At our primary home in NC, I have a dedicated shop, so no issue. In our new second home, the “shop” is going to be in a 2 car garage shared with a car. I can get away with half the garage for shop space, but my wife doesn’t want chips, etc., everywhere on “her” side. Putting up a wall isn’t an option, so appreciate any thoughts. I’m going to have a carving space in “my” side and can contain that for both hand and power carving, but I’d really like to do some turning while at our other home for 5 months per year. I’m going to also look for a shared space, but I suspect that may not be available on the island.
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Need help with setting up lathe in shared garage space
- Thread starter John Redding
- Start date
Hang up some shower curtains to contain the shavings.
When I'm turning wet wood, I run a wire across where I want the "wall" and hang a cheap clear shower curtain that can be slid out of the way when not needed.
For long runs you could suspend the wire from the ceiling with some kind of bracket.
Wyatt beat me to it
For long runs you could suspend the wire from the ceiling with some kind of bracket.
Wyatt beat me to it
It's all about compromise. I think I'd separate the garage into two spaces by hanging tarps as a wall. Tack them to the ceiling (into roof framing) through the tarp eyelets. (May want to mount 2x4 to the roof framing first, then mount the tarp to that 2x4.) At the bottom of the tarps, tack 2x2 lumber to the tarp to help control movement of them. And pick a tarp color you can both live with.
Dust collection will be important to keep dust from settling on, and in, her car. Good luck.
Dust collection will be important to keep dust from settling on, and in, her car. Good luck.
yes good luck! Dust collection to the lathe along with some sort of atmospheric dust control as well
I guess before you start hammering lumber in place, is this winter home a rental, or do you own it? If it's a rental, the actual owner may not thinking highly of nailing things in place.
I will be using privacy curtains like you see in hospitals. My new shop will have a 10’ ceiling and shower curtains are too short.
I covered the car with a SUV sized cover
Harbor Freight tarps are cheap and in different sizes. I use one to cover my lawn tractor...new one every three or four years.
You’re set on the garage but any thought about turning outside? I turn outside the garage (southern CA) on the side of the house and cover the lathe with a heavy duty cover when not in use.
My first thought was asking if your wife has a sister or something. Any restrictions on my turning would be a serious marriage situation. Just kidding of course, going on 53 years of marriage.
I use pull-down window shades. They are completely out of the way when not needed.
I sympathize. We have a two car garage in our townhouse. We only have one car but we also have bicycles and exercise equipment. I created a collapsible dust room for my lathe. The space for the lathe is 6’ deep by about 80” wide. I used 2x3s and clear plastic covering and I used a Zipwall magnetic doorway to get in and out. My benches, grinders, Festool vac, and tool cabinet sit just outside. If I collapse the room, I can get a car in and open the doors. If I leave the room up I can squeeze a car in but I can’t use the passenger door. Overall, the dust problem has been erased. I do track some chips out but mostly just by the doorway. I just sweep them up and the garage is clean. Happy to send you pictures.
This is our house, so thankfully I can do what I want interior wise. Exterior is somewhat controlled through HOA, but only as to making changes to the structure. The combination of car cover, curtains, dust extractor all seem workable. I’ll also have a small dust collector for my power carving, so will have to work on this. I’m going to get the carving all set up and then maybe I can just sneak a mid-size lathe into the space and plead ignorance about how it got there (or maybe claim it’s always been there).
Alan - good idea with turning outside and I’ll have to consider this. Our home is on Maui, so no real weather restrictions other than it gets pretty hot here in summer in the area we bought. The house came with a mini split in the garage, so that would help in summer.
Alan - good idea with turning outside and I’ll have to consider this. Our home is on Maui, so no real weather restrictions other than it gets pretty hot here in summer in the area we bought. The house came with a mini split in the garage, so that would help in summer.
I used to have a two lathes, two bandsaws, a radial arm saw, and a bunch of wood in 1/2 a 2-car garage her in TN. Tall steel shelves all down the outside wall on "my" side. It was so tight that when a friend and I swapped places at the large lathe one of us had to go outside first.
Does get hot in the summer so I turned with the garage door open and a fan blowing. The small lathe was on wheels so I could take it outside. But never had a problem with sawdust on the wife's car but never paid much attention. Maybe because I rarely power sanded. Maybe she didn't care since driving down the road would blow off any dust.
But one way or another gotta keep mama happy - "If mama ain't happy, ain't NObody happy"!
JKJ.
Does get hot in the summer so I turned with the garage door open and a fan blowing. The small lathe was on wheels so I could take it outside. But never had a problem with sawdust on the wife's car but never paid much attention. Maybe because I rarely power sanded. Maybe she didn't care since driving down the road would blow off any dust.
But one way or another gotta keep mama happy - "If mama ain't happy, ain't NObody happy"!
JKJ.
Our best wishes and admiration to her. She's a model of steadfast determination.
My 2 cents worth, John. Shower curtains will minimize the big stuff getting to the car side of the garage. I use the cheap clear vinyl ones and they hold up amazingly well, but you may want something more substantial, like a cloth curtain. I hang them from steel conduit. Be aware that when turning the outside of a bowl, the shavings can get over a 6 foot high curtain. If you go with cloth, you could hang right near the ceiling and sew on some additional fabric at the bottom to reach the floor.
Obviously, the fine stuff will be harder to restrain, and it will settle as dust on the car. An air cleaner, like the Jet ceiling model will help, but suction and control at the site of sanding and powercarving will be essential.
Obviously, the fine stuff will be harder to restrain, and it will settle as dust on the car. An air cleaner, like the Jet ceiling model will help, but suction and control at the site of sanding and powercarving will be essential.