Machining tool room with lathe and small drill press.

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING
This 960-square-foot dream shop is a triumph of planning.

SHOP OWNER: Michael Louthan
LOCATION: Kingfisher, OK

    Like most wood and metal workers, I am very proud of my shop. It is an outgrowth of three previous facilities. Before I was married I lived in a farm house with a couple of other bachelors and had some space there to set up a small area for woodworking. I was lucky enough to marry a wonderful woman who already had a house with a 900-sq-ft, unfinished basement, so this was my next shop. It was great; cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Main wood working room looking North towards electronics room and machine room. Outfeed table w/ air filtering blower below. Cabinet table saw/router station in foreground with 220VAC riser. Overhead compressed air distribution with auxilary ceiling mounted airtank.

    But, we outgrew that house and moved on to a larger home with a 2 1/2-car garage. For six years I used the garage and had all my tools on mobile bases. It was quite a project to move things around and try and create projects, yet still clean up enough at the end of the day so we could get the cars inside.

SE corner with large drill press and custom drill press table

    Four years ago, I started planning the shop you see here. I used a lot of info from the book Workshop Book by Scott Landis and actually used an architectural program called Visio to generate over 200 detailed drawings on the layout, placement, electrical and systems prior to even starting to shop for a building. I knew I would only do this once and I wanted it to be as close to perfect as possible.

South wall of main woodworking room with 16' work bench along wall, 2 vises and custom 4' x 8' assembly table with tool drawers below and six compressed air outlets above.

    Two years ago, the 960-sq-ft buiding went up in my backyard. I hired a local contractor to actual construct the shell for me--24' x 40' with 2 x 6 walls, 7' ceilings (to meet local codes in my neighborhood) and a metal roof. I insulated and framed the inside as well as installing all the sheetrock and wiring. It took close to a year of working weekends to get it to the point I could move in.

West view of 16' miter saw table area, sanding table and rolling storage bins below for scrap cut off. Home-made roller table for table saw station.

    Since I was a child, I always enjoyed building things.. My father was a engineer, as am I, and I have never been afraid to tackle a project. I like to have all the components to complete a project available; and, since I have worked for a couple of manufacturering companies, I am somewhat spoiled regarding quality tools and work environments. Of course, my wife likes having the garage back. I am 47 now, semi-retired and hope to enjoy my hobbies for many years. I hate to admit it but it is really a lot of fun to have friends from out of town drop in and I ask them if they would like to see my "workshed". They expect a 10' x 12' building with a table saw.
    I have also inherited tools from my father, grandfather and my wifes father. These tools are very special to me.

...Mike Louthan

Small parts storage of nuts, screws, bolts, connectors and cable harnesses on East wall of Electronics Lab.

Electronics Lab with test equipment, oscilliscope (x2), waveform monitor, vectorscope, VTVM, freq counter, oscillators and hand tools. Equipment rack houses cassette, VCR's (2), AM/FM with stereo distribution to other rooms. Video/audio tie lines to house and other rooms.

Writing Desk, laptop for e-mail, rolling tool cart and electronic component storage in Electronics Lab

Audio and Video Test panel in Electronics Lab

Low Voltage Control panel for air compressor and central dust collection. Connected to microswitches at all DC blast gates for auto operation.

Metal working bench, torches, grinders, small band saw and polishing equipment.

SW corner with metal cut off bandsaw, air tools, sink and hand power tools. Video monitor above. Fire hose, First Aid cabinet and eyewash station next to sink.

 

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