# Trlvn's basement shop planning



## trlvn (Sep 10, 2021)

Hi:

If you want to play along at home, you might want to download the attached pdf--somewhat easier to read than the image below.

So I really need to reconfigure my basement shop.  The floor plan shows about 1/3 of the basement of our house.  This portion is about 32' by 11'.  Which sounds like a lot but I lose space to the furnace, water heater and we need a general storage room.






The woodworking side of the shop is pretty much as I've had it for 20+ years.  I'm trying to create a metalworking end to the shop while leaving a storage room with 3 large storage racks.  The walls to create that room will be have to be added.  The area is  unfinished.

Based on my headscratching so far, I would wall off the storage room leaving enough space for the working width of my Craftex mill-drill.  It needs 65" of width and so I set the walls to finish 67" wide in that alcove.  That leaves me just enough room for the 3 storage racks, as shown.  

After that, I would put my Atlas 628 lathe against the outside wall with a 30" tool cabinet* and 30X60 metal-working bench* on either side.  On the interior wall, I'd have enough space for a 36" rack* for shop storage.

Later, I'll have to work out lighting and receptacle placement.

I'm not really happy with the 'metal end' of the shop yet.  I think my small vise, grinders (2), 1" belt sander, and arbor press are all going to have to share the metalworking bench.  Won't actually leave much room for bench work.  (Of course, the benches in the woodworking end can be shared but that's got drawbacks.)  Also, I don't think I'll have very much wall space for additional cabinets and storage.  

The space around the mill-drill kind of looks like no-mans land.  The mill gets in the way of using the surround space for storage.  Any suggestions?

BTW, I'm pretty much a novice with CAD and I'm still trying to figure out both how features are commonly represented AND how to do them with my software (CADintosh).

Craig

* To be purchased.


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## architect (Sep 10, 2021)

Jealous of all your space!


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## trlvn (Sep 10, 2021)

architect said:


> Jealous of all your space!


Then you see people like Keith Rucker on Youtube!  

BTW, I didn't show that a fair bit of the space has low(er) headroom.  The main hot/cold air ducts run from the furnace over the water heater and woodwork bench.

Craig


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## whydontu (Sep 10, 2021)

That’s a palace compared to mine. 
I work on:
 One 6ft bench with hydraulic press, 12” box/pan brake, drill press, belt sander. Working surface for assembly.
One 8ft bench with B2227L lathe, CX601 mill, bench vise, tool bit storage and a small bit of clear space for piling miscellaneous stuff.
8ft wall of bin boxes for fastener storage. 
Shelves to the ceiling above the lathe & mill
Material storage rack above the drill press bench
All shoved against the perimeter of a single car carriage along with bicycles and motorcycle. She Who Must Be Obeyed stipulated that her car must still be able to get into the garage. Granted, I’d have to move the bikes outside, but it is possible to fit her Corolla without hitting anything.


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## francist (Sep 10, 2021)

I moved a few things… 

In my shop I have a lot of the infrequently used machines on casters — not the swivel kind but just the straight in-out kind. My press, planer, horizontal bandsaw all just pull out from the wall when I use them and tuck right back in. So I did the same thing with a few of your bigger machines. The bandsaw (I’m assuming it’s a vertical 14” for wood?) stays put off the corner of the furnace, but it’s got a high work surface so lower machines can tuck closer and not get in the way. I use my bandsaw for ripping and cutting almost everything (no table saw nor chop saw) so I like it with clear shot up and down the alley, as it were.

i also put both benches on the same wall with the lathe in between, I hate having a bench with headroom encumbered by ducts. My basement has them too, but I really try to put things I don’t spend hours at underneath.

I don’t have a mill-drill but I’ve seen lots of others put their milling machines on the bias in a corner, so I did that too. I think it opens the corner a little for a bit more flow, maybe not.

Don’t know what’s in the racks but they take up real estate for sure, especially at the entry on the left. Tried to keep the paint away from the furnace and someplace by itself. Is it a flamm cabinet or just a dedicated paint shelf?

Anyway, kind of a fun exercise although tough because I don’t know what you like to do and where you spend the most time. A bit like trying to reorganize someone else’s kitchen.

-frank


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## YotaBota (Sep 10, 2021)

The workbench makes a good outfeed table for the tablesaw if it's the same height and on wheels.


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## trlvn (Sep 10, 2021)

francist said:


> I moved a few things…


Thank you...that is just above and beyond!!  It really helps to see a different perspective and think things through with fresh eyes!


> In my shop I have a lot of the infrequently used machines on casters — not the swivel kind but just the straight in-out kind. My press, planer, horizontal bandsaw all just pull out from the wall when I use them and tuck right back in. So I did the same thing with a few of your bigger machines. The bandsaw (I’m assuming it’s a vertical 14” for wood?) stays put off the corner of the furnace, but it’s got a high work surface so lower machines can tuck closer and not get in the way. I use my bandsaw for ripping and cutting almost everything (no table saw nor chop saw) so I like it with clear shot up and down the alley, as it were.


Yup, my router table, jointer, and table saw are are mobile bases now and I intend to get one for the bandsaw.  I was thinking to tuck the outfeed side of the jointer under the bandsaw table to gain a little space.

