My Workshop (at last)

Well thought out, very nice shop!!!!!

-- Woodisit

very nice and organized well!

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Nice very nice shop …...thanks for posting

mike

-- Mike in Bonney Lake " If you are real real real good your whole life, You 'll be buried in a curly maple coffin when you die."

okay, I’m more than a bit jealous… so I must find fault… the stairway does not have a hand rail!

So there. Not perfect, but you are getting mighty close. Well done.

Sliding beam benches. Very interesting. Question: Do they float on the wall support beams? They can be lifted up in addition to slide along? Hope I am understanding that right. Wish I would have thought of that when I was making up my little shop space. But it is not too late to rethink it… and upgrade…

aren’t all shops a work in progress?

-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...

Lots of pics and lots of nice stuff….......that’s a nice place!

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

Wow. What a beautiful, organized, and totally functional shop! Well done, Good Sir. Well done!

Quick questions:

- what’s upstairs (inquiring minds….)??
- what’s the total square feet on the ground floor?

I was telling my brother, last night, that I was trying to get every table/bench top to be the same height—ideally, the height of my TS. I just think that’s a nice feature, if you can manage it. You managed it :-)

“I know it’s a long blog, but please don’t feel you have to look if you’re not interested.”

Yeah. Pry me away from your pics :-)

-- -- Neil

Very nice shop!..................thanks for the pics

-- Only time will tell if it was time well spent

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

AL There are three reasons for not having a handrail. Firstly, it discourages the wife from nosing around up there. Secondly there’s a lot of stuff stored up there that I couldn’t get down if there were a handrail, and thirdly, there is a very large trap door at the top of the stairs which closes off the loft to prevent too much dust migration and which does not allow a proper handrail to be installed. You are however, absolutely correct from a safety standpoint, and I do appreciate your concern. My wife is nagging me about it all the time. I just say “yes dear”. Hope I don’t live to regret my poor attitude.

You are correct, the sliding beams just sit on the sliders mounted to the wall and can be lifted upwards as well. Did you notice the lower sliders? That’s for mounting the beams at a lower position for grandchildren or working on something tall like a chest of drawers. A little warning here: The beams tend to easily rack when being moved, so a guidance system to prevent this would be an advantage (but not a necessity).

Yes, you are right. Shops change constantly as the type of work and storage changes and when experience and frustration motivate better ideas. There is no such thing as the ultimate shop. For example; I used to hate that my shop was so small, but now at my age I’m glad I don’t have to walk so much.

-- Mike, American in Norway

Very nice… It would be nice to folks that browse the Workshops to update your workshop page with this info as well…

-- Trying to follow the example of the master.

NBeener Upstairs is a lot of “stuff” including paint storage, xmas decorations bit and pieces of odds and ends. However there are a couple of interesting things too. I have a professional drafting table (all we need now is a professional draftsman) and a shopmade light table. My plans for the future are to make the loft into a finishing center. A couple of years ago I insulated and paneled the ceiling and 30” high walls with knotty pine. The floor was already insulated as is the entire shop. I have a lot of plans, but at my age I’m not sure if I will be able to realize them all.

The shop is 220 sq. ft. total.

-- Mike, American in Norway

I just love looking at other folks shops and yours is a doosy.. not small just compact and you have it organised quite well.
Enjoy.

-- Drink once, cut twice. New website up.... lazylarrywoodworks.com.au

Mike, Great looking shop. We look forward to seeing a lot more fantastic projects.

-- Kent Shepherd * The goal is-----More Tools!

Thanks Larry. I like to look at other folks shops too. Are we nuts?

-- Mike, American in Norway

Thanks Kent. It’s certainly not beautiful, but is fairly functional.

-- Mike, American in Norway

Cool shop! Thanks for the tour.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

He Mike
This is a fabulous shop well thought out and layed out it shows a bright mind and a creative aproach.exactly what I would expect of your shop so nice.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

This is a great shop! Great layout.

-- Mike, VT

Mike,

I love to see how other woodworkers have organized their workspace. I have gotten some great ideas on how to use the workspace efficiently. You have done a great job in organizing your shop.

Thank you for taking the time to post your pictures and write your commentary.

Thanks again everybody for the kudos. The shop has sort of evolved the way it has out of necessity rather than clever planning because I have so many (mostly second rate) tools to accommodate.

Whenever I begin to envy others their tools or shops, I think about craftsmen present and past who have made things I would never be capable of with the the bare minimum of hand tools and in a small space that couldn’t even be called a shop. Then I realize how lucky I really am and it reminds me that it is the skill and not the tools or shop that make a craftsman.

-- Mike, American in Norway

mike ,
when i first saw your sketch-up ,
i new there was a mind at work ,
your pic’s prove me right .

your shop is as sharp as your turning tools !

well done !

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

Thanks David. I just wish I could spend more time in it to actually make something!

-- Mike, American in Norway

Looks like you have it all and very well organized mike ;-)) No wonder you turn out such nice work !!

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Thanks Bob. I am going to try to do some nice work. I’m really excited about this segment turning thing after doing those test pieces and really enjoying the process. I hope you will try it too because it is fun. Yesterday I started making a sanding jig for my new 12” disk sander. As soon as that’s finished I will be making one more pine open segment vessel for a blog to show my different approach to this type of construction. It will be like the blind leading the blind, as I haven’t use the normal method yet. and I have only done one open segment so far. How’s that for overconfidence? Well, it takes all kinds I guess.

I wondered how you were coming along with your turning and if you liked your new lathe?

-- Mike, American in Norway

I am also more than a bit jealous! An absolutely amazing use of space! I hope that you get to spend a little more time in your shop, and soon.
I’ve gotta say, you’ve changed the way I look at life….. I’ve always known three certainties – The sky is blue, water is wet and you can never have too many clamps. Well, two out of three isn’t bad.

-- Cheers and God Bless

Mike, Too many irons in the fire, don’t have a place to set it up yet :-(( Running and shooitng rifle match last weekend. Had volunteer training last week too. I sure seem to be busy for not having much to do ;-)) Problem is my shop is too full oif personal stuff plus business stuff plus wife stuff…..... Went to dam break/flood control meeting last night. We don’t live in jeapordy, but the wife works there. I’m getting my match results out for the season and working on next year’s schedules today. Got to get set up to shot a 100 shot offhand rimfire match Sat…......... To many interests!!

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.