Making multipurpose shops work

[AaronW]

Hey everyone. So I'm mostly a woodworker, but am currently finishing up my 89 V3500, and have a good bit more mechanicing to do, in future, including on couple more squarebody pickups.

Anyway, I've got concrete floor on one side of my shop, and wood floor on the other, with one great big wood stove in the middle, to heat the whole thing. I'm noticing some challenges, trying to work on cars, weld, and so on, on the concerete side, simultaneously with doing furniture work, on the other side.

...so after that long intro, I'm wondering what those of you do, who do multiple different types of things, under the same shop roof. It's really nice, having all my tools under one roof, but dust control, for example, is going to be an issue. I'd be interested in seeing pics, of good ideas all of you ahve come up with.

aaron

 

[Redfish]

I don't think you can keep sawdust from getting EVERYWHERE even if you had a good vacuum system. I am clearing ground for a shop right now and I already know that I cannot do wood work in there without contaminating everything else I do. I think you either need a wall and ceiling system to make completely separate rooms or you need another shop altogether.

But I am curious to see if anyone does have a system that works. Good thread, good question.

 

[BearKing]

Hey everyone. So I'm mostly a woodworker, but am currently finishing up my 89 V3500, and have a good bit more mechanicing to do, in future, including on couple more squarebody pickups.

Anyway, I've got concrete floor on one side of my shop, and wood floor on the other, with one great big wood stove in the middle, to heat the whole thing. I'm noticing some challenges, trying to work on cars, weld, and so on, on the concerete side, simultaneously with doing furniture work, on the other side.

...so after that long intro, I'm wondering what those of you do, who do multiple different types of things, under the same shop roof. It's really nice, having all my tools under one roof, but dust control, for example, is going to be an issue. I'd be interested in seeing pics, of good ideas all of you ahve come up with.

aaron

I was forced to use my car shop for a wood working project for my daughters wedding. NEVER AGAIN. Stupid idea to use wood and metal working in the same shop. Very small woodworking projects like gluing something would be ok but cutting, sanding, shaping and using a router would be dumb in my opinion. The wood dust gets into EVERY crack or seam on EVERYTHING. It took me over a year to get my car shop back to the way it was before I was building wood stuff for my child. I am a master cabinet builder and woodworker also. I have all the tools to run a cabinet making shop but now I keep them FAR away from my auto shop. What pain it is when you put sawdust into the works of your stored cars/trucks. Just my experience. It means nothing so at least there’s that.

 

[Shorty81]

My bandsaw makes a huge mess. I run it outside mostly. We are building a 72" wide x 144" long planer table. Going to hook up to large dust collector .

 

[AaronW]

I've got a large, 4500 cfm dust collector, that sits outside my shop wall, with a trunk line that goes under my footer and then under the shop floor and which I'm gradually getting all my tools hooked up to. I've been contemplating some sort of large plastic curtain between the two sides of my shop, maybe with one of those zipper doors, like you see on job sites. Curious if someone has tried such a plan. Shen I get a minute, I'll post a few pics of myshop, maybe a visual on the layout might assist the collective wisdom.

Aaron

 

[StickyLifter]

I don't have wood working equipment, but my shop area also stores our yard equipment and my wife's potting bench area. For me, the biggest culprit is my angle grinder when I sharpen my mower blades. I have a good setup for sharpening blades and I mow two acres, so I tend to sharpen my blades every 2nd or 3rd mow. I've gotten so I either take my equipment outside or at least point the grinder out the garage door. That helps a lot.

Now if I could just find a way to keep tools and crap from accumulating on top of my tool chest and bench

 

[Soundmound]

Now if I could just find a way to keep tools and crap from accumulating on top of my tool chest and bench

In one of my previous careers we call those NFS's or Nearest Flat Surface. Always accumulating crap because folks didn't want to cross the warehouse lol. It's a hard habit to break.

 

[Grit dog]

For me, the biggest culprit is my angle grinder when I sharpen my mower blades. I have a good setup for sharpening blades and I mow two acres, so I tend to sharpen my blades every 2nd or 3rd mow.

What in the _____?

