[TheForge] Small shop questions

[Steve Smith]

Bettina, I moved from about 1200 square feet of shop to 300 this past 
year. I was worried about it, but it was all we could put in given a 
bunch of constraints.

I'm surprised at how well it is working out. The space is 10'x30', and 
has in it a vertical mill, a 12x40" lathe, a 300A mig welder, a 20" 
drill press, a 30"x60" welding table, a treadle hammer, a hydraulic 
forging press, an air hammer (assuming I manage to finish it some day), 
a flypress, a gas forge under a hood and a reasonable amount of room to 
work around the anvil. The equipment lines both long sides, with an 
asile down the middle.

I'm clearly not doing gates in this size shop. Working on smaller stuff, 
it works fine. I usually have to clean up/clear an area when I'm working 
on something larger, like the firewood rack I just made for the front 
room. I don't have enough flat surfaces, but I'm working on that.

Steve Smith


> From: "Kirk & Bettina Wehner" <kbwehner at msn.com>
> To: "Forge List" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2004 8:52 AM
> Subject: [TheForge] Small shop questions
> 
> 
> 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