Setting Up Shop

I received Setting Up Shop by Sandor Nagyszalanczy as a gift from my parents recently. I've been wanting to do a complete overhaul of my garage workshop since we moved here, but just never got to it. So I decided recently that this was the year I was going to try to make it happen. Since I'm only in the "dreaming" stage of the project right now, this was a very timely gift.

It's a great book for anyone in the planning stages of a workshop or just trying to get the best use out of an existing shop. Don't expect to find detailed plans and layouts though. It keeps ideas and plans general to be flexible to everyone's needs, budget, and workspace. It also covers pretty much every aspect of workshop design. While it's geared more toward a woodshop, many of the concepts could be applied to any kind of shop.

It has chapters on where to build a shop, construction, electrical, heating, equipment, layout, work areas, storage, dust collection, and safety. Each chapter is full of a variety of pictures that give great ideas on shop organization and construction for any shop, small or large. It covers everything from space saving tips for those working in a one-car garage to central dust collection for large pro shops. There are even charts for helping size equipment or design circuits.

I thought I knew enough from my own experience to take on this workshop redo without a problem, and I probably would have been okay. But this book has really helped fill in a few gaps and got me thinking about other ways of doing things that will really help me to make my future workshop even better. Thanks Mom & Dad!