Now comes the fun part! Dream a little. Try to Imagine what the perfect shop for you would be like. I read many articles on workshops and talked to many woodworkers and Woodturners about their shops. None fit my needs perfectly but all had good ideas to incorporate into my shop.

I am sorry but, you have to somehow record all these ideas and options by sketching on graph paper or on a computer if you have a simple CAD program. The drawings must be to scale so you don’t fool yourself on the space needed. Start by making a list of and measuring all your power tools that take up floor space. Don’t forget to measure the work clearance around each piece of equipment. That is as important as the space the equipment takes. A big help is to draw the equipment and cut out the drawings so you can try many arrangements.

When you find what seems to work, sketch that arrangement then try others. You will find several that might work. Analyze each one and list the pros and cons on the drawing then try to combine the best features into yet another option. Try to visualize how you work in the shop and don’t forget the third dimension.

How do you handle an 8’ or 12’ piece of lumber that you want to rip on the table saw? Does the shop have to be 24’+ long or do you position the table saw so you can open the door to handle the long pieces. You also need to plan for future equipment or changes in the layout to accommodate a special project.

My woodworking area will be a little tight for large projects but I spend most of the time turning wood on the lathe. I have tried to plan my shop to fit my needs rather than have a generic shop layout.

Once you have a layout that you like (always be alert for another flash of insight), think a little bit about natural light. This could be skylights or windows. Put windows high so you don’t use up your wall space. Check the orientation of the shop in relation to the sun. Morning sunlight might be great but a hot afternoon sun could be murder. North light is best.

Now is the time to also plan for the building systems. One is the electrical distribution. List all the power requirements of your equipment including single phase or three phase, 120 or 220 volt power. Mark on the drawing where these are needed. Raise the receptacles higher than normal for easy access. Everyone says that you can’t have too many outlets. I believe good planning can save you a few bucks on outlets (watch me eat my words later). 

Plan for a dust collection system. I believe we all know how detrimental the dust is that we fill our shops can be. It is being reinforced in almost all of our woodworking magazines. plan to use PVC pipe under the concrete floor slab for my collection system with the collector outside the shop. This keeps the duct out of the shop and keeps the dust from the collector from coming back into the shop. I worried more about this decision than any other aspect of the shop. 

I read articles about sparks and explosions in shops caused by PVC. I finally found an article by an engineer, who in conjunction with a physics professor, claims there is no problem in a home workshop using PVC. The spark is not strong enough and the dust concentration is not great enough to cause a hazard. However I will ground my system to be safe. 

Do you use compressed air to justify a piped air system or does a portable unit satisfy your needs? Consider the options for heating and cooling the shop. I consider this a necessity in our climate to get full use of a shop. I am also planning to have a sink in the shop if possible. This convenience will be balanced, like the other systems against cost factors. Tough decisions are still ahead. Two other considerations for inclusion in the plans are dust filtration or an exhaust fan and a finish area with exhaust. I will use my existing roll-around dust filter and plan to put a finish area for small projects and turnings in a loft located over the lathe area. 

Chapter Three will be a reality check as I start getting firm costs from contractors. This will determine how much I can afford to contract, how much I will have to do myself and which features I will have to delay till later. I will also include drawings of my shop with the parameters that influenced the design.

Chapter 3