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#1 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
 

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#27 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
Hi Jim, good to hear from you. I have two shops too, sort of. My sons shop in Sweden and my own here. I just don't get to use the one in Sweden very often. We will be driving over there mid Sept. and attending the big crafts show they have there at the end of sept. every year.

I have a couple of beam torsion boxes sitting on fold up saw horses where my new bench will be placed. They are very handy, as I'm sure your's is, but I really need a larger and more stable surface to work on with room for the chest of drawers and assembly capabilities for assembly and glue-ups.

There are so many different solutions for shops. It really is a personal preference/needs sort of thing. I have been wanting to make these changes to my shop for a long time now, but it was easy to keep putting off. Now I am forced to do it if I want to work rationally, a great motivation.

Looking forward to seeing your shop set up.
 

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#28 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
Mike its simple and neat. That should make it easy to get your tools and put them back up.
I like it.
 

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#29 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
Thanks Dave. It's been a big of a challenge to make it work right, so solving the problems make the results even sweeter. I never thought I could move my bandsaw to it's present location because there was a cabinet in the way. It never occurred to me until recently that I could just take down the cabinet and mount it at the other end of the row, duh! The bandsaw move was the key to the whole thing and I didn't have to sacrifice anything to do it. I can still rip very long pieces in it and it is not in the way of anything else.
 

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#30 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
As noted, I am also finding the torsion boxes need to be more stable, so I will make different supports. My torsion boxes are built to be clamped together and have things clamped to them. But that doesn't solve the stability issue. I got the idea of doing it from a FWW article, Issue 202 page 74. I will see if I can make the supports more stable. I see the torsion boxes as a solution to the need to knock down the bench before putting the car in, and of course putting it back the next day. If I had the room, I would do what you are doing. My torsion boxes are designed a little differently than the FWW article, and I definitely plan to post them. But got to solve the stability issue first. My boxes are only 6 feet long, but I do not plan on making large furniture at that shop. The shorter length also makes setting them up a little easier.
 

Attachments

#31 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
Quite a coincidence Jim. I got my inspiration from the same article for my torsion box beams. A few years ago now. I originally had them mounted on runners fastened to the wall so I could slide them together or apart. That was a good system for working, but it took up too much space so I eventually cut them a little shorter and rested them on thin stands against the wall. I hope you come up with a good way to store them without having to lift them around every time you put the car in the garage, Like pulley hoists or something.
 

Attachments

#32 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
It's coming along great Mike!
 

Attachments

#33 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
Thanks Philip. I just came in after gluing in the stretchers on the back of the bench base. In a couple of hours after the glue has set I will be gluing in the top rails.
 

Attachments

#34 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
Interesting we would both try this, but I think with smaller shops, it was logical. I down sized mine some, and made sure they were a manageable weight. I am assuming you did the opposite, and made them more robust and of heavier wood. I am depending on the basic strength of the boxes, and hope that with better pedestals they will substitute for a workbench. Since I have a knock down shop, I can't have something that is heavy for the auxiliary work surface, so I have to make it rigid and stable. The permanent bench against the wall in La Conner will be heavier, but I need a bench with better access to all sides as well.

The 6 foot size makes them something I can lift without straining. The eight foot size would have been 20% heavier, and a lot more awkward. They are made of 3/4" ply. I am guessing from the amount of wood and the average weight of a plywood sheet that each box is 35# which is quite manageable. I made the boxes so that the sides are recessed to make a lip top and bottom for clamping. I ran the sides all the way to the ends, and the recessed the front and back pieces. That makes for easy clamping them together. They have internal bracing as well per the usual torsion box construction.

Here is a quick and dirty model, the original file is in La Conner, so this is from memory….
Rectangle Wood Table Wood stain Hardwood


Here are the two boxes clamped together sitting on square saw horses….......this was a quick pic while I was using them as a general work surface, so there are a couple of items lying on them and the TS…...
Table Wood Tool Workbench Desk


In general they should work fine for this shop, but they need more rigid pedestals. I will make wood saw horses like the FWW article, and either make them nest or make them knock apart things.
 

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#35 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
These look very good Jim. Mine are made of solid wood platers on one side and a white platter with chip wood core on the other. They aren't really too heavy. I just moved them out of the way today to glue up my new bench. I still think this type of bench is an excellent choice for a small shop.
 

Attachments

#36 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
Good stuff Mike. I like all those chisel/hand-tool holders. Always room to add on and expand
 

Attachments

#37 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
Thanks Roger. I am finding them very convenient there and I hang my unused tools up instead of leaving them on the as I have done in the past.
 

Attachments

#38 ·
A NEW PLANE TILL AND AND A NEW BENCH

Background
After I bought my new big bandsaw a couple of years ago I found that my shop was too crowded and not functioning the way it should. There was no place to assemble larger projects and I had no workplace for my new interest in marquetry work or storage for all the related tools and veneers.

My shop is so small that my options are pretty limited with regard to the placement of my machines, benches, etc. It seemed a hopeless task to figure out a better set-up, but I finally did a couple of simple moves that worked out to be major improvements with regard to comfortable and efficient working conditions.

