new guy setting up shop

[Turnin_Thingz710]

hows it going everyone.. google as not been my friend when it comes to turning shops.. i got all my big cutting tools and what not in the garage.. but since socal summers suck and winters are pretty much a lite summer, i talked the wife into letting me setup the lathe and stuff in the spare bedroom.. vacuum and dust collector will be set up to help with mess.. i set up my bench tonight, its made from the rarest wood on earth.. internally lined with titanium for strength and gold ball bearing for buttery smooth drawer action bought from harbor fright with a 20% off coupon lol.. my lathe a turncrafter commander 12" will be here thursday and carbide tools should be here by then as well.. i need to build or pick up one more bench for a mixing station and i should be good on that.. prolly put my drill press in there to..

but the main question is what is the main things you guys have with in arms reach of your lathe? how is your shop setup? i really want it to work in the spare room.. i had a glass blowing shop setup in my garage before and summers just sucked would be triple digits and really unmotivating.. but with this option i got AC and heater lol.. way easier to keep a eye on the kids to so thats a plus..

Show me your station, your bench, your studio.. what do i need to have by me besides the carving tools.. sandpaper, glue, polish? ill prolly make a few pens here and there but mainly will be doing 1 sides handles.. and prolly more acrylic then wood..

heres my naked studio lol.. looks sad right now.. needs a tv and computer.. def need some art on the walls to... wish my view was of the front yard and not the back but i guess the dogs could be entertaining to look at haha thanks in advance cant wait to start mixing my colors coming from my glassblowing background i have a lot of cool ideas i wanna do with some color pours and styles

 

[Ken T]

Thats a very understanding wife. I'm in Phoenix, so yeah.. I can relate.. I put a 1.5 ton a/c in the garage but thats not nearly enough to make up for 120 degree days.

Your house air quality is going to suffer for sure. You'll want to double-up on the air filtration especially if you're doing acrylics. They can smell. The wood will throw up some very fine dust that you dont want your family to breath. Glue-ups are a whole other issue if your using CA or epoxy. I'd do your best to block off the airflow in that room while you're turning and let things settle to the floor for an hour after you're done before you really open things back up fully.


As far as things that are handy - for me its a box with sanding / finishing supplies that I keep under the lathe bench, and thats about it. You can always sneak outside for a minute if you need to sharpen a tool or grab a different item.

 

[monophoto]

Ken has mentioned the critical concern of air quality. Having built several photographic darkrooms in the past, my suggestion is that if you can, set up your shop to have 'positive pressure' - that is, have a blower that forces air from the house into the shop, and then provide a path for air to escape from the shop to the outdoors. That will minimize the amount of dust and odors that will find your way into the rest of the house, and keep the family happy. And in the interest of domestic tranquility, it might also be prudent to have one of those industrial-grade door mats just inside the door to the shop so that you can remove any dust/chips before walking into the rest of the house. Have a hook on the back of the door to hang your turning smock because it also will catch a lot of dust.

I have a 12" Turncrafter, and my experience is that it's helpful to have a dedicated bench/stand for it. Mine is made from the undercarriage of an old gas grill, with a new top made by edgegluing 2x6" planks of construction pine. It looked great when I first built it, but after almost ten years of use, it's kinda beat up, but that's why its made from construction pine rather than expensive timber. I have holders on the back and both sides for tools, and also racks hanging on the wall above it for other tools. Most of this stuff was either shop-made, or commercial items indended for other purposes that I found at a discount store and repurposed. I bolted the lathe to the top of the stand, with a couple of short lengths of 2x4 under the feet to elevate it to the proper height and to make it easier to get to the chips that will accumulate under it.

I have a separate bench that is equipped with a vice and drill press that I use for assembly, glue ups, etc. And I have a grinder that is on its own stand (Harbor Freight has some handy and reasonably priced tool stands). Finally, I have an old Black and Decker workmate that I use as an auxiliary bench. You never have enough bench space - you will be amazed how quickly stuff accumulates and occupies every available square inch of horizontal surface!

Good lighting is important - I have Harbor Freight 5000L LED shop lights over my main bench and also over the area where the workmate lives. The Turncrafter has a built-in worklight that I supplement with a secondary light in an aluminum reflector above the tailstock end. I have vision problems that require that I have very strong, highly directional light at the lathe, and that combination of fixtures meets my needs.

I also have a small stand on wheels that I park next to the lathe for sanding supplies, and also miscellaneous accessories such as my collet chuck and a plastic storage box containing my buffing wheels. The stand (originally intended for plants) and the storage box both came from a discount warehouse (essentially a 'dollar store' on steroids). There are lots of things you can find in those places that were meant for something totally unrelated to turning, but that can be repurposed.

I keep my finishes out of the way on a shelf on the wall, and I usually do finishing at the workmate auxiliary bench. I also have designated places for my face mask, for my dust masks, and I have a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall next to the door.

One last important item - I have a 5 gal plastic pail that I line with a plastic bag, and a selection of brushes and brooms that I used to periodically clean up dust and wood chips. When I am finishing, I use either paper towel or toilet paper to apply the finish, and when I'm done, I fold the paper over the edge of the pail to dry. After a day or so, the finish has fully cured and can just be tipped over into the waste for safe disposal.

