Workshop equipment

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So within the next few months I have a house move on, which when all complete will give me a workshop of 22ft x 9ft. The question is what machines to equip myself with without breaking the bank any recommendations are most welcome!
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Comments

  • m_cm_c Frets: 1211
    First question should be, what do you want to use the workshop for?
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  • NeilMcGNeilMcG Frets: 62
    Well, I don't know what you want to make, but I'd love to have to room for a pillar drill (long throat depth) and a belt sander.

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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4944
    You will need a good bench to work on. Perhaps a look through one of the wood working monthly magazines will give you something to aspire to...
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • 4xv4xv Frets: 49
    Mainly im wanting to build guitars and possibly some bits of furniture I intend to have a 5m run of worktop with cupboards underneath so bench space wont be an issue
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    There are a lot of personal decisions here, both about what you will use your workshop for, and what type of work you like doing. The carpenter who has made my windows, and also makes furniture, has a circular saw, a planer, and a mortiser. My son, who is making furniture and furnishings for his house, has a mitre saw and router. 

    The advice which I work to is only buy (or make) a tool when a you need it, and then to buy something which will meet current and future needs.

    First off you need a workbench. A lot of people make their own. I made one with my son in a few hours this weekend, using 2x5 rough sawn timber, and mdf top surface. He bought the mitre saw for this job. Could have cut it by hand, but the next job is a mirror frame. 

    Websites will list the tools which you “need” to make a guitar. What you really need depends on what you are going to do. To assemble pre-finished parts you need a screw driver and a soldering iron, and possibly a drill. An ordinary electric drill on a stand works well. If you are going to make your own bodies then you can add a saw, router, and sander. Templates to guide your router can be made our of mdf or ply. It helps here to have a pc which can print pdfs in “poster” mode, ie over several A4 sheets.

    So much for theory. From a practical point of view I made my first guitar body with not much more than a jig saw, surform, hand plane, router, soldering iron, and a drill on a stand. I made a bobbin sander to fit the drill, and used a Henry vacuum cleaner outside the workshop door to collect the dust.

    Since then I’ve added some machines: a pillar drill, a proper dust collector, and a palm sander. I chose a floor standing drill because I don’t have much bench space, and because it gives more headroom. The scroll saw was bought for toys, but has been used to cut out bodies. As soon as you start cutting wood you need dust and/or chip extraction. As you probably know, the problem is the small particles which you can’t see. If you can put your extractor outside your workshop then you get rid of two problems, noise and fine dust. The fine stuff which gets through the filters doesn’t last in Britain’s humid air.

    Next on the list are a big band saw and bench top thicknesser, with which I can make laminated necks. The large bandsaw is for planking the tree trunks which I’m collecting, before they are left to season. It will also cut turning blanks. A small one would be fine for guitar making ... assuming that you need one at all. @Sporky once said that a rail saw meets his needs.

    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • NomadNomad Frets: 549
    4xv said:
    Mainly im wanting to build guitars and possibly some bits of furniture I intend to have a 5m run of worktop with cupboards underneath so bench space wont be an issue
    I would suggest working out a floorplan before deciding on how much bench you're going to have, or whether it'll be one long bench rather than two or three in various locations.

    Nomad
    Nobody loves me but my mother... and she could be jivin' too...

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  • SporkySporky Frets: 27580
    Roland said:
    @Sporky once said that a rail saw meets his needs.

    Yup - for long straight cuts in panels a rail saw and caterpillar is hard to beat. Quick, accurate, not terribly expensive.

    Naff-all use for guitar building of course. ;)
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
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  • 4xv4xv Frets: 49
    Yes I have a rail saw great for cutting out apertures as you say not much good for guitars 
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  • CorvusCorvus Frets: 2924
    tFB Trader

    Plenty of light, coming from all ways around the bench(es), that's a big weak point in my place. It's good from some sides and throws shadows the other.

    I used to have a bench up against a wall but prefer one that goes in the middle. I like being able to get around the sides much better. More options for mounting & working on stuff, feels like I get much better access and more use out of it.

    When time allows I'll mod mine to having two levels. One height's good for some stuff and another for planing or sanding where you want to bear down on it a bit. That might be just me though. Two benches even better.

    For me the essentials (after routers and whatnot) would be bandsaw and pillar drill. It's not a big saw (an old Inca 260) but hasn't left me wanting really. It's always getting used for something or other.
    Pillar drill for sure, a decent one with little or no run-out.

    Disc sander's been pretty handy too. I'd like to make a bigger combo one with a belt too, I've a small belt/grinder thing. Router tables are dead useful but simple enough to make.

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  • SporkySporky Frets: 27580
    Dust extraction. Most important machine in the workshop.
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
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  • 4xv4xv Frets: 49
    These are all really useful responses and tried and tested I only get one shot at this so it needs to be right ...which is why I'm asking the question now so I can get a handle on what's important.
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  • NomadNomad Frets: 549
    Corvus said:

    Plenty of light, coming from all ways around the bench(es), that's a big weak point in my place. It's good from some sides and throws shadows the other.

    That's something I've been addressing in mine. Even with local lighting at the benches, I was working in my own shadow at times because the benches are against the walls and the main room light is in the middle of the ceiling. I'm gradually adding LED strip lights over the benches and work areas to provide a pool of area light, as well as adding a few more small local lamps (little 3W LED gooseneck ones from Ikea). Got some more to do, but it's already making a big difference. Since changing out the main 150W room light for a 22W LED bulb, I reckon I'm using about the same power for lighting as I was before, but with the light now in much better positions.

    Nomad
    Nobody loves me but my mother... and she could be jivin' too...

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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    4xv said:
    ... I only get one shot at this ...
    A workshop is an evolving thing. Needs change, plans change, technology changes. Sometimes you get given stuff. Whatever you start with will change over time.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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