On Jun 24, 9:05 pm, "todd" wrote:
... I can't come up with a better idea than drywall. Then I would
run the electric surface mounted on the drywall.

Gee, your code calls for EMT inside walls of a finished area?
Anywhere else, it's considered fire-safe to put sheetrock over
Romex.

Anyway, drywall is good except for load-bearing mounts, so consider
a couple of rails of wood or other trim horizontally at (for instance)
bench and eye height. You could use Unistrut/Superstrut channel
for this, too (and it'd be a handy way to clamp your surface
electrical boxes). When you want to mount a heavy item to
the wall (pegboard o'hammers!) just clamp into the
unistrut or screw into the (clearly visible) wood rail.

Also, since you have high ceilings, consider putting a couple of
sturdy boxes on the ceiling, with dangling sockets-on-a-cable.
When some new tool goes into the center of the shop, this lets
you plug it in without any tripwires on the shop floor. Twistlock
sockets are preferred. I've seen some areas with island
workstations connected this way, it's neat!