Tips on setting up a Home Workshop
This topic was covered recently in the Chicago Tribune Home & Garden section which offered some good tips on what it takes to set up a home workshop. Some of the suggestions are intuitive while others offer nice suggestions to our DIY readers. Without further delay:
* Lighting: proper lighting in a workshop is critical to prevent injuries. 200-watt bulbs or double banks of fluorescents are always a nice starting point. Lighting is important both for safety and for work quality since good lighting, for example, will allow you to cut up to but not over a thin pencil line. Clamp lights are handy because they can be clipped most anywhere and moved around your shop as necessary to see your work clearly.
* Have sufficient outlets and power to accommodate and support power tools that are in your work area. For smaller power tools or battery operated tools you can often make due with a fused plug strip that can handle several plug in items at once. Once again, for larger tools like saws and planers, you might want to add an extra circuit with its own breaker.
* Ventilation: when working with chemicals of any kind, open windows to provide adequate ventilation to protect yourself in the work area. If there is only one window in your work area, install an exhaust fan in that window and set up the work so fumes carry away from you to the outside.
* Storage: for convenient storage of nails and screws try an empty tackle box or even an empty egg container if only a small amount of items need to be stored.
* Safety: besides following normal safety guidelines when operating any equipment in your new shop, it’s wise to childproof the area by controlling access to your workspace. Place a lock on the entrance to your work area and store power tools up and away out of the reach of any children. Lock saws and stationary power tools that come with a lock mechanism. If you store chemicals in your work area, keep them in a locked cabinet.
Some of the pointers are basic common sense but it doesn’t hurt to review the basics every now and then. Ok, now get to work!