I moved my big bandsaw to a new location and I moved the large tool cabinet hung over my planing bench away. I then made a plane till and I mounted all my chisels, files, carving tools, screw drivers, etc. on the wall behind my bench. Most of my bench tools are still readily available, but I am no longer knocking my head into the tool cabinet doors and my hand planes are all within easy reach.

Improvement work to date
The next two photos show the new plane till and the tool holders on the wall behind my bench. The bench is pretty messy due to the rearranging. I've since cleaned that up and fixed the electric cords better.

Eyewear Wood Audio equipment Machine Metal


Eyewear Toolroom Metalworking hand tool Household hardware Tool


My new bench
I am also building a new bench which will be in the back part of my 'L' shaped shop. This bench will be used mainly for marquetry assembly work and to store all my marquetry veneers and equipment, plus I will keep my light table on the far end.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


The bench is built with two openings in the front. One to house an unused chest of drawers I have on hand for storing veneers and related marquetry equipment/tools. The other as a kind of desk where I can sit to assemble marquetry and do other detail work. It will also be used for assembling and gluing larger projects and it will even be heavy enough to use it as a planing bench if I wish.

The base is all 2X4 mortise and tenon construction with the bridle joints to hold the top rails. The top will be 2-3/4" thick Spruce glued up from 2X3s. The mortises were drilled out with a forstner bit and shave to final size with a chisel. The tenon shoulders were cut on the table saw and the cheeks were cut a little oversized on the bandsaw and then shave with a chisel to a good fit. Here is a photo of progress to date. The base is ready for glue-up on Monday, and then I will start on the top. I plan to glue 4 boards at a time for the top just to keep the work manageable in my small shop. It will probably take all week for that job if I want to leave each glue up to dry overnight. Here is a photo of progress to date. Please note the kind of space I have for large projects of this kind. I hope this new bench will cure that problem!

Wood Table Workbench Carpenter Flooring


The reason I chose a bridle joint construction for the top rails was so that I could extend the end of the table quite a bit further than the legs. This is because I have a lumber storage rack on the wall which the table will hang over. The rails aren't cut to final length yet.

Further refurbishing
I plan to to improve my storage solutions and also to paint my cabinets to get a cohesive look into the shop and also just to freshen it up a bit to make a more pleasant working environment. I will post more in this series as I progress. I hope it will give others with small or awkwardly shaped shops some inspiration. I am also open to any ideas that you may have. Thanks for reading!
I LOVE organized work space!! Can't wait to view your finished table Mike!
 

Attachments

#39 ·
THE BENCH BASE GLUED UP

Glue up time
I was able to get my bench base into its new home today and did the final gluing which was just the stretchers on the back at the bottom which are mortise and tenon joints and the top rails which are bridle joints.

After I glued in the stretchers on the back, I was going to glue in the top rails at the same time. I put the back rail in place and to my amazement the bridle joints didn't line up (imagine me with a stupid expression on my face, ok, I know that isn't so difficult). Then after putting my brain in gear and releasing the clutch I realized what had happened. I was not able to clamp the two stretchers in the normal way because one end of each stretcher goes into a mortise on each side of the same middle leg, so I had to clamp higher up and lower down on the leg with four clamps. Clamping on the legs pulled them in towards the middle shortening the distance between bridle joints!

After waiting a couple of hours and taking off the stretcher clamps the top rails lined up perfectly and I was able to glue them in place. Here are some photos of the bench base in place. Hooray!! the bench is solid as a rock even before the glue is dry.

Wood Table Workbench Wood stain Floor


Wood Hand tool Table Tool Hardwood


What's next?
I left the top rails just slightly proud of the leg tops so I could plane the rails to a perfect fit, which I will do tomorrow,

I also plan to start gluing up the top. I am going to plane the sides first as Paul Sellers shows in his workbench video just to make sure they are smooth to ensure good glue contact between each stave. The top will be about 2-3/4" thick when finished.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


Thanks for reading!
 

Attachments

#40 ·
THE BENCH BASE GLUED UP

Glue up time
I was able to get my bench base into its new home today and did the final gluing which was just the stretchers on the back at the bottom which are mortise and tenon joints and the top rails which are bridle joints.

After I glued in the stretchers on the back, I was going to glue in the top rails at the same time. I put the back rail in place and to my amazement the bridle joints didn't line up (imagine me with a stupid expression on my face, ok, I know that isn't so difficult). Then after putting my brain in gear and releasing the clutch I realized what had happened. I was not able to clamp the two stretchers in the normal way because one end of each stretcher goes into a mortise on each side of the same middle leg, so I had to clamp higher up and lower down on the leg with four clamps. Clamping on the legs pulled them in towards the middle shortening the distance between bridle joints!

After waiting a couple of hours and taking off the stretcher clamps the top rails lined up perfectly and I was able to glue them in place. Here are some photos of the bench base in place. Hooray!! the bench is solid as a rock even before the glue is dry.

