| Workshop by DaveJ | posted 802 days ago | 549 reads | 2 times favorited | 9 comments | ![]() |
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My shop is 14×24 in a walkout basement. I have a nice window looking out to our backyard and a small pond beyond that. Not sure if my wife realizes it, but the shop was the “starting point” when we designed our home in 1992. Of course, it should have been bigger, but she says the same thing about the kitchen (and she’s right).
There’s an adjoining utility room that I use as an “annex” for bench tools (which I can wheel into the main shop on a cart), air compressor, utility tub, and wood storage.
I made a major shop upgrade in spring of 2006. After growing tired of living with a tablesaw and a post in the same room (see third picture), I decided that the post had to go. One of the best moves I’ve ever made.
I followed up the post removal by laying down a wood floor. A nice hardwood floor was out of the question (for the time being…), so I used a 3/4” tongue-and-groove subfloor with a reasonably thick outer veneer. I’ve experienced no splintering and the floor has already caught a few dropped chisels.
The bench in the back of the room in the third picture was made by my grandfather in 1945. I inherited it after my dad closed his shop a few years back. You’ll see that the top cabinets are now attached to the wall over the jointer (picture 2). The base is incorporated into the cabinet in the last picture (which I’ve posted as a project).
-- Dave J. Oakdale, MN

























9 comments so far
WayneC
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5858 posts in 976 days
posted 802 days ago
Looking forward to seeing some photos. Check out Dusty's work if you have not seen it yet.
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov
MsDebbieP
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14096 posts in 1039 days
posted 801 days ago
and what’s holding up the floor now that the post is gone?
I wish we had our addition built without a post in the middle of our basement area :(
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
DaveJ
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69 posts in 802 days
posted 801 days ago
If you look closely at the third picture, you can see that the beam has several bolts that aren’t in the first picture. I sistered two laminated beams to the original ones. I had a structural engineer do the load calculations and compose a report for the city building inspector.
-- Dave J. Oakdale, MN
Greg Mitchell
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1383 posts in 948 days
posted 801 days ago
Nice looking shop Dave!
-- Greg Mitchell--Lowell, AR--gdamitchell@sbcglobal.net
Thos. Angle
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4015 posts in 841 days
posted 785 days ago
Dave,
It looks like a really handy shop. Thanks for sharing.
-- Thos. Angle
oscorner
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4572 posts in 1190 days
posted 759 days ago
Nice shop.
-- Jesus is Lord!
Scott Bryan
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20080 posts in 701 days
posted 590 days ago
Hi Dave,
You posted this before I came on board but I am glad it came up on my review list. You have a nice shop. It is well organized and you have a nice set of tools. I love the plywood floor. It is so much easier to work on this as opposed to concrete. Thanks for the pictures of your “audience” as well. I would have a hard time staying on task with the opportunity to watch the birds around the shop.
Thanks for the post.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
Beginningwoodworker
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3857 posts in 552 days
posted 162 days ago
Dave thats a nice looking shop.
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker
a1Jim
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15600 posts in 456 days
posted 162 days ago
Hay Dave super cool shop well put together and laid out thanks for sharing.
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon