Hello makers! I want to preface this with a funny little comment I like related to production and construction, “You can do it good, fast, or cheap, and you get to pick two.” While humorous, it is very accurate when you think about it. My point here is, if you don’t have the money for an awesome space or the best tools right now, you can still produce amazing products. In that case, you choose good and cheap, but not fast. My point is to not be discouraged by what is currently unavailable.
One of the main considerations when it comes to making things is a space to work in. When I first started making, it was in my yard and on my porch. It was doable and projects got finished, but it was slow, like half the speed of smell slow. The first hour was set up and the last hour was tear down. Between losing an hour on each end of my day and runs to the hardware store, it was tough sledding.
Looking at shop setup with growth in mind
Fast forward to today and I have a shop that is well on its way to becoming a dream workspace. While I doubt it will ever be actually finished, I think that is the point of a workshop. It should be ever-evolving. As you work in it more and more, your workflows evolve, you develop new skills and techniques, and acquire new tools. Maybe your direction changes. I just bought a few tools from a guy who was moving towards small, handcrafted projects and away from the large-scale cabinets and remodeling. Either way, the point is your shop is never complete, it should continually grow with you.
Two workspaces, one goal
Back to my shop. With the above in mind, I designed my shop to be flexible and grow with me. The cabinets and stations are all modular. They can be lifted off the walls and placed in different locations with the use of French cleats. I ran all the electrical in metal conduit to give me the flexibility to add to later and have set up a system to make the other utilities easily modifiable. I have plans to put multiple tools, that I do not use regularly, on flip-up carts that can easily be stored out the way. This shop is designed to handle anything that generates dust or debris. We are currently in the process of converting our garage into a second shop which will handle everything that does not generate debris, a clean shop.
The clean shop will also use the modular approach. The same style carts will be used but will have storage below instead of tools. The carts will be able to be connected to provide different configurations of workspaces based on project needs. We have three 3d printers, a vinyl cutter, and various other machines. Leatherwork, sewing, 3d printing, etc will be housed in this space. Eventually, we hope to add a laser, but we need to get it up and running first.
The idea is the two spaces will work together to produce some really cool projects. The flexibility will give us many more options when tackling a project or problem. Having the spaces separated should also save time by greatly reducing setup and teardown time. We will document the progress on the shops here and hopefully, our ideas will help inspire you.