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Strange topic, but possibly an interesting one.

I live in on a house barge on the Potomac River in Washington, DC and have had a shop at a weekend cabin in West Virginia since 2008. For many years we spend weekends at the cabin and the shop was my recreation while my wife was gardening. As years have passed and my mobility has declined that arrangement has become difficult. We recently bought a new house in Southern Maryland with a two car garage and I relocated all the machinery (Burke #4 horizontal mill, Atlas 10” lathe, 12” table saw, 13” planer, 6” jointer, 16 speed floor model drill press, 6” horizontal band saw, 14” vertical band saw, a couple of bench grinders, miscellaneous power and manual tools, a couple of rolling tool chests and a couple of machinists tool boxes, etc.). The WV shop was about ? the size of the garage and I’d be interested in the group’s suggestions for setting up a new shop.

The old shop was uninsulated and heated by a wood stove and measured 14’ X 22’. It had a 30 A, 240 V breaker panel and 120V 20 A outlets generously distributed on the side walls, plus an overhead 20 A electric reel that reached almost anywhere in the shop. It had two sets of metal shelving, a couple of sets of 2X4 framed shelving along the walls, and a 2” deep X 8’ long workbench along one wall with storage underneath.? It was lit by four 4’ fluorescent, two lamp lighting fixtures mounted on the trusses. It had a 10’ clearance to the roof trusses and a 2 ton chain fall supported across six trusses. I moved that to the garage in MD. Neither shop has a finished ceiling.

The garage is unheated and uninsulated but attached to the house and could be insulated in the future. The house lot is well shaded and on a really hot (90+ degrees F) the shop is comfortable with both the garage doors open. The garage currently has only one 15 A circuit for a couple of overhead bare bulb light fixtures and the garage door openers. I have an electrician coming shortly to add at least 20 A circuit with multiple outlets, and possibly a 30 A 240V sub panel. Since it is a one-man shop I never need to run more than one piece of machinery at a time, so the total amperage is less of a concern than having a lot of convenient outlets.

So, having enjoyed the advice of the group for 10 – 12 years, I wonder what suggestions you have for setting up a brand new shop. Be innovative, we may all learn something in the process.