# Shop / workbench layout



## shirk (Mar 24, 2004)

I finally have a space to start building my first frame shaped objects. Still a month or more away from acquiring a torch and tubes but I over the weekend I started thinking about shop / workbench layout. My garage has one long single bench that was there when I moved in. Eventually I'll be re-doing the whole shop.

I notice in many of the pro builders pictures their vise is set out from the bench. 

If you had a blank space to start with what would you do?

Deeper bench or shallow bench? Wood top or something else? Vise beside tool box or across the room? A cart specifically for frame work tools so you could pack/close it up when you switch over to woodwork? Less bench space or more????

edit to add that my garage is 16x24. I never intend to park a vehicle in there on a regular basis but will use the shop for doing oil changes / brakes.


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

*Great topic*

Put me in the "needs help" category here as well - my "shop" (18x18') sort of evolved as I got tools and more and more random junk, and that evolution wasn't to an ideal state, I'm guessing. Got a new space in ~3 months that's 20x20 with a storage loft (woot!) so I'd love to see/hear/read about how other people have approached this.

Maybe I will attempt a napkin drawing of my current layout, too.

-Walt


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## bee (Apr 7, 2008)

If you are renovating your workshop, what you want to do with these spaces is paint the walls a brighter color. Brighter colors gives the illusion of opening up the space.

Smaller spaces offer a bit of a challenge. Making use of vertical space is a real necessity to getting the clutter off of floors and benches. I would hang cabinets, both bottom and top. That would also give protection to, and hide your expensive tools. Workbenches and garage-type of drawer systems are actually expensive when you could probably achieve a more elegant solution with cabinets and incorporation of your workbench with cabinets.

Lastly, try to hang as many of your bikes up off the floor as possibly. Bikes use up alot of valuable floor space and free up floor space will make it much easier to get around and do some work.


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## bee (Apr 7, 2008)

Oh yeah, lighting. The newer LED lighting systems are more expensive, but they are also more efficent and can turn a dark dingy work space into a bright, well-lit room. I would opt for multple recessed lighting, and also some task lighting above/below the cabinet and work spaces.


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## TrailMaker (Sep 16, 2007)

Well...

First off, I wouldn't spend too much time thinking about what you are going to do. Not if you want to hang here. You will catch a lot of shite from people for over thinking and not building a BIKE. 

I describe my shop as "10lbs of shop in a 5lb building." I do MANY MANY different things there, one of which is bike work. What I can tell you is that space will rapidly be filled, and flat surfaces will rapidly be covered. That's how it seems to work for me because - beyond the many and various things that go on there - I am a bit of a pack rat. However, I am a productive one, as I am gifted at turning seemingly random bits into useful items. It's an art, really. Neat freaks be damned.

Recommendation #1. One thing I can say is that everything is on wheels in my shop. Because of the tremendously varied stuff that goes on there, and the limited space, I need to be able to reconfigure to suit. That is a priceless ability.

Priority #2 is a good bench. My bench is higher than most anyone else could deal with, but it is so because I am quite tall. I can also roll my SnapOn roller cabinet UNDER it. Space saved. It is deep so that I can have stuff (drawers, cabinets, charging tools, etc.) on top of it and still have "open space" in front of that stuff. It is HEAVY STEEL (4x6x.250 angle iron frame) so I can toss things on it, beat things on it, mount a big 8" vice and wail on heavy metal on it, bolt my 2hp 10" bench grinder on it, a 4x36 belt sander, a manual tubing notcher with a 4' handle, and on and on. Lagged into the floor in multiple places. I could set a car on it.

Priority #3. A good vice. None of this cheap Chinese Tool Store stuff. Minimum level would be a lower price Wilton or such from Lowes. Cheap vices rob you of life juices and precious brain cells with their inefficiency. Also, minimum 6", preferably 8. My vice is on the open corner, which gives me more swing of vice rotation with vertically long items. There are times when I've contemplated building a pedestal stand that would mount in the floor where my big bender & engine stands do so that I could mount a vice out in free space for huge access. Haven't done it yet.

I could go on, but that is all either circumstantial of preferential, and you'll figure that all out. And remember... don't wait too long to build that bike.

EDIT... and what Bee said. You can NEVER have too much light. My 23x48 shop has THIRTEEN 8-footers in it, and I wish there were more!!!!!!


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## unterhausen (Sep 28, 2008)

The pedestal for the vise is a really good idea. I can't tell you how much I've fought the vise on the workbench over the years, but I've never really had a place where I felt comfortable bolting one down. It would also be nice to have a workbench without the vise sitting there. I could live without the bench, but the vise is in constant use.


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## todwil (Feb 1, 2007)

Must haves are TV, stereo and AC!! O and tools lots of tools!


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## Rody (Sep 10, 2005)

Lots 'o info to be found here..

