Ideal Shop Size/Plus machinery

[Eric Smith]

In order to build a longrifle, from a blank or from any combination/degree of precarve, what would the ideal shop size be, and what would it include? Feel free to elaborate!   

[v308]

small aircraft hanger size, hummm, maybe a little larger

[Kermit]

First law of shop expansion: A shop will always expand to more than fill the space available.

I have about a quarter of the garage for my at-home shop. For some incomprehensible reason my wife insists on continuing to park her car in there--with my Moto Guzzi.

[Ed Wenger]

I bet you'll get a bunch of different opinions on this...  My shop is 22'x24', and I while I use all of the space, I bet I spend 98% of the time in one quarter of the shop.  For me, I've found it nice to have a drill press and band saw located in the shop.  The biggest thing, and I think this is the most important no matter how big or small, is to have lots of light, either with windows or artificial, or a combination.  


       Ed

[David R. Pennington]

Ideal, what a concept! I dream of an ideal shop. Mine would be about 24' x 48' with 1/2 dedicated to blacksmith/ metal work area and 1/2 as woodshop, with a large loft for storage. While we are at it let's locate it on a picturesque mountain stream with a water wheel to power my line shaft and drive the machinery! Might as well add a gristmill as well.
 Right now I settle for instead of a workshop a "workcloset". My actual gunshop is 8' x 12' and crammed.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Mine is in the corner of my bonus room. But I can see as time goes on removing some of the furniture from the room and adding storage and benches and more tools, and, and, and...............................................

[Mike Brooks]

My shop is the size of a one car garage.  About 1/2 of it is also for reloading. I have a band saw, a drill press and a radial arm saw in there plus an Indian motor cycle in a peach basket (literally).  I need more room, probably 2X what I currently have.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

My shop, which uses about 1/4 of my basement is 15' x 22'.  Along one long wall is 16' of bench on which I have mounted a 6" machinist's vise, and my drill press.  There is provision for my bench grinder, and my re-loading stuff, which I seldom have mounted to make the bench less cluttered.  I have a big band saw, a 10" table saw, a small vertical mill and my lathe in there, and lots of cupboards and shelves for storage.  In the centre of the shop I have a solid core door mounted on folding legs where I can do layout work, leather work, etc.  I also have a spruce stump with my little anvil, and a full sized garbage can, my damp box, and tons of assorted wood and metal leaning against the wall.  My MIG welder and oxy/acet welder, air compressor are tucked into corners.  The shop does not feel cramped to me.  There are frequently two or three friends and a lover in there with me.  I knew I'd forget something...the big belt grinder which is the mainstay of my sharpening business.

[Long Ears]

My shop is 30X30 and I wish it was twice that size. If it was I would probably spend too much time walking between work areas. I have it split in half kinda. One side is metal and the other is wood. It has heat and air conditioning as well as great lighting and 40' of bench. I have 2 lathes one 40" bed metal lathe and the other a variable speed wood lathe. A 10" table saw with 52" fence. A medium size bench mill drill, a large drill press, 16" band saw, 15" planer, 2 belt grinders, 2 bench grinders, MiG welder, gas welder and cutting torch, 6X48 belt sander, 12" disk sander, 12" chop saw, 8" jointer, 5hp air compressor plumbed through out the shop as well as a 3hp vacuum system. As my lovely wife says, just triple the cost of all of the above and it might cover the hand tools, lathe tooling, chisels and 4 vises. I recently added a almost complete Blacksmith shop with a coal and a gas forges also. I've been eyeballing a heat treat furnace next ( I got it bad). The real fun part is I can't imagine living without anything. Bob

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

  Long Ears..... and you make a long rifle every couple of years in there??     That is a well equipped shop. Do you run a business out of it? What all do you use all those great toys for??

[Shadow Man]

I build my rifles on the endgate of my pickup in the car port under my house. Only power tools I use are my Dremel, grinder (for rounding the butt of the rifle stock) and handheld electric drill. Don't even have a vice (creative use of spring-style clamps gets me through).