Wood Table Workbench Wood stain Floor


Wood Hand tool Table Tool Hardwood


What's next?
I left the top rails just slightly proud of the leg tops so I could plane the rails to a perfect fit, which I will do tomorrow,

I also plan to start gluing up the top. I am going to plane the sides first as Paul Sellers shows in his workbench video just to make sure they are smooth to ensure good glue contact between each stave. The top will be about 2-3/4" thick when finished.

Table Furniture Rectangle Desk Parallel


Thanks for reading!
That thing looks like a brute, Mike. One oldster talking to another…......the next generation is gonna get more use out of that than you will….....(-:

One thing I miss in my shop is a true desk like setup such as this. In the past I managed to muddle along doing intricate electronic work without a place for my legs at the my kitchen counter type arrangement on one wall, using discarded kitchen cabinets and counter top. Nowadays if I am doing repetitive small item work, such as wiring a number of quad receptacles recently, I sit at one of my old foldup project tables. I have a number of adjustable lamps installed in the shop to give me light where needed. But it sure would be better to have a solid bench like you are making. The older I get…......the more I like to sit with proper posture, instead of hunched over a bench.
 

Attachments

#65 ·
THE AGONY & THE ECSTASY - GLUING UP MY BENCH TOP

Glue-up preparations
I decided to glue up 6 boards at a time for my bench top instead of 4 like I first planned. Glue-ups aren't a lot of fun and I want to get it done as quickly as possible while still leaving the glue-ups in clamps overnight. I will have to do this 4 times.

Having fun planing
First I had to plane the top rails down flush to the top of the legs as pictured below, then I got the wood into the shop. Here's the top rails finished and the wood I picked (fir).

Wood Flooring Hardwood Carpenter Engineering


Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor Hardwood


The first thing I had to do before the actual glue-up was to plane each side of every board. This was to get the joints smooth, not to actually joint the lumber.

I got this tip from Paul Sellers watching his bench build videos. He said that the soft wood would pull together fine and that the smoothing was just to ensure good glue contact by removing and bumps or rough spots. So that is what I did using my bench base to hold the pieces.

This worked incredibly well. When I planed the top rails the bench slid a bit on the floor, but this time it didn't move at all. I did sharpen my plane before I started, and I'm sure that helped. I got wonderful results with my Stanley/Bailey #4 and it was an enjoyable experience. it took me about an hour to do the 12 sides. Here's the set-up.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


I highly recommend to everyone to get into hand planing. I am getting better at it all the time and I find it to be a extremely useful skill. You do have to have sharp planes though for it to be worthwhile and enjoyable.

Not having fun Gluing
After the planing was done I placed some spacers across my bench base and topped it off with a long platter which I then covered with paper to catch dripping glue. I also place some spacers on top of the platter so I could easily get my clamps underneath boards being glued. I didn't use any cauls.

Wood Table Wood stain Floor Automotive design


The boards went together very well with variations of maybe 1/32" on a couple of boards. I thought that was ok, even if it gets to be 1/16". I got nice even glue squeeze-out along all of the joints. This gave me a feeling of ecstasy. After cleaning up the squeeze-out it looked like this. Please note how the clamps block access the the far end of the boards. That's where the agony comes in. I had to creep under the clamp ends sticking out to get to the end to clean up the squeeez-out on the far end. Old men should not crawl around on their knees!!

Wood Tool Shotgun Machine Toolroom


Wood Flooring Hardwood Creative arts Engineering


What's next
Three more glue-ups like this and then one last glue-up to join the 4 sections together. After that I plan to plug all the knots before planing the top. Then I might paint the base and oil the top, or I might oil the base too, depending how I feel that day.

Thanks for reading!
 

Attachments

#66 ·
THE AGONY & THE ECSTASY - GLUING UP MY BENCH TOP

Glue-up preparations
I decided to glue up 6 boards at a time for my bench top instead of 4 like I first planned. Glue-ups aren't a lot of fun and I want to get it done as quickly as possible while still leaving the glue-ups in clamps overnight. I will have to do this 4 times.

Having fun planing
First I had to plane the top rails down flush to the top of the legs as pictured below, then I got the wood into the shop. Here's the top rails finished and the wood I picked (fir).

Wood Flooring Hardwood Carpenter Engineering


Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor Hardwood


The first thing I had to do before the actual glue-up was to plane each side of every board. This was to get the joints smooth, not to actually joint the lumber.

I got this tip from Paul Sellers watching his bench build videos. He said that the soft wood would pull together fine and that the smoothing was just to ensure good glue contact by removing and bumps or rough spots. So that is what I did using my bench base to hold the pieces.

This worked incredibly well. When I planed the top rails the bench slid a bit on the floor, but this time it didn't move at all. I did sharpen my plane before I started, and I'm sure that helped. I got wonderful results with my Stanley/Bailey #4 and it was an enjoyable experience. it took me about an hour to do the 12 sides. Here's the set-up.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


I highly recommend to everyone to get into hand planing. I am getting better at it all the time and I find it to be a extremely useful skill. You do have to have sharp planes though for it to be worthwhile and enjoyable.

Not having fun Gluing
After the planing was done I placed some spacers across my bench base and topped it off with a long platter which I then covered with paper to catch dripping glue. I also place some spacers on top of the platter so I could easily get my clamps underneath boards being glued. I didn't use any cauls.

