[TheForge] Small shop questions

Kirk & Bettina Wehner kbwehner at msn.com
Wed Aug 11 08:52:02 EDT 2004


A few months ago members of The Forge kindly gave me advice on setting up a basic shop.  It's taken a while, but we are now at the point of actually building the shop.  Although I had hoped for more....I'm ending up with a 15' x 20' shop with some additional outside space that will be under cover.  Before we move forward, I was hoping for some more advice.

(1)  The shop is will have a concrete floor (I know that's a debatable issue, but I like concrete) and will be stick built.  It has 8' walls and will have some windows & a cupola for venting.  I was also able to position it to get a good breeze from prevailing winds.  I primarily use a gas forge (very similar to the one Gabe showed that he's building....in fact mine was from David Lisch).  I also have plans to eventually add a side draft coal forge or a bigger gas forge for larger pieces.  So, the question is, should I have any concerns about using a fairly small stick built structure for the shop?  

(2)  Given the small space, I don't plan to divide it up to separate the "cleaner" area from the forge.  Does anyone have tips on maximizing the space utilization?  At the ABANA conference someone suggested making workstations are movable as possible by putting everything on wheels. 

As always, your thoughts would be appreciated.......
Bettina


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