Do It Yourself Home Improvements
Woodworking Shop

A Woodworking Shop Is Easier Than You May Think

The size of your workshop will be determined by where it is going to be located in your house or garage. Determine where the shop will be located. In the basement, garage or other "out" buildings that you may have available. For this example, I am choosing to build a wood shop in the basement.

I like my shop in the basement because it is warm and cool, dry and electricity is available. Of all the do it yourself home improvements that I have done, none offer more than my woodworking shop.

On a piece of paper, layout your design as you first think about it. Decide what equipment you will have and where those pieces will be placed. Allow for ample room around all pieces of equipment and realize that your "space" will tend to fill up as time goes on. One very important aspect easily overlooked is where will you store dimensional lumber as well plywood or other materials to be used in constructing projects. I tend to store my long boards on a hanging wrack anchored to the ceiling and inline with the 36" door to the shop. That way I can easily stock that unit with proper lumber as needed. Do it yourself home improvements always should include storage mindedness. You can't have too much storage. Other ceiling mounted storage units can easily be built to hold other various boards or plywood scraps as you begin building projects. These pieces become numerous very quickly. You really need to allow for this "scrap" to be stored somewhere.

The next consideration after you have a firm layout in mind, is to install electrical outlets and/or supply lines for certain equipment such as saws, drills, etc. Run these circuits before you install shelves. Click here for help on installing outlets.


A workshop needs room to move around in. Make sure you allow room for long or wide lumber. Nearly every piece of lumber you start with will need cutting or ripping as you begin to build a project.


This picture shows a centrally located Table Saw. I set this piece of equipment in the middle of the room because I oftentimes rip 4 x 8 pieces of plywood. To do this I need to be able to walk around the plywood as it lies flat on the saw and passes through the entire length of 8 feet.

It may be hard to see in the picture, but as the plywood pushes forward, it actually rests on the table. This makes for a better job of ripping than if the plywood was to spring up and down.




You can never have too many shelves or other storage areas. If you can put in a shelf, then I would suggest it.




Keep in mind that countertop is very important in a woodworking shop. A movable table is convenient too.



An accumulation of small handtools will more than likely occur. It's important ot stay organized. Especially when it comes to your tools. Try to keep the majority of your shop tools within "grabbing" distance of where you are most likely to work.




I chose to apply white 4 x 8 panels to my ceiling which reflects light. Proper lighting when you are building projects is a MUST.




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Tools Needed to Build a Workshop