# Junked Up Workshops of your Nighmares!



## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Another fella and I were aguing the finer points of our messy shops earlier and I mentioned we needed a thread for people to show off what they have.

So here it is.

Post your messy, junked up, ill set up, poorly conceived workspace.

You won't get a prize for this, but once you get it all figured out and set up to your liking your reward will be coming back and seeing what you have changed.

Mine is slowly coming along. I couldn't see the floor this morning so I straightened up a little bit.

I'll start with a couple of pictures




























I can post more later, I was just too worn out to get any from the opposite angle.

Let's see whatcha got, don't be afraid, no one will laugh, (snicker maybe… Guffaw, possibly… Cackle, most likely), but never would we laugh!


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Take a look at Harry Pope's barrel shop or Einstein's office. All the grand masters work in a clutter ;-) BTW, I know a barrel maker whose shop is a total clutter. His barrels dominate the winner's circle in Schuetzen matches.


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

Ya got plenty of nice clamps on a good lookin' rack. And, we've seen your tall stool once before. Serves you nicely. Thus, even with a little clutter you sure perform beautiful work.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

*Topamax*, I have watched the guys in Louisville making whiskey barrels. They never have a clean shop, but they always know where what they need is. I can wander for 15 minutes looking for one of 6 tape measures until I finally get out my antique folding measure or go get some coffee.
I did clean up before freidadad came to visit the other day, otherwise there were enough plane shavings on the floor and little wood chunk cut-offs laying around from cleaning up edges of cutting boards that there was no floor to be seen.

By the way, my shop is our old Rec hall at the campground. It's all carpeted and what you see for flooring is the backside of the worlds ugliest formica. The stuff was called "Electric Cowboy" with all that entails. I taped it down with some $12/roll duct tape that has worked well for two years. Some spots I didn't have enough of it for so I used a heavy FEMA tarp and some 6 mil plastic to make a cover.
I've also found that with the crappy post and pier and mud sill foundations and ant infestations over the years, I can't even put one whole green oak log worth of slabs inside to dry.

*Handtooler*, those are all Harbor Freight clamps, I do have a few Bessy clamps and a few Jorgy, but the ones you see are all HF. Some of those are 20+ years old. (Wooden handles). If I could have gotten the picture from the other ende there are another 40 clamps on the end of my tall assembly table. I figured that if it took 3 HF clamps to do the job of 2 Jorgy clamps, and the Jorgy's were $20/ea but the HF clamps were $6/ea, I was way ahead to buy more of the HF clamps.


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## Stephenw (Nov 14, 2011)

I went out and took a picture of my current state of disaster, just for this thread…


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## crompts (Feb 1, 2013)

a messy shop shows somebody is working there. a clean shop shows a guy who is more interested in making it look nice, so he can find his stuff, and be neat and orderly. I clean mine whenever i get fed up walking around stuff.


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

There's something about horizontal surfaces in my shop that just attract clutter. Whether my workbench, my outfeed table, router table, or my table saw. It's hard keeping them clean. I was finally so fed up with it that I spent all of last Saturday cleaning it up, or else I would post a picture here.


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## Straightbowed (Feb 9, 2012)

yep my shop is a disaster area also, but sometimes I rearrange my junk and then I have a organized disaster area, its like windstorm instead of tornado, or flash flood instead of sunami


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

I'll have a messy one in bout a month


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Here you go:
http://lumberjocks.com/topics/46252


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

I never clean… I just re-arrange the clutter!


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

The Dungeon Shop









Ready-use tools on the work table. It does have a vise out on the end.









Electric Table Saw ( It is a saw, sitting on a table)









Main work area, in fact, the only work area









Hiding spot for a few planes. Oh, and as for the floor









Some things just never change….


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

I know a shop can never be to large but now after looking at the photos I might be glad I'm limited in size , I have no choice but to keep it organized, sweep and picked up or I wouldn't be able to get around at all, actually as much as I hate to say it my workshop is cleaner then my house. LOL

Side note: Dallas I noticed we are close to being neighbors, I'm in south end of Austin, was up in Hutto several days ago picking up a downed Walnut tree (free) *grins* got some good wood out of that.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

A recent 'end of day' pic of the bench…


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

One other thing I failed to mention that I know for a fact, once you do a full-on attack on cleaning and organizing you'll find items that you've you been missing for ages and or had forgotten. *Ah damn there it is*


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

I think most people's shop get's out of whack every now again. It's just the nature of the beast.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

Smitty, Great photo. I love seeing that helter-skelter mallet.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

Dang. You guys are pigs. I joined that club a long time ago. 

You know you have a messy shop when you take pictures of your projects in ways to eliminate all the clutter from the picture…and can't really take a picture for that reason. It's at that moment that I clean stuff up.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

A couple of those are pretty close, but I'll put in a couple later that will unfortunately put you all (or myself) to shame.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

This is about as messy as mine gets…..no more….no less…......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

*Rick*..... Not fair! I vote you get suspended from the club for excessive neatness!

*Blackie_*....... Stop by up here sometime, the door's always open. Plus I'll be bringing down more tree's this summer.
We are right on Hwy 79, 1.698 miles south of the stop light in Franklin. LOL.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

That's ridiculous, Rick. And you call yourself a woodworker!


