| Workshop by Don | posted 1069 days ago | 1877 reads | 1 time favorited | 21 comments | ![]() |
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It’s small, but I love it. Yes, it would be nice to have more space, but that isn’t possible. With barely 6’5” of head clearance, my workshop is about 12’ x 14’ with a small dog-leg at one end where I keep my bandsaw, lumber rack and compressor.
In the way of stationary power tools, I have a 3hp 12” cabinet saw which is the heart of my shop, a 14” bandsaw, a combination jointer/planer, a router table with a Triton Router fitted with a Precision Router Lift, a lathe, and a drill press.
I have two other routers, loads of hand tools which get regular use, a sharpening station (in addition to the space described above, and a small kitchenette and a W.C. (No bed yet, but sometimes my wife threatens.
The space was originally a small basement suite for the son of a previous owner of the house. They installed artificial turf as carpeting. My original intention was to remove it. But after dropping a few of my favorite chisels, (and you know they always land pointy side down) with no damage to them I decided the carpet was good protection for this oft-clumsy woodworker.
I am very concerned about the health effects of inhaling wood dust. (Some of the Australian Eucalypts are particularly carcinogenic. See Badwoods) Therefore, I’ve installed a DC system to which all of my stationery tools are hooked up. You can see where the flexible 4” piping goes through the wall to a crawl-space where the DC unit is kept. I can turn it off/on from within the shop. Additionally, I have an air filtration unit mounted near the ceiling on one wall and wear a Triton Air Respirator when working wood. Over-kill? No, remember it’s the dust you can’t see that gets into your lungs and can eventually kill you.
Feel free to ask me about anything you see in these pictures.
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/

























21 comments so far
scottb
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3402 posts in 1223 days
posted 1060 days ago
I don’t reckon too many others will be jealous of your workspace’s ceiling height… but I am.
6’5” would be a dream to me (but not my Dad – 6’6”).
I come in at a hair under 6’, the basement ceiling, (or rather floor joists) a hair over. (good thing about the haircut, no?)
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/
Shawn
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226 posts in 1049 days
posted 1048 days ago
Nice to see you flying the Maple Leaf in your shop too, you can take the boy out of Canada, but you cant take Canada out of the boy!!!
-- Cheers
Don
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2590 posts in 1073 days
posted 1048 days ago
Shawn, the only problem is that it is fading fast. Iguess that’s to be expected after 19 years.
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/
Shawn
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226 posts in 1049 days
posted 1048 days ago
well, I guess i’ll just have to send you a new one. hey don, drop me an email so I can send you my address if you found tha tdrawing, if not, it could be alot of fun for me to try to replicate your big box just from your pictures, good exercise in my designing. But still then I can go pick you up a new workshop flag.
-- Cheers
Don
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2590 posts in 1073 days
posted 1048 days ago
Shawn, I’ve looked fairly extensively for the drawings. Unfortunately, I haven’t located them. I can’t believe that I threw them out, so will likely come across them when I’m not looking, if you know what I mean.
Martin has promised us a Private Message capability on this site which will allow us to share private contact details without publishing them so the whole world can see. In the meantime, I’ll send Martin an email asking him to send you my email address.
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/
Shawn
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226 posts in 1049 days
posted 1048 days ago
perfect, ya I didnt realize we didnt have PM ability on here, no worries about that drawing, this will stretch me more as a wood worker
-- Cheers
oscorner
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4572 posts in 1207 days
posted 1022 days ago
Don, is that green carpet I see in your shop? Man you’re south of down under, but on the top of my list of Great woodworkers. Thanks for inviting me to your shop.
-- Jesus is Lord!
Don
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2590 posts in 1073 days
posted 1022 days ago
Quote me: ”The space was originally a small basement suite for the son of a previous owner of the house. They installed artificial turf as carpeting. My original intention was to remove it. But after dropping a few of my favorite chisels, (and you know they always land pointy side down) with no damage to them I decided the carpet was good protection for this oft-clumsy woodworker.”
Yep – green carpeting it is, Mark! Thanks so much for your kind remark.
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/
jockmike2
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7325 posts in 1143 days
posted 999 days ago
Nice shop Don, at least it looks clean. I thought you were living in Canada. Silly me. buds mike
-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com
PanamaJack
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4447 posts in 973 days
posted 953 days ago
Thanks for the heads-up with the “Badwoods”. Even though it’s from an Aussie site, we all need to know this information.
Nice shop! How do you keep it so neat and clean? Or, did you just do this for the cameras?
Again thanks.
-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,
Don
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2590 posts in 1073 days
posted 953 days ago
PJ, thanks for the observation – if you look closely, its not that clean. There’s some wood chips and sawdust on the floor as well as electric extension cords and my compressor line on the floor. It could be cleaner/tidier.
As you can see, my shop is quite small. It is indeed difficult to keep it clean when working on a projects. But if I don’t it becomes almost impossible to work there.
So I make sure that every tool I use goes back to its storage location rather than on the nearest surface. I also take ten minutes and clean, vac and blow it out at the end of a working session.
Before I incorporated this method of working, I would spend as much, or more time, searching for that tool I just had in my hand.
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/
TomFran
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2514 posts in 890 days
posted 818 days ago
Don,
You have a very neat, well organized, efficiently arranged shop, which is what I would have expected, judging from the projects that come out of it.
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
designerboy
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31 posts in 679 days
posted 663 days ago
Hey Don,
Do I spy HnT Gordon Wooden planes in ya shop. Are they pure joy or what! I have a few and lurve them!
-- My Fear is when i die, my wife will sell my tools for what I TOLD her they cost
Don
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2590 posts in 1073 days
posted 662 days ago
Yes. DB, they are great planes – particularly good on the extremely dense Aussie hardwoods.
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/
Karson
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25802 posts in 1296 days
posted 662 days ago
Don nice looking shop. I must have looked at this shop in my pre-comments days. But now it hard to find time to look at everything.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
designerboy
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31 posts in 679 days
posted 656 days ago
Hey Don,
Didn’t see your reply to my planes enquiry til now.
Great to see Australians at Lumberjocks. (even ex-canadians!) I am a new member !
Yes you can keep the low ceiling (mine is around 3 Metres (you’ll know what I mean…)
but I do love your work bench.
Funny how it doesn’t matter what you have, others always inspire… must get to that bench soon.
Did you get all your incra gear from Grahame At Professional Woodwork Supplies? (living in Melboure and all)
-- My Fear is when i die, my wife will sell my tools for what I TOLD her they cost
rikkor
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11335 posts in 770 days
posted 656 days ago
Great looking shop Don.
Don
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2590 posts in 1073 days
posted 655 days ago
Quote designerboy: Did you get all your incra gear from Grahame At Professional Woodwork Supplies? (living in Melboure and all)
Yes, Grahame is a great guy and very much customer-service oriented.
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/
Scott Bryan
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20707 posts in 718 days
posted 595 days ago
Hi Don,
I apologize for just now getting around to looking at your shop post. You have a nice shop there. It is a little cozy in there especially around your band saw. And you have a nice set of tools to play with. I really like your set of hand tools. That is one area in which I am sorely deficient. I never really developed an appreciation for them until I became a LJ. I know that you like the carpeting but I am not sure I would be able to keep it clean.
Thanks for the shop tour. I really appreciate it.
-- 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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4187 posts in 569 days
posted 367 days ago
Don thats a nice shop!
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker
WoodSpanker
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298 posts in 288 days
posted 279 days ago
I like your shop very much. Looks like you get to do your fun stuff in style! :)
-- Adventure? Heh! Excitement? Heh! A Woodworker craves not these things!