# Garage Shop Layout



## ddickey (May 3, 2018)

I just a new floor in my garage and would like some ideas about how to lay out machines when I move everything back in. 
The space is 19' x 20'. I have a bunch of tables. a 12' wood workbench & an 8' wood work bench. 2 small sized metals benches on casters. I have the normal shop stuff, welder, small band saw, mill and lathe, belt grinder and also a surface grinder. I think the open space in the middle needs to be utilized, machines are work bench? I hope to be dropping a few air lines from the ceiling as well as some electrical. What are your thoughts on wall shelves? Do you guys use a lot of them? 
Thanks for the ideas.


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## Groundhog (May 3, 2018)

When I move here and into a new (larger) shop I measured the footprint of everything I had (shop-wise). Then I used a cad program to move the items around in a box the size of my new shop. I've since gone back to this drawing to figure light placement, air line distribution, a new doorway, etc.
The drawing with the outlines of shelves, tables, and machines has been helpful many times - well worth the time it took to make it.

You don't need a cad program though. Use graph paper and scale everything accordingly. Make cut-outs of the tables, machines, etc. so you can just move them around.


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## ddickey (May 3, 2018)

Good idea.
I learned Auto Cad in college 5 years ago but hardly remember a dang thing about it. I sure would love to relearn something like though.


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## Charles Spencer (May 3, 2018)

I used the following high tech aid.  You could make cut outs to move around on it.


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## Charles Spencer (May 3, 2018)

ddickey said:


> What are your thoughts on wall shelves?



You don't need shelves.  You'll never run out of space.


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## ddickey (May 3, 2018)

Yeah they just collect stuff, amazing.


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## Video_man (May 4, 2018)

I used the space in the middle of the shop for my 14x40 lathe and 8x32 floor mill, placed back-to-back.  I built a floor-to-ceiling pylon between them at one end, which my electrician wired up with the requisite connections and the mag-cutout devices the local code requires.  The lathe is close enough to one wall that I can have a stand behind me with tools and some stock close at hand.  The mill is in the center, and behind it a stand I made for a surface plate and under it, storage for rotary table, hold-downs, etc.  Works pretty well for my needs and frees up the wall space for benches, surface grinder,welder, etc.


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## gi_984 (Jun 3, 2018)

DDickey,
Got four of those heavy duty metal shelving units and wish I had more.  But I'm maxed out at my present shop location.  Yes, they take up space and fill up all too quickly.  My advice is to prioritize placing your work benches first along with ease of access to electrical outlets.  My shelves are across the shop away from the machines, tool boxes, etc.
Charles spencer, good idea on the outline.  I'll be doing the same thing next year after I sell a few machines to free up space.  But I'll use the lined graph paper and cut out templates of the machines.  Basically 1 square equals one foot or whatever scale makes the schematic easy to read (i.e. 1:2 etc.)  I'll also add the location of the 3 phase and single phase outlets in my schematic.  Might have to buy some extra long cable to make new power cords for the machines I'll keep.  But if putting longer cords on some machines makes the layout more efficient, it is worth it.


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## eeler1 (Jun 3, 2018)

Garages as shops suffer from too many doors.  Usually there’s a door into the house, another door to the exterior, and of course, the roll-up door.  If you aren’t parking a vehicle in there (some people actually do that), you can use some or all of the roll-up door and gain some space.  I just moved my Millrite to back up to the roll-up, and my drill press too, and effectively gained a few square feet to put other stuff in.

That suggestion to set aside wall space for benches is a good one.  Plus you can store above and below those precious horizontal surfaces.


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## British Steel (Jun 3, 2018)

I found it useful to put the mill with its table aligned with the lathe bed, anything over-length can be supported on a tailstock mounted on the mill table and I can wind its handles to centre up - it gives me about 5 feet more length capacity, even if I can only turn/thread/whatever the first couple of feet from the lathe chuck!

