Small Home Hobbyist Workshop?

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I've looked at the pictures of the various workshops some of you have and I'm blown away and envious. WAY out of my league. I'm a newbie semi-hobbyist that's been meaning to enclose my small patio (11' x 16') for a whole lot of years. All it has been is a place to toss junk on. Well, my toy MIG got me to think of enclosing it to make a workshop -- then I can try gas, too. I saw a 10' x 12' Tuff Shed outside a Home Depot and went inside it. I immediately thought it would make a decent workshop with the 18" (or so) shelf/worktop that went around it and loft above to store some materials. That got me thinking and I'm looking for more ideas.So, if you have a small home shop I'd love to see some pictures of it.Thanks.Last edited by Visorblue; 02-10-2007 at 10:09 AM.Warning: I have been wrong before!New small workshop, small MIG, oxyacetylene set with a DHC-2000 that I'm learning to use and really like. Life is good!Typos are there for those that look for them. I try to do something for everybody.
Reply:Good idea. However, that small of an area, make sure you cover the floor/walls in some type of fire retardent material (main area where you grind/weld) and have ventilation. Most shops have a conrete floor so are good at keeping the sparks at bay. Your shop is what you make of it, keep working away and good luck.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Originally Posted by MicroZoneGood idea. However, that small of an area, make sure you cover the floor/walls in some type of fire retardent material (main area where you grind/weld) and have ventilation. Most shops have a conrete floor so are good at keeping the sparks at bay. Your shop is what you make of it, keep working away and good luck.
Reply:There you go, good job so far, that should hold up fine!John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:I immediately thought it would make a decent workshop with the 18" (or so) shelf/worktop that went around it and loft above to store some materials. That got me thinking and I'm looking for more ideas.
Reply:You should consider closing the patio as you thought and I would also encorporate a roll up door at one end for keeping the equipment dry and secure. You don't want to be working inside of that small of an enclosed space  for welding and grinding.  I operate out of my garage and work outside on the patio.  Plenty of room to move around and ventilation is not an issue.  Although, in your climate conditions, it may not always be possible to work when you want.  I can't work when we get  some of our occasional rain around here and don't like it when it's over 100* in the sun.  You could consider adding an extension awning for rain though. I made a 6'X6' rolling welding screen to minimize off-spray from the grinder and to prevent flash for the wife who may walk by to the laundry area IN MY 2X GARAGE!    Hobart 140 Handler w/ gasHyperTherm Powermax 380 Plasmaoxy/acetylene
Reply:Although, in your climate conditions, it may not always be possible to work when you want. I can't work when we get some of our occasional rain around here and don't like it when it's over 100* in the sun.
Reply:Ugh, more like a cycle of ventilation/air conditioning. John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Ventilation is taken care off. No rolling doors. It's a small home workshop for a hobbyist to tinker in. I won't be working on anything that's very big nor heavy so the space is fine for my needs. Cooling is also covered.I have the walls, windows, structure, ventilation, etc. parts worked out. I'm just looking for pictures of interior of other small home hobbyists' workshops.Last edited by Visorblue; 02-10-2007 at 02:06 PM.Warning: I have been wrong before!New small workshop, small MIG, oxyacetylene set with a DHC-2000 that I'm learning to use and really like. Life is good!Typos are there for those that look for them. I try to do something for everybody.
