I'm finishing up my shop, a 30'x38' with 10' walls. I owned a custom boat building business in a 5000' shop years ago and currently teach high school woodshop/drafting. Its tough trying to take all the cool goodies from these
shops and afford/get them into something a quarter of the size.

I realized early on that if I didn't truely finish the shop before I started working in it I'd never go back and finish it. Over Christmas I sheet rocked the entire thing and framed up a 10'x12' office/bath in one corner. I also added a woodstove. My wifes response to these most recent additions was " Good, you made the office big enough to put your bed in!" If you have to sleep in a dog house it might as well be as nice as possible! The office has 7' ceiling ht. so there is lots of storage above it.

I have 100 amp service with 2 plugs every 4' around the perimeter. One plug is 14" off the floor the other 40". I have 12 four foot flour. lights and several drop cord locations. I hope to never use another extension cord!

I built a 20' long work bench along one wall. Its very tall at 39". Built into this bench is a 10"radial arm saw and 10" compound miter. A groove in the top of the bench allows for 20' of "fence" for the saws. The bench is tall so that my jointer can roll under one end and its easier to see when using the saws. I'm adding a face frame assembly to the 2x4 supports under the cabinet to put tools/materials/sanders etc. in. The bench top itself is 30' hollow core doors with 3/4" particle board on top, then 1/4" temper hardboard. Not sturdy enough to pound on but sufficient to cut/assemble/sand.

My main bench is 52" x 12'. I have built 3 top sections for this bench. 2 are 26"x10'. One is fastened to the bench frame work, the other is free floating so I can move it around to make it easier to clamp things. The 2'x4' remaining end is soon to have a lower top on it for my 3 boys (ages 7,4 and 2)to work at. Under this bench I plan to eventually put doors and maybe a small dust collector. This bench is the same height as my table saw so its a handy outfeed table.

I have one wall with a particle board cabinet unit 20' long and 8' tall. On top of this is 2 feet of open space for big bulky things such as summer items etc. Doors to keep the dust off stuff will be a nice addition someday!

I originally built a rolling plywood storage cart that was hinged to a wall. It is 8' long, 50" tall and about 16" deep. I got the plans out of a handy man magazine. I'm breaking it apart becauses it takes up too much wall space. Next one will be a verticle plywood rack to take up less area.

For good ideas (where I got most of mine) check out "The Work Shop" and "The Work Bench" book by Tauton Press. A 3 book set (3rd book is the "Tool Box") is about 50.00, the best fifty I've spent.

Lots of dust,
Lance

: I'm in the process of finishing out my woodworking shop. When I open up all
: your "pics" I not only take a gander at your project, but also
: at the way you've set up shop. The shop will be used for general
: woodworking with an emphasis on small boats. I'm fortunate to have a 32 by
: 24 foot dedicated space that will be heated. Finishing will be done in a
: separate 16 by 24 room. I'd be interested in hearing any ideas you all
: might have on tool organization, storage and material handling that I can
: incorporate in this project. Pictures or drawings would be great. Ideas
: anyone?