Other than that, as much bench space and sturdy racking as you can manage... A drawer specific to Brute Force and Ignorance is a good idea too, hammers, chisels, prybars, hacksaws etc. all kept together 

Dave H. (the other one)


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## TerryH (Jun 4, 2018)

Charles Spencer said:


> I used the following high tech aid.  You could make cut outs to move around on it.
> 
> View attachment 266682



I did this full scale with my home wood shop. Amazing what you can see with a few pieces of cardboard cut to match machine footprints. It's old school but it certainly works.


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## brino (Jun 4, 2018)

For shop layout I have used both scale drawings with cut-outs, and then later visio to draw it up.
A few minutes of moving all your "virtual equipment" around with the mouse is so much easier on your back.
Even if all you get out of it is "hum, I guess that won't fit there", it is time very well spent.



ddickey said:


> What are your thoughts on wall shelves?


When I moved in I put up peg board on the top half of most walls, and some open shelving too.
What I found is that it only allowed one "layer" of storage.
Also, everything was always covered with saw dust, grinding dust, spider webs.
I suspect any open shelves would end up the same.

I have now installed little tool drawers (like these: http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=46037&cat=1,43325,43326,46037)
in a bunch of previously open shelf areas, and also use a bunch of plastic bins with lids (rubbermaid, etc.) to keep related stuff together and closed.
I use box board from the recycle bin to put labels of contents inside the bins to help in finding the correct bin quickly

-brino


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## jdedmon91 (Jun 4, 2018)

My shop is in a 14 x 20 building. When I moved the machines in I had to work around a workbench along the back wall. So I arranged around it. My lathe is in one corner. The Mill is angled next to lathe. The bonus is I can use the mill table to hold some tooling while I’m using the lathe 


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## bill70j (Jun 5, 2018)

ddickey said:


> I just a new floor in my garage and would like some ideas about how to lay out machines when I move everything back in.
> The space is 19' x 20'. I have a bunch of tables. a 12' wood workbench & an 8' wood work bench. 2 small sized metals benches on casters. I have the normal shop stuff, welder, small band saw, mill and lathe, belt grinder and also a surface grinder. I think the open space in the middle needs to be utilized, machines are work bench? I hope to be dropping a few air lines from the ceiling as well as some electrical. What are your thoughts on wall shelves? Do you guys use a lot of them?
> Thanks for the ideas.


I would put the work tables in the middle of the shop and line the walls with your machines, locating your grinding stuff as far away from your precision machines as possible. 

When I laid out my shop, I went with the antiquated scaled-paper route.  After deciding on where I wanted the machines, I drew in the overhead lighting (shown as blue strips on the drawing).  Also, since my space had virtually no electrical, I drew up a separate sheet showing all the conduit and overhead and wall outlets, trying to make sure there were no cords to trip over.

I did my layout several years ago.  At the time T-8's were the best choice for lighting.  But I think you would want to go LED's today, using the on-line tool to best locate them.

I am with the others.  I don't like shelves, and only use them for large, heavy stuff like chucks, rotary tables, rests, etc.  But I do use a lot of cabinets and drawers, just to keep the clutter hidden.


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## gi_984 (Jun 6, 2018)

"heavy stuff like chucks, rotary tables""
I keep the heavy stuff on a cart.  Easier to wheel it to the machines.  But I keep the cart covered with a old sheet to keep the dust off.  But it still requires more lifting than I like.  If you have the space a die cart would be a good way to move this stuff.  That or a small jib crane located next to the machine.    Need to build a small jib crane for my shop.    
Seldom used stuff on the shelves is well oiled and covered with old plastic shopping bags to keep the dust bunnies off.  

If you put your machines along the walls make sure you leave enough space so you can walk behind them. Besides cleaning, you'll always have the odd part or item that will bounce or roll behind it.  That and make sure you have enough room to put material thru the headstock of your lathe.


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## fixit (Jun 6, 2018)

Charles Spencer said:


> You don't need shelves.  You'll never run out of space.



BULL PUCKY!


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## jdedmon91 (Jun 7, 2018)

I made and posted a video of my backyard shop to YouTube. Sometimes a video just is self explanatory 





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