Trying to get my little shop organized

[SawyerBrown]

Been trying to figure out how to get the "basement" level of my roughly 20'x28' shop organized, think I've made some progress over the past month or so.  Nothing compared to the really nice commercial shops I've seen on here, but this is just where I go to make a few things and pass the time ...

Here's the west wall 

 
I picked up the white lower cabinets on the right from our church when they remodeled and had a sale to dispose of the old.  They were in the kitchen and are really well built.  I built the upper cabinets.


 
Lots of room for more "stuff" yet.  I like having room for "stuff" in the doors.


 
Couple nice things here.  The table saw has the full extensions, but the band saw (on wheels) sits conveniently in the  gap when I don't need all that capabilty.  And, the counter top on the cabinets from the church are about 1/4" lower than the table saw, making it a great off-feed surface.


 
My 8" joiner sits on the south wall, under the stairs, and between horizontal piles of lumber and vertical piles of lumber, and under short piles of lumber that I can't bear to throw away.  Gotta make something to make room!


 
Even though the piles are significant, I can still work a pretty long piece.


 
Most of the north wall with my "new" lathe and stand.  Again, built the cabinets ...


 
Love having some stuff in the doors where it's easy to see and get to.


 
I picked up the lathe for $50.  Motor didn't work and it was pretty rusty.  A little WD-40, some elbow grease, a little paint, disassemble and clean motor, a new belt and wiring, and it works like a charm.  And it fits conveniently in this little nook.


 
I have my scroll saw and drill press on the east wall on my bench.  I picked up the scroll saw AND the drill press for $50 from a guy who assumed they were junk.  Both are old Craftsman from when they really made good stuff.


 
And then in the middle of the room is my 4x8 table which serves so many purposes.  The cabinets underneath are from the church and make great use of otherwise wasted space.


 
My "screaming [what do you guys call it?]" router table and dovetail jig.  I love dovetail joints and the Leigh jig makes it relatively easy.

OK, that's the downstairs.  Sorry for the long post but it was fun to document.

And here's the biggest project to ever come out of my shop:  My daughter's wedding present ... 


 
The inlay is maple (Jordan and Katelyn) from a tree of her grandmother's ...

Thanks for letting me share my little piece of heaven ...

[r.man]

That's a nice shop and not too little either. I think everything on wheels is a great idea when space is an issue and space is always an issue no matter how big the place is. I like the wedding present as well, especially that you made it for them. Thanks for sharing, it is always nice to see how other people are doing things.

[WDH]

Compared to mine, your shop is SUPER ORGANIZED  8).

[CHARLIE]

You've done a fine job organizing your shop.  Be sure to have a lot of dust control in the basement. You'll have fun in there!  8)

[hardtailjohn]

Very nice!!  I think the layout and stuff is great...seems to flow together pretty well. I love the "stuff in the doors" of the cabinets!! I agree on dust control....best money I've ever spent for my shop!
That desk is great..especially the "family ties" that it has... well done!
John

[thecfarm]

Nice looking workshop. Nice looking desk too.Will it fit through the door?  :D

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

wish my shop was that organized and clean

[Peter Drouin]

Nice shop. But I would have painted first, Then put up things on the walls instead of panting around it all. A white pant will make it more bright. I painted my ceiling and it helped a lot. 

[21incher]

Nice shop. How do you keep it so clean. Mine is in the basement also with a concrete floor and I found that rubber mats on the floor in the work areas makes it more comfortable on my feet.

[DDDfarmer]

Nice shop.  If mine was ever that clean I was robbed!

[SawyerBrown]

Thanks for all the kind words and suggestions.  One thing about guys ... whatever space they have, they tend to fill it up with "toys" ...

I have a simple dust collection system already (you can just see it in the ceiling in the "north wall" pic) using an old furnace blower and two washable filters, which suck the air up in the center of the room and blow it down the east and west walls; plus a small Jet dust collector to hook to each machine.  I just bought a new (used) Powermatic canister-style dust collector, I'd like to mount it permanently somewhere, but I can't figure out where that will be.  I'm actually thinking about putting it upstairs, and run the ducting through the floor and around the ceiling in this level.  I can actually loosely close off the stairs going upstairs, and I'm thinking this will also keep the lower level in "suction" and positive pressure upstairs, where I do staining/finishing etc.  I'd build a little "closet" around it in one corner ...

And, it's never this clean.  Except now.  That's why I wanted to take some pix.  ;D   I'm hoping it will be easier to keep clean with everything in cabinets rather than laying around or on open shelves.

thecfarm, no the desk will not go through the door!  That's why it's in 3 pieces ...  I did see that problem coming!  Funny, though, the kids "office" is probably no bigger than 2x the area of the desk!

Oh, and I built the 28x48 shed with the help of my stepson (now deceased), except for the excavation and concrete work.  We even made a jig and made the trusses.  This "back" end has my woodworking shop (2 levels); the front end is a garage, where the pickup had to move out when I got the mill, 'cause I sure ain't leaving that outside!!