New Shop Build: Part 1 - The Plan

What do you do when you want a shop AND a garage? You build a new shop that maximizes your space so you can build cool stuff AND make the wife happy when it's 30 deg below zero and she wants to park inside. In this video I show you my plans for building a new workbench and assembly tables that helps maximize the available space.
ORDER PLANS HERE:
tommytompkins....

[@JenniferEinolf]

We're half way through building this and we just wanted to say thank you--your design is clever and your plans are very well laid out and so helpful. This is our first big project in our new woodshop and we're thrilled with how it's turning out.

[@TommyTompkins]

That's fantastic! Happy to hear that your project is turning out well!

[@dennisfahlstrom7422]

Tommy, l really like your videos and like you, I also started out with a good quality DeWalt radial arm saw I built into a shop table. This was about 1960. I had many accidents with it doing ripping despite all my best efforts at safe operation. By far the biggest contributor to my ripping accidents was kickback caused by the blade pinching my hardwood or damp soft wood between the table top and the blade - especially if the blade was not really sharp. The pawl would catch the board sometimes and save me from injury but it scared me and usually damaged the hardwood I was cutting and jammed the blade and motor to a stop. When I got my first table saw years later it came with a riving knife and I had so much better success on it with ripping operations I never ripped anything on the radial arm again. I considered it the most dangerous tool I had in my shop. In fact, now that I have a good cabinet table saw with adequate power and a good 12” compound miter saw my radial arm doesn’t get any use. It is no longer mounted on my work bench. The compound miter saw is in that spot. I still have the old radial arm but it basically is a keepsake now taking up shop space on the floor. If I needed space I would sell it. I wish you continued good luck ripping on your radial but as I am sure I viewed a table saw in your shop I hope you shift your ripping operations to it. I do agree with those who say if you only have room or a budget for one saw, a radial arm is more versatile than a table saw because cross cutting and cutting dados you can see the surface you are cutting much better. I know mine is not as accurate or nearly as safe as the table saw. With a good sled and many of the other jigs I’ve made for my table saw it is no compromise using it. I do like your benches, they show a lot of imagination and the videos are first class. I hope you keeping them coming.

[@christobar]

Great design!

[@metroplexchl]

I just bought the plans. This will end up being my wife and my first build together....please pray for us. :-) BTW, your plans are incredible. Can't ask for better than a measured parts list and pictoral directions!

[@TommyTompkins]

I'm happy to see that you like my plans! Thank you for your purchase!

[@xujing9425]

Great job,i love it😊

[@mavrick561]

Man, you are a Sketchup wizard! I was just thinking about doing a bench with roll out tables too! I love your design. A little intimidating for a woodworking newb like me but I may give it a try. Great videos! I look forward to more. Thanks.

[@TommyTompkins]

Thank you! Honestly, I think this is a great project for a beginner! I can see how it might look a little intimidating but all the steps are really easy. The plans include a PDF document with 62 highly detailed pages of step by step instructions that are good for a beginner. It also includes a Sketchup file with the entire design so you could go through some beginner tutorials at www.sketchup.com/learn and learn how to use that as well.

[@JenniferEinolf]

We're doing this project and we're newbs--it is completely manageable. His plans are easy to follow and fully fleshed out--and there are the videos when in doubt. Go for it!

[@Jake.of.All.Trades]

very nice. I'll be doing the same thing in a year and a half or so. You've got lots of great ideas.

[@TommyTompkins]

Thanks Jake! I see you're over in Minneapolis. I'm just over in Stillwater. Small world.

[@Jake.of.All.Trades]

Just moved here with the family last June from So. Calif. I hear I need to visit Stillwater.

[@TommyTompkins]

We like it here. Stillwater was an old logging town on the St. Croix river and hasn't changed much over the years. www.discoverstillwater.com

[@pat_link_]

Great Design! thanks for sharing just watched all videos great work

[@TommyTompkins]

Thanks Pat! I hoping to get some plans posted later this week for the entire project in case you guys want a little help building your own. Thanks for watching!