Wood Table Wood stain Floor Automotive design


The boards went together very well with variations of maybe 1/32" on a couple of boards. I thought that was ok, even if it gets to be 1/16". I got nice even glue squeeze-out along all of the joints. This gave me a feeling of ecstasy. After cleaning up the squeeze-out it looked like this. Please note how the clamps block access the the far end of the boards. That's where the agony comes in. I had to creep under the clamp ends sticking out to get to the end to clean up the squeeez-out on the far end. Old men should not crawl around on their knees!!

Wood Tool Shotgun Machine Toolroom


Wood Flooring Hardwood Creative arts Engineering


What's next
Three more glue-ups like this and then one last glue-up to join the 4 sections together. After that I plan to plug all the knots before planing the top. Then I might paint the base and oil the top, or I might oil the base too, depending how I feel that day.

Thanks for reading!
It's gonna be a nice one.
Thanks for posting
 

Attachments

#80 ·
Working On My New Bench Top

Just a little update on my bench build.

Work todate
This shows the Irwin clamps I was able to use while gluing up the three individual sections of my bench top one at a time.

Wood Creative arts Art Engineering Hardwood


Here I am joining all the sections together for the last gluing. My Irwin clamps weren't long enough to reach the full 26" final width of the top. I only had 7 long clamps, but that worked out fine luckily. Three under and four on top. As you can see, I had to put the clamp handles against the wall otherwise I wouldn't have had enough room for the long clamp ends. This didn't make the glue-up any easier!

Wood Table Floor Tool Workbench


The side showing is actually the bottom. The challenge here is to plane it flat with all those very hard Fir knots. My original plan was to drill them out with a Forstner bit and plug the holes after the main planing was finished. I tried that, but the Forstner bit was not up to the job as the bit wandered too much before the rim could bite into the good wood around the knots.

For the next try I used a hole saw the same size, sawed down into the top about 3/16" around each knot, chiseled out a little of the hard material with a gouge then used my Forstner bit again to deepen the hole without degrading the circle made by the hole saw. As you can see, this worked very well. I didn't have much time to do this work today, but now I know that I can drill the rest of the knots quickly and accurately and make my planing work much easier on myself and my plane iron.

I plan to scroll saw the plugs out so I can keep the grain direction consistent. If I don't taper the plugs I can saw out thick plugs and cut them to make several disks from one cutting. If i make them slightly oversize it might even be possible to taper them a little afterward by sanding to ensure a perfect fit.

Wood Musical instrument accessory Hardwood Guitar Flooring


I'm not sure when this little project will be finished as we are driving to Sweden this week to visit our son. So far I have used my little Stanley /Bailey #4 and it is performing perfectly for me. This is a better form of exercise than using boring training equipment. Good health and a flat bench!

Thanks for reading!
 

Attachments

#81 ·
Working On My New Bench Top

Just a little update on my bench build.

Work todate
This shows the Irwin clamps I was able to use while gluing up the three individual sections of my bench top one at a time.

Wood Creative arts Art Engineering Hardwood


Here I am joining all the sections together for the last gluing. My Irwin clamps weren't long enough to reach the full 26" final width of the top. I only had 7 long clamps, but that worked out fine luckily. Three under and four on top. As you can see, I had to put the clamp handles against the wall otherwise I wouldn't have had enough room for the long clamp ends. This didn't make the glue-up any easier!

Wood Table Floor Tool Workbench


The side showing is actually the bottom. The challenge here is to plane it flat with all those very hard Fir knots. My original plan was to drill them out with a Forstner bit and plug the holes after the main planing was finished. I tried that, but the Forstner bit was not up to the job as the bit wandered too much before the rim could bite into the good wood around the knots.

For the next try I used a hole saw the same size, sawed down into the top about 3/16" around each knot, chiseled out a little of the hard material with a gouge then used my Forstner bit again to deepen the hole without degrading the circle made by the hole saw. As you can see, this worked very well. I didn't have much time to do this work today, but now I know that I can drill the rest of the knots quickly and accurately and make my planing work much easier on myself and my plane iron.

I plan to scroll saw the plugs out so I can keep the grain direction consistent. If I don't taper the plugs I can saw out thick plugs and cut them to make several disks from one cutting. If i make them slightly oversize it might even be possible to taper them a little afterward by sanding to ensure a perfect fit.

Wood Musical instrument accessory Hardwood Guitar Flooring


I'm not sure when this little project will be finished as we are driving to Sweden this week to visit our son. So far I have used my little Stanley /Bailey #4 and it is performing perfectly for me. This is a better form of exercise than using boring training equipment. Good health and a flat bench!

Thanks for reading!
looking good. that is one large piece of topping :)
 

Attachments

#115 ·
Progress Update on my Bench Build

My last post on this project was in mid Sept. before we left for Sweden. We got home in the first days of October and I took a week to rest up after the long drive. Then I got a bad cold and it has kept me out of the shop until late last week. I still have it, but I'm at least able to work a couple of hours a day now.

