My shop is 21 x 27 with a stairwell out of it to a one bedroom apartment above which I have converted to my office. I started turning the garage into a woodshop about a year and a half ago. When I started, it had one plug-in and two light bulbs. I have replaced both doors with insulated doors, replaced the old fuse box with a breaker box and wired it both for 110 and 220. I added a Jet 1 ½ hp dust collector and ran pipe to most of my machines. I have a utility sink that I need to plumb in so I don’t have to run upstairs all the time. The furnace and AC for my office is in the garage so it never gets too hot or too cold and when I need it, I have a vent that I can open in the garage. I am still working on tool and wood storage and some shop furniture. I have a bathroom and kitchen upstairs in my office and I am thinking about making the bedroom a finishing room for things small enough to get up there.

My tools include a Delta Unisaw, Delta drill press, Delta band saw with a Kreg fence, a Powermatic hollow chisel mortiser, a Powermatic 15? planer, a Delta DJ20 8? jointer, a Jet slow speed wet sharpener, a Dewalt compound miter saw, an 8? bench grinder with a wolverine jig, an Earlex 5000 series HVLP spray station. We are getting there but we still have a long way to go.

My shop is small, so I use all available space as efficiently as possible, especially wall space.  I have plenty of storage for the small hardware that usually sits on the table in the way.  I use the empty space under tables and benches and also under my table saw out feed table.  The shop is 20′ x 24′ and I have all the room I need, but it took me a year to get it there.  I also have a garage door for getting stuff in and out.  As you will notice in the pictures, there isn’t ANY wall space (at floor level) that is not used.  I still have plenty of room to move around.  I have an open area which is about 10′ x 15′ and when I want to use a piece of equipment, I roll it out there, use it and then roll it back, that way it doesn’t sit out in the middle of the floor for me to walk around, trip over or use for a table to store things on like Marc does.  Gotcha Marc!!

And did ya notice the boards on the table? Those are for my new torsion box I’m making!! Thanks to Marc!! I made the out feed table myself.  It is two sets of rollers and it really works great. It took several changes in layout and a year working at it, but I think I got it now. Also, if you notice, I even have my roll around tool boxes in the shop! The layout table will be real nice when it’s done. I like things nice and neat and clean. I sweep the shop every time I use it, which makes for a better attitude. My shop is also heated and air conditioned and I have hot and cold water and soon it will have cable tv and telephone. Guess where I go when the wife’s mad? Thanks for looking at my shop and I hope you enjoyed it!

This shop is in a one car garage set off from the main 2 car garage. I added a door between the two to keep dust (and heat) contained in the shop portion. This is what it looks like between major projects, after all of the flat surfaces have been cleared of the tools, sandpaper, wood scraps, finish containers and all the miscellaneous stuff that accumulates during a project.

The equipment has been acquired over many years, some items are replacements of early items (Craftsman Hybrid table saw to replace original Ryobi, Dewalt planer to replace original Delta) and some have been in the shop quite a while (Delta drill press and small jointer). The dust collection system was upgraded a couple years ago and really creates a much more pleasant (and safer) work environment, it goes to all major tools and can connect to the random orbit sander as well.

Over the past couple of years I built new cabinet bases for many of the tools, trying to find logical groupings of tools to share a base (drill press/jointer, planer/miter saw) and all on wheels so they can be tucked away when not needed. The large white built-in cabinets hold finishing supplies, hardware, hand tools (jig saw, biscuit cutter, drills etc).

The main limit of the shop size is dealing with larger stock – ripping an 8 foot board is a bit of a challenge requiring moving the table saw and working with full plywood panels requires rough cuts with a circular saw to get down to sizes the can be managed on the table saw without a large in or out feed surface. But I am not complaining – I know I am fortunate to have this much space to work with, less than some, but more than most.

Here are a few other reviews and comparisons that you might want to check out:
Mike Heidrick’s Comparison on Sawmill Creek
Tom Hintz’s Review at New Woodworker
Professional Power Tool Guide Review
Festool’s Tracksaw Site

Here are the companies we visited:

Leigh, Blum Tool Co., Ex-Factory, DeWalt, Powermatic, Delta, and Laguna.

For more IWF coverage, check out these great resources:
Fine Woodworking Editors Blog
Popular Woodworking Blog