Designing a room For Gear Making

**Captain Morgan** · 10-26-2010, 13:15

I was wondering if any you have experience in designing a room dedicated too making gear. I am remodeling a home right now and have the opportunity to design and make my own room (man cave) or (women cave).
I would love too have opinions on what I should do.

The room is 24 x 12 or so.

Captain.

**gargoyle** · 10-26-2010, 13:29

In no particular order...
Big table. 6' wide x 12' long (folding leafs) for laying out tarps and other projects.
Well lit. A good set of flourescents to illuminate the entire room.
Storage. Lots of shelves for all the goodies.
Sewing table. Roomy enough for a tarp project.
Comfortable chair.
Radio.
Internet so you can stay on HF all the time.
Power for plugging in any misc. equipment.
A good sewing machine

Oh, wait that's my X-mas list...

**fred1diver** · 10-26-2010, 13:46

the big table is a must, when i used to work in shoe repair our table was at the end of the sewing machine, so your project wont have to touch the ground, jus like in hammocking

if you can place the table in the middle, use the underside of the table as storage ( bins, shelves, etc) that way you can use a portion of the table to measure, cut and lay the fabric and still have ample room for your coffee mug! our table was a 4x8 sheet of melamine (smooth so the fabric wont catch and get damaged

)
lighting is your best friend, fluorescent lighting is great, if you think you have enough add one more, shadows can mess with your eyes after a few hours making gear and helps spot flaws.
if you buy your fabric on rolls, a simple setup of two chains, hooks and poles make for a good fabric storage rack!
hope this helps, if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask!

**sclittlefield** · 10-26-2010, 15:59

A Dedicated Cutting Table would be ideal. This is something that needs to be tall - such that you use it standing up w/o having to slouch. A too-low cutting table is one of the more common mistakes in the 'thread-injecting' world.

Here's one of Tom Hennessy's gear rooms, if you're interested.

**MacEntyre** · 10-26-2010, 17:02

I'm converting a room similar in size to yours, Capt. Morgan. I'll have a single 8'x16' table open on three sides, with the thread injector built in on one side, near the middle. Like Scott said, this will be a tall table, and my stool will be high.

The edge of the table will be even with the edge of the thread injector opening. I plan to sit sort of beside the table, not in front of the machine, but at an angle to it. The foot controls will be oriented at an angle. That way the fabric will go unhindered through the machine, and I will be right beside it.

One end of the table will be against a wall. Hanging from the ceiling above that end of the table will be large or frequently used rolls. Smaller rolls will be below the table. I won't have a dedicated cutting table, but I will have a clear shot (avoiding the thread injector) of 6'x16'.

**slowhike** · 10-26-2010, 17:06

A large table is a tremendous help, as long as you can afford to dedicate the room to it.
I made one 4' wide by 12' long to go in my work shop, w/ the intention of it not only serving as a table for cutting & sewing tarps & hammocks, but as a "multipurpose" table for other shop projects. After a couple years, the "hammock gear making bug" has crawled off, the table has become a "catch all", & I need the space for other things. I found no one in my area that wanted to buy it, so I plan to disassemble it & salvage the materials. I just gotta get all that junk off it first

If I had it to do again, I would make it at least partly fold-able, but w/ this one I choose to make it sturdy enough to handle most any use I put it to.

Also, because of the multi-purpose intended use, I made it the same height as other surfaces in my shop. Like sclittlefield said, if you plan on cutting much fabric, a high table would be far better.
I believe Ed Speer's work table came almost up to the bottom of my chest.

**Captain Morgan** · 10-26-2010, 17:37

Great info. Thanks

MacEntyre: How many rolls are you going to have hanging from the ceiling.

I like the idea of a big table with folding wings or whatever there called.

I am thinking about two tables. One for cutting and one for other purposes. Its not totally a man cave. My wife has her powertools and bandsaw she whats too keep in there.

Would any type of laminate be fine for the countertop or something better?

Capt.

**MacEntyre** · 10-26-2010, 18:00

Originally Posted by Captain Morgan

How many rolls are you going to have hanging from the ceiling?

One very large roll of PE foam... one large roll of IX... two or three smaller rolls of nylon.

Originally Posted by Captain Morgan

Would any type of laminate be fine for the countertop or something better?

It wants to be smooth, and hard. Seamless glass would be perfect. I'm not sure what I'm going to put on mine.

**muttly** · 10-26-2010, 18:18

Originally Posted by Captain Morgan

My wife has her powertools and bandsaw she whats too keep in there.

Wow. Impressive.

**Dutch** · 10-26-2010, 19:04

A stereo is a must. It would be real nice to have a large glass surface for cutting with a soldering iron. No forced air heating if you are going to work with down. A bench grinder. Shelving with storage bins. A place to set up a hammock for relaxing and also "testing". Fold out ironing board.