WORKING ON THE TOP
You might recall that I wanted to hand plane the fir top, and that I first had to get rid of the larger knots before planing. In my last blog I showed how I did that with a hole saw and a Forstner bit. That worked very well and the planes were able to cope well with the small remaining knots.

Wood Musical instrument accessory Hardwood Guitar Flooring


I used my new #6 fore plane for the main flattening and then the Stanley/Bailey #4 for the smoothing. I put a slight camber on both irons before starting and that really helped a lot. I have never planed such a large piece before, so it was a learning experience for me. My biggest problem was the limited space I had to work in, and I had to flip the board end for end to work the other side. That thing is heavy!! I also tried to use winding sticks to check for twist, but I also found this difficult as I am still having some problems with my eyes. This meant that I had to pretty much wing it. I am happy with the final result. It is pretty darn flat, so it should be a good table for assembling projects, doing my marquetry work and even using it for a planing bench if I wish. Here's the result after sanding it yesterday starting with 80 grit and working my way up to 180.

I did enjoy the hand planing, but plugging the holes wasn't too much fun. I cut the plugs with my scroll saw from 2" thick face grain fir. That worked quite well and I got 3 plugs from each cutout. I just hammered the plugs in with glue and cut them off slightly proud of the surface with a sharp chisel. The hard part is that there were around 50 holes to plug, so a lot of scroll sawing.

I think that the most sensible way to flatten a top like this would be with a router planer setup. Then it wouldn't be necessary to remove the knots. I couldn't use a router planer due to limited work space, it would be a lot faster and easier, but pretty dusty and noisy.

Table Wood Tool Workbench Wood stain


WHAT'S NEXT
after finishing the sanding yesterday, I started to clean up the shop in preparation for painting the bench base and the chest of drawers that will occupy the open space to the right under the bench. After that I plan to paint the rest of my shop cabinet doors the same color. I am using green like the little chest of drawers to the right in the next photo. I will be using Danish oil on the bench top. I figure that the resins in the Danish oil mix will give more protection than using just pure oil and it will still be just as easy to renew the top finish from time to time.

Table Wood Desk Tool Floor


I still have a long way to go in my shop improvement projects, but I'm pretty happy about getting this new bench as it will give me a large work surface that I have been lacking thus far. I may have to leave off the improvements for awhile after I get the painting done so I can do some Christmas projects for friends and family.

And lastly, the pumpkin my son in Sweden carved for Halloween. Now if I can just get him carving some of that Linde wood I left with him last year. He said he felt a little guilty using the chip carving knife I gave him to carve the pumpkin with, lol.

Pumpkin Cucurbita Winter squash Calabaza Orange


Thanks for reading!
 

Attachments

#116 ·
Progress Update on my Bench Build

My last post on this project was in mid Sept. before we left for Sweden. We got home in the first days of October and I took a week to rest up after the long drive. Then I got a bad cold and it has kept me out of the shop until late last week. I still have it, but I'm at least able to work a couple of hours a day now.

WORKING ON THE TOP
You might recall that I wanted to hand plane the fir top, and that I first had to get rid of the larger knots before planing. In my last blog I showed how I did that with a hole saw and a Forstner bit. That worked very well and the planes were able to cope well with the small remaining knots.

Wood Musical instrument accessory Hardwood Guitar Flooring


I used my new #6 fore plane for the main flattening and then the Stanley/Bailey #4 for the smoothing. I put a slight camber on both irons before starting and that really helped a lot. I have never planed such a large piece before, so it was a learning experience for me. My biggest problem was the limited space I had to work in, and I had to flip the board end for end to work the other side. That thing is heavy!! I also tried to use winding sticks to check for twist, but I also found this difficult as I am still having some problems with my eyes. This meant that I had to pretty much wing it. I am happy with the final result. It is pretty darn flat, so it should be a good table for assembling projects, doing my marquetry work and even using it for a planing bench if I wish. Here's the result after sanding it yesterday starting with 80 grit and working my way up to 180.

I did enjoy the hand planing, but plugging the holes wasn't too much fun. I cut the plugs with my scroll saw from 2" thick face grain fir. That worked quite well and I got 3 plugs from each cutout. I just hammered the plugs in with glue and cut them off slightly proud of the surface with a sharp chisel. The hard part is that there were around 50 holes to plug, so a lot of scroll sawing.

I think that the most sensible way to flatten a top like this would be with a router planer setup. Then it wouldn't be necessary to remove the knots. I couldn't use a router planer due to limited work space, it would be a lot faster and easier, but pretty dusty and noisy.

Table Wood Tool Workbench Wood stain


WHAT'S NEXT
after finishing the sanding yesterday, I started to clean up the shop in preparation for painting the bench base and the chest of drawers that will occupy the open space to the right under the bench. After that I plan to paint the rest of my shop cabinet doors the same color. I am using green like the little chest of drawers to the right in the next photo. I will be using Danish oil on the bench top. I figure that the resins in the Danish oil mix will give more protection than using just pure oil and it will still be just as easy to renew the top finish from time to time.