Shop Layout Wisdom

rody


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## TrailMaker (Sep 16, 2007)

Hey;

Below is my engine/transmission stand set into the floor with 1/2" drop ins. It would not take much work at all to adapt this for use with a vice on top. As long as you were not honking on it too much, this 4" x .125" steel post would suffice. It is a little springy with a 300lb+ engine hanging on it! My Pro Tools 105 bender mounts here on a similar pedestal.

EDIT - These pedestals DO NOT STAY in this location. They are brought out when needed, and tucked away when not.


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## MDEnvEngr (Mar 11, 2004)

If you're going to be occasionally going to be using the garage for other stuff, put everything on wheels that you can. Make the bench high enough to roll the stuff under. If your bench is against the wall, it might be tough to work with the vice mounted on the bench. Mine is on my bench, but the bench is in the middle of the room, so I can walk around it. I would like the vice on a pedestal, but can't commit to a spot. Perhaps for you you could mount a "receiver" on the floor in the middle and you could mount the vice or jig or workstand in that as needed, then remove altoghether when a car needs to come in. Pegboard on the walls...painted white. Seperate "dirty" and "clean" areas to the extent possible. Bend the ends of your files and hang them over the vice...hang the hacksaw there too. And the shop rolls. Air for the dynafile and such is cool. Put the compressor outside the shop if you can. No need for TV, but radio and small fridge are great. File cabinet(s) for drawings, reference materials and parts. Drawing board...I just have a 4'X4' piece of masonite that I place on the bench to draw on, then I hang it on the wall when I'm done to look at the drawing as needed. I have a little brazing tank cart and love it: can roll everything out of the way when I'm not using it, roll it to where it's needed, etc. I wasn't going to reply, because I didn't think I had anything to say...guess I was wrong!


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## swift (Apr 3, 2007)

Volkswagen guy?

To OP: Wheels under most tools. Arranged in rows, with aisle ways between.

When you get setup, post pics along with the progress you're making on your frame.


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## jay_ntwr (Feb 15, 2008)

Walt, when I moved from the old house to the new house, the garages were a lot different so one thing I did was make scale wood blocks of all of my equipment (and the cars that may need to go in there in case of a hail storm) and was able to really consider how things were going to be placed in the shop.

I think I've done a great job (will post pictures later as the shop is a mess right now and I'm not about to post pictures of it) with the room that I have.

My major things to the OP:
1. Before you do anything, epoxy the floor. You'll only have 1 opportunity to do this and it's before you do anything else.

2. Paint the walls and ceiling with high gloss white paint. That way it stays looking clean and bounces light off everywhere which leads to #3.

3. Install a ton of lighting. More is better here. I have 64 feet of florescent lighting in a 19x21 foot space and will probably add another 16-32 feet at some point.

4. Install air lines on the ceiling so that you can have drops in your work areas. There is no reason to ever need to trip over an air hose. Ground leads, torch hoses, power cords are all bad enough. Eliminate air hoses on the ground. Also, plan on putting the compressor outside if you can. I haven't moved mine out yet, but the line is already out there so that I can do it when I get my shed built this summer. No sense in listening to that thing.

5. I like lots of shelf space. Cabinets look clean, but they are a waste of a lot of space.

6. Like shelf space, I like lots of pegboard and I like them to be separated by what they are for. I have a bike tools board, a woodworking one, and one for frame building.

7. Wheels, all my stuff is on wheels except for the big work surfaces and some of those just may end up on wheels one day too--still tweaking.

8. Radios and TVs can all be replaced by an old computer and it's really handy in the garage. You can look up specs, find hardware, order stuff, whatever, all from right there. I have a separate bookmarks on the web browser just for the garage. I can look up Rockler.com and find a router bit or MSC Direct and order a file or something. I have my whole CD collection on it in MP3, Pandora, Sirius streaming, and an auxiliary input if someone wants to plug in their own MP3/phone. This is one of the greatest ideas I had for the garage years ago and they are always built of retired computer parts from my home computer so it's cost me almost nothing to maintain. Do get a spill proof keyboard or you'll need to buy new keyboards constantly. They don't type well, but they work covered in dust and metal shavings and you can just blow them off with the air hose.

9. Make a list of the things you find yourself doing over and over that drive you crazy. Keep it a running list until you solve the problems. I have several things I'm going to tweak/change/finish but I'm really happy with how my shop has turned in version 2 since moving from version 1. My renter loves version 1 by the way.

10. It's on my list, but I want a floor mount like Trailmaker has. I just haven't gotten to it yet, but it will hold my frame jig.

I'll get some pictures posted up after the weekend. This one is fun though--proof that both cars _can_ fit if need be. I back hers in first, fold the mirrors and get out, then back mine in, put it in neutral, roll forward, get out, push it back in and chock the wheel. Not ideal, but it works and keeps me from getting yelled at during a storm by the wife unit.


