Imagine a workplace where lumber is easy to handle, the air is clean, the temperature is right, every tool is close at hand, and work flows smoothly from station to station.

Now you can find everything you need to create your dream workshop in this valuable collection of articles from Fine Woodworking magazine. In a single volume, you'll explore a carefully selected compilation of the very best shop ideas we've discovered.

Where do we find these state-of-the-art shop ideas? The editors of Fine Woodworking hit the road for months every year to visit hundreds of real-world shops across the country. We check out every detail - including projects and processes as they really happen- to bring you the most extraordinary success stories.

Whether you're upgrading your current workshop or building from scratch, Great Workshops delivers all the tips, techniques and trade secrets to help you design a workplace around your specific needs.

As you flip through the pages, you'll discover floor to rafters profiles of shops that work on every level, from layouts and workstations to wiring, lighting and safety issues.

Here are just a few of the other topics you'll find covered in great detail.

• Creating organized workspaces
• Ergonomics
• Racking lumber
• Tool storage
• Clamp storage
• Dust collection
• Heating
• Shops in tight spaces

For the real-life challenges every woodworker faces, Great Workshops provides solutions that make every job more efficient - and more satisfying.

If you agree that your shop is your most important woodworking tool, here's all the expert advice you need to make your ideal workplace a reality.

Introduction

Section 1
Great Small Shops

A Shop on Top 4
Paul H. Breskin

The Shop as Tool 8
Joe Tracy

Great Shop in a Two-Car Garage 13
Curtis Erpelding

Turning a Parking Place into a Great Shop Space 21
Chris Gochnour

Smart Shop in a One-Car Garage 29
Matthew Teague

A Well-Organized One-Man Shop 40
Ross Day

A Layout Kit for Small Shops 47
John Yurko

A Shop Built around an Island 52
Alan Devilbiss

A Shop in the Backyard 57
Rick McCaskill

A Shop Inspired by School Memories 62
Mark Bellonby

From the Ground Up 68
William Duckworth

Dream Shop in the Woods 72
Les Cizek

A Timber-Frame Dream 80
Eric Foertsch

A Workshop Steeped in History 84
Eugene Landon

Section 2
Storage Solutions

Quick-to-Make Tool Cabinet 90
Jan Zoltowski

Basement Shop on Wheels 99
Anatole Burkin

Not Your Father's Pegboard 106
Hank Gilpin

Three Ways to Rack Lumber 108
Matthew Teague

Lumber Storage Solutions 111
Andy Beasley

Fine-Tune Your Shop 116
Jerry H. Lyons

Roll-Away Workshop 121
Bill Endress

Four Ways to Get Organized 128
Dave Padget, Carl Swensson, Fred Sotcher, Joe Johns

Clamp Storage Solutions 136
John West, Brook Duerr, David Diranna

Section 3
Shop Systems

Low-Cost Shop Floor 144
Scott Gibson

Shop Flooring Solutions 149
Anatole Burkin

Heating Your Shop 156
Andy Engel

Lighting for the Workshop 164
Jack l. Lindsey

Small-Shop Dust Collectors 173
Sandor Nagyszalanczy

Dust Collection for the One-Man Shop 179
Anatole Burkin

Dust Collection Demystified 188
Garrett Hack

Plumbing a Shop for Air 196
Roland Johnson

Wiring a Workshop 201
Clifford A. Popejoy

Fire Safety in the Shop 210
Bruce Ryden

Credits 216

Index 217

Fine Woodworking's editors hit the road for months every year, visiting scores of real-world shops to capture projects and processes as they really happen. We see everything from clean, well-lighted places to dusty, cramped caves, where it is a wonder anything gets built. Only the best shop ideas make it into the magazine. This compilation, then, represents the best of the best, the last word on buildings, floor plans, wiring, heating, dust collection, lumber and tool storage, ergonomics, and much more. Take it from us--this is the stuff that works.

Like many people, my first shop was a basement. It was underpowered and underlit, and I addressed those issues with the help of an electrician. It was also undersized, so I built storage into every available space, and raised machines and other work surfaces to the same height for better flow. The truth is you can't always choose your shop space, but you can choose how to use it. This book offers dozens of ways to make any floor plan work better. If you are happy with your space but need an upgrade in lighting, power, or dust collection, consult this book before spending serious cash. And if you are finally ready to build your dream shop, we've got that covered, too, with floor-to-rafters profiles of the best shops we've seen.

As Joe Tracy explains on p. 8, the shop is the most important woodworking tool. Imagine a workspace where lumber is easy to handle, the air is clean, the temperature is right, every tool is close at hand, and work flows smoothly from station to station and out the door before you know it. Read on to make that happen.

--Asa Christiana,
Editor, Fine Woodworking