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Rick, that's sickening


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

Rick, I'll bet you also have it completely inventoried and you have a chart/lists of where everything is located; and if you ever do take it out it goes right back in its place before another tool or jij comes out? You aren't a surgeon by trade are you?


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Sorry, guys…...I just got out of control and had to post…...!!!

What can I say….I'm just a neat freak…...When my shop is messy, I go into convulsions….lol.

I'll try and post a picuture or two when there is sawdust on the floor…......lol….!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Handtooler:* Not a doctor or surgeon, but you're almost correct in your assumption about the rest…..


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## Randy_ATX (Sep 18, 2011)

Dallas, Blackie - I had to Google Franklin, TX. I hadn't heard of it, but yeah, not too far from Austin (relatively speaking in Texas terms). ;-)


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

I'm working out of half of a two car garage. The right half (not pictured) is cluttered with communal storage for the extended family, such as antiques that need to be sold at the next garage sale. The other half is where I struggle to make pretty things out of wood using what little I have.

You can see the walnut slab that I cut up in my last blog entry. Also note the lack of a jointer, planer, or dust collector.  And the baby 9-inch I Can't Believe It's Not a Bandsaw™ on the floor. Cords to trip over, and more fine dust laying around can I care to admit. Not having a hand tool cabinet yet means that my workbench gets cluttered up really fast. And having a wife and a three year old to take care of means that the only time I get to myself is when they're both asleep, and there's seldom time to organize things, much less get any work done.

It's the stuff of nightmares, alright. Maybe if I share this here I'll be adequately ashamed of my workspace enough to tidy it up.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Nov 30, 2012)

I take the old Navy Diving approach to upkeep do a roll-back every evening I work in the shop, I have to in a 2-car garage. It gets kraykray in that small of a shop when something is being built.

But I always make an INSTANT clean spot and setup a chair like…immediately, when I hear the back door tapping, because it's my lovely wife with two cups of coffee in her hand.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Randy, we are about an hour and fortyfive minutes from Austin.

Here's a standard map to help you find us, just go through Hearne, stay on 79 and we'll be 8 miles past the overpass on the left.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Rick, You're my kinda guy. You can come play in my shop anytime. The rest of you guys….......


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

But Andy, he's got all the good tools stuck on the back wall!


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Those aren't tools (no cords). Those are museum pieces! :>)


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## Randy_ATX (Sep 18, 2011)

Nice map. Dallas, Waco and Fort Worth are sliding over to East Texas on this one!


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

You guys really messed up there. Yoiu got New Orlens. When the plug comes out, it will suck you into the ocean ;-)


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## mbs (May 8, 2010)

I'm in the middle of making a rocker. Just finished a glue up and sharpened some irons. Parked the car and the bike in the garage until tomorrow. This is about as bad as it gets.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

You're right there, gfabvm….....they are old antiques that come off of our farm, used years ago by my wife's great grandfather, grandfather, and dad…...one-row plow, an old drinking stewer while at the windmill, hammers, tools, etc…..I thought they would make good decor for my shop….some are a 100 years old…..


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Heh, mine got pretty bad before I did a complete overhaul…


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

I was going to take a couple pictures to post last night, but realized what a pit it really is in there. Too embarrassing for even me!


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Monte, that's kind of what this whole thing is about. SPurring each other on to make our work spaces cleaner, safer, more efficient.

I am even re-working my dust collector to be a lot more efficient, basically building a small version of a Torit Downflo II.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

This was when a Cheapassed Table was being built









That saw horse thing IS my bench. Table didn't turn out too bad, though









It even matched an old chair I had…


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

Nice Bandit! Shaped apron and tapered legs, smooth top, nice grain work and the finish, as you say, is well done and matches chair. It's a keeper.


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## TeamTurpin (Oct 3, 2012)

I am an absolute neat freak in the workshop and this entire topic is making my skin crawl.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

That's ok, I have Igor back. He can clean up after me, down there in the Dungeon Shop.

Neatness is alright, I just don't get so excited about a few shavings hitting the floor. Things sometimes get left out on the work bench, just in case I need them again in the work sessions. A shop that is too clean look Sterile, antiseptic, "Clean Room" type of thing.









Though, sometimes I do sweep things up. The trash bag in the pictures is for the sweepings. Kind of have to clean the floor, other side of the Dungeon is the Laundry Room….


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

Randy, Dallas, you two are always welcome at my shop as well. 

I just got through making a resaw sled for my 14" so I'll be sawing logs today literally.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

*Blackie_*, I might take you up on that sometime if I ever get to a point I can ride that far again.

If you really want to slab up some wood, a couple of tree guys around here have offered to bring logs to me and I have my chainsaw mill. 
I need to do some modification on the mill to give it more capacity, but with the help of my angle grinder and Mig welder, that won't take long.

If we got 3 or 4 of us up here slabbing for a day we could probably get 30 or 40 nice slabs for drying plus whatever standing dead wood happened to come in.

Or, maybe I'll watch you guys do it and supervise while I sit back on a stump and partake of a cool adult beverage, LOL.


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## Randy_ATX (Sep 18, 2011)

Dallas, you wouldn't have to twist my arm too hard to get some labor out of me for some slabs! Keep both of us posted. Blackie (Randy) we might have to meet over coffee one day soon.


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