Suggestions for setting up a versatile shop with limited space?

[Brokenweld]

Hello all, I have been planning on putting together a small metal shop(for hobby type work) in a garage my wife has given me permission to take over. Sometime in the next couple of months I will be buying a MIG welder and then it will start to come together. In the meantime I am tossing around some ideas on how to maximize the space available to me as well as have a versatile workspace. The garage is only 16ft by 18ft. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Also any suggestions for must have tools or equipment that can be built myself would be great. Pictures or links to pics would be nice too.

At present I plan to have a welding machine, drill press, some metal work benches(obviously) a small gas forge, and all the various small hand and power tools needed(many of which I already have). I plan on having a fresh air intake and also a exhaust fan attached to a movable hood to keep the shop's air clean.

I have done some welding and metal work for a job in the past, but I am not a professional by any means. I just enjoy it. Thanks in advance for any help.

[prop-doctor]

sounds like you are going the right way but we never have enough tools
and it helps to keep things simple
oh and xmas is always good for the ones we don t have
best of luck

[ZTFab]

At 16x18 that's 288sq/ft.

I would suggest putting everything that you have, or will get, on wheels. With limited space, it's nice to be able to move things around when you have different projects that may take up more space and/or require access to different tools.


- Paul

[ByrdWelder]

Prop Docter was wise to tell u about putting wheels on everything. Try to get 2 55 gal drums or something similar to put your scrap metal in fill one with trash or scrapyard metal and the other with pieces u might need(u never know!) take the scrap barrel to a scrapyard and get some of your $$$ back. Also u might invest in a small vertical compressor and an air hose reel. This will allow u to use air tools, which will keep u from having drop cords on the floor. Let me know what u do, sounds cool.

[MAC702]

Originally Posted by ByrdWelder

Also u might invest in a small vertical compressor and an air hose reel. ...

Go with a horizontal and put it in the rafters (securely.)

Or you can get the vertical and put it outside with a pipe bringing the air in. Much quieter, too.

[zapster]

your gonna be out of room in no time...



...zap!

[mla2ofus]

I work in basically a 10'x20' space. I have a mig,stick welder and torch(all on wheels),a 3'square welding table on wheels,a small wood work bench,12 drwr tool box on a rollaway,a 5drawer govt file cabinet,a radial arm saw,a drill press,some old overhead kitchen cabinets and open shelves AND a 23 CF chest freezer. I manage to work in all this comfortably and if a large project needs space, I back both vehicles out of the garage and I have a 20'x30' work area.One tip I have when working in the space you'll have is everything must be in it's place. Also utilise all the wall space possible.If it's easy to lift, put it on a shelf!!!!
Hope this helps,
Mike

[ZTFab]

Originally Posted by ByrdWelder

Prop Docter was wise to tell u about putting wheels on everything.

Well, it wasn't the prop doc that said it...

[Dipper Welder64]

Fire ext

[imagineer]

If you can see a painted wall, put a shelf rack there.

What's your ceiling height? In my last house I made a several wall mount material storage racks and installed them close to the ceiling.

Look at each tool stand to see if there is air space to be utilized. I ended up keeping small tool boxes for specialty tools mounted under my tablesaw and router tables.

Design and build a couple of fold up work tables.

[prop-doctor]

lol, but wheels do make the world go round and things easy to move
and like zap said i think we are gona need more room

[MAC702]

It can be done. I made a lot of money out of my 16x21 2-car garage. Painting was done in the backyard, but everything else fit in the shop, including the big verticle air compressor that I never got moved outside. The key is lots of shelves high on the wall with benches on the walls, including one dedicated for the chop saw (mine was carbide) that takes up an entire 16' wall.

[ByrdWelder]

Sorry about that ZT FAb.

[ZTFab]

Originally Posted by ByrdWelder

Sorry about that ZT FAb.

No apology necessary Byrd.

But Thanks.

[kindstranger]

I am a newbie here, but I went through the same process before.

Here are my lessons learned.

Rule#1. Seal the garage well from the rest of your house. Get a case of caulk and go to town. Pull off base boards and window trim to do it right. Add a really good threshhold for the door

Rule#2. Oxy-acetylene torch will cause your smoke detectors to go nuts. Find a solution for this problem

Rule#3. Get 3 real fire extinguishers (2A30BC or bigger). One for each side of the garage door and 1 near the entrance to the house. Add another small one for the work bench

Rule#4 Get an electrician to install dedicated welder outlet, preferably a 50 amp 220v with a NEMA 6-50R recepticle. Most any welder that is in your future can use this.

Rule#5 Get said electrician to install 220v recepticle for compressor, 2 separate 20A GFCI circuits for power tools and 1 dedicated circuit (15 or 20A) for shop lights. I cannot stress this enough. I spent ALOT of money having an electrician come out on 3 occasions, when it would have been relatively cheap to have him do all the work at once! Good lighting is everything!

Being able to have a fan, radio, battery charger, and a high-draw tool operate at once (when the air compressor decides to kick on!) will be very nice!

A a general rule, a good home shop should have about the same storage and electrical considerations as a good home kitchen.

Rule#6 Put everything on casters 1 size larger than you think you will need. I eventually bought 1 dozen 5" locking casters with grease fittings. 5" casters roll over slag and electrical cords much easier than smaller ones. Get casters where each one is rated for the weight of the entire structure. This will give you the kind of built-in durability that you will appreciate.
Having locking casters at 4 corners really lets you lock things down, and allows you to lock them on the side you happen to be on at the time!

[bcreely]

Save enough room for the beer fridge and the small TV, "You can't work ALL the time".
Bob C.

[MAC702]

Originally Posted by kindstranger

...and 1 dedicated circuit (15 or 20A) for shop lights.

I always recommend this as well because that way you never lose your lights when you DO blow a receptacle circuit. Often, it is the only 15A circuit I run in a shop.

[scott brunsdon]

Plenty of power points so you don't leads running everywhere.

I remember a picture ages ago in that 'show us your shop' thread where Wrought Iron Harv (I think) had a stick welder (I think) suspended above the ground on some sort of track so it could be moved around.
It might not have been Harv's shed, and it might not have been a stick welder but there was definitely something up off the floor that could be moved around.

The most important thing with a small shed (like mine) is discipline. You need to put stuff away and tidy up often. I'm hopeless at that, so my shed usually resembles more a messy cupboard and I do stuff in the yard.

Scott

[ddonnell]

What are the problems with having your air compressor in an unheated (freezing) environment? I'd like to either put a compressor in the attic or outside my shop for space reasons but would the condensate in the tank present problems.

[denrep]

Originally Posted by ddonnell

What are the problems with having your air compressor in an unheated (freezing) environment? I'd like to either put a compressor in the attic or outside my shop for space reasons but would the condensate in the tank present problems.

I know of a 20hp electric driven piston compressor and tank. It has been working outside -without so much as a shed roof- year around, in humid and freezing old Michigan, for at least 15+ years, no problem.

[ddonnell]

Air compressor: single stage or two stage? I'm guessing a plasma cutter is in my future so what is reccommended? CFMs? I hope this is still on topic for this thread. If not I apologize.

[Pearl2881]

try putting you work bench in the center of the room, like an island, and all equipment off to the perimeter of the room. i know a guy that works out of a 10x16 shed, and he fits lots of stuff in it perfectly by doing this.