i’m moving next week, and my new place has a separate 1-car garage…and by that, i mean it has a SHAPING BAY / WORKSHOP. but i’m curious… aside from light boxes / shelves, shaping racks, glassing racks, and another rack hanging on the wall for me to stash my shaped blanks so they’re out of the way… what else would you suggest? i’d like to get myself a decent woodworking setup so i can build custom fins and tailblocks with ease. what do you recommend in the way of tools?
10 galon Shop Vac, band saw, bench mounted blet sander/grinder, compressor with airhose, coat the garage floor with epoxy paint (from lowes/home depot) and work benches w/ pegboard above them. ill post pics of my fin shaping setup tonight.
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ill post pics of my fin shaping setup tonight.
awesome…thanx
Brandon, I sort of in the same situation: New house. Garage…sorry…surfboard shaping & woodworking shop. Since I’ve done more woodworking than shaping, here’s my take.
Since you have limited space:
Portable table saw on a stand. Bosch makes an excellent one.
Five gallon bucket and fill it with 6" Jorgensen clamps.(about 20)
Good set of chisels. Marples blue chip are good.
Sharpening stones and a bench grinder with sharpening wheel and buffing wheel.
4 x 24 belt sander.
Some kind of workbench.
An accurate 6" square. Not the sliding type. Woodworking stores have them.
An accurate small pocket scale. (measures to 64ths) General makes them and sells them at lumber stores.
Portable power planer. Sits stationary on a bench or stand. Used for thicknessing lumber.
Pencil sharpener.
That should get you started. I’m sure others will have more suggestions, and you will find out what else you need just by doing it. Have fun! Doug
Set the bandsaw first - you won’t ever want to move it. I put mine near the door with just enough room to wheel in the tablesaw between it & the door. So if I’m cutting long stock, I can open the door & the back wall doesn’t limit me either. I can cut small work with the door shut. 12" deep racking/shelving can go along the wall past the bandsaw - usually your wheels are more than 12" anyway & throats aren’t that deep so you won’t hit your racks when you’re sawing. Surfboards rack below the bandsaw table height.
Get a tablesaw & put it on wheels. You’ll want to be able to get it out of the way because its big, but when you’re using it you want it dead center. Get used to the table & band and you’ll almost never want a radial arm or chop type saw…unless you’re doing endless trim & furniture.
Plumb for dust collection & air. 4" sheet metal pipe is nice for the dust, 3/4" PVC is good for air. Put that in with lots of gated Wyes before you set any tools or racking.
Workbenches should be high enough that you don’t have to bend down, but low enough so you can lean on a chisel or a gouge if you need to. You can’t ever have enough power or receptacles. 2 light circuits - your low ones & your overheads. And both on a different circuit than your receptacles, so if you pop a breaker you’re not in the dark too. Locking metal boxes for smaller power tools fit well under workbenches & provide peace-of-mind when traveling overnight…
Thassit…
I’m moving to SF and taking over Benny’s shop when he goes outta town next. My 100 sq ft 6’2" ceiling workspace isn’t cutting it anymore…and neither is surfing from Vancouver!
Maybe if I clean up after he won’t notice…
A blend of several -
My workshop is ‘mostly woodworking’ so -
Tablesaw - 10" ‘contractor’ type, on wheels as mentioned
Bandsaws - both 14", I’d go with a bigger one if I could find one cheap
Jointer - 4", good for what I need it to do - remove the guard and ya can do 8", end-for ending your stock
Drill Press - amazing how handy it is to have one
Thickness Planer- 15" 220V. I do a lot of planing. Plenty of extra blades, by the way, and put that baby on wheels too
Mortising Machine
Dovetail Jig
Big workbench with drawers I will have to install one of these days and at least one good vise
Water bath sharpening wheel and other sharpening goodies
Dust collection system, not just a shop vac, on wheels,
Hand and power tool stowage
Material stowage
parts and pieces stowage
Home-built outfeed table, with wood rolling pins ( ball bearing type) as rollers
Compressors, 1 small jobbing around type, 1 big mutha that runs on 220 and can run a sandblaster
chop saws
radial arm saw
Mechanicking corner, with metal vise, tools, mechanic’s workbench, misc -
Eventually -
metal lathe,
vertical milling machine
Tool grinder
Home for my welder
Downstairs
Industrial sewing machines and canvas shop
Ya might say I keep myself busy
doc…
a little fridge full of “beverage”. a window a/c. killer sound systm. a hammock. a computer that is always connected to swaylocks and surf reports. sound proof walls so i can’t hear people yelling at me.
