Woodworkers enjoy buying tools. However, all of us reach a point where we have filled our shop and can not add any more large power tools. Regardless of the size of our shop most of us want more space or we want to make the space work better. Moving large stationary power tools around to see if a new layout might be better is not the easiest approach. Sometimes moving a few tools to different locations can have a dramatic effect in improving the efficiency of the shop. The usual method of shop layout is by drawing an outline of the shop using graph paper with a scale of 1/4" (1/4" = 1'). Small pieces of paper scaled to the length and width of your tools can then be placed on the grid to find the ideal layout. Workbench magazine has a layout tool that makes this process easy.

You can download a program called Easyshop Shop Designer for free. It contains scalable icons where you can input the length and width of each tool from their list or create a scaled icon for a tool that is not listed.

Before you start to rearrange your shop you might what to take a virtual tour of the wood shop at the New Yankee Workshop.