How to Build a Small Woodworking Shop
Designing and building a custom wood shop is a woodworking enthusiast's dream. A small, attached, or freestanding workshop can become like a second home for the woodworker. To cut down on offending others with hammering, saws whirling, and sawdust aroma flowing through the house, a freestanding workshop is the best all-around design. A correctly built freestanding woodworking shop will allow plenty of room for building and fresh air to breath, while containing the majority of the noise when working at night or in tight community areas. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Table saw
- Circular saw
- 16 penny nail gun
- Air compressor
- Saw horses
- Hammer
- Screwdrivers
- Tape measure
- Level
- Extension cords
- 16 penny nails
- Finishing nails
- Wood screws
Instructions
-
-
1
When building a freestanding workshop, the wood enthusiast will need to grade and level the ground where the foundation or raised floor will be located. If building a woodshop inside a basement or garage, the first step should be to sound proof the walls if needed. Make sure all internal cold air returns have been covered with soundproof foam and plastic to keep out sound and dust. In both a freestanding or in-house woodshop, new ventilation will be installed to keep dust and gases from building up inside the woodshop area.
-
2
If building a freestanding woodworking shop, the woodworker should include both a standard entry door and a doublewide barn-like door, or single-car garage door to allow for easy entrance of raw materials and the exit of larger finished wood projects. When building an in-house woodshop, the woodworker should make sure they have ease of entry into the shop area. It is best to build in a garage, or if building in the basement, locate the workshop in an area with a window or exterior door. If the window is small, it can be removed and a larger window or door installed. If it is determined the woodshop will not have ease of entry for large raw materials or projects, then the woodworker can locate or build a material storage and temporary workspace outside the main woodshop.
-
-
3
Running the lighting within the woodworking shop is the next step in building a small woodworking shop. Plenty of energy-efficient windows, skylights, or garage doors should be installed to allow for natural lighting. Eco-friendly, energy-efficient fluorescent lights work best for internal shop lighting. It is also a good idea to add several flexible lights around the woodshop for directional lighting as needed. This type of lighting will come in handy around scroll saws, stationary routers, lathes, sanding areas and finishing workbenches.
-
4
Wiring or rewiring electrical outlets should be done next. Each piece of woodworking equipment should be on its own individual electrical circuit. The woodworker should also hang individual outlets in the ceiling over each workbench to plug in hand tools with ease. If there will be electronic equipment, like TVs, radios or computers in the woodshop, these should also be set up on their own circuits, to eliminate possible power surges, or interference from the woodworking equipment in the shop.
-
5
Running the dust collecting system is the last step. If building a new shop, then run the tubing inside the studs to eliminate the loss of wall space inside the shop. If building an in-house shop, and the woodworker is not installing new walls, then the tubing can be run along the ceiling and down the wall behind each piece of woodworking equipment. It is also wise to run a tube from the ceiling to each workbench in the woodworking shop to keep the workbench area clean.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
To eliminate gases and dust from becoming combustible, cut an opening close to the ceiling in an exterior wall, or use an existing window and install a bi-directional fan. This will allow for a continual air circulation.