I was always wondering why it takes me so long to make a gun... After reading the posts above, now I know!

I definitely need to upgrade. 

Shadow Man

[Bob Roller]

My shop is 16x20 (I think) and if I bring in one more drill bit it will have to
be stored in the lawn mower shed. I am almost totally out of room and am
thinking of a new building and tearing the old one down.

Bob Roller

[James]

My shop is the size of a one car garage.  About 1/2 of it is also for reloading. I have a band saw, a drill press and a radial arm saw in there plus an Indian motor cycle in a peach basket (literally).  I need more room, probably 2X what I currently have.

Mike, sounds like you need to get rid of the peach basket and contents, then you'd have extra room, I can store it for you 

[Long Ears]

Long Ears..... and you make a long rifle every couple of years in there??     That is a well equipped shop. Do you run a business out of it? What all do you use all those great toys for??

Dr-Tim, I'm very fortunate to have a very well equipped shop. A few years back I had a high end custom cabinet business I ran on the side of my real job. After about 6 years of sanding cabinets I sold all of my door making machines and now I just play. I can and do make my own bags, horns, knives and guns. I build about 3 to 4 flint Fowler's or rifles every winter and a 5 gallon bucket full of knives. I always build all the accouterments for every long gun I build. I have sold a few but mostly they hang on the walls everywhere around here ( about time to dust again). I  really enjoy competing with them in local matches against the cap gun shooters in this area. It seems like reading this forum has replaced some of my shop time now however. I'm self taught on my lathe and mill work and hire a guy to come over and school me in the winter a couple times a month. I sure wish Bob Roller lived next door. I do enjoy my shop full of tools. But like Mr. Roller says, I have to look hard for a place to put another drill bit. Bob

[ottawa]

I have an old barn with 2 big rooms and a loft my blacksmith shop is on one side the other is the wife's side with a wall between the loft is all mine for doing the wood working gun building what ever I would like.... once I get lighting up there and get my buddy's stuff he is storing out of there for his mil surplus store. and   and  well I at least have the space just can't use it all right now.

[Curtis]

My shop is 30x50, I have a space walled off as my gun building room roughly 16x22.  A lot of my bigger tools and vises, welder, anvil, etc. are in the main shop area.  I share the shop with an incredibly lazy cat the never cleans up after me.   


Curtis

[Dave Waters]

Please don't laugh, but my shop is 12' X 12'.  Yes, that's right! I have a 12" vert mill, 9" horz mill, lathe, metal cutting band saw, drill press, stock cutoff band saw, die filing machine, 6" grinder, 8" grinder; a 2" belt grinder, arc welder; oxy / acetylene torch; work bench; plus hand and  precision tools to numerous to mention.

Obviously, I have to be careful how fast I turn around but it works well for me. 

[David R. Pennington]

I don't have much machinery in my work closet. I did splurge a couple years ago and bought a little Sherline mini lathe. It stores conveniently on the shelf under my bench and is great for turning screws and jags etc...,. I do have a bench drill press and table saw and planer in the garage but they get used very little. I find more and more I  use hand tools over power most of the time. My most recent build from a blank didn't see a power tool except I did true up the screws in the lathe after I forged the heads on them.

[Bentflint]

30 x 40 metal building split down the middle. The unimproved side has a 16’ overhead door. Over there is a 8 x 4 welding table, 2 welders, torch, tractor, log splitter, 52 Cushman, my old Harley that was made the year I graduated HS, (the peach basket is long gone years ago) and about 1 ton of lead, just in case I need it. Question, if a motorcycle that was made when you were 18 is an antique, are you an antique too?
The improved side has a 10 x10 tractor door or shooting port, a 100 + year old wood burner (climent control) and a small AC, 2 building benches and one 16” x 2” layout and casting bench. A reloading bench, drill press, mill, 2 lathes, 4 bar stools and a refrigerator. On 2 walls I made 4” mezzanine for stock blanks and junk. I need more space.

[Lutes]

Do you ever have enough room?? You finally fill up your existing space so you build on to make more room and the process starts all over again. Right?