Setting up shop / New & first attempt at a shack

I’ve read a lot of the posts on here already about shaping shacks, making your own… etc.

So, as of right now, I’m looking at an area 13ft (and inches) X 7ft (and inches) Am I being too picky,

or does this infact seem a bit too narrow?

If anyone can relate, and tell me it’d work well or whatever… I’d appreciate a second opinion, because I think

I’m a bit too close to my project.

Thanks,

Tyson

You might consider making your shack in multiples of 4 to avoid wasting wood. Ply comes in 4x8 sheets, etc So a 16 x 8 gives you more room and does not waste as much wood. Mike

13 ft long…fine, unless you plan on doing tandems or SUP. 7 ft wide may be a bit tight, 8 ft wide ok.

D.R.

Check this out bro…

I just spent the entire summer fall and winter, building the ultimate “hobby” shaping bay and workshop inside my garage to separate it from my laundry area and storage. I ended up with a sweet 8’x16’x9’ high shaping bay with carpet and everything, with custom racks mounted to the floor with floor anchors from home depot which were installed by predrilling into the concrete with a hammer drill). I have double 8’ bar lights on both sides of the racks, covered by 8’ shelves (about 8"-12" wide will do it) to spread the light evenly over your blank. I even mounted a double 4’ bar light up high on the “eyeball wall” where you stand backand reference your work against a flat even surface. I use it separately from the ceiling and side lights or combined with either of the two. All three sets have separate switches. so I can use any 3 angles of light (ceiling, sides, or back wall).

The rooms were all constructed by building 4’ x 8’ “stage flats” like you would see in a theater. This way if I ever want my garage back (yeah right!), I can just unscrew everything, stack the flats up against each other in the corner and voila… there it is. The walls are Very Easy to build. You basically take a 4x8 sheet, measure out the bottom edge and cut a 1x3 to fit it. Then measure out the sides and top and cut more 1x3. You’ll also need a piece in the center running par. to the top and bottom. Use tight bond II wood glue to glue it to the 4x8 sheet and shoot 'em all up with your air staple gun from Harbor Freight to make it last a lifetime. whereever I didn’t have to use a solid 4x8 sheet of lauan plywood, I used peg board so I could hang up all of my tools and misc. shaping, glassing, sanding, etc. tools. It came in REALLY handy to keep stuff up off the bench and shelves and other surfaces that need to be clean and clear.

Anyway, you take the flats and stand them up and construct your walls by screwing them together level and plumb, and you anchor them into the floor, and build separate flat caps to fill in the space from the partition to the ceiling. once everything is in you can foam spray or caulk around any seems to make it air-tight for fumes and dust. Anywhere you need support (like for lighting and shelf support), you just add a backer inside the wall.

Remember one side gets glue and stapled… the other gets squared up and screwed to the frame in case you ever need to ger back inside the flat walls.

I also have a 16’x16’x9’ high workshop for woodwork, glasing, sanding, etc. complete with 16’ workbench and floor racks. I’ll give you details on the contents of both rooms later…

I hope this helps!

Dave Falkenau

The shaping bay has all the shaping tools along with custom racks for storing blanks and shaped boards before glassing.

The workshop has a 16’ workbench with more custom wall racks hanging above and along it for hanging glassed boards and boards to be glassed.

I have some custom fllor racks for glassing, sanding, etc. and a portable set for other applications out in the yard, etc. We have a heavy duty air compressor, ventilation unit, fire alarms, extinguishers, and only enough chemicals and materials to still be classified as a hobby. If the firemarshall wanted to stop by they would freak at how clean and up to code everything is. I don’t mess around with safety and zoning codes. All that hard work could go right out the window if you aren’t running things the way your city wants you to! Hobby or not!

Craigslist hooked me up with everything I need to do wood boards…

16" Delta Bandsaw… like new ($25 score)

A Kitty K-5 wood working multi-machine complete with 8" tablesaw; 6" planer; 6" jointer; and wood shaper… like new ($300)

24" Craftsman professional scroll saw… heavy steel… like new ($35)

Belt and disc sanding machine from HArbor Freight… ($50)

and I already had everything else… clamps… glue… tools… etc.

I still haven’t made a wood board yet, but I plan to soon. I have a baby due in March, so my time has all been spent on my wife, my house, the garage shop, and my teaching job.

I still have templates to cut out from my board collection, some from my friend’s shop, and some from Paul Jensen that still need to get unrolled, glued and cut out (and a butt load that I owe Paul Jensen, sitting in a mail tube in the corner… long story… but he’ll get them one of these days provided I don’t go off on another of life’s tangents and get sidetracked again…) Once things settle down on the home front with my new marriage and new baby, I plan to make hard copies of all the templates, make some foam boards, and make a hollow board with the How-To kit I got from Paul. I have a ton of board curve templates and fin templates (which were mostly given to or handed down to me), so I don’t mind passing them along to others and hooking up new shapers like people hooked me up (Paul Jensen, Roy Stewart, Robbo, Hess, RB & ML, Ryan Gerard, Brewer, Velzy, Ingham, Takayama, Noll, Curren, Bing, Skip Frye, Carson, Greenough, Nuuhiwa, Pearson, Blake, Edwards, Con, Wegener, Eberly, Hollingsworth, Merrick, etc.) who’s designs and hard work have taught me how to design my own curves that work in specific conditions and situations, and have gotten me where I am today with board building.

