Hi folks
In viewing projects and shops on LJs . I'm sometimes embarrassed when after seeing shops on line 5 times larger than my house and shop combined and that look like their finished inside like someones living room with all high dollar equipment wall to wall . I then catch my self thinking if my shop was only larger or it would be nice to have a particular tool that I don't have. Then other times I find myself being a tool snob,thinking to myself thoughts like that person will never make anything worth while with that $99 table saw. I then catch myself from that kind of wrong thinking and think, no matter what tools and shop environment a person has it's the passion,drive, patience and talent that turns out there project. I believe this to be true .I have seen folks on Ljs that work in closet size shops that turn out master pieces beyond my wildest dreams ,then there are those who don't even have a shop or much in the way of tools or materials but still press forward to follow their passion.
So I contend that the perfect shop is were every you work with what ever you work with makes it perfect for you because you are working with wood and pursuing your passion.
I salute those of you who have limited space,tools and material but still press forward. Thank you for your passion ,your an inspiration to us all.
Jim, I have to agree with you about all that!
All it took for me was loosing it all and still having the woodworking bug bad enough that I learned to work out of half of a two car garage. I still sometimes miss my big stationary tools and the room to set them up but hey, I can still make some killer stuff!
Great thoughts Jim. When I started out in woodworking 2 years ago, I worked in my den, on my back porch, and in an open door garage…...........and it WAS Winter-time and cold! I now have a shop I helped build, better tools, and a passion that cannot be calmed.
LumberJocks and all the people on it have taught me dang near all I know and I continue to soak it all up. Thanks for being one of those teachers.
It's just like… The more money you make, the more you spend…
And that amount for a given person May be 2x, 4x, 10x, 100x times as much as what you do…
... a little of something is all relevant as to what is a lot of something…
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence…
Great post Jim I believe it is not the cost of the tools you have or even how big your shop is its how you use the space and the tools that counts. I work in a single car gargage with Laura and we do just fine even if our garage is wood and tools I think we put out some great product and our sales prove it.
Dennis
you are exactly right Jim, ive seen shops that are the most grand looking shop ive seen, and then ive seen shops where i saw there tools and thought they would not produce the quality type work, then to go look at there projects and be blown away with there talent, yes and i have even seen some smaller shops that were smaller then mine but set up so nicely that i envied there shop, but each persons shop can be the place that masterpieces are made, i think we should each be grateful we live in a country where we can have nice shops, and stores to go buy needed tools or wood, there are many places in the world where getting the tools is hard to do, the other day i saw a video of a guy making chess pieces right on the street, using a foot powered lathe and he was not in any kind of shop..they were great chess pieces too…im very grateful for my shop. and even though you have more routers then me, i still like ya..
I was 3,000 miles from my decent shop this last summer building a custom cherry kitchen under a 10' x 10' canopy and a very small single car garage. Everything was folded up each day and set up again the next.
It is not always the best shop and tools but how to use what one has at hand.
Here is the result: The doors are solid book matched panels and the side panels are custom book matched veneer.
I would like to note that Charles Neil did the finish on the cabinets and we also did the re-sawing of the solid panels on his band saw.
Well said, Jim. Many a time I've thought about trading in the old Delta contractor saw that I've been using for almost 15 years, and upgrading to a nice cabinet saw, but then I think, it won't make any difference in the way I cut lumber. Or scrap my old workbench, that I made from a solid core maple door. It does everything that a new custom made Roubo can do. And I don't think that if I finish putting up the rest of the sheet rock on my shop walls, it will make a difference in the finished products coming out of my shop. So, like you said, it's better to put your energies into creating the best piece of woodwork that you can, with what you have. The satisfaction is the big payoff, especially if you're doing more with less. Thanks for the post.
Wow they turned out great,it doesn't hurt to have Charles as your finisher . Beautiful work a excellent example of what I was talking about. Three cheers For John hep hep hooray .
