Shop Layout Programs

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  • Pappy
    The Full Monte
    • Dec 2002
    • 10453
    • San Marcos, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 (x2)

    Shop Layout Programs

    I am trying to figure out a workable layout for a small shop. We are getting ready to sell our house and go full time in an RV. Where we are going to set up our home base I will have 2 outbuildings. One is an 8x8 that will be dedicated for her crafts room. the other one will be split into a 8x8 or so storage room and the rest will be a small wood shop. The Grizzly shop planner is down and no estimation when or if it will be back. anyone know of any basic, simple to use, shop layout programs? Every link that came up on a search turned out to be dead.
    Don, aka Pappy,

    Wise men talk because they have something to say,
    Fools because they have to say something.
    Plato
  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    #2
    8x8? Wow... Okay well.... Honstly you need to think in 3D space, so Sketchup. However the Sketchup Web stinks, you want the desktop version and they started charging quite a bit for it.

    Please keep us posted on the progress...

    FWIW, I am working on building a truck bed camper, not for full timing, but for work travel. I.E. as long as I get 4G / 5G, I can keep working, and I want to be able to travel into Mexico, the PNW, midwest etc.... and come back to TX to keep up with our local community...
    Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

    Comment

    • twistsol
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2002
      • 2893
      • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
      • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

      #3
      I've used Visio with a set of templates created by Harvey Chute many years ago. His site has been offline for at least a decade, but I have the templeate and can send it if you have a working copy of Visio
      Chr's
      __________
      An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
      A moral man does it.

      Comment

      • GrumpyDad
        Established Member
        • Jul 2020
        • 163
        • Midwest
        • Ryobi BT3100, BT3000, Sawstop PCS

        #4
        I would be interested in that visio template as well.
        Harumpf!
        GrumpyDad

        Comment

        • LCHIEN
          Internet Fact Checker
          • Dec 2002
          • 20913
          • Katy, TX, USA.
          • BT3000 vintage 1999

          #5
          I am interested in the visio template.... I have a working copy but its some years old.
          Loring in Katy, TX USA
          If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
          BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

          Comment

          • twistsol
            Veteran Member
            • Dec 2002
            • 2893
            • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
            • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

            #6
            The file is attached. The template is from Visio 93 or 97, so it should work with any version of Visio imaginable.
            Attached Files
            Last edited by twistsol; 11-27-2021, 09:03 PM.
            Chr's
            __________
            An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
            A moral man does it.

            Comment


            • LCHIEN
              LCHIEN commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks.......
          • Pappy
            The Full Monte
            • Dec 2002
            • 10453
            • San Marcos, TX, USA.
            • BT3000 (x2)

            #7
            No other suggestions so I guess it's lay the room out on paper and use cut outs for the tools. I don't have Visio and the file wouldn't download for me.
            Don, aka Pappy,

            Wise men talk because they have something to say,
            Fools because they have to say something.
            Plato

            Comment

            • twistsol
              Veteran Member
              • Dec 2002
              • 2893
              • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
              • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

              #8
              The only other option I've seen used, but never used myself, is Sketchup. Unfortunately, there really isn't any money in building a shop layout solution so even though there were half a dozen or so 10-15 years ago, they've all gone away.

              I use a program for floor plan layout, Home Designer Suite, and it used to have a limited number of tools available in their furnishings list, but those have gone away in recent versions as well.
              Chr's
              __________
              An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
              A moral man does it.

              Comment

              • dbhost
                Slow and steady
                • Apr 2008
                • 9209
                • League City, Texas
                • Ryobi BT3100

                #9
                Meh, it's Pappy with Pappys Playpen. The guy knows how to Tetris his tools into a teeny tiny workshop space.... Not sure what voodoo he uses, but I have every confidence he will make it work and I can't wait to see photos!
                Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

                Comment

                • cwsmith
                  Veteran Member
                  • Dec 2005
                  • 2737
                  • NY Southern Tier, USA.
                  • BT3100-1

                  #10
                  For my small 12 x 20 shop, I layed out may various bench and stationary tools, benches, shelves, etc. in Coreldraw as well as well as the floor plan and then moved them around for my best efficiency. I realize that probably none of you use that program, so I printed to PDF my layout and the tool illustrations. All are to scale and you might simply be able to use them either as cut-outs or imported into whatever program you might have. I'm not sure how they will load as PDF files, so let me know if there is a better way and If I can adapt any particular thing for you, let me know.

                  CWS


                  Shed Shop Layout.pdf


                  TTool Layout.pdf
                  Think it Through Before You Do!

                  Comment

                  • dbhost
                    Slow and steady
                    • Apr 2008
                    • 9209
                    • League City, Texas
                    • Ryobi BT3100

                    #11
                    I had Corel Draw, but since they went to subscription based, I dropped it like a hot potato. Using Inkscape instead...

