Earle Wright's Workshop

I began my new shop about a year ago, and I hope to have it finished by mid-Summer this year. Since I’m doing a lot of the work myself, progress is sometimes slow. I’ll show a few of the pictures from the beginning of the work and will add some more if the sun ever comes out again. As I have said in my bio, I acquired the property after selling the property I was on, minus the house. Once the shop is finished and I can empty my basement, I’ll be moving the house to the new site.

Here’s a shot of some of the foundation work.

The walls and roof of the shop are constructed with structural insulated panels (SIPPS). They consist of an extruded polystyrene core sandwiched between oriented strand board (OSB) skins. The panels are custom made to a plan, and then shipped to the site as a package. The walls are constructed to the same thickness as finished “stick-built” construction. The roof panels (not yet shown) are 8” thick. By using the SIPPS panels, I didn’t need a joist system. Instead the roof is supported by ‘post-and-beam’ construction, as shown.

The following photo is a detail of the timber framing that was provided by Blue Heron Timber Works, of Oliver Springs, TN. Note the exposed oak tenon (in the shadow under the beams). That feature, plus the gentle curve let into the bracing really pleased me. I couldn’t bring myself to saw the pegs flush, but since this photo, they are sawn to about an inch exposure.

This next photo is the view out one of the corner windows where my bench will be located. You can see where the footers have been poured to receive my house when it is moved. The protected stacks under the plastic are roof panels awaiting installation. I purposely made my windows large and tall to provide as much natural lighting as possible. Also, as you’ll see in a later submission, I installed skylights. Even on cloudy days there is sufficient light to do bench work.

The next picture is a full frontal of the shop. The left-hand and larger portion of the shop will be exclusive to woodworking and will be heated and cooled. The right-hand and smaller portion of the shop will house electrical, air compressor, dust collector, and mechanical, and will be used primarily for equipment restoration and all that other nasty mechanical stuff involving gas torches, metal saws, grease, oil, solvents, and anything else not directly related to woodworking. I also have to store some pieces that need restoration until I can get to them.

The last photo in this installation shows the lumber storage rack that I installed on the back wall of the main shop. This is a common design that I obtained from one of the woodworking publications, I don’t remember which. The wall panels are joined every 4’ by a 2×4 on edge, glued and screwed. I have attached the framework to the wall every four feet with substantial lag bolts. Then the framework provides wood support every two feet.

You will see this wall again in future photos. I have progressed much further with the shop and I’ll post an update soon. Thanks for looking.

-- Earle Wright, Lenoir City, Tennessee