Shop floor plan, Ideas?

[2StateTrigger]

Good evening All,

Im gonna blow off some steam here by posting this question.

So I'm looking at a piece of property in CO that's 38.5 acres MOL that's never had any work done to it.  I've seen a few pics and it looks to be quite overgrown.  I'm unable to make a move on it right now due to me having to wait on some $$,$$$.00 due to me from an attorney.  So in the mean time I'm trying to pass some time by sitting down with some graph paper and trying to draw up a mock floor plan for a shop that I hope to be able to build that will be large enough to house ALL of my tools and machinery.

Here's what I wish to house in the shop:

Full hyd sawmill
Edger
Kiln
Planer
Air compressor
Drill press, floor model
Table saw
Belt/circular sander combo
Router, handheld
Vacuum sawdust collection system
Miter saw
Pneumatic nailer
Radial arm saw
Band saw
Several 8' work benches
Grinder, pedestal
Welders (gas, arc, mig)
Plasma cutter
Mortiser
Wood lathe
Kiln carts, railed
Pressure washer
2 or 3 large shop fans


I started with a 60' x 120' floorplan but halfway thru that drawing I felt it was too small.  After I scrubbed that first plan I went a little (just a tad) overboard by drawing up a 180' x 360' plan and soon discovered that this was larger than a NFL football playing field so this plan was also scrapped.

I think I might have found the happy middle with a 150' x 150' plan.  I'll know more after I draw in (to scale, somewhat) some more tools and such. 

This got me thinking about posting this new topic.  I'm interested in see other floor plans and suggestions/recommendations.  I just tried adding some pics of the sketches via mobile....We'll see how it looks.

Plz offer up your suggestions and/or pics of your own sketches or actual shop.......Thx

[sawguy21]

This is the fun part. ;D Whatever you decide, make sure you can add on as Murphy's Law says it will be too small. Just curious, would you not want a separate shed for the mill and edger? Are you going to stack and dry inside?

[2StateTrigger]

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[2StateTrigger]

This is the fun part. ;D Whatever you decide, make sure you can add on as Murphy's Law says it will be too small. Just curious, would you not want a separate shed for the mill and edger? Are you going to stack and dry inside?

SawGuy,

Well I wasnt planning to have separate shed.  Curious to know why you'd ask....Should I keep these two machines separate?

[redprospector]

If it were me...and it's not. I would want at least 2 buildings. It's always good to separate your welding from your woodwork if possible, and with the size building you're talking about I think it might be possible.
I have an acquaintance who just lost everything, everything he had to a fire. He lost his band mill, his edger, and his scragg mill. If that wasn't bad enough he lost his planer, his molder, straight line, and various woodworking equipment, his welder, plasma cutter, torches...everything. If he had separated his operation some, he might not have lost it all.

[oldseabee]

Best to keep the wood working separate otherwise you will have wood fines in places that you didn't know that you had places, fines are way smaller then sawdust and can be a fire hazard. At least separate with a curtain or a wall if you keep it all in the same building. If you plan to heat with a wood stove, it should be on the machining side, again the fines and sawdust can be a fire hazard. Check with the local fire Dept. about regs.
Good luck

[sawguy21]

I am not a sawyer but think if you had the mill enclosed you would need a humongous building to have room to load the logs and stack lumber.  Then there is cooling air for the motors/engines to consider, exhaust to get rid of and the real risk of fire. Most of the stationary mills I have seen pics of on here were in an open sided shed.

[Tom the Sawyer]

Check out LindasSawmillCinema on YouTube.  They have an indoor milling operation similar to what you are describing with an electric motor for the mill and edger.  It is a pretty efficient operation and may offer some good ideas.

[2StateTrigger]

I am not a sawyer but think if you had the mill enclosed you would need a humongous building to have room to load the logs and stack lumber.  Then there is cooling air for the motors/engines to consider, exhaust to get rid of and the real risk of fire. Most of the stationary mills I have seen pics of on here were in an open sided shed.

SawGuy21,

If you look closely at the floorplan that I uploaded you'll see that the mill is right up next to the wall of the building.  I intentionally placed the mill in that location because I plan to have some sort of door that will open up (likely a 30-40' overhead roll-up door   or   maybe I'll be able to put in some type of barn door style that is mounted on roller tracks) to the log staging area.

Guess I'll have to wait and see some other suggestions.....Keep them coming guys.....

[Dave Shepard]

I used to work in a 60'x104' shop. As you can see below, there was plenty of room to drive around with 40' timbers on the forklift inside. I agree with the advice to separate your activities, if you can. You might want to consider the cost of this mega structure, before you dream of what you are going to put in it. :D



 

[coalsmok]

I vote on separate buildings.  Welding and sawdust just dont mix, and personally I wouldn't want the mess from a mill in where I build and assemble things.