Home Workshop Setup: The Complete Guide

A comprehensive guide to setting up an efficient and friendly woodworking shop. 

This second installment of the Home Woodworker Series has everything you need to create the efficient, safe, clean, and comfortable workspace you've envisioned for working with wood.

Start with the workshop planner and use its tool templates and gridded worksheet to lay out a customized floor plan based on your dedicated space. Then follow the guide to decide on other needs for your shop, including flooring options, lighting and heating, dust collection, outfitting with compressed air, and fire safety. The guide also walks you through a garage shop makeover, providing detailed plans for space-saving components like carts, cabinets, and racks.

Armed with an action plan based on the guide, you’ll have all you need for setting up the perfect home workshop. Add in tools, a bench, and storage, and you can take your passion to the next level, building projects for the home, family, or to sell.

Jim Harrold’s involvement in woodworking and related books and magazines spans more than three decades. His resume includes Weekend Woodworking Projects, WOOD Magazine, and Woodcraft Magazine, among others.