Reply:Check out the thread " post pics of your shop " , it's a long thread so there are quite a few good pics in there.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:here are a few from inside the welding part of my small shop. the welding room is off the right side of the main shed. the welding room is 8'X12' addition off a 12'X12' with another 8'X12' added to the back. it started out as a 12'X12' wooden storage building. first i added power then started adding 8'X12'  sections. the first 8'X12' was to alow me to use my table saw without having to open the door or run the part out the back window. that made the shop 12'X20' then i wanted to start welding and plasma cutting so i added a 12'X8' off the right side for a welding room. i have a 6'X8' welding screen as a door so the wife and or kids dont get flashed if they come in wile i'm welding. a 4'X6'X1 1/2" (i think) welding table takes up most of the space in there. bycicle hooks hold most of my tools suspended from the roof or walls to keep them out and accesable wile still out of the way. a larg fan mounted in the wall and another near the door provide plenty of as needed air flow wile still alowing no flow for TIG work if needed. best advice i could give would be hang as many tools as you can so they are out of the way but still easy to get to.you will have to excuse the mess but i was in the midle of several projects at the same time when these pic's were taken. i'll try to geta few better shots if i get a chance. i have a wall in the house i just added dry wall to i ned to finish off today so odds are good i wount get a chance till tomarow.hope these help some. Attached Images summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:here are a few better shots of the hooks in use. no way i could keep all the grinders and screw guns and sawsals on shelfs and have easy acces to them like i do with the hooks.also a simple bar like a towl bar for the bathroom will hold a lot of C-clamps out where you can grab the size ya need fast. Attached Images summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Originally Posted by MicroZoneCheck out the thread " post pics of your shop " , it's a long thread so there are quite a few good pics in there.
Reply:Hahaa - the "clarke logo" is under that green cover. I keep that covered because it's right next to the chop saw. Thanks for the compliment. Yes, that's the small shop area - 24x24 but normally I have to work in an L shape as most times there are either 1 or 2 cars in there. I try to make the most use of my space, this includes using your WALL space to the maximum! Try to keep everything off the floor, keep your walk space unobstructed. It gets frustrating walking over stuff, tripping over cords, etc. It looks like you have a good start. John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Originally Posted by fun4now.here are a few better shots of the hooks in use. no way i could keep all the grinders and screw guns and sawsals on shelfs and have easy acces to them like i do with the hooks. also a simple bar like a towl bar for the bathroom will hold a lot of C-clamps out where you can grab the size ya need fast.
Reply:Yes, locking cabinets are a good thing. If you buy new though, they are expensive. Notice how my pics are bright and tons of light? Getting ample lighting is not enough, have plenty of light. Ever notice most of the pics on this forum, some shops are dark and gloomy? Not enough lighting. Making my adapter plate for my plow, I had to turn on an additional 4 foot lamp above my welding area. The more light, the better you can see welding those gaps, laps and joints.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Originally Posted by MicroZoneYes, locking cabinets are a good thing. If you buy new though, they are expensive.
Reply:i put rooking felt on the walls, then sprayed a white bed liner onto it. the room was like a cave with black felt, no matter how many lights i had on the felt just soaked up the light and it was just dark every where. i used the roofing felt so any sparks flying into the walls would not go into the insilation. if you go that rought be shore to start at the bottom and work up overlapping a good bit , i went about 1ft over lap. any flying sparks just bounce off and fall to the floor. you dont want then to be laying in the corner up against a wooden studd and the back of your T-111.light is a big + no dought. HF has a halogen light on a swing out wall mount thats realy nice. i have several of the standerd haligen work lights but still want one of the swing out ones it looks realy helpfull and space saving. in the welding part of my shop i have a 4ft floresent and 2 each 2ft floresent's and a portable halogen. they do a good job and i rarely need the halogen. lens shade also makes a big difference. i started with a fixed shade 11 hood witch as you are finding is way too dark for the amp's you are using as with the amps i'm using. i got a Miller BWE and set it at 9 and its made the use of the halegen almost never needed, its also realy helped the look of my welds asi can see so much better. my welding room off the right of my shop is only 8ftX12ft so the floresents do a good job, the 4ft one is directly above my welding tabe and the 2 smaller ones are over my bench with the grinder on it.That's why I posted this thread, hoping that the people with small home hobby shops might feel more inclined to post pictures of their shops.well ya know how some people get when you start talking about the size of there tool.  i mean tool shed  umm work space.. ..ya thats it. every one has to start some where. once you get a few walls arond your's you will start thinking about needing a good air compresser then some air tools, then,,,,,,,,,,,,,, you get the idea. biggest thing is always try your verry best to never sell any tools, even if you think you will never need it again. as soon as its gone you will start missing it, the only way to get a well equiped shop on a budjet (trust me i know budjet's) is to never go back, always forward. i have to say the wife has been a big help here for me as i keep wanting to lend my tools out and she keeps stopping me, too many never seem to find there way home. or they come home and the first time i go to use it they eather brake or are already broken.on to storage locker's.if you have aindustreal complex near you you should drive threw every once in a wile, they throw out realy nice stuff when they upgrade. i got this metal cabanet with pull out shelves and closable front steel doors for free, just had to haull it off.also got the steel drower desk next to it free. they throw out a lot of realy nice stuff, heck i didnt even have to paint the hselves there wernt even any scratches on it. that was my best find i think, but got a few cabenets and benches, oh ya my 1 1/2" thick welding table was also a freebee but i broke my cum-along getting it into the truck so i guess it was realy $20 due to tool replacement.LOL Attached Images summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Originally Posted by fun4now.i used the roofing felt so any sparks flying into the walls would not go into the insilation.