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## 2wheelrider (Feb 20, 2011)

Lots of good ideas here. I'll be one more to say that most everything is on wheels as the lay out changes with what I'm doing. I would like steel bench tops but they a currently out of the budget and to be honest the wood is doing just fine and is easily/cheaply replaced. My garage has ten foot ceilings so most bikes are hung to free up floor space and my biggest issue is trying to keep seperate areas clean as I tend to use any and all flat surfaces to fill with cluter. The one thing I need to do is install a sink in the garage so i'm not using the kitchen for "non kitchen"reasons.


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## jay_ntwr (Feb 15, 2008)

*Shop*

I've been working on this for under a year now--a year ago this was just an empty hole and all the stuff was still at my old house. I've had several projects that I've been working on for the new house and also had a bad cycling injury that left me unable to do anything for a while. However, I'm back to getting the shop set up and I'm close to being able to work on bikes again.

This is the new shop looking outside, the rest of the photos go counter clockwise around the shop:









Brooms, dustpan, bottle opener, swimsuit calendar:









Woodworking bench, pegboard (I'd like this to have a metal top and double as a welding table in the future), also have an air drop in that corner:









Dust collection and tire/wheel storage:









Charging station, charged batteries sit on the shelf:









Frame stuff, note the three air drops:

























Tool box with tube storage underneath:









This is where the welding cart will go when it's done, has my WIP dining room table there at the moment:









Work desk and bike tool area w/ computer:

















I also keep all my bike fluids and "in stock" stuff on a the shelf/pegboard above the shelf. Above that is WIP wood storage for WWing projects:









Bench grinder, clamps, band saw, air crop:









Wall shelving for everything else. I'm starting to use wooden wine boxes to keep things in and burn what is in them with a pencil torch. All the big power tools fit under the shelf (planer, table saw, router, jointer) and the air compressor will move outside soon:









Road bikes and cruisers along with helmet shelf. This is all WIP. There will eventually be two air drops in the corner too, but I'm just not there yet. One will have a presta chuck w/ pressure gauge and the other will have a quick connect for other stuff. The shelf will get cleaned up too, don't know exactly what I want there yet. Yes, the bikes hang from the garage door track:









Better view shows that they are staggered to make it easy to get them in/out:









Work stand on the wall as well on a peg that I made and painted orange like the brook hooks:









Looking in, right now the table saw is out because the air compressor lives in it's home until it moves outside:









I've got a few sailboards that I'm not ready to part with on the ceiling under the door when it's up:









I've also got two fans (one above the desk, one above the tool box bench) that work on a 4 speed switch. The "fast" speed makes them whistle. This was a great buy at Home Depot recently:









Finally, there is a small closet off the garage where the water heater is. I keep my frame jig, welder, and geared bike in it as well as a ton of other, ummm holiday treasures--yeah, that's what that stuff is, not what I was going to say at first I have some pegboard in here too for paint brushes, rollers, etc. It's a mess right now, but as the shed gets finished, this will clean up a lot as well. The stretcher for the dining room table is in the first picture along with the new welder. To the left is the frame jig hanging on the wall and to the right my geared bike and water heater. I'll also be installing a heater for the winter that runs off of natural gas (already ran the line) when the new hot water heater went in:


















































I hope that gives you some ideas. Like I said, I'd like to add some more light and I will be moving the compressor to a shed. I should have taken a picture of the 1" pipe (don't use 1" pipe either--use copper. Next time I'll just spend the extra money and it will save lots of time and sweat) penetrating the eve of the house where the Air Conditioner penetrates, but I didn't think about it until just now. Let me know if you have any other questions.


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## shirk (Mar 24, 2004)

Thanks for the detailed pics and info jay.


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## NEPMTBA (Apr 7, 2007)

bee said:


> Oh yeah, lighting. The newer LED lighting systems are more expensive, but they are also more efficent and can turn a dark dingy work space into a bright, well-lit room. I would opt for multple recessed lighting, and also some task lighting above/below the cabinet and work spaces.


 Very important for me painted everything bright white, and lots of lights. Florescent for now, but going LED slowly!


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## marpilli (Feb 8, 2011)

It may not be frame-building specific; but, there are a lot of good ideas for general shop layout here: http://forums.mtbr.com/tooltime/whats-your-shop-look-like-thread-600073.html


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## drunkinCO (Jan 24, 2009)

*Garage Shot*

This thread is very inspiring... Here's a pic of mine:



This is considerably less messy and cluttered than normal. Simple layout with wheels hanging random on the ceiling, new parts hung in various spots on the wall but the tools are very specific. The torch is by the vice under a small counter, files in front of the vice. Cutting tools are segregated with the frame/jig tools and the general mechanics tools have their place too. To go with the theme of this; lighting is the #1 thing to think about, i've added 4 48" depot lights plus several spots and i could use 4 more. The space is very small and cluttered with life but i can still sit there for hours and think about new projects (ZEN)


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