“The Monkey Shop” is my shop where I build snowboards and do other random projects around the house. I built it specifically for snowboard construction, with room for a pneumatic snowboard press, custom-built CNC router, and lots of table space for spreading out parts in preparation for lamination.
The shop is built out of a 4 car garage laid out as 3 bays across the front and one in the back, forming a ‘L’. It’s about 800sqft with 11ft ceilings (9ft under the dust collection ductwork.) I walled off the double bay door to give me more wall space, and to provide better insulation. We took out the original lights and added many rows of fluorescents. There is 1,728 watts of full spectrum fluorescent lighting, with electronic ballasts that are completely silent. The lights are divided evenly over 3 separate switches so I can use less light when I need it.
There are a number of large machines with big power requirements, so we added 220V power throughout with 20 and 30 amp drops from the ceiling in many places, and 20 and 30 amp plugs along the South wall for the CNC machine and the snowboard press.
The snowboard press is pneumatic, and I’ve got a few air tools too, so we ran air throughout with 1/2″ copper pipe, with drops in all corners and a drop over the work bench, plus drops right near the snowboard press. The system is served by an Ingersoll Rand 60 gallon compressor.
Much of snowboard construction involves a lot of wood working, which makes a lot of dust, thus the need for efficient dust collection. I use a 2hp Oneida dust collector with 6″ lines to all the drop points. We added a remote control to control it which has been far, far more helpful than I originally thought it would be! Money well spent.
Credit goes to my Dad for the new wall, power, air and lighting, plus some excellent storage in the attic above complete with floor, lights, and a bigger hatch. He spent a few months with us over the summer of 2007 and frankly he did most of the work on all of these things, which is why it all looks so damn nice!!
For more specific topics about The Monkey Shop, check out various posts about it.
I’ll add a few pictures sometime soon.