I've also considered giving up the bandsaw.  It is a basic 14 inch wood-cutting saw and I almost never resaw with it.  I could probably get by with a hand-held jig saw for whatever curved cutting is needed.


> i also put both benches on the same wall with the lathe in between, I hate having a bench with headroom encumbered by ducts. My basement has them too, but I really try to put things I don’t spend hours at underneath.


The overhead ducts don't interfere too badly with the woodworking bench.  Long ago, I mounted a 4-foot fluorescent fixture under the duct and above the bench.  There is still 42" clear height above the bench surface which has been quite sufficient for the work I've done.  


> I don’t have a mill-drill but I’ve seen lots of others put their milling machines on the bias in a corner, so I did that too. I think it opens the corner a little for a bit more flow, maybe not.


I'll give that some thought.  Offhand, the only issue I can see is that I need access to the crank on the left-rear of the head (not shown in the diagram).  It takes considerable force to crank the head up (down is easy!) and it would be a strain to do it standing in front of the machine.
As an aside, I was really shocked at just how much space the mill-drill requires.  It doesn't seem like a big machine but it has almost 17 inches of X travel on a table that is 48 inches long (including the powerfeed and crank handle).


> Don’t know what’s in the racks but they take up real estate for sure, especially at the entry on the left. Tried to keep the paint away from the furnace and someplace by itself. Is it a flamm cabinet or just a dedicated paint shelf?


The paint cabinet is a basic office-supply-type steel cabinet.  I've stored leftover paint, woodworking finish supplies including several different solvents.  So far, I haven't blown up the house!  BTW, the water heater is also natural gas fired.  If I have to spray any paint, I do it out in the garage.


> Anyway, kind of a fun exercise although tough because I don’t know what you like to do and where you spend the most time. A bit like trying to reorganize someone else’s kitchen.
> 
> -frank


And I'm a novice metal worker so I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do, either!  I do plan to try a couple of models and I know I enjoy resurrecting older machines to the best function they're capable of.  My table saw is an example.  It is an older Unisaw that was in pretty tough shape.  With a thorough cleaning, new bearings, wiring and a new fence, it is pretty sweet now (if I do say so myself)!  Just last night, an older General table saw sold for $150 in an auction.  Fixed up, I think it would be worth a minimum of $500.  It was tough to keep my finger off the "Bid" button!

Craig


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## trlvn (Sep 10, 2021)

YotaBota said:


> The workbench makes a good outfeed table for the tablesaw if it's the same height and on wheels.


I've done a far amount of hand-tool woodworking so my bench isn't mobile.  It's probably 400 pounds with the stuff stored underneath!  These are my hand planes:






Craig


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## trlvn (Sep 11, 2021)

New and improved!  (?)  -- 




Frank's comment about the paint cabinet made me think that what I've got stored both there and on the shop storage rack is stuff that I don't use regularly.  So why not put them in the storage room?  For example, I've got a tote full of household electrical stuff that I might only pull out every year or two.  Etc.

That led to making the storage room bigger and a new machine layout.

The way the furnace ducting works, only the extreme left side of the mill will be 'underneath'.  Since an overhead light won't be possible, I think a task lamp mounted to the mill or the wall ought to overcome that problem.  There is a spot for an overhead light above and to the right of the mill.  I'll be installing lighting over the other machines and benches.  Any suggestions for something that works well with an unfinished ceiling?

The tool cart is not in the best spot, however.  There is actually a pressure-release thingy on the side of the water heater tank (not shown) that points towards where the cart is shown.  

Also, the passage from the shop to the storage area is somewhat obstructed by the mill.  In practise, I don't think it will be too bad.

I think I'll sleep on this another night.  Any observations, ideas or comments would be great.

Craig


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## CalgaryPT (Sep 11, 2021)

Craig -- I'm envious of all the space too. I'm sure you already know this but please be careful when woodworking and producing fine particulate in proximity to water heaters and furnaces. WIth the right ventilation it can of course be OK, but it's that darn sanding that can be an issue.


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## francist (Sep 11, 2021)

I like it better already!

As for the milling machine table, my setup is kind of similar in that if I’m not careful I can hook the table on my way to the lathe. All I do is park it with the table fully to opposite side when I’m not using it. Takes but a minute to do and makes all the difference.


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## Chris Cramer (Sep 12, 2021)

That is quite a bit of space! I would love to have enough space to separate the areas for different crafting like woodwork, jewelry, electronics, and metalwork. Currently I do everything within one bay of our 2 car garage which is still much better than our old house. I like how you have done the layout. The way I have my shop laid out I managed to fit a 3' x 4' plasma table, a 3' x 6' work bench, a welder and plasma cutter, a chop saw, a large tool box and cabinet, and a forge and heat treatment oven. With all of that in my shop, it does leave me with limited space to forge, but there is also space outside for that.


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## jcdammeyer (Sep 14, 2021)

I understand the low ceiling part.  That determined what kind of mill I could fit.  Mine was projected to look like this.  The bench grinder isn't there.  No space.  The 3:1 tool and bench grinder are in another part of the garage.    I do find I have the equivalent of a kitchen work triangle from bench to tool chest to either mill or lathe.  But there really is never enough room...


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## CalgaryPT (Sep 15, 2021)

There have been a lot of threads on this topic over the years. I swear there is so much good information and experience here it could make for a great book.


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