building a studio

["John VanCamp" <jvcstnwrks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Howard,    First of all, you need to consider what your
primary work will be.  If you are into the grinder stuff, then
dust if working dry or muck if working wet is of primary
concern.  If you are a hammer and chisel man, then neither of
these should be of too much importance, although you can't work
stone in any manner without creating some dust.  Here in my
shop, we are predominately chisel carvers, although we employ
power saws, sanders, grinders as needed. The only wet work we do
is honing and polishing of an occasional marble piece.  My shop
is completely open on one side, and the main bay has a concrete
slab to accommodate the rolling 2 ton gantry crane (manual chain
hoist) and is 18 feet to the roof trusses.  The side bay is a
shed roofed area with accumulated stone chips and dust as the
floor, which I find to be easier on the feet and legs after 8 or
10 hours of work. However, I do make my living from my carving,
and thus my space has been developed to meet my commercial
needs.
Power:  the advice about using 20 amp gfi circuits is good
advice, and keeping your outlets at least waist high on the
wall.  If you are planning on using pneumatics (carving hammer,
sanders, die grinder) then you do need to have 220 v for your
compressor, and three phase is a good idea if it won't cost you
do much to have it run.  Please do not undersize your
compressor.  A good 5hp two stage that generates at least 15 cpm
continuous is what it takes to spin a sander or die grinder.  A
carving hammer does not need as much air, 4 to 6 cfm is adequate
if this is the only air tool you will use, but most likely, it
won't be.
Noise:  yes you do need to consider this, and again, it depends
on how you work and the tools you use.  A manual hammer striking
a chisel won't bother anyone, and not carry very far.  Air
hammers produce a lower, longer wave length noise, so carry a
distance, but are not so noticeable fifty or a hundred feet
away.  Grinders are a lot louder and shriller, and the air
compressor is a serious noise source. I suppose that your noise
abatement efforts will depend on how close you are to your
neighbors, and also any zoning regulations.
Work benches:  We build all of our own bankers out of 2x4
framing and 3/4 inch plywood tops.  We double the 2x4 's for the
legs, or make them L shaped, and use scraps of carpet to
actually set the stone on.  I have bankers of several heights
between 24 inches and 32 inches, and most of them have a 24 inch
square top.  We also have an adjustable height table shop built
out of steel, but the thing is too heavy to move around easily,
so it doesn't get used all that much.  Any of the above
mentioned tables are capable of holding a heavy piece of stone:
we often will have a 7 foot mantle piece weighing 1500 lbs or
more on one of these tables.
Lifting equipment.  If you are planning on working in any size
at all you will need to consider this.  A trolley on an I beam
will save you much effort in the long run.  When you figure that
stone weighs from 140 lbs / cubic foot for limestones to 190 lbs
/ cubic foot for some marbles and soapstone,  it doesn't take
too large of a piece to get beyond what I want to hand wrestle
any more.  I was a lot dumber in my younger days, and am paying
the price for it now in my back and knees. As was mentioned in
one of the posts, figure 10 foot minimum to the beam, and 12 ft
would be better if you can swing it.  If height is a
consideration, it is possible to make it work in an 8 foot
space, but it does get to be a bit more tricky.  Also the higher
you can get your ceiling or roof , the happier you will be while
working as the dust will climb up and not obscure your vision.
If you do not plan on working anything bigger than 2 or 3 cubic
feet, there are some small cranes sold to mount on truck beds
that can be bench mounted and lift 5 to 6 hundred pounds.
Water:  again depending on how and what you work with.  At least
have a hose bib, and a sink of some sort would be a major
convience.
Light.  Nothing beats indirect natural light.  If needing to use
artificial light, put in as much as possible, and if it can be
diffused rather than direct (no shadows) so much the better.

Sorry to have rambled on for so long, good luck with your
studio, and enjoy the bliss of carving. Visit my web site
http://www.jvcstoneworks.com if you care too.
John VanCamp