Optimizing shop space

[gearheads78]

My wife made fun of me but I thought I would share what I just did anyway. I have a decent size garage but it still small for the junk I have in it about 890 sq ft . I have been collecting fabrication machinery and equipment over the last couple years and now it's time to set it all up.

I spent some time taking accurate measurements of the shop, lift and every shelf and piece of equipment I have. I then went inside and on poster board draw a scale drawing of the garage and lift. Now hear comes the part my wife was laughing at. I drew a car to scale and made squares and rectangles to scale of floor space needed for each item. I labled all the shapes and set inside the shop. I moved things around 4-5 times to get the best possible use of my space.

Moving around a piece of paper sure beat moving a 2500 lb press brake 4 times

[jcal87]

seems practical to me

[Karnage]

You are definately on the right track to working out the optimised use of your space. One other thing to consider is the swing room you need to use some of the equipment.

[gearheads78]

Originally Posted by Karnage

You are definately on the right track to working out the optimised use of your space. One other thing to consider is the swing room you need to use some of the equipment.

Thats what I did. The floor space shapes included working space.

[ironworks]

I have had 4 shops in 8.5 year and the get progressively bigger, 700 sqf, 1800 sqf, 3800 sqf, and 7200, until I got the adjoining section to make it 10,000.

Here is what I have learned.

You will never have it all figured out until you work in it for 6 months, Hind sight is always 20/20.

In small spaces make things roll around on good casters.

Make things modular, Make you work bench solid but able to attach work piece to it and remove them when done.

No matter how much space you have it will never be enough, never.

We rent storage lockers across the street from my shop for cheap space to store things out of the way. When you take a car apart it takes up the space of 3 cars when torn apart.

Don't buy a tool just to use it once. By the tools you will use 3 times a year or more. Borrow the never used tools or pay some one else to do the tast or rent the tool from them. There are so manytools needed to build a car you will filll up a 2 car garage so quickly you will not have enough room for the car.

Don't have to many work benches, work benches become shelves.

[Musclerodz]

Originally Posted by ironworks

Don't have to many work benches, work benches become shelves.

you must have been by my shop recently.....

[MODO Innovations]

Originally Posted by gearheads78

My wife made fun of me but I thought I would share what I just did anyway. I have a decent size garage but it still small for the junk I have in it about 890 sq ft . I have been collecting fabrication machinery and equipment over the last couple years and now it's time to set it all up.

I spent some time taking accurate measurements of the shop, lift and every shelf and piece of equipment I have. I then went inside and on poster board draw a scale drawing of the garage and lift. Now hear comes the part my wife was laughing at. I drew a car to scale and made squares and rectangles to scale of floor space needed for each item. I labled all the shapes and set inside the shop. I moved things around 4-5 times to get the best possible use of my space.

Moving around a piece of paper sure beat moving a 2500 lb press brake 4 times

This is exactly what I did in AutoCad when setting up my shop. Base dimensions and then move the equipment around to get the best fit.

You don't have enough room for that press brake though, I'll come get it.

[gearheads78]

Originally Posted by MODO Innovations

You don't have enough room for that press brake though, I'll come get it.

I'll keep that in mind

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by gearheads78

My wife made fun of me but I thought I would share what I just did anyway. I have a decent size garage but it still small for the junk I have in it about 890 sq ft . I have been collecting fabrication machinery and equipment over the last couple years and now it's time to set it all up.

I spent some time taking accurate measurements of the shop, lift and every shelf and piece of equipment I have. I then went inside and on poster board draw a scale drawing of the garage and lift. Now hear comes the part my wife was laughing at. I drew a car to scale and made squares and rectangles to scale of floor space needed for each item. I labled all the shapes and set inside the shop. I moved things around 4-5 times to get the best possible use of my space.

Moving around a piece of paper sure beat moving a 2500 lb press brake 4 times

I simplified this problem by making my wife go to work - so I could build a bigger shop (I'm retired)... my old 4 car garage just didn't cut it anymore - even though I made HER park outside in the winter.... You do that long enough.... and she'll finally allow you to build a "real" shop!

I have 1500 sq ft "shed".... way too many tools/machines... Somehow "stuff" expands to fill the space alotted. I'm now "crowded", but have one car too many in there which is only temporary. I've discovered ONE CAR - torn up - body off the chassis etc - takes up the entire space...

I took this a couple weeks ago... and with my buddies Black 55 in the shed for completion... no way could I take much of anything "apart"!