures and put them in a 7' X 8' grid. does that sound like too much, not enough or just about right?

I'm open to LED lighting but I would need to somehow determine number of fixtures and placement - I'm thinking it would be different than T8's?

Thanks
Rick

 

[CDPeters]

Hi Rick,

As far as lighting goes - If I had the cash, I would go with LED strips. I replaced 2 2' x 4' 4 lamp flourescent troffers at work a while back and the LED fixures with 2 strips of LEDs where way brighter than the 4 lamp fixtures they replaced. But there is the price difference...

My 24' x 28' shop has 2 rows of 3 8' 2 tube T-12 strips - 12 8' lamps total, and I have found that to be sufficient so far. The lamps are 75w 6500K daylight bulbs.

I believe that 5000K to 6000K color temperature is generally considered ideal for woodworking / shop spaces.

I think your 8' separation should be OK, but I would suggest that you buy 2 fixtures, set them up with plugs and extension cords and then experiment with different spacings to see what gives you a satisfactory level of light at bench-top and minimized shadows.

C.

 

[Rick_B]

That's a great idea C - using a couple of fixtures to test the layout should give me a pretty good idea - I wish I was smart enough to come up with those ideas myself .

I should also mention that the fixtures I am considering have no reflectors or lenses - is that a mistiake to eliminate the reflectors and lenses?

Thanks
Rick

 

[KenOfCary]

1000bulbs.com has sales often on LED bulbs and fixtures.