Reply:the table move into the shop took 6 people and lots of beer to convince them. its realy nice and defenetly over kill but for free it was just what i needed. i can hammer on it do just about any thing i want on it and its good and solid no worries, i realy like it a lot. no way i would have spent the $$ to get one like it if it was not free but glad its like it is just the same. one realy cool thing about it is i can use an air hammer to work thin (1/8") sheet right against the table top.yard sails are great places to pick up stuff thats for shore. i have herd the HF 4.5" grinder is prity solid for light to med. work, might be werth looking into when yoiu get ready to add to your colection. i have 4 each 4.5's now 2 B&D's and 2 heavyer portacable's. i just got a TA-185 so i can start playing with aluminum so i'll probly be getting a few more to dedicate to aluminum only, good time to try out the HF version. for now i just keep the disks and brushes marked so i dont mix them up, just change them out as needed. i have gotten spoild about not having to chang them for so long its going to push me to add to the set.being broke all the time means i have a long list of gotta haves, so it's going to be a wile i think but i'll post my thoughts on them if and when i get some HF'skeeping the welding away from the wood is easy, but as soon as you add walls you will start to notice just how far the sparks fly when grinding or using a cut off tool. a good saws-all is realy nice to have, its no band saw thats for shore but it will get you cut to close realy quick and the grinder with a flap disk can usualy clean it right up.i got a band saw on the list too but like i said its a long list and a light wallet so the sawsall is doing fine for now. after all i'm just playing in my lil shop out back to keep from going insain stiiting at home all day the shop may not be making me any $$ yet but its defenetly saved me a bundle on repairing stuff so untill i can figure out how to get it to start making $$ i have to be content with saving my sanity and a lil $$ here and there.hey its all fun4now  summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:heres what I got at home its basically just a little bigger than 1 car garage I dont have the room to extend the side out to a 2 car garage or I would have I did make 2 build outs in the walls though for my big stuff so I have plenty of room to get my car in there and move it around and work on it when the car is out I have plenty or room to do everything the big thing with small spaces is making stuff that is mobile my vertical band saw is on a stand with locking casters that I made so I can move it around, my bench is on hinges bolted to the wall so I can swing it up and lock it against the wall when I need the extra room to pull a motor out of a car, I have a lot of hanging room on the walls, and made a decent sized attic over the top of the garage (when I changed the pitch on the roof) so I can keep pretty much anything up there that Im not using at the time My key was I needed something to fit my car and be able to move it around to work on it and be able to pull and install drivetrains,  all my tool boxes my compressor and drill press and my big syncrowave 300 tig, I have a lot of cabinets mounted on the walls for storage as wellLike I said try and make everything mobile that can be if your in a tight space and organization is key with small areas heres the only 2 pics I have right now of the build outs with my big machines in there
Reply:thats a realy cool idea bumping out part of the wall to reses the big stuff into. looks like its giving you a lot more usable floor space without having to do a major addition. thats kinda how i added out the 2 sides of my shop, i just went a lot bigger but i have more room to build out. but small pop outs like that will be easy and fairly inexpensive, i might just have to do a little of that myself. would make a nice lil pop out to keep all the welder carts parked out of the way without having to do a major addition, just a lil 5'X3'X3' pop out and i'll have a space to park the welder carts. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Yeah it took about 2 days to finish them (helps when your dad owns a construction company) but it wasnt bad at all only thing was I had to have the cement poured but I did it the same time I extended my garge I went 10 feet off the front I originally had a 1 car garage but my wife wanted to make a seperate laundry room ( I dont have a basement) So we took the front half of the garage and made it a laundry roomnow with the extension its a little longer than a normal 1 car garage and the build outs are a huge help best idea I ever had
Reply:Originally Posted by fun4now.the table move into the shop took 6 people and lots of beer to convince them.
