So, you’ve decided to get into woodturning, and you can’t wait to start crafting one-of-a-kind wooden pieces to adorn your home or give to loved ones as gifts. Maybe you’ll even gain enough skill to create a side hustle! But you need to set up a shop first, a place to house your woodturning tools and equipment, and you aren’t quite sure where to begin. You might need a guide for woodturners.
Or perhaps you have been woodturning for a while, but you’ve always squeezed your hobby into a corner of the garage or basement. Now you’ve decided that it is time to take your woodturning to the next level.
However you’ve come to the decision, you want to create a dedicated woodturning space where your woodturning tools and equipment will be prioritized, and you will be able to work comfortably. Now you wonder, “How big should my shop be? What equipment should I include? What safety features do I need to install?”
This guide for woodturners covers these questions and more!
The first thing you might wonder when planning out your woodturning shop is, “How big should my shop be?”
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is, “it depends.” Here are a few things you should think about when creating your new woodturning paradise:
You might have the luxury of designing your own shop, or you might be fitting your woodturning into an existing space. Knowing your starting point will help you decide how big your wood shop should be.
A general rule for any shop is that it should be no bigger than it needs to be, especially when considering things like building and heating costs. This could mean a small shop of 10’ x 12’ or a bigger shop of 30’ x 22’ depending on your needs and preferences. Keep in mind that those who create smaller woodturning projects, like bowls, plates, or spindles, will need less room overall; flat woodworking (such as furniture) requires more space.
Before you can decide exactly how big your shop should be, you also need to evaluate the kinds of equipment you have and the kinds of equipment you are likely to purchase. If you’re not sure what kinds of tools and equipment you need to get started, check out our previous blog post, “Top Tools and Equipment for Woodturning.”
A woodturner needs, at minimum, enough room for his or her lathe and a dedicated place to store his or her tools. A shop should also have ample room to move around when turning the wood so that you are not tripping over your equipment.
Lathes come in different sizes, so the space needed for a lathe will depend on the type of lathe you have, but most woodturners agree that a lathe can be placed against a wall. Bonus points if the wall has a window for extra light and a view while you are turning. Make sure to leave enough room to easily adjust the speed on the headstock and maneuver your wood blanks and the tailstock; six to twelve inches on either side of the lathe bed will be sufficient.
Woodturners will also likely want to have a workbench and/or desk on which to finish projects and dry them. Many woodturners invest in extra tools like sanders, drill presses, and saws, depending on the kinds of projects they are most involved in, which will require table space. Take an inventory of your equipment and plan out how many work benches or tables you will need.
Fans, heaters, and storage cabinets are other common things that woodturners include in their woodshops. Don’t forget that you will need an air compressor and dust collection system as well. Many woodworkers opt to build a closet area or crawl space to isolate the noise that comes from these larger instruments.
As you might expect, any extra tools or storage spaces are going to require your shop to be bigger. While there are some people who prefer a smaller, well-organized space, very few woodturners regret a few extra hundred feet of space. If possible, plan for a bit more space than you think you need so that you are not limited in what you can add to your workshop.
Once you’ve decided whether your woodshop will be housed in a brand-new, dedicated building or just a larger room in your basement, you’ll want to think about some interior elements before you begin moving your equipment in.
If you’re moving into an existing space, it might be that your basement or garage is already insulated. However, if you are building new, you will want to consider your climate and whether you will need insulation to create a comfortable working environment. Most regions require some heating or cooling to make a living or workspace comfortable, so a fully insulated woodturning shop can help you save on heating and cooling costs.
Something else to consider is adding noise cancellation or noise containment equipment to your shop, especially if your shop is part of your home or adjacent to your garage. The most important place to consider noise leakage is through your walls, so soundproof insulation can help with this. Woodworkers can also add acoustic panels or soundproofing materials such as mass loaded vinyl to their walls.
The same sorts of soundproofing materials can be added to the ceiling, which conducts sound easily if it is below another floor. You might also want to hang baffles or a drop ceiling to reduce noise. A drop ceiling might also provide a place to hide ductwork from the dust collection system.
The door is another place where noise might easily leak through. If your woodshop is in a room in your basement, consider simple things to reduce noise like adding a door sweep under your door.