Dave

Cool, thanks for sharing the info and insight on your own workshop. I guess I’ll see if I can squeeze another foot out and make it 8’ and inches. I am real limited

to how much room I can use though, unfortunately. And building a structure from scratch isnt an option where I live at right now.

Thanks again,

Tyson

It doesn’t HAVE to be 8’, but it sure makes it easier to move around your work, and to be able to flip it and rotate it. I’ve seen people make great boards in rooms smaller than that, but they have to walk the blank out of the room, flip it, turn it around, etc. and it becomes a hastle. You could still make one of the 1x3 flats to the dimesions you are limited to. I even put a nice glass-paned door on my shop by centering it into one of the 4x8 flats and building a frame for the door with a header ad supports and just laminate trimmed the door space out. The lighting is the most important because you will find dips and valleys and pits and blemishes in controlled lighting that you would not normally see in a normally lit garage or outside in the sun, shaping in your back yard. Being able to flip from side lights to overhead is a huge deal once you realize it. Invest the money into good lighting.

Dave

If you have questions about constructing the walls, just call me at 619-757-0100.

Dave,

Are you in San Diego?

Sounds like you have a pretty sweet shack.

Quote:

I have a ton of board curve templates and fin templates (which were mostly given to or handed down to me), so I don’t mind passing them along to others and hooking up new shapers like people hooked me up

Pass it on.

I’m actually in Oceanside. The shop is state of the art. I didn’t mean for it to get to that point. It’s just a hobby. But once I got to building and adding equipment, I couldn’t stop. It got to the point where my dog was coming out there to visit and sleep on the floor while worked… and my wife and step son had to come out at night and pull me out of there. I love it. If I ever decided to do it for money, I could see myself doing it long term for sure… but I’ll keep my day job Teaching English at the Army and Navy Academy. I know there isn’t a whole lot of money to be made in making boards. It’s just something I’ve been fascinated with since I was a kid, and I can’t get enough of it.

Dave

I forgot to ask if it was inside another structure like a garage, or if you are starting from scratch out doors. If out doors, the flats will not be very weather resistant. You’d want to revert to general framing techniques and materials using 2x4’s spaced 16" apart and 1/2 - 3/4 inch weather treated plywood… and you may get into zoning hastles, building codes, and permit hastles. I can teach you how to frame a real wall and to do corners as well if you need me to.

Dave

To keep mine legal, I have to still be able to drive a car in if I have to. That’s why I have removable racks, and all my machinery is on movable casters. I got all my ideas here on swaylocks, with the exception of the flats and the advice from neighbors on making sure it’s legal and up to code.

Dave

I even bag up my foam dust, wood shavings, excess foam, etc. and take it to a local shop for proper waste disposal so it’s not going through my own trash. As for glassing, I do the same thing, but I stick to Epoxy and I only do small amounts. Most of my work goes out to the pro’s, like my buddy Jerry Ingham. I have to comply to local zoning and “hobby” restrictions. Resin is nasty in any neighborhood. Be wise, cautious, and courteous (Don’t go storing up stinky and volatile chemicals in a residentially zoned area… that’s a BIG NO NO.

Dave

Quote:
The shop is state of the art. I didn't mean for it to get to that point. It's just a hobby. But once I got to building and adding equipment, I couldn't stop. It got to the point where my dog was coming out there to visit and sleep on the floor while worked... and my wife and step son had to come out at night and pull me out of there. I love it.

Wow! Impressive work Dave. Mine is soo far from state of the art, but I can totally relate to ‘wife & kids pulling me out of there’ … If I had the choice I’de probably live in there, working on boards

At 6 x 12 I’m claiming smallest dedicated workspace! or at least the narrowest. perhaps you’ll get some ideas/inspiration from my crude little shack, labor of love by clueless DIYer. As you can see, this area of my property is very narrow but has a 6’ concrete wall on one side and the wall of my house on the other, provides lots of protection. Painted to match and matching roofing material, it’s actually ok’d by the HOA! I guess since it’s not attached to the house & not designed to be permanent structure.

4x8 sheets

2x4’s 2x3’s & 2x2’s

  • my available space has unusual dims so I had to make a custom shed

  • mild weather 90% of the time here on Oahu

  • I’m interested in making only shortboards

  • it works out just fine for me, I’m short and lightweight, 5’8" 135lbs

  • no building permit required for less than 120sqft

  • a short extension cord from my garage never running simultaneous more than shop lights and planer (or shop vac)

  • backyarder newbie, max output 1, possibly 1.5 boards per month

  • never have more material on hand than enough to make 1 or two boards

  • great ventilation and plenty o sunlight for UV cure

Number 5 done-