pottery- carpentry  

Hi Ejaved, I recently built my own workshop out in the garden. The dimensions are 20ft x 8ft x 7ft. I use this as a carpentry workshop, one of the main factors to remember is room to move. You don't want to be falling over tools and work benches which could cause injury.

Have your work benches around the outside if you are struggling for room, or place a decent workbench/station in the center if you have ample space. Now think about power and where to place points strategically. These need to be properly with a main fuse board and a circuit coming from this. If you stick to the surrounding work bench, go for wall sockets. If you chose a central station you may think about a dangle cord solution.

If working with wood as opposed to clay for pottery, consider the waste. Waste management is important due to health and the safety/tideness of your shop. Working with wood produces a tremendous amount of saw dust and shavings. You may want to think about a suction system to extract dust whilst you work.

Tools, 1000's availible on the market worldwide, all depends on your budget. Second hand is a good choice as long as they are still servicable, shop around and have fun (acquiring tools is part of the enjoyment)

Hope this helps my friend and I wish you good luck

Andy

Hi,

I can only comment on the woodwork side as I am a self employed cabinet Maker (UK based),

Natural light is very important for any kind of work undertaken, Storage is often overlooked when setting up workshops and security should also be considered. I wish I had made dust proof doors on my storage lockers as when working with wood its amazing the amount of dust created. And therefore adequate extraction is needed, I recently added an air filter to remove the tiny / dangerous particles.

Sadly all these doesn't work out cheap especially when setting up, however it's probably best to muggle through and keep adding as needed and when it can be afforded.

Hope this is some help!