                    I still think Sketchup gives you the best idea, especially since you can lay it out in 3D space, and there are LOTS of models for the most common tools out there, even our BT3x00 saws in various configurations...
                    Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

                    Comment

                    • cwsmith
                      Veteran Member
                      • Dec 2005
                      • 2737
                      • NY Southern Tier, USA.
                      • BT3100-1

                      #12
                      I agree with your decision, but once you paid for CorelDraw, you can still use the program version that you paid for. I hope you realized that!

                      For example, I'm still using my 'home & student' version from 2014, and it still has all the features. That said however, what really fouled me up was when Microsoft went to Windows 10, that messed up almost every program I had, including the pro-versions of Corel which I paid dearly for and had been using professionally over the the years. I also lost my pro-version of Microsoft Office and several other programs.

                      Personally speaking, I'm not about to pay a subscription to Corel or anyone else to use their software, not when I have paid for versions that allow me endless personal use. Frankly, I have seen absolutely NO important improvements to Corel Draw in almost two decades. They don't even give a decent clip art pacage anymore. (I've been using the program for since the 90's.)

                      CWS
                      Think it Through Before You Do!

                      Comment


                      • dbhost

                        dbhost
                        commented
                        Editing a comment
                        It was an old version. I lost compatibility once Windows XP went away... I wish I could still run it. I would buy a new version if I wasn't just renting access to the application. Last time I looked, Corel had jumped 100% on the subscription software bandwagon, however I just looked now, and they seem to have perpetual licenses again at a reasonable rate... Might have to look into it again.

                      • cwsmith
                        cwsmith commented
                        Editing a comment
                        If you decide to get the program again, I'll send you the illustration of the layout and the individual tools that I posted. That way you can lay out your own shop space and position/scale as you would like. I've labeled the illustrated tools that I have, so that might be useful to you and you can modify or draw those of your own.

                        CWS
                    • Jim Frye
                      Veteran Member
                      • Dec 2002
                      • 1051
                      • Maumee, OH, USA.
                      • Ryobi BT3000 & BT3100

                      #13
                      I've had a 10'x10' shop, a 12'x12' shop and now my 12'x22' shop. The first was too small for anything but hand tools and I had to keep half of my power tools outside the second shop. You didn't state what you would be making in your tiny shop and that would dictate how things are laid out. My experience from the first two shops was that having things do multiple duties is almost a necessity for space saving reasons. When I designed my latest shop, I didn't use software, but rather scale profiles of the various machines and just moved them around based on how I work and what I make. I do mostly furniture, so my open space is based on that. My first shop did not have a fixed workbench, just my B&D Workmate and an overhead electrical drop. The next shop was inherited and had a 30"x 10' work bench along one wall. My current shop has the major power tools (planer, table saw, band saw, drill press, and jointer all on mobile cabinets with other power tools (scroll saw, OSS, drill press tools and jigs, and little used power hand tools) stored below. This way stuff not in use can be rolled out of the way along a wall. My shop built lathe is stored on end on a rolling base and is clamped to the fixed work bench when used. I have assembled and finished many projects in the garage due to lack of space in the shop. My assembly table rests on a StoreHorse and my WorkMate and also serves as the outfeed extension for the table saw. That way the assembly table can be taken down if the floor space is needed. The table saw outfeed table folds up against the back of the saw for storage against a wall. My CMS is mounted on a 2x4 frame that can sit in the WorkMate and hangs on the wall when not in use. It has two extensions that bolt onto the base frame for working with long stock. The extensions also hang on the wall up by the ceiling when not in use. Almost all of the ceiling joist space is used for storage.
                      Jim Frye
                      The Nut in the Cellar.
                      ”Sawdust Is Man Glitter”

                      Comment

                      • cwsmith
                        Veteran Member
                        • Dec 2005
                        • 2737
                        • NY Southern Tier, USA.
                        • BT3100-1

                        #14
                        Just goes to show that with a bit of planning and imagination you can fit a lot of work into a relatively small workspace. My 12 x 20 is actually the first decent shop that I"ve had in my lifetime. Back at the Painted Post house the basement was so shallow in height that the only place I could fully stand was between the floor joists and I've got a number of scars on my noggin to prove that. With the house here in Binghamton by workspace was devided between two rooms in the basement, which amounted to about 9 x 20-plus feet. Problem there was the dust and noise which wasn't appriciated by my wife. She suggested the shed, and that worked out better. Not mentioned or illustrated in my floor layout is the gambrel roof and the roughly 6 x 20 lofts I have at both ends. That allows for tool storage and a place to move by stock as I work on it.

                        CWS
                        Think it Through Before You Do!

                        Comment

                        • Pappy
                          The Full Monte
                          • Dec 2002
                          • 10453
                          • San Marcos, TX, USA.
                          • BT3000 (x2)

                          #15
                          cssmith, I printed out your drawings. They might give me a starting point to work with. I just have to scale the layout to match your tool pictures.

                          twistol, when you mentioned Home Designer Suite I looked through some old programs. I found several CD's of design programs. Now I have to see if they will play with the newer computer.
                          Don, aka Pappy,

                          Wise men talk because they have something to say,
                          Fools because they have to say something.
                          Plato

                          Comment

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