[@pat_link_]

I am remodeling my shop hopefully soon as well

[@Sebastopolmark]

I'm with Pat. I am turning a 2 car garage/shop into more of a woodworking area and THIS is a perfect design. I like "2fer" projects - a workbench AND a pullout underneath. This is a definite "why didn't I think about this" project. I too am looking forward to the plans and thanks Tommy. Enjoy your shop!!!

[@TommyTompkins]

Hi Pat! The plans are now available at tommytompkins.com/product/tompkins-miter-saw-station-with-rolling-workbench/

[@pat_link_]

Thanks for the update

[@srboss2765]

use a flip top table for the lathe and jointer

[@xavierfrancis243]

Tommy, great design. I liked the concept of saving floor space to have 4 tables with the footprint of 2. What is the ceiling storage - is that a "pull down/pull up" kind. i bought the plan and intend to start building.

[@TommyTompkins]

Hi Xavier - I'm using these storage lifts that I bought off Amazon: www.amazon.com/Racor-PHL-1R-HeavyLift-4-Foot-Cable-Lifted/dp/B0009I8AO6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1489246843&sr=8-2&keywords=storage+lift I did make a few modifications to them. I added PVC across the shaft so that it would hold more cable and I added more cable so that I could drop it all the way from the ceiling to my floor. I have 12 foot ceilings and I think it was only designed for 8. I also added some 2x4s to brace the platform so that it doesn't flex as much. They certainly come in handy!

[@OLDBEAR123456]

Tommy this is some super nice videos and craftsmanship. I am curious what model your radial arm saw is?

[@TommyTompkins]

Thank you for the kind words. That is the DeWalt 925H from 1960.

[@eliot000]

Hi Tommy, great project. I'm curious, what are the heights of your main and pull out work tables? I'm curious how you selected the proper height.

[@MrGlyn321]

Very interesting & detailed series of videos. One question, how did you draw the tools, lathe etc; on Sketchup. I have SketchUp 2017 & haven't got a clue how to do something like that, so any advice, would be very much appreciated. Just subscribed & looking forward to seeing you in action. Kind regards, Glyn

[@TommyTompkins]

Hi Glyn - glad you like this video series. I didn't actually draw any of the tools that are pictured in the design. I downloaded them into my design from the "3D Warehouse." In Sketchup, just go to Window -> 3D Warehouse and from there you can search for all kinds of tools and things to add to your design. You can draw the tools yourself in Sketchup, but why go through the trouble when somebody else already made them :)

[@MrGlyn321]

Wow, thank you for your quick reply, seeing as we're on the other side of 'the pond'. Very grateful for the information, as I am novice, to SketchUp, but what you did, really gives a good view of how the project is going to turn out. Also, I noticed how you mentioned a few times about going overboard, but you are doing it for yourself, you want it to last & what's the point, if everything isn't accurate/precise, just like your Granddad used to be. God bless you & the family, the kids seem to love getting stuck in. :-)

[@mattspry8576]

Great plans, I appreciate the thought that you put into this. Just curious what model is your Dewalt Radial Arm saw? Is that a 10" blade?

[@TommyTompkins]

Thanks Matt! My saw is a 925H which was designed for a 9" blade but I run an 8" blade on it. The motor has a little more torque on the 8" so it works better with thicker material.

[@gusvortech]

I wanted to know what’s the brand of your jointer?? Looks like a very simple and straight forward machine. Awesome video !!!

[@TommyTompkins]

Hello - it's a 4" Home Craft from the 1960s. Works great!

[@johnhoward1929]

Tommy, did you have to adjust for the slope of your garage at all?

