Setting up new shop- ideas?

Chiro75

Chiro75

Joined
Feb 4, 1999
Messages
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We finished moving this week and it's time to set up a new shop and make a few things! I grabbed one of the basement rooms, which is about 9 or 10 feet square. I just bought a pretty solid workbench at Lowe's but I'll need some separate stands/work areas for my drill press and bench grinder. So, first I'll have to unpack tools and crap and get it all laid out, then put the bench together, then make stands, hand pegboard for tools, etc etc. One thing I'd like to do, too, is save up for even a small (Lowe's has one for $119) dust collection system. I have a small 2.5 gallon wet/dry shop vac, but I don't know if that would work out alright or not for keeping dust down.

Anyway, any suggestions would be nice while I'm getting things set up!
 
I took some 2" PVC pipe and cut them into various lengths from 2" to 6". Then glued them side-by-side in 2 rows. Then I screwed the assembly into the workbench with a couple of grabbers.

Now I have a bunch of tubes sticking up to hold files, rules, and such. Very handy and cheap.

Steve
 
Oh Yeah,

One other idea for you, I mounted one of those drillpress vice-grip style clamps on the work bench.

I use that for holding down knife blades while handsanding, clamping down my buffer and misc other tasks.

Just my ideas,

Steve
 
:D Both great ideas! The drill press vice is something I'll definitely have to look out because I do all my grinding with files, so filing and sanding are most of the work I do. I generally use C-clamps to hold the knife down to the edge of the workbench surface, but that is hard on the bench and I'd prefer not to repeat this if I can help it.
 
With your shop being in the basement I think dust collection and ventilation will be your number one concern. Hopefully Dave Larsen will get in on this since he is also set up in his basement. Remember carbon monoxide is heavier than air and can be a lethal problem in basement shops especially if you are usng any kind of forge.
 
No, no forging being done here! And, I've always worn a respirator when doing any grinding/filing, but it makes a mess after a while, so I'd just as soon collect the dust before it gets on everything.
 
Fileing jig. I use a pice of oak with a hole drilled in one end the hole fits a hole in the workbench top bolt the board down. The board sticks out at a 90 from the bench Clamp the tang to the board, file away. The board can be swivelled side to side to work one side or the other. Works for me.

You can shape the boards to different profiles.

A v notch board is handy for copeing saw or jewlers saw work. Same system same bolt. I used on of those nuts you can fasten to the plywood so you can just unscrew the bolt

A heavy piece of angle iron bolted to the side of the bench makes a great clamping edge also.

here's another simple way to hold the blade

http://keenjunk.com/cpg/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=10007&pos=6
 
#1 should be ventilation and dust control
#2 Power. Make sure you have your power lines where you want them now with plenty of outlets. Nothing worse than having to fight with extention cords or searching for that last spot on the power strip.
#3 Lighting. make sure you have adequate lighting. Much easier to work if you can see every detail. Shoplights are great and cheap. $10 to 12 each. I also have a couple of clip on lights for when I need even more light when doing precisin work.

A small roll around tool chest is great to keep all the small tools in one spot and store materials. Label the drawers so you can locate tools quickly. When you are done working everything goes back into the box. I've tried peg board on the walls and even with my (meager) dust collection things still collected grime. And I didn't like having to stand up and lean over my bench to get at whatever tool I needed. The peg board is now used for those item I don't use often and are too large to fit into the wheeled chest.
If you have a buffer keep those wheels covered or off the machine and in zip lock bags. It's too easy to get grit on the wheels and "buff" a line right down your almost mirror polished blade.
 
http://www.fishcarver.com/copycarver/Dust_collector.htm


Dust collector or reducer.

I have a box fan in my shop with a cheapo furncace filter duct taped to the back of the fan. You could get hi-tech I guess and build a mount for it but this thing pulls a bunch of dust from the air. It has the advantage of being fairly quiet, cheap and it doesn't push the warm air outdoors, a big plus in the winter.

And if you are need more HP

http://how-to-plans.com/cyclone_dust_collector_plans.html

http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/CyclonePlan.cfm

I really like this one

http://members.aol.com/Alamaral/DC.html

Fancy version of the box fan cleaner
http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/etip040130sn.html

kit for the cyclone

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=shop&file=articles_192.shtml
 
You just GOT to have a lot of light. It helps to keep it clean, too.

Shop2.jpg


Here's the most-important shop accessory:

Beer.jpg


:D :D :D ;)
 
That's not a shop, that's a doctor's office :p . How do you manage to lose things to surprise yourself later with?
 
you sure you make knives in there, or just drink beer? That is way too clean. :D
 
Drunks usually do keep a clean shop because they don't want to trip over something and cornhole themselves, hence the clean appearance of the above shop. :D
 
Burchtree said:
you sure you make knives in there, or just drink beer? That is way too clean. :D
Click to expand...

Argh! Ya got me there. All I do is clean and drink beer!


Chiro75 said:
Drunks usually do keep a clean shop because they don't want to trip over something and cornhole themselves, hence the clean appearance of the above shop.
Click to expand...

Precisely! Actually Indian George and I was just BSing about that yesterday in that when he or I start drinking, the day is done. I don't even bother trying any knifework at that point.

Btw, sorry to hijack your thread, Chiro. :) Hey here's a good tip for your new shop:

Take a old punky log and cut it in half and let it dry out good. Then take a 1/2" drill bit and make some holes in it. Take a look at the bench in the middle of my shop pic and you can see mine right behind the plastic bag. It's an old piece of rotted applewood I saved from the burn pile and dryed it out. Its great for sticking all kinds of files and rules and scissors and stuff in. I recommend the old stuff because it tends to not retain much moisture once dried-out.
 
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