Table Wood Desk Tool Floor


I still have a long way to go in my shop improvement projects, but I'm pretty happy about getting this new bench as it will give me a large work surface that I have been lacking thus far. I may have to leave off the improvements for awhile after I get the painting done so I can do some Christmas projects for friends and family.

And lastly, the pumpkin my son in Sweden carved for Halloween. Now if I can just get him carving some of that Linde wood I left with him last year. He said he felt a little guilty using the chip carving knife I gave him to carve the pumpkin with, lol.

Pumpkin Cucurbita Winter squash Calabaza Orange


Thanks for reading!
Nice bench build. I like it when there is still sawdust on the floor. Mine seems to ALWAYS have some.
 

Attachments

#156 ·
A LICK OF PAINT AND A DASH OF DANISH

Haven't had much time in the shop lately, but I did get my bench finished finally and I painted here and there as part of my shop improvement campaign. I am not nearly done, but I am taking a little at a time. With Christmas around the corner I have get back to doing some projects. My ambition level is fairly low this year as I am planning to build a Chevalet and it's all I can think about right now.

Here are some before and after pics of what I've been up to this week. I chose the color green for two reasons; firstly, I had some other shop pieces in that color and secondly, most of my machine tools are painted green and/or yellow. I will be following up with some yellow stuff on the next round.

BEFORE
My new all purpose bench in the raw. Originally I designed this bench so a chest of drawers would slide under on the right side and I could sit with my legs underneath on the left side. Photo 1 is a better shot of the construction. What I didn't expect was that this construction would be so solid. I am amazed how stable it is, even though it was just luck on my part, and therefore I would recommend this design to anyone building a bench for planing or whatever.

Wood Table Workbench Wood stain Floor

Table Wood Desk Tool Floor


AFTER
As you can see, the chest of drawers in now in place and I two coats of Danish oil on it with a 3rd coat yet to come. I will be storing my marquetry stuff in the chest.

Table Furniture Desk Cabinetry Wood


BEFORE

Wood Gas Machine tool Toolroom Engineering


AFTER
I always hated those drawer handles with the dark oak cabinet, but I think they look a lot better now with the green paint. Whoops! I forgot to take away the masking tape and just now discovered it.

Cabinetry Drawer Wood Table Desk


BEFORE
Property Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood


AFTER
Building Wood House Fixture Wood stain


I'm not sure what improvements are next. I do want better storage solutions, so that will probably come first with more painting afterward.

Thanks for reading!
 

Attachments

#157 ·
A LICK OF PAINT AND A DASH OF DANISH

Haven't had much time in the shop lately, but I did get my bench finished finally and I painted here and there as part of my shop improvement campaign. I am not nearly done, but I am taking a little at a time. With Christmas around the corner I have get back to doing some projects. My ambition level is fairly low this year as I am planning to build a Chevalet and it's all I can think about right now.

Here are some before and after pics of what I've been up to this week. I chose the color green for two reasons; firstly, I had some other shop pieces in that color and secondly, most of my machine tools are painted green and/or yellow. I will be following up with some yellow stuff on the next round.

BEFORE
My new all purpose bench in the raw. Originally I designed this bench so a chest of drawers would slide under on the right side and I could sit with my legs underneath on the left side. Photo 1 is a better shot of the construction. What I didn't expect was that this construction would be so solid. I am amazed how stable it is, even though it was just luck on my part, and therefore I would recommend this design to anyone building a bench for planing or whatever.

Wood Table Workbench Wood stain Floor

Table Wood Desk Tool Floor


AFTER
As you can see, the chest of drawers in now in place and I two coats of Danish oil on it with a 3rd coat yet to come. I will be storing my marquetry stuff in the chest.

Table Furniture Desk Cabinetry Wood


BEFORE

Wood Gas Machine tool Toolroom Engineering


AFTER
I always hated those drawer handles with the dark oak cabinet, but I think they look a lot better now with the green paint. Whoops! I forgot to take away the masking tape and just now discovered it.

Cabinetry Drawer Wood Table Desk


BEFORE
Property Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood


AFTER
Building Wood House Fixture Wood stain


I'm not sure what improvements are next. I do want better storage solutions, so that will probably come first with more painting afterward.

Thanks for reading!
It's all so organised neat and clean Mike ,you bench and shop looks super.
 

Attachments

#159 ·
A LICK OF PAINT AND A DASH OF DANISH

Haven't had much time in the shop lately, but I did get my bench finished finally and I painted here and there as part of my shop improvement campaign. I am not nearly done, but I am taking a little at a time. With Christmas around the corner I have get back to doing some projects. My ambition level is fairly low this year as I am planning to build a Chevalet and it's all I can think about right now.

Here are some before and after pics of what I've been up to this week. I chose the color green for two reasons; firstly, I had some other shop pieces in that color and secondly, most of my machine tools are painted green and/or yellow. I will be following up with some yellow stuff on the next round.

BEFORE
My new all purpose bench in the raw. Originally I designed this bench so a chest of drawers would slide under on the right side and I could sit with my legs underneath on the left side. Photo 1 is a better shot of the construction. What I didn't expect was that this construction would be so solid. I am amazed how stable it is, even though it was just luck on my part, and therefore I would recommend this design to anyone building a bench for planing or whatever.