soulstice, send me an email when you get a chance
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but i’m curious… aside from light boxes / shelves, shaping racks, glassing racks, and another rack hanging on the wall for me to stash my shaped blanks so they’re out of the way… what else would you suggest? i’d like to get myself a decent woodworking setup so i can build custom fins and tailblocks with ease. what do you recommend in the way of tools?
Having been challenged for years w/ space issues, one thing that is important is to take the time to design in (besides what Barnfield has mentioned about being a good neighbor) is, to keep your set up variable. It’s kind of like living on a small boat. Everything has to be put away before the next task is undertaken. Have your tools on wheels, or your racks movable so you can shift operations w/o any big hassle. Your tools will come along as you need them. So many of the portable wood working tools now are very accurate too. I’d say, for the kind of woodworking you are doing, a bandsaw would be the most versatile. They don’t take up a lot of space and can do many types of functions with a few different blades. I have mine on wheels and move it around all the time. If you can not afford a thickness planner and jointer, go for the Skil 100 and the stand that lets you use if like a jointer. Remember, smaller tool – lighter cuts.
Good air circulation, air conditioner, insulated walls w/ drywall painted white make your space bright and feel bigger. The painted walls are profoundly impressive. Instant stoker!
Be safe.
epac is on it…see the pic attached…
those plastic shelves are available at HD…i attached caster wheels to them and can roll them around if needed…they get double duty as work table and storage…notice the sandwiched eps foam core table top…solid but light…everything is modular, i can move table tops around…this top that top
SHOP VAC! i worked w/o one for 4 years…what a fool!
XM RADIO…i like to call it my majic box
how bout a japanese back cut handsaw mmmmmm nice
block plane
middle size stanley
piece of sandpaper
bit of wood
ironing board
a light
cupatea
bosses armchair to reflect on f ups
nude picture of hot chick and the odd surfing mag
mask
vacuum cleaner
exacto knife
a few sticks
Hey Brandon,
Your move reminds me of the many times over the years I have moved and set up new shop – eight moves and eight new woodworking shops over the past 32 years. Each move is a pain, but gives new opportunity to tweak and improve on the previous. After shops both large and small, from an industrial shop in the city to a remote barn at the base of a 14,000’ peak in Colorado, my present shop on the lush tropical grounds next to our home is the favorite shop I’ve had, and likely the last (I’m hopefully through moving unless that final move to Hawaii finally comes to pass).
Like you, my first ever shop was in a single car garage and I made do just fine. Now many years later, many shops, many tools - a chance to try it all it seems. As I reflect on your question and your launch into a new shop, I’m reminded that I am now very spoiled, but thankful for the shop where I now spend my days. My bench room (clean room or finishing room) is adjoining but separate from my machine room, both with A/C, heat, and dehumidification. Separate electric meter and circuit for gobs of 220 and 110 voltage. My shaping bay is yet in a separate area removed from the wood shop, though I try to do initial shaping outside (the sounds of sea-gulls and swaying palms harmonize peacefully with the whine of the planer).
The other posters have given good advice for tools. I won’t offer more in that regard except to say buy only what you need at present and buy the tools specifically for what you want to craft. For example, a guy that does a lot of turning may suggest a lathe is important, but if that’s not your trip spend your money on an angle grinder and a nice bench for your fin making. I’ll also add that you should try to buy the best tools you possibly can afford when it comes to the major stationery tools. There are bargains and times to go “disposable”, but generally I’ve found the most expensive tool is the cheap one that ultimately has to replaced by one that works well.
