Setting up a Small Shop

When you don't have a lot of space, organization and mobility are key.

I started making knives in the corner of my parents garage. I didn't have a lot of space and quickly filled up my area with tools and clutter. Since then, my space has diminished even more, but the useable space has increased. There are several key components to create an effective knife shop in a small space.

1. Organization

   Without a doubt, this is a make-or-break it aspect. If you allow your space to become cluttered and messy, without specific places for each tool, it will become ineffective. It can seem that the time spent organizing your shop is wasted, but you will be infinitely more efficient for doing so. Start by making sure each tool you own has a home, either a hook on the wall, a specific place in a drawer, or a location on your work bench. And then return it to its home when you are done with it.

   
   

2. Mobility

   In a small shop you will often need to re-arrange tools in order to have better access to the one you are using. Having some pieces on casters will make a huge difference in how efficient it is to move your equipment around.
   

3. Storage

   Along with mobility is having storage for all of your tools. Drawers and cabinets with doors are better than open shelving as they keep the majority of dust and dirt out from your tools, making clean up infinitely easier. Mobile work benches are a fantastic way to store your equipment very efficiently. They can be found relatively inexpensively from big-box hardware stores and also allow you to move them around your shop depending on your need. You can mount your grinder to one, wheel it outside and not worry about dust getting all over your garage or shop.

   

   
   

4. Equipment

   Having the right equipment can make a huge difference in your shop's efficiency. You may want to pare down the size of individual tools. For example, a stand alone drill press takes up the same space as a bench mounted one - but a bench mounted drill press can have storage underneath in a cabinet and you typically don't need the full depth a floor mounted machine offers anyways. Our belt grinders are designed for these situations as well, they are compact and fit in tight areas that a full size 2X72 would have trouble in.