Ever feel like your projects take longer than they should?
That’s partly the cold hard truth of woodworking. But another reason could be your shop layout.
Shop layout and organization plays a massive role in how quickly you finish projects — and enjoy building them.
But there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. The best design depends on your square footage, the tools you have, and the type of woodworking you do.
That said, there are principles that maximize your space and efficiency — whether your shop is a warehouse or a Harry Potter closet under the stairs.
After setting up and working from four different woodshops (from 120 to 2500 square feet), I’ve learned a few things about shop layout…
And today, I’m giving you my Top 5 Tips for smarter shop set up — so you can streamline your workflow and get more projects done.
Mitch
September 13, 2022
I work out of my 2 car garage and my wife likes to park in there in the winter so its condensed into the 1 stall except when I’m working. I have a cabinet saw, 13" planer, 2hp dust collector, wide belt sander, assembly/outfeed table, and a 36×48″ bed size laser. the key is everything needs to be on wheels and everything needs to be multifunctional. My assembly/outfeed table has 2 rolls of resin paper (1 for oils, the other for latex paints) and a roll of kraft packing paper mounted to it. I can store my pancake compressor under there and my 3 air nailers and 2 screw guns have a rack they easily slide in and out of. It has shelves that hold my cut to size plywood for the laser. The table saw has a router table on the wing. I store junk on top of the laser where it goes to die. I guess that’s my chaos table.