3 Must Haves For A Turning Woodworking Shop Into A Business

For the Cochran brothers—Keith, Randy, and Dylan, owners of Wood Studio, a custom furniture woodworking business based in Alabama—a SteelMaster Woodworking Shop proved to be the best choice to turn their part-time hobby into a full-on business.

There are many woodworking workshop designs to choose from, and selecting the right structure can significantly impact your woodworking, so why did the Cochran brothers go with a Quonset?

1. Cost-Effective Construction and Maintenance 

Keeping costs down is a best practice for any business and for the Cochran brothers it was one of the most important factors in their building decision. They needed the most space for the least amount of capital investment and preferably a building that also provided them with the most long-term value.

1. Affordable Materials:  Quonset workshops are cost-effective because steel is durable, relatively easy to produce, and low maintenance. Because they are prefabricated and come with the exact number of panels you need, fewer materials are wasted.
2. DIY Friendly: Woodworking skills can come in handy for Quonset hut construction because you can DIY custom features like endwalls, cabinetry, workbenches, and shelving.
3. Durable and Low Maintenance: Steel’s resistance to rust, decay, and pests results in minimal maintenance requirements. This durability translates to fewer repairs and upkeep costs, allowing you to invest more in your woodworking projects.

With affordable materials and DIY experience, it was clear to the Cochran brothers that a Quonset workshop was the best metal workshop available.

2. Layout & Floor Plan Versatility

Wood Studio specializes in a variety of products like furniture, utensils, cutting boards, and ornate wooden boxes, so they have lots of specialized woodworking tools on top of the standard planers, jointers and bansaws. They wanted a workshop that was also versatile so the clear-span design of a self-supporting Quonset Workshop was ideal, here’s why:

• Customizable Floor Plan: Design your workshop’s interior layout to include custom workbenches, storage, and specialized equipment for your woodworking needs.
• Tool Storage Space: Ideal for installing large tools such as saws and planers and for shelves with more compact tools without spatial constraints.
• Dedicated Work Zones: Create separate areas for different tasks or projects to enhance workflow and organization.

The flexibility in the layout and final floor plan of their workshop is vital to the Cochran brothers continuing to grow their product set and operations helping them optimize their workspace for greater efficiency.

3. Temperature & Humidity Control For Wood

Prolonged exposure to extreme heat, cold, dryness or humidity will all impact wood. So having a woodshop that can keep wood in ideal conditions is critical. For the Cochran brothers based in Alabama, the temperature wasn’t as much of a concern as was the humidity, they needed safe storage for wood before and after they’ve worked on it:

• Lumber Storage: Wood Studio will often use reclaimed or salvaged wood from forests so their wood shop needed to be able to large quantities of lumber.
• Final Product Storage: Safe storage for final woodworking projects before being shipped out to eager customers.

Their Quonset workshop can control the temperature and humidity through some of the features available:

• Vents & Air Circulation: Effective air circulation helps maintain a consistent temperature, which is crucial for woodworking precision.
• Insulation Options: Proper insulation, such as batten or spray foam, can further enhance temperature control and energy efficiency.
• Galvalume Plus Coating: SteelMaster Quonset huts feature Galvalume Plus coating, which reflects sunlight and helps keep the interior 10-15 degrees cooler than the exterior, improving comfort and reducing energy costs.