walden's Workshop

I finally got a round to taking pictures of my shop. I’m not sure why the walls look yellow in these pictures, but they are actually white.

As you can see, there isn’t much to it. I use all hand tools, so no need for lots of room. The post drill on the floor is a 1910 Champion Blower and Forge model in perfect working order. I plan to build a stand for it since I can’t mount it to the wall where I live.

I built the workbench as my first official woodworking project. It works great, but I have yet to build up the courage to drill all of the holes in the top. I plan to do it this weekend. The tool chest is from 1850 and holds all of my hand tools. I plan to build a deep sliding tray in the front that will slide on the existing runner to hold the saws that are currently hanging on the wall. That way I can tuck them away when not in use to keep them from rusting.

I also plan to replace the flimsy white cabinet the radio is sitting on. I haven’t decided what to replace it with, but have a few ideas. It currently holds my oil stones, hand crank grinder and finishing materials. There will be one more saw bench added over the winter. I think it will closely resemble the one that Ron Herman uses in his saw sharpening video. It seems very useful.

The clamps are all stored in the closet in this room. It is the “spare bedroom” in my house.

When I got into woodworking, I made the decision to approach it from an apprentice point of view and buy each tool one at a time, learn how to sharpen it and use it, and then buy the next one. Along the way, I learned how to tune hand planes, add a camber to a blade free hand, and sharpen all my own saws – even retoothing a couple. This has served me well as I started making projects. I find that I have a lot of hand control and can get just the right edge on my tools to accomplish the result I want to achieve. I have to say it took an unbelievable amount of patience!

I hope you enjoy the photos. Please let me know if you have any questions.