Wood Table Workbench Wood stain Floor

Table Wood Desk Tool Floor


AFTER
As you can see, the chest of drawers in now in place and I two coats of Danish oil on it with a 3rd coat yet to come. I will be storing my marquetry stuff in the chest.

Table Furniture Desk Cabinetry Wood


BEFORE

Wood Gas Machine tool Toolroom Engineering


AFTER
I always hated those drawer handles with the dark oak cabinet, but I think they look a lot better now with the green paint. Whoops! I forgot to take away the masking tape and just now discovered it.

Cabinetry Drawer Wood Table Desk


BEFORE
Property Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood


AFTER
Building Wood House Fixture Wood stain


I'm not sure what improvements are next. I do want better storage solutions, so that will probably come first with more painting afterward.

Thanks for reading!
Good progress Mike. Congrats on finishing your bench and cabinet. I like the green paint you choose too.
 

Attachments

#190 ·
ADDING A WATER SUPPLY TO MY SHOP

Hello everybody. This isn't a very exciting post (they never really are), but I was looking for a woodworking excuse to

WISH ALL MY LJ FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILIES A VERY JOYOUS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Now about that water supply
Since buying my water cooled Tomek sharpening machine, beginning to use hot hide glue, and starting up with marquetry I find myself in need of copious amounts of water. I am also kind of tired of carrying it out to the shop in milk cartons, pitchers, etc. So I decided it was time to do something about it. I probably won't win any plumbers award for my solution, but I think it will be quite handy. Here it is:

Wood Gas Machine Electrical supply Hardwood


Wood Workbench Gas Engineering Electrical wiring


I am planning (or maybe just hoping) to put my new Chevalet de marqueterie where the drillpress is now, providing it will fit there. I've taken some measurements, but the best test will be to see if it actually fits and if I can work in such a small space.

Now that we are on the subject of the Chevalet I want to show you mine. It's maple which I've jointed and planed. All I have to do now is cut the parts, do some gluing, slap on some finish and I'm in business!

Wood Automotive design Automotive tire Motor vehicle Gas


Thanks for looking in. I'll be toasting you with some homemade eggnog on Christmas morning. Have fun and stay safe.
 

Attachments

#191 ·
ADDING A WATER SUPPLY TO MY SHOP

Hello everybody. This isn't a very exciting post (they never really are), but I was looking for a woodworking excuse to

WISH ALL MY LJ FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILIES A VERY JOYOUS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Now about that water supply
Since buying my water cooled Tomek sharpening machine, beginning to use hot hide glue, and starting up with marquetry I find myself in need of copious amounts of water. I am also kind of tired of carrying it out to the shop in milk cartons, pitchers, etc. So I decided it was time to do something about it. I probably won't win any plumbers award for my solution, but I think it will be quite handy. Here it is:

Wood Gas Machine Electrical supply Hardwood


Wood Workbench Gas Engineering Electrical wiring


I am planning (or maybe just hoping) to put my new Chevalet de marqueterie where the drillpress is now, providing it will fit there. I've taken some measurements, but the best test will be to see if it actually fits and if I can work in such a small space.

Now that we are on the subject of the Chevalet I want to show you mine. It's maple which I've jointed and planed. All I have to do now is cut the parts, do some gluing, slap on some finish and I'm in business!

Wood Automotive design Automotive tire Motor vehicle Gas


Thanks for looking in. I'll be toasting you with some homemade eggnog on Christmas morning. Have fun and stay safe.
Hey Mike,
Neat. We always called those Jerry Cans. Not sure if it is politically correct or not :)
But anyway, what a good idea.

That will be interesting to see you fit your new toy in that space. And then figure out where to put the drill press. Yow, it will get tight. But what the heck. Looks comfy.

Merry Christmas to you too,
Steve
 

Attachments

#234 ·
FINDING A PARKING PLACE FOR MY CHEVY

The problem
When I decided to build a Chevalet for marquetry work I honestly didn't think I would be able to find a place for it in my shop. It already felt quite crowded in there. Whenever I sweep the floor every storage cabinet, and machine tool has to be moved to get the job done. That's why all of my tools and cabinets are on wheels, even my drill press. I decided to go ahead and build a Chevalet anyway hoping that I could dream up a solution in order to create a place for it.

My shop is 7ft. wide and about 32ft. long and shaped like an 'L'. The long part of the 'L' is about 22ft. long and the short part 10 ft. long. In other words about 224sq. ft. altogether. It is kind of like a wide hallway. It's not too bad, but it has one big disadvantage, and that is, that it is not possible to have anything in the shop that you can walk around. Every machine tool cabinet or whatever is against a wall.

The goals
I've rearranged my shop many times during the last 13 years since I built it, usually to accommodate new and larger machine tools, so I'm used to doing that, but this time thinking up a solution wasn't good enough. I had to draw up a floor plan sketch to scale and I also measured and drew up each tool/cabinet based on the floor space each required. Then I cut them out and placed them on the floor plan sketch to see how they could best be arranged. The priorities for placement where:

1. Operator safety and comfort.

2.The tools could be used to their full capacity (long boards could be processed, etc.).