Have a dream shop in mind and work toward that dream one step (day) at a time. It’s a great path. Find a mentor, read lots of journals, spend time here on Swaylocks with your pals, learn, and have fun. Many guys my age have no hobbies, or outside interests beyond chasing money, women, and good times, and though those can be rewardable endeavors at the right times, it seems to me the guys that are happiest going into the second half in life are the ones who have a passion, a craft, do something with their hands. So go for it. Above all, Enjoy the ride!
Richard
PS: If interested, a few pics inside my shop are in my website www.mccormickfinewoodworking.com (wave rider collection - process) and here’s a pic of my bench room.
wow…richard…i had never seen your website before…that’s some really amazing stuff. you’ll have to make some recommendations to me on what woods complement each other nicely in fins and blocks. and maybe some sources for obtaining quality woods.
Arghhhh- you not only have a better shop than I have, Richard, it’s prettier, dammit…
a couple other things, if I may throw 'em in
While most of us are just shaping with 110 volt planers and not much else, if you want to have Serious Shop Toys - woops, Tools, I hope my ladyfriend doesn’t see that - you may want to look into the availability of three-phase power.
Three phase? Yeah- and if you set up as a ‘home business’ then generally the electric company will reluctantly ( which means you have to hassle with 'em) set you up with three phase.
What is three phase? A more powerful electric motor for stationary power tools like big bandsaws, planers, dust collectors and the like. And more, reversible motors and so forth, but that needn’t concern ya now.Suffice it to say that if you can get it, get it. Besides which, three phase BIG shop tools go cheap compared to single phase.
And then there are the metalworking tools, welders and so on that go for peanuts 'cos they are three-phase and not single-phase.
Yep…one of my next moves is browbeating the local utility a little-
doc…
Howzit Richard, That’s your work shop, looks more like a den in a persons house. Makes my shop look like a trash dump, but then again my moon rises in chaos. Aloha,Kokua
Hey Kokua,
I must be honest and come clean. My bench room looks like that the one day out of the year after a seerious cleaning, but if you stop by for coffee any of the other 364 days you would more likely find me here waist deep in saw dust. I believe this was balsa dust day.
Aloha,
Richard
Howzit Richard, Now that’s shop in progress. While I’m waiting for my eye to heal I’m going to do a serious clean up myself. I think it’s bee 2 years since the last one and the resin mound around the racks is getting so high I’m going to need a step ladder to glass boardor a remote contoled squeegee.Aloha,Kokua
I love these topics. I learn something from everyone who responds…
Couple follow-ups I can add. Yeah, thicknessing/surfacing planers are nice. Now that there are so many 13" & 15"'ers on the market, the 12 & 12.5" models are really cheap - and were plenty useful for all of us for the last 50 years. I found a rolling & locking tool storage bin - 3 small drawyers & one big one - that has a flat top. The planer happens to sit right at a comfortable feed height now that it’s screwed to the top of the tool bin, so I’ve killed like 3 or 4 birds with one stone there - rolling, comfortable, storage, etc. But then keep in mind that anything stored inside that bin’s gonna get dusty, even with collection (great photo, Richard 
) so keep the drawyers full of sandpaper, surforms, planes, small power tools, etc. and NOT full of printed rice-paper lams, extra glass cloth, tack cloths, and so forth. Need someplace special for all that.
You can never have too many clamps.
I’d rather dedicate wall space to hanging tools than to art. After a few years, the tools look better to me anyway.
Anything you hang with a magnet will eventually be a magnet.
Moisture is a poblem that is rarely given enough attention - but creates worse problems than dust, temperature, low power or light, or any other environmental challenge in you finished products.
this looks like it’d make foiling fins really quick and easy…but ryobi and delta are both pretty mediocre brands…opinions???