 

[Turnin_Thingz710]

Thats a very understanding wife. I'm in Phoenix, so yeah.. I can relate.. I put a 1.5 ton a/c in the garage but thats not nearly enough to make up for 120 degree days.

Your house air quality is going to suffer for sure. You'll want to double-up on the air filtration especially if you're doing acrylics. They can smell. The wood will throw up some very fine dust that you dont want your family to breath. Glue-ups are a whole other issue if your using CA or epoxy. I'd do your best to block off the airflow in that room while you're turning and let things settle to the floor for an hour after you're done before you really open things back up fully.


As far as things that are handy - for me its a box with sanding / finishing supplies that I keep under the lathe bench, and thats about it. You can always sneak outside for a minute if you need to sharpen a tool or grab a different item.

thanks for the tips! im going to set the room with with as much positive pressure as possible.. plan on setting up the ventilation like my glass shop was setup.. i had a 3800cfm blower pulling air outta the shop and bringing in new air.. so with the room door shut.. no air from that room should make its way into the hallway.. hallway air will be being sucked into the room and out the window.. and im pretty sure the wife doesnt fully understand whats about to go down lol.. so i might get kicked out...well see how it plays out.. ill put a sensy in the hallway just in case lol

 

[Turnin_Thingz710]

Ken has mentioned the critical concern of air quality. Having built several photographic darkrooms in the past, my suggestion is that if you can, set up your shop to have 'positive pressure' - that is, have a blower that forces air from the house into the shop, and then provide a path for air to escape from the shop to the outdoors. That will minimize the amount of dust and odors that will find your way into the rest of the house, and keep the family happy. And in the interest of domestic tranquility, it might also be prudent to have one of those industrial-grade door mats just inside the door to the shop so that you can remove any dust/chips before walking into the rest of the house. Have a hook on the back of the door to hang your turning smock because it also will catch a lot of dust.

I have a 12" Turncrafter, and my experience is that it's helpful to have a dedicated bench/stand for it. Mine is made from the undercarriage of an old gas grill, with a new top made by edgegluing 2x6" planks of construction pine. It looked great when I first built it, but after almost ten years of use, it's kinda beat up, but that's why its made from construction pine rather than expensive timber. I have holders on the back and both sides for tools, and also racks hanging on the wall above it for other tools. Most of this stuff was either shop-made, or commercial items indended for other purposes that I found at a discount store and repurposed. I bolted the lathe to the top of the stand, with a couple of short lengths of 2x4 under the feet to elevate it to the proper height and to make it easier to get to the chips that will accumulate under it.

I have a separate bench that is equipped with a vice and drill press that I use for assembly, glue ups, etc. And I have a grinder that is on its own stand (Harbor Freight has some handy and reasonably priced tool stands). Finally, I have an old Black and Decker workmate that I use as an auxiliary bench. You never have enough bench space - you will be amazed how quickly stuff accumulates and occupies every available square inch of horizontal surface!

Good lighting is important - I have Harbor Freight 5000L LED shop lights over my main bench and also over the area where the workmate lives. The Turncrafter has a built-in worklight that I supplement with a secondary light in an aluminum reflector above the tailstock end. I have vision problems that require that I have very strong, highly directional light at the lathe, and that combination of fixtures meets my needs.

I also have a small stand on wheels that I park next to the lathe for sanding supplies, and also miscellaneous accessories such as my collet chuck and a plastic storage box containing my buffing wheels. The stand (originally intended for plants) and the storage box both came from a discount warehouse (essentially a 'dollar store' on steroids). There are lots of things you can find in those places that were meant for something totally unrelated to turning, but that can be repurposed.

I keep my finishes out of the way on a shelf on the wall, and I usually do finishing at the workmate auxiliary bench. I also have designated places for my face mask, for my dust masks, and I have a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall next to the door.

One last important item - I have a 5 gal plastic pail that I line with a plastic bag, and a selection of brushes and brooms that I used to periodically clean up dust and wood chips. When I am finishing, I use either paper towel or toilet paper to apply the finish, and when I'm done, I fold the paper over the edge of the pail to dry. After a day or so, the finish has fully cured and can just be tipped over into the waste for safe disposal.

awesome info thank you! are you letting the towels with the finish on the dry out so its not a fire hazard in the trash? i guess if the wife kicks me out of the room in the long run.. i do have a 1000sqft garage with every tool id ever need with plenty of room.. but also live on a dirt road so a lot of my stuff in the garage gets dusty so quick, besides the heat thats another reason i wanna make this work.. i dont want to always have to clean dust off tools and blanks ect.. daily.. id be able to have some what of some control in the house

so.. 1. clean air ventilation.. 2 dust collector... 3. fire extinguisher 4. eye protection... safety wise..... it sounds like everything else will come together as i progress

 

[jttheclockman]

The one thing other than what has been said about dust fumes and air, I would by all means cover the floors. You can get some broken paneling in Home Depot or Lowes for cheap.At one time they would give it away. Cover entire floor. Saves an easy way to vac the floor and also protects from things falling and that includes water, stains or anything else. Do not use plastic of any kind. You can put flooring paper under it or what they call resin paper. If you want to go the route you can get full sheets of 1/4" underlayment instead but will be a bit more expensive but a well spent expense in my eyes. Do not put rubber mats on the wood floor. If you use rubber mats put them on top of the underlayment. I see you have a duct right above the bench and that will be a problem. I would rig an outside fiter of good quality to that duct and any other duct in the room. Now will it throw your air balance of your system. Maybe not. Just do not go over 13 Merv. an 11 would be just fine.

