A Leather Work Room In Your Home?

[ShortBBL]

I've commandeered one of the small bedrooms upstairs for my shop. It works. It's not terribly dirty but it could use a cleaning. I vacuum in there once a week. Where the dust collects is on the wall, the blinds, base board ledges, fan blades...etc. At this point in time it's not a big deal. Surfaces can be wiped down for a thorough cleaning. As for the nice new carpet that's in there, it's not a big deal. I'm not careless but I do have some dye spots and splatters and smudges in my dye area.

Overall we're not light-colored carpet fans. We'll be pulling it out for hardwood so not a big concern to keep it pristine but I still take care of it. Things happen.

Dwight has a good idea about laying down a simple floor. I was thinking of doing the same. An option besides wood flooring is some composite squares like they have at the gyms/fitness centers or for the garage. Buy as many as you need and click them together. Since its a pretty small area it won't break the bank. I think my area is 10'x11', plus a 3'x2' closet IIRC. I don't have my press in there, it is in the garage. I don't have room for it.

I'm starting to think about building a bigger workbench and some more shelving. The trick will be getting it in the room. I'll have to build it in pieces and assemble it in the room. No way what I want to build will fit through the door, much less up the stairs. And for a little fantasy time, I've though about where in the yard I can build a sweet detached workshop

Wow... that's what you think about for fantasy time? LOL Sorry... I had to.

[Shorts]

Wow... that's what you think about for fantasy time? LOL Sorry... I had to.

lol That's only one of my fantasies

[ShortBBL]

lol That's only one of my fantasies

Ok... whew... I guess this got off topic. ha ha

[dirtclod]

After moving my shop 4 times to a bigger and better place each time. I screw everything togeather now as far as work tables, racks and shelves. The third time i moved the door on that shop was to narrow to get my work table through the door. I had to cut one side off to be able to get inside. It was nailed togeather so it was cutting the wood and the nails to get it apart. Then i had to take it apart again to get it back out the door when i moved to the shop i have now. It was rebuilt useing just screws and only screws. Ever thing i am building now is screwed togeather so it can come apart pretty easy if i it needs to.

[BAD HIDE]

Depending on what you're making, and what machinery you have, you don't need much space. I'm crammed into a 9X12 spare bedroom as well, and more than a corner of that's for oil painting, but having everything compartmentalized and portable really opens up the room. Tables that fold up or down out of the way, shelving to store everything, and tools all in totes or smaller cases so you can just grab what you need without having them all out all the time really helps. I had hardwood flooring, but since it's a rental and the floors are really nice, I picked up a couple of super cheap outdoor 6x8 carpets that I just threw down to keep it nice. clean up with a regular household vac is totally doable. Where I'm gonna put the Cobra when I can afford it is another story.

[hivemind]

I ain't gonna lie: my workspace is a frigging mess. I regularly just brush scrap and hole pills off the bench onto the floor, spill stuff, work with hot wax, and never clean up. I also use a belt sander and a bench mounted scroll saw without ever sweeping up. I clean about twice a year.

I cannot imagine having my shop upstairs where the mess would matter...

[RobDude30]

I use a very small area in the corner of my bonus room for my workspace. The room has light colored carpet. I bought one of those clear plastic chair mats (rectangle-shaped - about 4'x6') from the local office store and have it under my bench. Serves two purposes -- allows my chair to roll easily and lets me contain any spills or splatters. I dust and vacuum occasionally to get up the leather dust.

[TigerPal]

Those plastic chair mats also make good cutting surfaces = IF you don't mind getting down on your hands and knees.

[Fredo]

I think glue fumes are heavier than air, so be careful.

Kevin

Yes they are, most flamable liquids give off fumes that are heavier then air. this is the driving reason behind the code that says all gas fired water heaters must be a minimum of 18 inches off the ground.