Shop talk

[alanjh595]

My question is, "what are you going to do in your shop?" For myself, I am thinking of a minimum of 30' x 40'.

Make sure you have 9 foot ceilings(if you can). One can flip a sheet of ply around easier then. Nine foot was recommended by several who have both 8 and 9 foot ceilings.
I'm not a skilled wood worker, I always said my fine wood working involved a smaller chain saw. However, I have the tools to build new kitchen cabinet doors for our kitchen, so will likely try that later in the winter. Picked up a used 3hp Saw Stop and used Laguna 20" spiral planer. Looking forward to use those.

I was planning to go 30 X 30 but sight lines from the hot tub will reduce it to 30 X 22 or 24' . When you go big, remember it takes a bit more to heat, more lights etc. If you are going to use the shop for commercial, then 30 X 40 would be minimum I'd think. 200 amps service min. If 3 phase is available, go for it. Big expense though if power company has to hang 3 cans off the pole outside and up grade the service line to the shop.
Enjoy

Thanks for the advice, and yes I have given every item on your list consideration. 9' ceilings are a minimum. For heat....well it is a wood shop, so there is always a supply of scraps to burn. It will also cut down on what to do with the waste.

[Jflem1983]

Roof is on. Shingles start next week. Still ahead of schedule. Under budget.

Replaced a pile of front end parts on the old Chevy. Ball joints. Tie rod ends and shocks. Shes in need of an alignment when i put tires on her for winter

[Jflem1983]

Shingles are on. Way ahead on the budget. Wahoo.


My stone wall has come a long way. I am hoping to get it done by the time the snow falls.

Jeez. Snow could fall tomorrow. I have a lot of work to do.

[Catsumi]

Stop teasing us. Post some photos of these projects here Jflem

[Jflem1983]

Stop teasing us. Post some photos of these projects here Jflem

Cant figure out how .. file is too large. CASTANET could fix it.

[Bsuds]

Cant figure out how .. file is too large. CASTANET could fix it.

Use Fotosizer to shrink the file size.

600x800 should work fine.

[Jflem1983]

Here is the wall. So far. Never mind the mess. Its a work in progress. Trying to build a nice garden out of a hillside.

[dirtybiker]

I was thinking about starting to build my casket...Though not a woodworking man,
and a calm ease with fire, maybe pottery might be the urn I'm after.

[dirtybiker]

I was thinking about starting to build my casket...Though not a woodworking man,
and a calm ease with fire, maybe pottery might be the urn I'm after.

If I line the inards of my canoe with tarten flannel, should be
a good start.


Ahahahaha ! and I'm not alone !
http://phoenixboatworks.com/

And just to help us on the way.
The write up of the journey.
http://phoenixboatworks.com/thefinalvoyage.html

[TylerM4]

Thanks for the advice, and yes I have given every item on your list consideration. 9' ceilings are a minimum. For heat....well it is a wood shop, so there is always a supply of scraps to burn. It will also cut down on what to do with the waste.

Put 12' ceilings in mine and love it. Can swing around an 8' piece of lumber without even thinking about it. I went 12' because I wanted to be able to squeeze in an automotive hoist/lift someday. I'd certainly recommend 10' if your not planning a hoist.

I gave a lot of thought to wood heat and in the end went with a natural gas unit heater. Here's why:
- To get insurance, you need a certified stove. Those are expensive. Wood heat was going to be as expensive if not more expensive to install vs gas unit heater.
- Even with a certified stove, the cost of insurance rises. The system sucks, put a wood stove in a detached garage they treat it exactly as if you've put it in the house. They don't even track/record where it's installed, just that you have wood heat somewhere on the property.
- Wood heat takes too much messing around. Preparing your wood for the winter, lighting the fire, controlling the damper, etc. I lot of time spent in the process of providing that heat.
- I only planned to heat the garage when I was using it. Gas heat is nearly instant, wood heat takes longer. If you only plan to be out there for a couple of hours it's just finally warm at quitting time.
- Gas is cheap. My shop is larger, but decently insulated. I keep the thermostat at 5*C when I'm not in there, and set it to 15*C when I'm working. I didn't even notice the impact on my gas bill. I'm sure it's there, but my best guess is that it costs me $100/year or less in gas to heat the shop the way I am. It's cheaper to pay for the gas than it is to pay the additional insurance cost for wood.
- Wood stove takes up lots of valuable floor space. Especially after you take in the clearances required around it. I hung a unit heater from the ceiling (another reason why high ceilings are nice!) above a man door and it doesn't take away from usable space in any way.

If you haven't already done so. Visit the forums over at https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/ So many great ideas, build threads to use as examples, etc.

[Jflem1983]

Garage journal is what made me start this thread. CASTANET needs beeter ability to load pics. This thread could be good

[TreeGuy]

I’m a bit excited.

I bought a wood lathe today.

I have literally zero experience with one. First time I ever touched a wood lathe was this afternoon loading it into my car.

It’s a 37” Mastercrap. The reviews were terrible on it.

But from what I gather if you can get one for a decent price it’s not a bad starter unit. I saw them used for as much as $350, I got it for $100. Plus a set of quality tools for a bit more.

I’ve watched enough YouTube videos to be dangerous. Can’t wait until a gouge flys out of my hands for the first time. DUCK

[Jflem1983]

Ok. So last few days.


Took on the cleanest easiest work of lifetime.

Moms house. Been going good. Had a few issues. It is an old infil. So to dig in services. Was an archaeology dig. Hit a lot of stuff under ground. Had some issues.

Its all done now. Huge thank you to Spitfire Mechanical.

This has been such a neat thing to be involved with. Still ahead on the budget. Way ahead. Not sure about the schedule as we have lost some time with issues.


Keep a smile on and keep a light on in the shop

[Jflem1983]

Think i might have bought a 2018 sierra . Nice truck.Anyone have anything to say before i sign my life away.

[Catsumi]

Congrats Jflem, pretty swish!