Concrete flooring is common for a woodshop and is probably easiest to clean, but it can be hard on your knees when standing for a long period of time. Having rubber mats or wood floors is going to make your shop more comfortable and safer for your joints in the long run. Some woodturners use simple plywood or OSB on top of 1 ½” pink board to inexpensively add an extra layer of cushion to the floor.
Having good lighting is a must when putting together a woodturning shop. Most woodturners agree that recessed fluorescent lighting is fine overall, especially when using daylight bulbs. However, LED lighting can be particularly bright and beneficial, specifically when mounted above your lathe and workbench(es). This extra lighting can help with fine detail work, and you don’t have to worry about replacing bulbs for ten years or more!
Another interior element to consider is the number and placement of outlets. Some woodturners install sub-panels specific for their shop, ranging from 60amps to 100 amps. Whether you decide that you need a sub-panel or not, having many outlets spaced around your shop will ensure that you can adjust the configuration of your tools and equipment as needed. You might also invest in hanging or ceiling outlets as another option to help add flexibility to the layout of your workshop.
Often, the first safety features you might think about needing in a woodshop are things like fire extinguishers and first aid kits. These things are extremely important, so don’t neglect them! Just as important is personal protective equipment, like safety goggles, face shields, and close-toed shoes.
However, another safety feature that you may not have considered is a high-quality dust collection system. Woodturning involves the creation of a fair amount of dust and shavings and breathing that debris in over time can be detrimental to your lungs.
A dust collection system involves a fan or vacuum that will collect the dust and filter it through a set of ducts before recycling the air back into the shop. Some woodturners have space for the ductwork near the ceiling of their shop, while others choose to route the ductwork through the floor.
If you are not building new, you may not have the option of installing an entirely new duct system, especially if you have a smaller shop. In cases like these, some woodworkers use high-powered fans covered with air filters to help reduce the dust, and you might invest in some high-quality face masks to reduce the dust you are breathing in.
While we’ve covered the basic necessities of a woodshop, there are many other things that you could include to add extra convenience or efficiency to your woodturning experience.
Some woodturners install plumbing in their woodshops to use for a sink, bathroom, or even a small kitchenette. Obviously, these things are not as necessary if you are utilizing a room in your basement, but if you are working in a standalone shop for hours on end, having running water can make your woodturning experience much more efficient and enjoyable.
Other woodturners have a separate office space to work on non-dusty things, which can be important if you are running any kind of business operation in conjunction with your woodturning.
Even small things can improve the effectiveness of your woodturning operation, so pay attention to details. Adding a coat hook or rack near the door can give you a place not just to hang your outerwear but a place to store any smocks or goggles when they are not in use. This can also help you remember to exchange your coat for protective gear right when you come into the shop, reducing accidents.
Putting together a woodturning shop can be an exciting, but daunting, process. A helpful tip is to draw up plans using a floorplan software system like AutoCAD Architecture by Autodesk, Civil 3D, or Bluebeam Revu. These products can allow you to move your “equipment” around a model shop until you hit on a plan that looks right for you.
Even after you set your layout using the software system, it might be helpful to place your big tools on workbenches that have wheels so that you can reconfigure your shop depending on the project you are working on or the addition of new equipment. In this case, it helps to have hanging outlets so that you aren’t locked into certain configurations based on where your outlets are or faced with the option of extension cords running all over your shop, which can be a safety hazard.
Once you have your woodshop set up, it’s important to keep it clean and organized so that entering your woodshop will always be an enjoyable process and not a task that brings frustration.
As anyone who has ever lived in a house knows, a clean and clutter-free living space makes for a less stressful household. The same is true for a workspace. If your shop is cluttered and dusty, you are less likely to enjoy your woodturning, and it may be difficult to actually make progress on projects.
Leave yourself some time at the end of your woodturning sessions to sweep, vacuum, dust, and collect any debris that may have accumulated during your work session. Make sure to put away any tools that you’ve used that day in their dedicated spots. (Yes, this does require that each tool has a place to call its own.)
Any wood blanks should also be stored properly. If you are going to use wood pieces again, place them back in their proper storage area. It is a good idea to have a bin specifically for offcuts if you think they might be big enough to use for another project. If the pieces are too small to be used again, dispose of them right away so that they don’t hang around causing disorder and unnecessary mess.
While this might feel tedious, spending twenty minutes cleaning up at the end of each woodturning session is much more efficient and effective than spending an entire day cleaning up when things have gotten so bad that you can’t find your tools. Then, if you need to, you can deep clean between projects.
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