hey fellas, It seems as though everyone always needs ideas for setting up their shop. So maybe everyone can post pictures of their shops in this thread. It would be nice to see many different layouts and clever space saving ideas.
Post away, LMC
Edited 3/12/2007 8:15 pm ET by loucarabasi
Replies
Well here's mine.
http://www.superwoodworks.com/Projects/ShopShots.htm
View Image
http://www.superwoodworks.com
Very nice. I wish I had that much room. I only have a 1/4 of a garage...
Festool4
Garry,
You can tell a craftsman by the tools he uses. Based on your shop...you are indeed a master craftsman Garry. Beautiful shop! Thank you for sharing the photos.
Cheers,
Cliff
Thank you Cliff
Garryhttp://www.superwoodworks.com
Do you have bench dog holes glued around your assembly table? If that's what they're there for, what a great idea. When ever I have to glue up large stuff like cabinet carcasses or huge doors, I sometimes have to make up an 'ad hoc' clamping jig with wedges, because I never seem to have enough clamps. Having bench dogs on the glue up table as well as the regular bench seems like a good idea.
Yes, there are round and sqaure holes for pegs or dogs 4 inch on center around the outside edge of the assembly bench. Then there are round holes in line in the field of the bench. The field holes have been added as needed.
Garryhttp://www.superwoodworks.com
HI,
OMG! What an incredible shop. Amazing. I'm working out of a 15X 13" basement room. I barely have space to move around all the tools.
I love the outfeed table you build for your table saw. Would you be able to explain to me how you built it. Does it fold down when not in storage. Would be great if I had the plans for a fold down ext. table. However, my saw isn't a cabinet maker's saw it's a contractor style saw (motor hanging out the back) Hard to tell what the legs of your ext table are attached to in the picture. Or perhaps they are just angled at the bottom and touching the floor.
Wanda
Wanda, we all want bigger shops. I know that when you have a larger shop you want an even larger one. I started this thread and have not yet posted my shop yet for 2 reasons:
A- Its a mess right now becouse we had a deadline job
B- I want make some changes and move things around but they'll be coming soon
-Lou
Thanks Wanda,
The outfeed table is attached to the rear rail that came with the fence system.
The legs angle back and rest on the mobile base frame. It does not fold down, fortuneatly I have enough room to leave the table setup.
When I had the outfeed table setup for my contractors saw, it was a table setup on the outfeed end whith an overhang that would clear the motor.
Garryhttp://www.superwoodworks.com
Garry,
Your shop has to be the nicest ones I have had the pleasure to see. Not only is it pleasing to eyes ( both inside and outside ) but looks well thought of and very well organized. Working in such an environment must be bliss... or close to it.
Congratulations on successfully making green with envy and having me realized my 1 1/2 car garage now looks like dungeon. :-)
Thanks SoarThumb for the comments,
You are correct, I do enjoy my shop and the time spent in it.
Garryhttp://www.superwoodworks.com
lou,
I think I found the following website on this forum. It's worth another post.
http://www.shoptours.org/
oldfred
Lou,
Space saving? I fill up the shed until I can't breathe, which means that I have used all the space efficiently as there is no air in there anymore.
Seriously, I have a space problem and must now bring myself to sell that drum sander on the oversize dolly.
Lataxe, posting pictures by the dozen today.
OH, nice place Lataxe. I love the feel of the wood walls. The new shop will/has drywall and a concrete floor. This alwas feels "Cold" to me. I would like to put wood on the walls at least around the area of the work bench. Have to see if I ever get to it.
And remember it is not the size, it is how you use it. Or at least that is what I was told.
Doug Meyer
Lataxe,
Looks just like one of those pristine shops featured in FWW not too long ago, :) :) :).
Where's the dust, tools covering the bench, etc. I'll bet you cleaned the whole shop so you could make us all envious.............
Nicely done, just what we'd expect from the fastidious poster!
Best Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
You know me so well. I did do a quick vacuum, dust-clean, polish, tidy and general rebuild first. Otherwise you would have seen only a Great Heap of Shavings (but not so much dust as heretofore, courtesy of planes, chisels and handsaws).
Lataxe the shedproud.
Lataxe,
I too am embarking down the hand tool path as well. I have been following your hand cut dovetail post and have had a go at about 100 so far. Each one gets better than the previous; I think that's a good thing....
Also in the process of restoring several old Bailey/Sargeant & Millers Falls planes, as well as getting an old Dunlap lathe to working order to try my hand at turning.
My shop is 16' x 20' with very high ceilings. Have about 2/3 of it drywalled, but all insulated. Built a wall hanging Chisel/Plane cabinet that hangs just over my bench. I made it from some donated birch hardwood flooring. Maybe I'll post a few when I get home from work; woodworking is, unfortunately, just part time for me until retirement, less than 2 yrs from now. YYYEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!
Another subliminal benefit of doing more with hand tools is less dependancie on DC, and my hearing won't degenerate any more than it already has.
Incidentally, thanks for your inputs with this and other posts you have made available to us all.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Wow!!!!! Now thats what I call ten pound of sausage in a 5lb bag.
Thanx, LMC
Looks like you have everything in there but I don't see any wood :>).
