Dustin’s Garage Shop

Shop Tour - Submitted by Dustin from Homewood,IL
Added on May 16, 2012

I am currently in the process of moving my shop to a larger commercial location across town. This is where it all started for my business though…a 470 sq ft. shop in the detached 2 car garage of my house. When we moved to this house 4 years ago, it was nothing more than a run down garage with a rotten wooden door and exposed framing. I re-roofed the garage before I got started on the inside. The entire space was insulated and dry walled. After that I ran 60 amps from the house to a sub panel and a 1 inch gas line for a heater.

The shop has evolved over the last 4 years like most shops do. Shortly after moving in, I replaced my Delta contractor’s saw with a Uni-saw and my 6 inch Craftsman jointer with an 8 inch Delta. The shop is fairly well equipped and for the most part, met all of my needs. While working in this shop, I out sourced my finishing and many completed projects ended up living in the dining room for a few days awaiting delivery, due to the lack of space. My new shop has a spray booth, large air compressor to power the shop, a drum sander, and lots more space for finishing, assembly, and storage.

I plan on keeping the same idea of layout and efficiency that I currently have in the new shop. The cabinets along the back wall are all from sam’s club and are great for hiding away all my hand and power tools. I will post a new shop tour when I get all set up in the new space. Hope you all enjoy!

Discussion

Craig May 16, 2012 7:38 pm

Good use of the space in your shop Dustin. Glad to see someone else from Illinois on TWW. What type of projects do you specialize in?

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Dozer’s Workshop May 16, 2012 8:18 pm

Actually quite nice and cozy. What prompted the move to a commercial location? Will you try to keep the size of your layout along with the general organization.

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Dustin May 17, 2012 6:12 am

Thanks Craig, I specialize in custom furniture but do a lot of millwork and custom cabinetry both commercial and residential. I decided to move because space was a little to tight. I do a lot of big projects that take up the entire shop with no room to work. I also wanted to have a spray booth and an office in my shop. The location is also on a main street (literally main st.) so I will have more exposure. For all the local people out there I will have a shop get together when it is open.
Thanks,

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TennesseeYankee May 17, 2012 7:25 am

great use of space

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JohnnyMack May 17, 2012 12:09 pm

Anyone that can turn this “hobby” into a business is my hero. I am currently in our attached garage but I just don’t see the day that I will go commercial – as much as I would like to. Good luck in your new location and keep growing.

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Everett May 18, 2012 7:17 am

I like the pictures you have next to that guitar body on the wall

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J.D. May 18, 2012 10:05 am

Everett, I am sure that is only reference material for curvilinear work.

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Claude Stewart May 19, 2012 10:33 am

Nice shop.

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Dave Stanton May 19, 2012 2:16 pm

Hi Dustin. I bet you will love your new space and congratulations on being succesful in a venture that is also your passion.
I also have the same cabinets and find they are very handy.
I plan on purchasing an 8 inch spiral head jointer in 3 months time. The 6 inch seemed too small and the 12 inch too big for my needs. It would be interesting to hear any feedback re your 8 inch decision.
Thanks for sharing.

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- Dustin May 21, 2012 6:18 am
  
  Thanks everyone for your kind words. Dave, I decided to go with the 8 inch for a few reasons first Most of the wood I get in from the mill is around or slightly under 8 inches depending on species (except for a recent 16inch wide red oak monster piece). Also what i really needed was a 16in jointer for flattening guitar bodies and since a 12in would not have been big enough for the task i went with the 8in. Also the local Berland’s tools was blowing it out on clearance for $800. I couldn’t pass up the deal. One day I will get my 16 though
  Thanks,
  
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duckkisser May 23, 2012 5:09 am

looks cleaner then the last time i visited your shop dustin but you still have that pile of ply in the middle of your floor that you have to walk across :) cant wait to see photos of your new shop

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RWallake June 5, 2012 10:14 am

How do you like your Delta Unisaw now that you have had it for sometime? Reason I’m asking is that I now have a Powermatic 64 and am considering upgrading to a PM 2000 or the 3hp Delta Unisaw.
Any thoughts based on your experience?

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- Dustin October 24, 2012 8:11 am
  
  I’m Sorry I just saw your post. I love my delta uni-saw. I have had a few problems though… a positive stop broke off the arbor and the splitter bracket is wildly out of alignment from the blade with no adjustment to correct the alignment. Other than those things it runs in my shop an average of 4 hours a day with no trouble. One day I will retire it to my dato saw and get a saw stop as my primary saw. Thanks
  
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TerryMcK October 24, 2012 6:16 am

Nice shop Dustin. It looks to me as you have weighted the lathe done with a few bags of something like cement? I presume to stop it bouncing about or minimize vibration.

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- TerryMcK October 24, 2012 6:19 am
  
  done=down :)
  
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Dustin October 24, 2012 6:31 am

Terry. Thanks! You are correct about the lathe since it has a steel stand and not a cast iron it is not heavy enough to stay put while turning heavy objects. I was turning some butcher block stools for a restaurant and the lathe kept walking away on me! It literally moved 2 feet in a few seconds. So I went and got the cheapest bag product play sand and put 600 lbs of sand on the bottom shelf. That kept the lathe in place.

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DanMan January 12, 2013 6:42 pm

Aside from the well equipped, well designed shop, I see two things that are often missing:a fire extinquisher and a first aid kit.

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- R A Kube January 14, 2013 11:53 am
  
  DanMan, take another look @ picture#5..Fire Extinguisher is right above the First Aid Kit. I also look for that kind of stuff and there is a thread in the Forum section going on now that seeks to make folks aware of the importance of those two tools.
  
  Reply
lance January 21, 2013 10:18 am

Great looking shop. Nice lay outand design. Just one question. Were did you find a festool cabinet? I didnt even know they made them.

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Dustin’s Garage Shop

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