Reply:Originally Posted by ralphiejantzheres what I got at home its basically just a little bigger than 1 car garage I dont have the room to extend the side out to a 2 car garage or I would haveOkay, first there's the patio (11' x 16') I'm enclosing (and the rear-end of my Great Dane puppy).  My current welding area is to the left of the ladder.Next is my rough plan using two windows I found behind a storage shed (been there, unnoticed, for a lot of years), a potential third window and a large doggie door -- not to scale.  The last picture shows the framing in place. Found a pre-hung windowed door so I killed the third window. Debating on the doggie door and maybe even a skylight. Getting close though. Hope to have the paneling up this week so I can start thinking of the inside arrangement.Last edited by Visorblue; 02-12-2007 at 08:36 PM.Warning: I have been wrong before!New small workshop, small MIG, oxyacetylene set with a DHC-2000 that I'm learning to use and really like. Life is good!Typos are there for those that look for them. I try to do something for everybody.
Reply:cool, great to see some progress. better hury up and get some T-111 on those studs, if your dog is like my bullmastifs he will eat the studs.i know mine would. always fun to have a 140lbs puppy in the chewing stage of life.and they dont grow out of it. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Originally Posted by fun4now.cool, great to see some progress. better hury up and get some T-111 on those studs, if your dog is like my bullmastifs he will eat the studs.i know mine would. always fun to have a 140lbs puppy in the chewing stage of life.and they dont grow out of it.
Reply:Wow, some great progress, looks good.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:I consider my shop small....it used to be 20Lx12W.  I added 6 ft out which made it much more comfortable.  I've used up every inch of wall space for storage....I typically have 4 projects going at once, so shelf space comes in handy for storing parts.  It was difficult to find space for my lathe, brake, hoist, Tig, Mig, and tools boxes.  Proper planning was key. Utilize your space properly.  As an example...I used to have a full standing drill press. I chopped it's support pole in half, remounted it on it's stand and then built a support table underneath it.  In the support table I installed a set of roller brackets and affixed my chop saw to them.  The chop saw now tucks away nicely under the drill press and rolls out easily for use.  I need the floors clear because I typically work on cars.  I know the pictures I have posted are of projects but you can get the idea of how my shop is arranged.
Reply:I am surprised how small those pics posted so here are links to larger versions.photo 1photo 2photo 3Last edited by spiral-cut-bevel; 02-12-2007 at 10:29 PM.
