Shop Machinery & Equipment

There’s nothing like having a workshop to retreat to at the end of a long stressful day at the office or to enjoy your weekends in while working on favorite projects. A home workshop provides a place to keep your power tools in good order – safely stored on shelves or in a secure workbench cabinet. It also gives you a place to work when it’s raining or cold outdoors – it can be a very cozy feeling working away in your shop while the rain or snow falls outside.

A workshop can also be a place to keep your tools away from curious children and to teach them how to handle tools safely when they get old enough. But just having a shop isn’t enough – an ideal workshop is full of equipment to assist you with your projects and perhaps even provide a means for developing a hobby such as woodworking or making your own furniture. What types of machinery might be found in a well stocked shop?

Types of Workshop Equipment

The type of equipment you choose for your workshop can depend on your interests, but many people associate the following power tools with a well stocked work station:

• Table Saw – this is one of the most versatile power tools found in any shop – it can be used to cross cut and rip boards of numerous sizes and when you install Dado blades, you’re ready to build shelving or cabinets
• Planer – if you like roaming around lumberyards and sawmills looking for the perfect piece of wood for your next project, this power tool can dress it up for you. They’re available in numerous sizes and are almost a “must have” for any serious woodworker
• Band Saw – cutting a curve or along a radius is an easy task for this fun to use power tool. It’s great for projects as small as kitchen cutting boards or for as large as building your own cabinets
• Radial Arm Saw – a radial arm saw is like having a floor standing miter saw, but with more power. If you do a lot of interior trim, this power tool can be a real time saver
• Lathe – if you enjoy furniture making, you almost have to have a lathe to create unique legs for your projects or use it to make rolling pins for the cooks in the family
• Joiner – any cabinet or piece of furniture that requires more than one piece of wood for construction needs the services of a joiner. You may be able to purchase a joiner – planer combination power tool to save space
• Shop Vacuum – serious woodworkers create a lot of sawdust and it can cause a safety hazard when left lying around. A good shop vacuum can be used to keep your workshop clean and may also be used to remove dust from projects prior to installing finishes
• First Aid Kit – if you do a lot of work in your shop, sooner or later there will be an injury — even if it’s as minor as getting a splinter. All well equipped workshops should have a completely stocked first aid kit in an easily accessible spot

These are just a few of the suggestions for machinery and equipment that you might want to consider for your workshop. Many of these power tools are available as bench top models if space is a problem.