[@TommyTompkins]

Hey John - I have floor drains in my garage so everything slopes down towards the middle of each stall. I knew this would be an issue and I wanted to have room for lots of adjusting to get all table tops level, so I used t-nuts with 3/8" bolts on the bottom of each leg so that I can use a wrench to easily make leveling adjustments. I show how I did this in the other videos.

[@Rod7355]

Awesome bench. What program do you use on the computer to create the design?

[@TommyTompkins]

Thank you! It's called Sketchup - www.sketchup.com

[@plummer1963]

Nice planned, how or which program you just for it!!!!! Thanks

[@tomkipp2878]

What software program are you using to design your plans?

[@TommyTompkins]

I'm using Sketchup Pro

[@tomkipp2878]

@@TommyTompkins Thanks. I just got a radial arm saw and this setup will work perfectly. Keep up the solid work!

[@stewartott4249]

Just purchased/downloaded your sketch up plans. How do you open them?

[@TommyTompkins]

Hello Stewart - the download includes many files that are all bundled together in a single .zip file. You should be able to just open the zip file and extract the files onto your hard drive. On some Windows operating systems, you might need to download a zip utility to open the zip file. If this is the case for you, you can visit www.winzip.com and download the free trial which will allow you to open it.

[@stewartott4249]

@@TommyTompkins I’m working on an iPad. I can see the file but it is grayed-out and I can’t figure out how to get the website to open it. I didn’t know if there was a step I’ve missed or what. The pdf opened just fine, but no joy so far on the sketchup file.

[@TommyTompkins]

@@stewartott4249 It sounds like you opened the zip file just fine. The sketchup file will only open if you have Sketchup installed on your machine. We only include the Sketchup file for convenience for people that have Sketchup installed and want to change the design. The only files that you actually need are the pdf files.

[@swampmaster5265]

Nice job mate. A lot of people have been asking about sketch up. When you have the view of each bench with the lay down of how many boards (and how to best cut them with least wastage), is this a sketchup function?or did you just have to copy and paste each part and lay them flat???

[@TommyTompkins]

Thanks. I didn't use any Sketchup plugins to figure out the best cut with the least waste. I did that in Sketchup manually by copying / pasting since I couldn't find any plugin to do exactly what I was looking for.

[@kylemillican7851]

Really nice layout! What software are you using to design and layout your build?

[@TommyTompkins]

Thanks! I used Sketchup - www.sketchup.com

[@thelosttexan1717]

in another video you were talking about how cold it is. what state are you from?

[@TommyTompkins]

Hey Texan! I'm up here in the beautiful but bitter north of Stillwater, MN: www.discoverstillwater.com

[@thelosttexan1717]

moved up to MN 3 yrs ago during the coldest year in what they said in 20 yrs. I reside in East Bethel. i figured you were from Mn bc of your sons hat. I'm not a hockey fan but I like to stir the pot by saying that the North Stars has to move to Tx to win the cup.

[@JRV8083]

This looks great? What program did you use for planning this?

[@TommyTompkins]

Thank you! I used Sketchup to draw all the parts. The Sketchup file and a highly detailed 62 page PDF are now available at tommytompkins.com/product/tompkins-miter-saw-station-with-rolling-workbench/ if you're interested in the plans ;)

[@JRV8083]

Tommy Tompkins thank I will

[@angelmorelo7990]

Any coupon codes

[@papatbj]

Hello Tommy, great videos. How long is the finished product here? Definitely interested in making something similar to this.

[@TommyTompkins]

Thanks Tim! If you count all tables including the radial arm saw table, the total overall dimensions end up being 42" tall X 30" deep X 16 feet long. Everything is modular obviously so you could apply the same tables in different configurations for different results.

[@papatbj]

Thanks for the quick reply! All in, how much money do you think you have into the full setup?

[@TommyTompkins]

The entire setup requires 46 2x4s and 10 4x8 sheets of MDF or plywood. Here in MN, each 2x4 was just over $2 each and each MDF panel was about $25. That's approximately $350 + glue and screws.