Archive of 'Layout Archives - The Art of Woodshop Design'

• Design the Bottlenecks Out of your Woodshop Workflow

  Written By Bobby.
  In Workshop Layout

  

  Think of your daily workflow in your shop like a highway system—eliminate the bottlenecks and you’ll experience what workflow implies: continuous progress.

  You step into the shop with the intention of getting something pretty specific done. Ever wonder why it took three times as long as you thought? You guessed it, unexpended speedbumps.

  You can continue to encounter them, spend time dealing with them as you go, then move on. Of course, you’ll re-discover them the next day or next week.

  I find that most of these “bottlenecks” in my workflow are recurring, and can be designed out of my shop.

  Interruptions in your pre-planned sequences also mean interruptions in thought, which leads to frustrating mistakes.

  
  

• How to Organize Your Thoughts on Woodshop Storage

  Written By Bobby.
  In Workshop Layout

  

  There’s more to storage than plopping stuff on shelves in a particular order. If I have all of my oil finishes together doesn’t mean my shop flows well. Thinking more “big picture”, or strategically, about your shop storage will sync with the woodshop layout you worked so hard to get perfect.

  After all, what good is ergonomically arranging all of your tools if you have to traipse across the shop just to get a marking gauge?

  Take a minute here and let me comb your mind towards having the same consistent philosophy for workshop storage as you do your woodshop’s layout.

  
  

• Where Do I Begin?

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!

  

  I don’t even know where to begin in this article…there’s just so much to write about. And what if I write about something when I should have written something else before that? Maybe I should just go watch TV. Oooh…176 channels. What if I’m missing a show while I’m watching another one? Maybe a DVD would be nice. But which one?

  Having an image in your head of your workspace isn’t too hard; but when you get into the details and realize how many decisions can be made and how many options there are, it begins to feel like cleaning before your mother comes over. Where the hell do you start?

  
  

• Tool Clusters!

  Written By Bobby.
  In Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout

  

  The Most Commonly Neglected Layout Strategy.

  Stack of boards. I can’t even get started making this cabinet until I’ve milled all 4 sides of these 30 boards.

  Tedious tasks like this can be made less annoying by adjusting your “manufacturing process” to eliminate unnecessary things like walking around, picking up all the boards only to put them down again, and losing track…

  
  

• Workshop Layout: What’s the Objective for Your Shop?

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout

  

  3 Questions You Should Ask Before You Even Start

  • Do you think of your whole shop as a tool?
  • What do you want your shop to do for you?
  • What do you need to do in your shop, both for now and the future?

  If you can answer these questions you have the basic strategic direction you need to move forward in designing your dream shop.

  The planes you use are shaped the way they are because someone asked what they want the tool to do, how people are going to use it, and how will they be able to maintain it. If you think to yourself how you are going to use your shop in the next few weeks and how you imagine it’ll serve you in 5 years, you can design a shop with the layout, comfort features, and infrastructure that will do all those things in a convenient way.

  In this article, I’ll walk you through my thought process of how I arrived at my current layout.

  
  

• The 1 Way To Arrange Your Tools

  Written By Bobby.
  In Workshop Layout

  

  Don’t Copy—Instead Use Basic Principles to Arrive at Your Ideal Shop Layout

  
  

• Shop Space Where You Are – Part II

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout

  

  2-Car and 3-Car Garage Woodshops

  
  

• Shop Space Where You Are – Part I

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout

  

  Being creative means you’re able to make a shop anywhere. Plus 1-Car Garage Shops, and even an Apartment Shop!

  
  

• Revolutionize Your Woodworking Enjoyment, Part III

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout

  

  Forgotten design considerations woodworkers need to know.

  
  

• Revolutionize Your Woodworking Enjoyment, Part II

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout

  

  Streamline all of your workstations to optimize your shop.

  
  

• Revolutionize Your Woodworking Enjoyment, Part I

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout

  

  Critical criteria you need to know for designing your dream woodshop.

  
  

• Before You Build Your Dream Woodshop

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Shop Systems,Starting? Go here!

  

  Avoid the common mistake of making random shop improvements.