3. The top of some tools or cabinets could double as out feed tables to the machine next to it.

4. Ample space between everything to allow for unimpeded movement for myself.

5. The dust makers, like my table saw combo machine, router, bandsaw and disk sander could hookup easily to my
shop vacuum.

6. A more or less dedicated area for my marquetry work including placement of my marquetry bench, Chevalet
and scroll saw (yes, I still love my scroll saw).

The solution
Luckily I found a way to accommodate the Chevy and at the same time meet my other goals much better than expected. It was all based on getting rid of a 'junk' corner which was about 1/2sq. yard where I had been accumulating metal parts like threaded rods, steel plating, aluminum profiles, etc. I cleaned out that little corner by storing that stuff in the loft and then everything else fell into place. My Chevy is now permanently parked in the short part of the 'L' with my marquetry bench and my scroll saw. I only had to move my marquetry bench, my Tormek sharpening center and drill press to new locations to get the job done. Here are the photos. The first shot shows where the marquetry bench was located before moving it to the end wall.

BEFORE

Table Furniture Desk Cabinetry Wood


Wood Workbench Gas Engineering Electrical wiring


AFTER

Wood Workbench Engineering Machine Toolroom


Wood Shelf Cabinetry Workbench Hardwood


Result
As you can see, the stool for the marquetry bench is also adjacent to my scroll saw and right next to the Chevy. the other shot shows the drill press in a better location where longer boards can now be drilled. In that same photo you can also see the new location under the window for my Sharpening station which is now located next to my bench grinder. Unseen to the left of the sharpening station is my hand power tool storage cart.

This solution actually resulted in a lot more improvements than I could have wished for. I hope those of you who have shop space problems of your own might find some inspiration here for improving your own situation. Thanks for looking in!
 

Attachments

#235 ·
FINDING A PARKING PLACE FOR MY CHEVY

The problem
When I decided to build a Chevalet for marquetry work I honestly didn't think I would be able to find a place for it in my shop. It already felt quite crowded in there. Whenever I sweep the floor every storage cabinet, and machine tool has to be moved to get the job done. That's why all of my tools and cabinets are on wheels, even my drill press. I decided to go ahead and build a Chevalet anyway hoping that I could dream up a solution in order to create a place for it.

My shop is 7ft. wide and about 32ft. long and shaped like an 'L'. The long part of the 'L' is about 22ft. long and the short part 10 ft. long. In other words about 224sq. ft. altogether. It is kind of like a wide hallway. It's not too bad, but it has one big disadvantage, and that is, that it is not possible to have anything in the shop that you can walk around. Every machine tool cabinet or whatever is against a wall.

The goals
I've rearranged my shop many times during the last 13 years since I built it, usually to accommodate new and larger machine tools, so I'm used to doing that, but this time thinking up a solution wasn't good enough. I had to draw up a floor plan sketch to scale and I also measured and drew up each tool/cabinet based on the floor space each required. Then I cut them out and placed them on the floor plan sketch to see how they could best be arranged. The priorities for placement where:

1. Operator safety and comfort.

2.The tools could be used to their full capacity (long boards could be processed, etc.).

3. The top of some tools or cabinets could double as out feed tables to the machine next to it.

4. Ample space between everything to allow for unimpeded movement for myself.

5. The dust makers, like my table saw combo machine, router, bandsaw and disk sander could hookup easily to my
shop vacuum.

6. A more or less dedicated area for my marquetry work including placement of my marquetry bench, Chevalet
and scroll saw (yes, I still love my scroll saw).

The solution
Luckily I found a way to accommodate the Chevy and at the same time meet my other goals much better than expected. It was all based on getting rid of a 'junk' corner which was about 1/2sq. yard where I had been accumulating metal parts like threaded rods, steel plating, aluminum profiles, etc. I cleaned out that little corner by storing that stuff in the loft and then everything else fell into place. My Chevy is now permanently parked in the short part of the 'L' with my marquetry bench and my scroll saw. I only had to move my marquetry bench, my Tormek sharpening center and drill press to new locations to get the job done. Here are the photos. The first shot shows where the marquetry bench was located before moving it to the end wall.

BEFORE

Table Furniture Desk Cabinetry Wood


Wood Workbench Gas Engineering Electrical wiring


AFTER

Wood Workbench Engineering Machine Toolroom


Wood Shelf Cabinetry Workbench Hardwood


Result
As you can see, the stool for the marquetry bench is also adjacent to my scroll saw and right next to the Chevy. the other shot shows the drill press in a better location where longer boards can now be drilled. In that same photo you can also see the new location under the window for my Sharpening station which is now located next to my bench grinder. Unseen to the left of the sharpening station is my hand power tool storage cart.

This solution actually resulted in a lot more improvements than I could have wished for. I hope those of you who have shop space problems of your own might find some inspiration here for improving your own situation. Thanks for looking in!
Good thinking Mike, looks like you fought the square footage problem and you won .
 

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