 

[Redfish]

I don't have wood working equipment, but my shop area also stores our yard equipment and my wife's potting bench area. For me, the biggest culprit is my angle grinder when I sharpen my mower blades. I have a good setup for sharpening blades and I mow two acres, so I tend to sharpen my blades every 2nd or 3rd mow. I've gotten so I either take my equipment outside or at least point the grinder out the garage door. That helps a lot.

Now if I could just find a way to keep tools and crap from accumulating on top of my tool chest and bench

I cut about two acres here and another two acres at my parent's home. I usually swap blades twice per year but the dust from the blade sharpening doesn't affect me at all. My setup is Much Better than yours. I just leave the dull blades at Pop's and the next time I go to cut his yard the blades are magically re-sharpened! I could certainly do it myself but it is more fun this way. And I don't have that gray dust all over MY shop.

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[1979 c20]

Yeah, goats won't shape that so nicely.

 

[StickyLifter]

I cut about two acres here and another two acres at my parent's home. I usually swap blades twice per year but the dust from the blade sharpening doesn't affect me at all. My setup is Much Better than yours. I just leave the dull blades at Pop's and the next time I go to cut his yard the blades are magically re-sharpened! I could certainly do it myself but it is more fun this way. And I don't have that gray dust all over MY shop.

Yeah, I can't compete with that!

Part of the reason I sharpen mine all the time is river rock from our landscaping seems to always find a way to get into the grass and my blades get beat up pretty bad. I bought an All American blade sharpening system last summer. Expensive, but it works very well. I have three sets of blades for my deck and sharpen them all at once. I'd guess I can sharpen all 9 blades in 40 minutes or less.

 

[67ventwindow]

I am not a big wood worker. I have a table saw, band saw and a router table. I set them up in the horses shower stall it has cross ventilation and easy to clean up. If I don't need one of the three I just do it outside. I don't have much to cleanup that way. In my garage, I do have a little corner for my grinder and I use my MIG outside most of the time. My biggest mess maker is my vise. But I have been thinking about mounting a vise on the rear bumper of my truck. My Dad and uncles always had one on theirs I guess that is the reason.

 

[bucket]

What in the _____?

That's what I'm saying, lol. I've been mowing ~5 acres for the last 10+ years. Kids leave toys hidden in the grass, garden tools in the grass, big rocks in the grass and I've been known to mow down volunteer shrubs and bushes with 1" trunks... I might sharpen blades once a year. But it's normally every other year.

I guess John Deere and vintage Cub Cadet blades are better quality than others.

 

[wanderinthru]

Hey everyone. So I'm mostly a woodworker, but am currently finishing up my 89 V3500, and have a good bit more mechanicing to do, in future, including on couple more squarebody pickups.

Anyway, I've got concrete floor on one side of my shop, and wood floor on the other, with one great big wood stove in the middle, to heat the whole thing. I'm noticing some challenges, trying to work on cars, weld, and so on, on the concerete side, simultaneously with doing furniture work, on the other side.

...so after that long intro, I'm wondering what those of you do, who do multiple different types of things, under the same shop roof. It's really nice, having all my tools under one roof, but dust control, for example, is going to be an issue. I'd be interested in seeing pics, of good ideas all of you ahve come up with.

aaron

They don't work! Unless they are huge or cut into rooms. Mine is cut into rooms, one is the "clean" machine shop, lathes, mills work tables for jobs and where any engine work goes on. I will not bring a grinder into this room, does have a little bench grinder where I touch up drill bits cutting tools etc.. it won't run a half hour a year. Other room is where all the cutting welding,grinding, and where the bench and belt grinders are set up the "dirty" work happens in there.. The race car is in it as well.

Edit ro add. The heavy plastic curtian works pretty well, have used one in the past. Though not sure how it would get along with the heater?

 

[CalSgt]

That's what I'm saying, lol. I've been mowing ~5 acres for the last 10+ years. Kids leave toys hidden in the grass, garden tools in the grass, big rocks in the grass and I've been known to mow down volunteer shrubs and bushes with 1" trunks... I might sharpen blades once a year. But it's normally every other year.

I guess John Deere and vintage Cub Cadet blades are better quality than others.

^^^ This except for way less acreage