I find that I like to see what other folks have - not necessarily more, bigger, better, or fancier toys, but the homeade jigs, tools, and set ups. Those are the things that drive my creativity and give me new ideas. Same goes for the projects. Sharing what we do and how we do it betters the person sharing as well as the person reading about it. This is the fundamental reason I am part of LJ - to better myself, and possibly, in some way to add to the betterment of the craft.
Very good point Jim "working with wood and pursuing your passion." I am often amazed at what some of the galoots make with minimum power tools. I've toured a couple much larger shops and each was suited for the type of work they do. The one thing I covet of most other shops is the organization, wonder if there is a forum for that?
Hmmmm, when I first came here I started looking at some of the LJ's shop pictures and I remember thinking that I'd be too embarrased to show folks where I work.
Oh sure it's 30'X40" but it's pretty much a cluttered mess. And it's not entirely dedicated to woodworking. It also houses my lawn mower and all my yard tools. And almost of 1/4 of it is where I park my motorcycle (along with the trailer and all my biking gear and accompanying paraphanelia)
And of course I've lost almost 20' of wall space to storage for Christmas decorations and the storage of 38 years of "collectibles" by SWMBO (she who must be obeyed)
I've built two work tables which are mostly piled with "works in progress" of one form or another. My air compressor and 2 welders take up one corner, and I have wood stacked all over the place.
I admit to being a pack-rat. I've got "STUFF" that I've been holding on to for WAAAY too long, but it never fails… soon as I get the nerve to throw something away, the next week I find a project where I coulda used that thing I just tossed! I never actually CLEAN my shop, I mostly RE-ARRANGE THE CLUTTER! But I know where everything is.
So maybe your post will nudge me to take a few pic's and show MY shop one day soon. I'm pretty proud of the things I make and the folks I give most all of it too seem to like the things I make. So maybe it's not how big and spacious (and CLEAN) your shop is, but it's the stuff that comes out of it!
Thanks for posting this… it gave me pause to think, and probably some others too.
I have worked in a closet, on a dirt floor, in a small shed, a small garage, a large garage, and now a large shop. I could turn out work in all those other places, but am glad I have a large shop now, and am grateful for it.
I agree wholeheartedly with what you wrote Jim! I am continually amazed (and ashamed at my tool greed) when I see the amazing projects that LJ's build with limited tools/space etc.
Jim….very insightful comments sir. Some day I may have the big shop and the high end tools and that would be cool but as for now I am more concerned about trying to simply improve the space I am blessed to have. It may be small and cluttered now but by listening to advice from fine folks like you and various others it is gettng better all the time. I dont forsee my making a living in my shop anytime soon so as long as its functional and a place I can go to escape the world for a time… its all good . As for tool snobs, well I am at the other end of the scale. I am a tool slut….no brand loyality here. Crap, those high end machines would be wasted on me. I can screw up a piece of wood just as well with a 100 dollar tool just as quickly as a 5000 dollar one. If it works, I am ok with it. Well bud the rain is on the way (blew all the way in from the pacific northwest I am sure) so the storage cabinet will be on hold for a day or so. Maybe I can take up online poker or something…lol Have a great day sir, stay safe and keep spreading the good words….
Buster
Well said Jim; I've worked out of everything from a 400 sq.ft. garage to a 7,500 sq.ft. commercial shop, but one thing has always been the same….............my passion for woodworking. The tools or the shop doesn't make the woodworker, the woodworker makes the shop.
Most woodworkers I know would prefer to have more tools, better tools, more space and better organization. I think its a life long journey and we're never fully satisfied with what we have because something new come along that we want. When we reach a point in our life that we can no longer use out tools safely we'll have to get rid of our prized possessions. That will be a sad day for me.
I enjoy hunting for tool bargains, organizing my shop, and making the shop a safer place to work. I also enjoy woodworking. But to be honest, I don't always enjoy every phase of a project.
My goal is t be half as good as my tools. I have a long way to go!
Great comments Jim. I couldn't agree more but I think huff put it best when he said the woodworker makes the shop.
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