 

[Dalecamino]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is one bench on one side of the shed. On the bench is a 7" lathe, a drill press, a belt/disc sander, and a 14" band saw. Bottom shelf there is a two wheel buffer, for which there are pre-drilled bolt holes in the bench top. Also, other junk I'm certain I can do without, but it's still there.

I'm looking for more photos to post here. If I find them I'll edit them in.

 

[Turnin_Thingz710]

The one thing other than what has been said about dust fumes and air, I would by all means cover the floors. You can get some broken paneling in Home Depot or Lowes for cheap.At one time they would give it away. Cover entire floor. Saves an easy way to vac the floor and also protects from things falling and that includes water, stains or anything else. Do not use plastic of any kind. You can put flooring paper under it or what they call resin paper. If you want to go the route you can get full sheets of 1/4" underlayment instead but will be a bit more expensive but a well spent expense in my eyes. Do not put rubber mats on the wood floor. If you use rubber mats put them on top of the underlayment. I see you have a duct right above the bench and that will be a problem. I would rig an outside fiter of good quality to that duct and any other duct in the room. Now will it throw your air balance of your system. Maybe not. Just do not go over 13 Merv. an 11 would be just fine.

definitely gonna protect the floors where need be.. we just got the new floors laid down a few months ago.. the wife would definitely be pissed is i spilled resin or something on them lol.. i plan on adding a little ledge on the lathe bench and mixing bench so if something does tip over hopefully it stays on the bench for the most part.. the vent above the bench is just a ac vent.. it doesnt suck air, so that should be good.. i do plan on having a VAC/dust hose hooked up on the back side of the lathe to hopefully catch most of the shavings coming off

 

[Curly]

thanks for the tips! im going to set the room with with as much positive pressure as possible.. plan on setting up the ventilation like my glass shop was setup.. i had a 3800cfm blower pulling air outta the shop and bringing in new air.. so with the room door shut.. no air from that room should make its way into the hallway.. hallway air will be being sucked into the room and out the window.. and im pretty sure the wife doesnt fully understand whats about to go down lol.. so i might get kicked out...well see how it plays out.. ill put a sensy in the hallway just in case lol

If the makeup air from the exhaust fan is coming from the house you may have it sucking it through gas flues (gas fireplace, hot water heater, furnace, etc) pulling the carbon monoxide back into the house.

 

[wolf creek knives]

So here's my shop set up plus a couple extras.

Top row L to R
Two very special things shown here. What are they?
My leather working products over the bench to come.
Pen kit storage
Who can tell me what this calendar represents (hint, I'll buy you one if you are a member)

Middle row L to R
My reloading bench (it's actually my junk collecting bench) Go Navy!!! My two most loved knives are on this bench.
Hand made towel rack, each bench has one
Big lathe with accessories shelf(s)

Bottom row
Pen turning/assembly stuff with shelves that hold all the other stuff on top.
Leather working bench. Note the CD player? Spinners playing at the time of this photo.

That's it. I'll be moving to my new shop pretty soon and will keep it pretty much the same.

 

[Turnin_Thingz710]

well my lathe came in thursday night.. got it setup today and im really happy with this thing! feels like its built real well, its nice and sturdy.. i do still have to order a few different chucks and pen mandrels.. found out we have a local lumber shop in town that has all kinds of rare woods and they sell pen blanks.. acrylic and wood, gonna check them out this weekend and see what i can buy.. need to buy some wood either way for stuff around the bench.. i need to look at the direction again cause im not sure where this spring bolt goes.. also need to figure out what the measurement lines on the head stock are for.. but im excited to start! i turned it on and im amazed on how quite it is.. the first turn is def gonna be scary haha..

 

[Dalecamino]

Glad you got it Matt. The numbers on the head stock are for indexing your work piece. Not sure about the pin with the knob.

Give PSI a call. They have a very helpful Tech dept. 800-377-7297

 

[Turnin_Thingz710]

well sorry to bring back a old thread.. been over a year... and the wife kicked me outta the bedroom shop lol.. understandably so.. had to put a pause on everything for a bit.. but i got some new benches, going to build some new storage cabinets, picked up a new 30" shop fan since ive been demoted to the garage haha.. it was only a matter of time... going to miss the AC lol but im sure ill find a way to put a portable ac in the shop somewhere.. got a bunch of new blanks coming, wood, acrylic, and hybrids, new chucks, and a real set of tools, not just the amazon special so im looking forward to getting the new location goin