Size of basement shop

[wyone]

OK, so it looks like we will be moving in the next few months. The house has a full unfinished basement that I will have an opportunity to build a workspace in. It has 9 foot ceilings,

Unfortunately it does not have outside access, only through the house, so I will have to limit my woodworking to smaller objects.

I intend to sell my full size table saw for a portable one. I doubt I will be building anything large in that space.

But I will be able to set up a real shop with storage and such, but trying to decide how much of the space I might need.

I currently have a Jet 1014 lathe, a Grizzly G0462 full size lathe, drill press, chop saw, dust collector, and of course a slew of hand tools.. If you had an opportunity to build.. how big would you build it?

I also want to do some stabilizing and casting..

I appreciate any ideas...

 

[low_48]

Add a bulkhead door and keep the regular sized table saw. There is no substitute for a good table saw!

 

[Wingdoctor]

I may be weird but I have a basement shop with 7 1/2 foot ceilings and I have a full compliment of full size tools and manage to get 10' boards down the stairway. It is not always easy to maneuver the boards in but you CAN do it. I have a Delta Unisaw with 52" table, Performax 22-44 drum sander, 8" jointer, 15" floor model planer, Router table, drill press, floor model spindle sander, mortising machine, Powermatic 3520B lathe, General Maxi Lathe, scroll saw, 6 X 48 sander, 2 large workbenches, and a cyclone dust extractor. It is crowded but I do make some nice projects from pens to furniture. It just takes a bit of determination to get things to fit and try to keep it a little neat.

Decide what you really want to do and work the tools you need to accomplish that into the space you have available.

Good luck!!

 

[wyone]

well it would not be in the budget to put in a bulkhead door in the near future. I could get the saw down.. but wondering if I need it. I have not used it much in the last few years.. hmmm

 

[jttheclockman]

I may be weird but I have a basement shop with 7 1/2 foot ceilings and I have a full compliment of full size tools and manage to get 10' boards down the stairway. It is not always easy to maneuver the boards in but you CAN do it. I have a Delta Unisaw with 52" table, Performax 22-44 drum sander, 8" jointer, 15" floor model planer, Router table, drill press, floor model spindle sander, mortising machine, Powermatic 3520B lathe, General Maxi Lathe, scroll saw, 6 X 48 sander, 2 large workbenches, and a cyclone dust extractor. It is crowded but I do make some nice projects from pens to furniture. It just takes a bit of determination to get things to fit and try to keep it a little neat.

Decide what you really want to do and work the tools you need to accomplish that into the space you have available.

Good luck!!

Sounds like we have the same shop:biggrin: I too have the same ceiling height and a full compliment of full size tools. I have them on wheels so I can move them around. I too do not have an outside entrance but that has never stopped me. Would i love a standalone shop?? You bet, who wouldn't but you make due as long as you keep everyone happy:highfive:

 

[jttheclockman]

well it would not be in the budget to put in a bulkhead door in the near future. I could get the saw down.. but wondering if I need it. I have not used it much in the last few years.. hmmm

To me the workhorse of any shop is a good tablesaw. That is one area do not shortchange yourself. You do not need all the outfeed tables and things. I break down my lumber outside and bring it in. I have all kinds of rollers stands if needed. you improvise for each project.

 

[magier412]

I find that the number of and size of the tools I "must" have expands to fill the size of the shop available...

 

[MarkD]

I may be weird but I have a basement shop with 7 1/2 foot ceilings and I have a full compliment of full size tools and manage to get 10' boards down the stairway. It is not always easy to maneuver the boards in but you CAN do it. I have a Delta Unisaw with 52" table, Performax 22-44 drum sander, 8" jointer, 15" floor model planer, Router table, drill press, floor model spindle sander, mortising machine, Powermatic 3520B lathe, General Maxi Lathe, scroll saw, 6 X 48 sander, 2 large workbenches, and a cyclone dust extractor. It is crowded but I do make some nice projects from pens to furniture. It just takes a bit of determination to get things to fit and try to keep it a little neat.

Decide what you really want to do and work the tools you need to accomplish that into the space you have available.

Good luck!!

This basement shop sounds pretty much like mine. The one advantage I may have is that when I built the house I put the basement entrance in the garage right next to the door going from the attached garage to the house.

 

[mark james]

Hi Mitch,

If you are bored... this is a fun shop planner (FREE too).

Grizzly.com® --

Have fun.

Mark

 

[oneleggimp]

I'd keep the full-size table saw. Maybe add a 14" band saw and a joiner since you have the whole basement to use for your shop. Also might consider a router table and a sander. Might need a little help but you should be able to take 4 X 8 plywood down the steps okay. I used to do that. Dimensional lumber should not be a problem. These are problems that are a good thing to have to deal with. Good luck with your move and setting up your new shop.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

How big should you make your shop?

Sounds to me like the space is already defined. Full unfinished basement is your shop.

 

[Kragax]

It just reminds me of the guy that built a boat in the basement.

 

[jttheclockman]

It just reminds me of the guy that built a boat in the basement.

Gibbs from NCIS:biggrin:

 

[Rick_G]

Size of shop? Unless you plan on putting a bedroom or something down there, take the whole basement. Besides if you put a bedroom down there the building code will likely force you to add outside access. Boards should go in through a window and full sheets of plywood I'd break down outside as already mentioned. As long as you can get it in you have the room so keep the tablesaw. After using a full sized one you won't be happy with a portable.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Size of shop? Unless you plan on putting a bedroom or something down there, take the whole basement. Besides if you put a bedroom down there the building code will likely force you to add outside access. Boards should go in through a window and full sheets of plywood I'd break down outside as already mentioned. As long as you can get it in you have the room so keep the tablesaw. After using a full sized one you won't be happy with a portable.

I don't have and have never had a full sized table saw... mine is a small contractor that's more or less portable.... it services most of my needs, but my friend has a full sized one complete with all the feed tables and accessories... it is sweet and I do envy him.... I don't have room for it though....

On the size of the shop., no matter what size you choose, you will fill it up and need more space... go as big as you can.

 

[Charlie_W]

Like Dan said, go for the whole basement! You can always make it smaller. Going from smaller and wanting more space might be a challenge!

Check out the new portable table saw from SawStop!

Do take into consideration your dust and if you have a oil or gas furnace/gas water heater. If you add ventilation for the shop, consider a make up air supply.

A friend used a 2hp portable dust collector and placed it in a closet with some pegboard walls to allow circulation of air but masked the noise greatly. Hanging some moving blankets in the closet can help with noise too.

Good luck and post pics when you get it up and running!

 

[Gary Beasley]

Come on now, you are a woodworker, build a door to the outside! ;-)
Seriously though, the saw is not going to go bad waiting for you to use it. Sooner or later you will kick yourself for not keeping it.

 

[raar25]

Make sure you put some thought and $$ into sound proofing insulation. Once you install the 3 hp dust collector things will get a little noisy ;-)

 

[TellicoTurning]

Make sure you put some thought and $$ into sound proofing insulation. Once you install the 3 hp dust collector things will get a little noisy ;-)

You can put the DC in a closet with walls and some insulation around it... just allow for some air circulation... I have my HF 2HP DC in a closet/shed built onto the end of my shop and piped it through the wall... it makes a pretty consistent hum inside the shop, but isn't too noisy.... but in a house I would think the noise would be audible upstairs.