Having a small work space does not mean there aren't areas that can't be used for storage. One thing you cannot due is waste space. Sitting just to the right of the table saw, under the extension, is a large space that can be used for storage. I made a three drawer cabinet that holds not only table saw accessories, but sand paper, glue brushes, band saw blades, and just about anything else I can think of. The drawers seal out dust and the cabinet is on wheels and can be moved. Having clearance under the cabinet also allows dust to be blown out using the leaf blower when needed. The recess on top of the cabinet is a handy space for setting down the miter gauge, push sticks, saw blades, or anything that needs a temporary home off of the top of the table saw.
By installing a few wooden pegs into the side of the cabinet, I was able to hang a few commonly used bench items within easy reach. Prior to installing the pegs, each of these items sat on top of my work bench taking up valiable space and were often moved from spot to spot when they were in the way.
Another large storage opportunity is to put drawers in your outfeed table. My outfeed table "triples" as a router table and a multi-drawer storage unit. You can see in the pictures that I store anything from cauls for gluing to seldom used electric power tools.
Dust collection poses another issue - how to access the dust ports for all of the power tools in such a tight area. The solution, for me, was to create a simple manifold system that connected the table saw (above and below the table collection), router table (above and below collection), and the jointer. With the use of blast gates, each tool can have full air flow dedicated to them while in use. This alleviates having to try to run a single dust collection hose to each machine.
The last link in the dust collection chain is the separator. Again, it provides single point of connection for all three machines.
Here is it all packed together and there is still some improvements to be made - namely the mess of finishing products you see peeking out from the left corner of the bench against the wall. The solution will be another multi-drawer cabinet. Not only will that provide a lot of storage, it will eliminate the dust and mess that the open shelf collects. Maybe I will post "Part 4 of 4" when that is finally finished...
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