MsDebbieP's Workshop

Hi Debbie,
I find that my workshop is always a work in progress.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

it’s pretty exciting, watching it change.

When we built an addition on our house (over 25 years ago) we left the basement unfinished due to finances. It soon became the dumping ground of all things large and small. The floor was not finished, and so we had a bed of gravel and for a very long time a “swimming pool” as the workers had set it up that the water drained INTO the basement rather than OUT of the basement. That has been a big headache, let me tell you!!

When Rick moved in, it was time to take back the basement, so last year the cement was poured, an electrician was called in and our workshop began. The room is quite large so it was really exciting to envision a shop that people would love to have.

But that isn’t as stress-free as you’d think—what to do, what to do. Rick had only a small space in his home and so this was an opportunity to set things up like he’d always dreamed. The possibilities were endless and every magazine we looked at, every plan for a workshop we considered, just added another “oh, what about this” to our list and the vision became less clear.

We finally found a plan that we both thought “fit the bill” and so along one wall we have a full-length bench which holds most of our tools. The table saw and the router table sit in the middle, right behind the mitre saw, and my new work bench sits in a corner.

My husband’s mechanic tools and “big red” toolbox have come in really handy, holding and organizing tools. A “cubby” cupboard that I had used when I had a preschool in my home is now a large organizer for screws, bolts, nails, etc. I always knew that little cupboard would be great in a workshop!!

The rest of the shop is holding piles of wood (there has to be a way to organize that!!) but, we’ve only been gathering the wood for a few months so that will iron itself out in time.

Well, that’s the shop, as it stands now. A little more cluttered than I envisioned, but it still makes me smile, having seen rocks, water and junk in there for 20 years.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Photos posted – and represent our shop at Phase II. It will probably stay this way for a while.. except for the lathe that will be coming later this spring and will sit beside the bandsaw.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Very nice Debbie. A warm place to work (I assume it’s heated) and a dry place to work (I assume that you fixed the water problem). And you don’t have to bundle up to go out to the workshop.

Where’s the blackboard to draw your plans on. A teacher should always have a blackboard!.

Now get to work.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

the blackboard is on the back of the door.
and in the 7th pix (not enough room on here to post it) are the cubbies that I used for preschool and are now nuts/bolts/screws/nails storage

oh.. and yes it’s warm (warmest place in the winter and coolest in the summer)
and it’s dry—no more water problems!!
and it’s inside.. :)
of course we are limited as to what we can get OUT of the shop… but i guess if you way the pros and cons, warm and dry wins!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

looks good

-- Phil, Chattanooga,TN

I can relate to the swimming pool problem, when I was building the back part of my workshop there was a delay of about 3 years between excavation and building and me fixing the main drainage problem. (Still have some occasionally but is hidden by the matting).

Like the way your shop is developing, keep telling us how it improves.

-- Peter.

thanks :)
The swimming pool has all dried up now.

And yes the shop is developing nicely. But, after making our own boards yesterday I realized that we need a planer and jointer!! hehehee

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Looks like a shop where woodworking will flurish, I am constantly thinking of how to move things around to make projects steps easier to accomplish….never ending story? Nice shop.

-- Sawhorse - Sulphur Springs, TX - www.sawhorseworkshop.com

Yah.. there’s still the idea of an extension table for the table saw. Need room for that as well

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Hi MsDebbieP-

Thanks for visiting my workshop. I came over to visit your place.

When I looked at the picture of your workbench, I could not help but think that we used the same magazine article for inspiration! It looks like you stayed closer to the prototype; you built the lower shelf and the drawers under the lower shelf. I did not create the lower shelf as I was concerned about mice in the garage. I see you have the space for the “pull out table saw stand.” In my case I decided to build the rolling cart that you see in my photo instead because of the configuration of my space.

I wonder how many folks built benches from this article…It took me along time to find the right one to build too.

I really like the painted saws; we have one my wife’s mother did.

-- John

I thought I recognized your table!! :)
It took us a very long time as well and this is the one that we liked best. The drawers on the bottom are priceless. The shelf, well it just holds clutter, in my opinion. But we hope to build some shelves and drawers in the area – especially right by the saw. We need the pencils, squares, measuring tapes etc. right there handy and a little pull-out drawer would be helpful I think.
The space for the table saw is holding our air compressor, which we put on wheels, and there is space for a router table on wheels that we were going to build but I think that plan is changing. The hole does come in handy though for tall stuff. I’m glad that it is there.

And i like the rolling cart idea. I think that that will be one of our next projects and it will fit in there nicely. Then we can put the pencils, squares, clamps on it and move it to the machine rather than having to walk around the shop after each of the items. Brilliant idea!!

Thanks for visiting, come back any time :D

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Nice entry into you shop with those paintings from your mother. So that’s where the first entry into the challenge came from. Now I know!

-- Jesus is Lord!

yup. Got my artistry gene from my Mom … and my woodworking gene as well I guess. She could use her hammer pretty good, fixing little things around the house that she wanted done.

I’ve talked about not seeing my Dad work with wood but I do remember that for their 25th wedding anniversary my Mom got a hammer, saw and screwdriver that were for her alone (a family joke obviously). She didn’t build anything, just “fixed”

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

i like the paintings, good use for some non functional tools

-- mjhaines

thanks for visiting!! :)
I’ll tell my Mom that you liked her paintings.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Where do you store the willow?

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

the willow is all still in the woodpile in the backyard.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Great shop Debbie. I love that spindle sander and the big ole bandsaw. Is that a scroll saw hiding there? Didn’t see any extension cord snakes down there either!

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

scroll saw. check! :)
no extension cord snakes but there are lots of other things waiting.. just waiting… for the moment that I turn my back for a second.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

nice shop deb it takes time to get things the way you want them! Then guess what? You need more tools & more room! Its a never ending story!(But I love it!)

-- Bob "life is one big school & we are the students"

Hey neighbor….... Looks like I’m just down the road from ya..

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

why you sure are!!!

my sister-in-law have started doing “road trips” once a month, going to small communities to check out the stores and antique shops. Caledonia/Cayuga are on our list for one day…

Mark July 13th on your calendar. I’ll be having a LumberJock picnic. I sure hope you will be able to make it.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Looks good Debbie. I like the rigid sander, haven’t tried one yet but I’ve heard a lot about them. Would your shop pass the MsDebbieP inspection???

-- Dust collectors suck.

well I don’t have extension cords dangling. .. but there are a lot of wood piles on the floor so I’m not sure. I try to take my inspectors hat off at the door.. you know,, the shop is supposed to be a retreat from the day job….. ;)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Nice shop Deb, looks like you have plenty of room for your projects, which I will have a look at later tonight, gotta go to work now…

-- Mark, Hancock Maine, rmarkham52@hotmail.com

Debbie, that is one cool shop setup! I’ll bet in short time you are going to feal that it isn’t large enough and that is the norm. :)

-- " All Things At First Appear Difficult"

lol you got that right… it’s all the wood sitting in there! That’s the problem.. if we just didn’t have any wood hahaha oh wait.. that’s what it is all about :D :D

(thanks Mark / Roger)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Hi Debbie,

I finally got around to looking at your shop post. You have a nice shop in which to work. You have plenty of space in which to work and some nice tools to play with as well. I really like your miter bench and storage.

Thanks for the tour. I really appreciate it.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

thanks for visiting, Scott.
yes, the mitre saw bench is a great asset!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)