Reply:Wow, what is that little chassis car you're building? Very intriguing!John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:got any more pic's of that lil car?? i always thought it would be cool to build a lil indy car. you know, just for running up to the corner store for milk or bread. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:I work on vintage formula cars for private individuals.  My good friend who is my best client, has four cars I take care of.  I do fabrication, maintenance, assembly and race prep on the cars.   The chassis pictured is a Royale RP-39 Formula Continental.  The other car is a Royale Rp-16 Formula Ford.  Here are a few more pictures of the cars and another "newer" Formula Ford I worked on.(pic 1)rp-39 engine)pic 2) RP-39(pic 3) RP-16 engine(pic 4) RP-16(pic 5) Van Dieman chassis/engine(pic 6) Van Dieman
Reply:Very cool stuff graham, thanks for sharing pics of those great cars!John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:way cool, do ya get to drive them any?? shore seems like it would be great fun. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Wow! Just goes to show what you can do with any sized shop if you stay organized.Craftsman 230a Buzz-box,  Lincoln 140T & 180T, Century K2789, PUROX W202 O/A14" cheapo chop saw that cuts straight and square!A toolbox of the cheapest Chinese tools money can buy"Real" tools all old reliable Husky/Craftsman/Proto stuff
Reply:I see these on Craigslist from time to time and even ebay. Seems like it was made for people with smaller shops. A Craftsman Rotary Workbench 65511 (also listed often as Craftsman Rotary Tool Bench), discontinued and I have no idea how well it worked, but I love the idea: Attached ImagesLast edited by Visorblue; 02-13-2007 at 06:32 PM.Warning: I have been wrong before!New small workshop, small MIG, oxyacetylene set with a DHC-2000 that I'm learning to use and really like. Life is good!Typos are there for those that look for them. I try to do something for everybody.
Reply:thats prety cool. i dont know about the tools on it now, prety tall to spin all the way around looks scary. but it would be a cool idea for 2 bench grinders. 1 for tungsten, 1 for steel, 1 for aluminum. just spin it to the one you need.i mugh just have to make one one of thease days, man thats all i need more stuff on the to do list. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Originally Posted by fun4now.thats prety cool. i dont know about the tools on it now, prety tall to spin all the way around looks scary.
Reply:it shore looks like it dosent it. i was thinking more of them hitting the ground when rooling to the next tool, the removable sides would be a must thats for shore.i just think it would be a great option for bench grinders, as you start to need so many when you start TIGing and using only aluminum on one and one for tungsten, and then another for steel, its just a nice space saver idea and the bench grinders are plenty robust with no lose parts to pop out or off in the flip, as well as being fairly low. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:good thread guys
Reply:Excellent stuff here.Now I have to add that rotary Sears thing to my build list. I must admit, it's one of the coolest things I've seen for a small workshop.I wonder, aloud, what a 5 turret rig would take to build?Craftsman 230a Buzz-box,  Lincoln 140T & 180T, Century K2789, PUROX W202 O/A14" cheapo chop saw that cuts straight and square!A toolbox of the cheapest Chinese tools money can buy"Real" tools all old reliable Husky/Craftsman/Proto stuff
Reply:Originally Posted by wallythackerExcellent stuff here.Now I have to add that rotary Sears thing to my build list. I must admit, it's one of the coolest things I've seen for a small workshop.I wonder, aloud, what a 5 turret rig would take to build?
Reply:A security thought about the doggie door ... if a big dog can get through it so can the bad guys!  My adult son got in through mine when he left his key inside.My angle grinder is my best friend!
Reply:as long as the doggie is there to eat him he is welcome to come in the doggy door. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Yeah, a doggie door for a Great Dane is almost as big as a full door.   You can get metal covers, etc. for them. Holding off a bit as I just read that you shouldn't have a doggie door for a Great Dane.Just finished installing the paneling. Need to add a few more screws, flashing on the left side, trim the windows and doors, and paint. Almost there!  Attached ImagesWarning: I have been wrong before!New small workshop, small MIG, oxyacetylene set with a DHC-2000 that I'm learning to use and really like. Life is good!Typos are there for those that look for them. I try to do something for everybody.
Reply:Looks good, you made quick work of turning your work area from open to enclosed!John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Just hoping we can get some more posters showing their small shops so I can get some ideas for I muck up the interior. Warning: I have been wrong before!New small workshop, small MIG, oxyacetylene set with a DHC-2000 that I'm learning to use and really like. Life is good!Typos are there for those that look for them. I try to do something for everybody.
Reply:looking good, you better get some tools in there befor the wife turns it into a sewing room or some thing. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.