[colsanders]

Hello all,
I have a question. my wife and I are living with our inlaws, and space is tight. Due to the lack of room, ww is hard for me to do. There is a tiny space in the basement for me to work. Do you of you have ideas or thoughts on doing some basic woodworking in a limited space?

On another note, do any of you make any trinkets or small things to sell? Im looking for some small things to make and sell at craft shows etc.
Thanks!

 

[Crusader]

Well first let me give my condolence on your living arrangements. :laughing:
There are quite a few of us with size limitations, but one mans
tiny is another mans Taj Mahal, what are we talking here? a hall closet, 12x24? a chair to whittle wood? what.
You left out quite a bit here really, do you have any power tools?
what's your experience level. Maybe just a wee bit more information
might help :yes:

 

[MT Stringer]

I know a guy that works in his garage and just uses the three feet or so on the side. So along that side he has a Dust collector, Band saw, Drill press and a lathe..and a small workbench. He makes pens and mostly donates them to various charities. He is retired (82yo) and selling is not important to him. But he gets a lot done and his stuff is always small. He also had a Mitsubishi split system AC/heat pump installed so the temps would be tolerable.

Hope this helps.
Mike

Edit: Here is a pic of some of his pens he made for a charity event.

 

[johnnie52]

How close to an outside door is this tiny space? If its reasonably close your work space is as large as the whole yard. You'd be limited to only working on nice days, but some really nice things can be built outside and using the inside as tool storage. That is pretty much how I do it. My actual work area is mostly outside and my tools are stored in a shed.

Just a thought.

I also agree that a small lathe and maybe a 9" band saw will fit in a closet.... pens, vases, bottle stoppers, and small bowls are easy to make once you learn how and I've seen lots of them offered at craft fairs.

 

[colsanders]

How close to an outside door is this tiny space? If its reasonably close your work space is as large as the whole yard. You'd be limited to only working on nice days, but some really nice things can be built outside and using the inside as tool storage. That is pretty much how I do it. My actual work area is mostly outside and my tools are stored in a shed.

Just a thought.

I also agree that a small lathe and maybe a 9" band saw will fit in a closet.... pens, vases, bottle stoppers, and small bowls are easy to make once you learn how and I've seen lots of them offered at craft fairs.

It is a small "workshop" in the basement. All the room i have is a workench with about 3 feet of room. I am slowly cleaning it up and organzing it(father in law has slowly packed it with crap over the last 20 years). i hope to be able to have room for the table saw soon.

The space does walk out to the backyard, however with 24 inches of snow out there its hard to do anything in the winter. In the summer i just use the driveway. As far as tools, I have a router, drill, impact driver, jigsaw, r.o. sander, and a bunch of hand tools. I think there is a small drill press, but i'm not sure of its working condition. And a delta small jobsite type tablesaw that hasnt been put together yet.

I'm still fair new to woodworking. I went to school for building construction, and now work as a carpenter. The thing I enjoyed most in school was the cabinet class, where I built a bar. I want to learn more about cabinet building and design, as well as more woodworking in general. This winter I want to make a pair of canoe paddles. AS far as turning, I have never used a lathe, so I wouldn't know where to start.

 

[gideon]

I work in a tiny space in the house I live in - a row house, about 1500 sqf. It sucks, it really does.

Basically, I use bins for storage, a folding contractors saw, a small 6" jointer, 13" planer. Nothing exits in own space. Everything has to be moved and shifted around to accommodate whatever thing I am working on at any given moment. But this has been great for my arms, chest and shoulders. No gym membership required.

What frustrates me most about this limitation is what I can't build as a result of it. I have a max of a 7' table. Thats it. I don't have the space to handle anything larger. And I've had to turn work down as a result of it.

 

[MT Stringer]

If you have room for a mobile cart, make something like mine. With all the holes and slots, you have clamping options galore. Plus you could configure the lower part as you see fit for storing your most frequently used tools so they will be at your beckoning call (router, planer, drills, glue bottles, clamps, etc.). And since it is on casters (4 swivel w/brakes) it is easily moved around or moved outside. Finished height is about 34 1/2 inches which is just a smidgeon lower than my work bench/outfeed table. The top is 22 x 35 with 2 inch overhang all around (for clamping).

This is based loosely on the plans in ShopNotes Issue #124.

Good luck. Search the web for more ideas especially You Tube. There are many folks like yourself (me included) that have small work spaces. I share part of a one car garage with all of our household stuff (washer, dryer, freezer, HW heater) so everything is on a mobile base or casters so I can rearrange for each task at hand.

My cart...