The Amateur Crafter - Project 0: Shop Design

First order of business, design a shop. How do I do that again? Well, from the previous post, I decided that I wanted the purpose of the shop centered on three main functions: knife making, wood turning, and small cabinet making. Small cabinet making may be adjusted to mean simply, small wood working projects. With this in mind, the machines that I’ll be purchasing are going to have to be small from necessity. But basically, most of the work will flow around the main workbench already in place and around an additional workbench I plan to either purchase or make.

Photo A: lower side door entrance

From photo A, one can see the size of the shop okay, but the photo doesn't really show how small it is. And yes, that is a 10”compound miter saw mounted to a shop-made tool stand blocking the doorway into the next room. Technically, the size of the room is 12’ x 16’ but that doesn't mean that I’ll have that much space. Along the back wall, there’s enough space for another workbench and maybe some wall mounted cabinets for tool storage. That’s probably where I’ll stick a woodworking band saw and maybe a small wood turning lathe. Additionally, to the far right corner, I’ll have some sort of dust collection system. Undecided as to which type yet but I know I’ll probably need one.

Photo B: left of the outside entrance

The furnace can be seen in photo B, right next to a pretty stout desk left by the previous owner along with that pegboard. I’m not really big on pegboards and I’ll probably remove it at some point and mount a cabinet there. But the furnace takes up a good chuck of space right next to the door. So, I’m actually missing about a 4’ x 3’ section of the room.

Photo C: Massive workbench

The previous owners also left this large workbench. It measures 10’ x 2 ½’ and even though it’s a bit of an eyesore, it’s pretty stout. I’ll probably try to add a thin sheet of plywood on top to improve its looks – somewhat. It looks like it was made with standard 2” x 4” pieces laminated together with wood glue and screws. The top surface and the middle shelf is ¾” plywood.

Photo D: Decent space available

Side “view” from the entrance to the washer/dryer room. There’s a great deal of empty space available as well as wall space for cabinetry.

Photo E: Entrance from far room.

The problem with the location of this entrance way is that it only leaves about 10” from the right wall. Now, I can construct a narrow bench there but I need to be able to either move it away on casters or have a possible fold-down bench. I haven’t decided yet which. Most likely the simple workbench on locking casters will be a stronger workbench. And by the way, if you’re looking for a table saw, don’t bother with that particular Skil model that can be seen in the photo. It’s a 3310 10” table saw that comes with a pretty lame table. It’s labeled as cast aluminum but I think it’s more of a mixture of pot metal. Also, the miter slots are not standard size and if you want to create a small mitering sled or a cross cutting sled, you’ll have to purchase parts from Skil for the railings. I've not found an aftermarket provider for them. For the beginning hobbyist, it’s a fairly cheap table saw that won’t break the bank. But if you want to have greater flexibility in terms of shop-made add-ons, rigidity, and aftermarket accessories, go ahead and buy a better table saw – possibly the next larger size. It will likely come with a better table and with proper, standard-sized miter slots.

So to start with, I think that I’ll purchase a small metalworking band saw. I have to point out that band saws for woodworking won’t cut metal as well. One cannot simply swap out the blade and expect it to perform just as well on metal as it does on wood. The reason for this is because woodworking band saws operate at a higher SFPM (surface feet per minute). For the new crafter, that basically means blade speed. Wood is a softer material than steel (obviously) and to cut steels, blades must move at about a fraction of the speed and will also require more TPI (teeth per inch). For a metalworking band saw, I have basically two choices: one being a horizontal/vertical 4” – 6” capacity, or a type that’s called a “portaband.” Each band saw has its pros and cons. The floor model (either a dedicated horizontal or dedicated vertical) will probably offer greater stability. But that comes at the price of a higher cost (normally) and more floor space taken up by the larger machine. A horizontal/vertical can be setup to provide a small decent horizontal type band saw and normally comes with a small plate and a locking mechanism to allow vertical band saw work. The problem with this is that normally the plate provided for vertical work is a meager size and does not provide much rigidity – a term I’ll use frequently throughout this series of articles; also it will not offer any reasonable size of working space for vertical cutting. Typically these types of band saws might be good at one type of cutting (i.e horizontal) and somewhat below average ability at another type of cutting (vertical). Rigidity means stability which usually equates to safer use. The portaband saw is a much smaller alternative, and comes at a much cheaper price. A portaband saw is hand-held instead of mounted on a stand and uses smaller blade sizes (i.e. cheaper). But this will have a much smaller capacity and will probably only find use in my shop as a knife-making machine. Due to the size constraints of the room I have to work with, I’ll not likely have an application outside of knife making that the portaband saw can fulfill. Also, for greater rigidity the portaband saw must be modified and mounted on a wall or workbench by the consumer if he/she requires stability, which I will. Fortunately, there are aftermarket resources that can provide kits to help modify the portaband saw for the purposes of mounting on a wall/workbench/table or to allow it to be held in a large vise. Because space is at a premium in my shop, I’ll purchase the portaband saw with the aftermarket kits.

Purchasing the right, good machinery is best accomplished after doing a bit of research on what’s available. Look up various models from a variety of manufactures. Check out customer reviews on websites if they’re offered. Go visit hardware stores or other distributors if any floor models are available for viewing. Basically, do your homework. It may take a lot of time prior to the purchase, but you’re not as likely to purchase a machine more like the consumer grade equivalent of a “lemon car.” And, from the research, you’ll be able to purchase something that may have a good reputation and even a loyal following. I’m thinking of a Makita, or a Milwaukee, or a DeWalt. I’ll not purchase a cordless. I very much want this to have 110v power. The reason for this is because I’ll also purchase a foot pedal for turning the portaband saw on and off, which means that the trigger will have to be fastened in the on position. Once I get that machine in, I’ll be sure to show my mods.

Further posts on Project 0 will involve space, machine and workbench location and work flow.