Setting Up Shop

When you are setting up a place to do your restoration and maintenance projects there are a number of things to consider.

Safety

Family safety has always been my primary concern, I have two little kids (at the time of writing 4.5 and 6) - they will get into everything. This means I had to have space in my shop to lock up all my tools, chemicals, paints, etc. I have a tool chest which is bolted to a trolley which is chained to the floor. I have two old school lockers in which I keep all my chemicals, I keep them seperated - those chemicals which should not be stored together are in seperate lockers at either end of my space.

Dedicated Space

I built my workshop in the front half of a double car garage, the back half houses my office and computers (such as the server you just got this page from). The floor is concrete (essential), unpainted (optional), but it is sealed (essential if you do not paint). I have two sturdy work benches, one wood and one ex a lotto agency which is a super strong steel frame supporting a thick wood top all on wheels. There are strong shelves around the rest of the walls for parts and equipment storage (things which do not need to be locked up).

You need plenty of space to work, usually I only store the machinery that I'm currently working on in the shop space, but there are times when I have to spend half an hour move machinery out into the drive just so I can have enough room to work in the shop. Real soon now I'll build a big shed to keep the machinery in when it is not being worked on.

Equipment

I have a compressor fitted under the bench on wheels and my drill press is on the other workbench. I got the drill press for $10 - it was made around 1910 and used to be three phase, but I replaced that burnt out three phase motor with a variable speed 2hp washing machine motor. I could not ask for a better press, the original machining was so good it is still perfect today.

Electrical

When wiring your shop make sure you have plenty of electrical outlets, I didnt and have to put up with power boards/strips which is more dangerous than I like. Thinking of electricity, an Earth Leakage Detector (TSD) is vital - it senses when the balance of current is not the same between the AC active and AC neutral return and cuts off the power within microseconds - it will save your life sooner or later. I also included a smoke detector which is wired to my home alarm. When any smoke detector in the house or shop triggers it will set off the main alarm.

Getting in and out

A large entry way is essential considering the size of some of the equipment that we deal with. While my garage shop is tall enough most of the time, I have to remove the exhaust from my Southern Cross 'P' to get it in and out.

Division of Space

I have divided up the space in my shop to wet tasks (eg. cleaning; degreasing; and disassembly) and dry tasks (eg. welding; machining; reassembly and painting). It may seem strange to include painting as a dry task, but I find that the dry side of my shop is generally cleaner than the other side so it makes a better environment for painting.

Lighting

Lighting is important. I bought a couple of two tube flourescent fittings from my local junk store for $5 each. These are mounted over the work benches with normal light globes illuminating the general area. I've found that you cannot have enough light over your work areas, and shadowless light is priceless.

This article is part of the Stationary Internal Combustion Engine Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). This series is a combination of my views and knowledge and the views and knowledge of other people - most of them members of the Stationary Engine Mailing List (More info on ATIS). Those articles which were written by others are © Copyright to the author. Those articles written by myself are © Copyright to Paul Pavlinovich.

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Disclaimer:It should be noted that the information given in this document is considered to be good advice by the people who give it, however any legal liability lies strictly with the reader. The contributors are hobbiests not professionals.

Last modified Sunday, 20-Jul-2003 15:28:00 BST

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