D,
Here is a 1llb wood sausage in a 10oz bag - otherwise known as the outhouse.
I have neglected to take photos of various woodparts cut, bound and stored under beds, on top of wardrobes and other crannies or nooks, as this practice upsets the ladywife and I do not wish to stimulate her ire just now by gloating too much about my Lovely Horde.
You see in the pics planks of cherry, iroko, sapele, black walnut, ash, oak, afromosia, pitch pine, teak, yew and maple. There is a pile of drawer parts (bottoms, sides and false fronts) awaiting construction. Some "planks" are recovered from old furniture or fittings, out of reconstructed or refitted buildings.
I used to keep timber and parts in the shed. However, they spread and take over - come alive and seek to bruise you or worse - so need to be given their own bedroom, a bit like sulky teenagers.
Lataxe
Oh Lataxe,
I almost forgot; I'll gladly take the drum sander off your hands and the Scheppach as well as you won't be needing it with your new found hand tool skills! I'll pay the shipping!
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
What a wonderful collection. I appologize. I thought you might have become like the rest of us where the accumulation of the equipment was the endpoint. Some of us have found that bringing wood into the woodshop interferes with the time and space for more acquisitons.
Dear God man!!
How can you work in there? Seriously is there some reason that you have $20,000+ dollars in machines but havent built a bigger shop? Deed restrictions?Pardon my spelling,
Mike
Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.
Mike,
The restrictions on shed size are imposed by the ladywife, who is not inclined to give up any of her very fine garden to an expanded shed. The current shed (10ft X 17ft) is quite large compared to the one it replaced (8ft X 12ft).
In some ways a smaller space works well, as you don't have to walk around 3 acres (like them US shops are) with your bits of wood. It's also easier and cheaper to heat. It imposes a certain discipline - a place for everything and everything in its place.
That drum sander may have to go, though. Or I may find some way to take it off the dolly and hide it in dead space, when its not in use. (It's the dolly that gets in the way). I do have half of the machines on mobile bases but its a fadd (albeit a small one) having to rearrange things for a planing or a router table session.
The driveway outside also offers space for an outdoor "workshop" so a 1/4 sheet of ply locked in a workmate provides a place to do things outwith the shed - not in all weathers however.
Compromise, compromise; we must wiggle to fit.
Lataxe, a contortionist.
Sir,well, you have finally managed to flummox me with a word that I have never heard or seen before, and cannot find online in any reference source.What the heck is a "fadd"? The nearest that I can find is that it is an acronym for "Fas-associated Death Domain" which is certainly ominous, and I hope does not apply to your shop."Light the lamp, not the rat! Light the lamp, not the rat!!"
Rizzo the Rat, A Muppet Christmas Carol
Mr Sky,
Fadd - a bluddy nuisance, an unwanted chore, a tedious and tiresome process, a wearisome but unavoidable task. It may well be one o' them Geordie words; or even Lancastrian.
Not to be confused with "fad": a current but short-lived popular fashion in this or that.
Lataxe
AKA in the States as a PITA.Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Lataxe, Wheres the TV?
As I keep up with this thread and look at the pictures of all the wonderful and beautiful shops I have come to one conclusion - well actually several conclusions but this one stands out amongst the rest:
I, apparently, am a slob. Either that or I have got to start doing a better job of dust control. No...I'm a slob.
I spent a fortune on deodorant until I finally realized that people didn't like me anyway.
Chuck, I'm a slob too. My shop was a mess until my girlfriend moved in and started complaining about all the dust in the house and my dirty shop. Now I HAVE to clean it everynight.
Mike
Chuck
Don't worry, I'm a slob, too! Here's some pics of my messy shop. I was gonna clean it before taking them this morning, but decided to work instead. :>)
Because of my disorganization, one of the photos is of a new wall hanging tool box just under construction. I had to stop construction because of those dang pesky paying customers (ha!), but I'm getting back at it soon. Should be done before 2010.
Also included a few pics of some of my favorite slabs that I milled myself, including 2 huge 20" + wide 6/4 walnut, and the 5" thick, 18" wide slab of cherry under my bench planes. Also, some live edge stuff in there.
The shop is 3 years old now, and still doesn't have walls yet (soon!). Jim (highfigh) says he's coming to help with that (ha ha ha). It's 36' X 45' with 12' ceilings. If I had it to do over again, I would have changed the radiant heat tube on the ceiling to radiant tube heat in the slab. Other than that, I'm quite pleased with it as a workspace to work in every day.
Still to come: Lots of wall cabinets, walls (no insulation to look at), and a hardwood floor under the bench area.
Jeff
Jeff,
Where is the motorbike that you use to travel around that huge acreage? Perhaps you use one of those jetpacks, so you can get to the clouds forming way up in the roof there?
Your shop looks bigger than my house, including its large gardens. Send some of that space here straight away, as I am a bit short. You will then be less tired from all that travelling between your machines, planes, [list truncated by the Taunton server administrator, as we have not got the disc space].
Do you detect a green tinge to this post? :-)
Lataxe the envious
Master Lataxe:
Sheesh! I've got 10 foot-itis (or is that 3 meter-itis), and am thinking about adding on a bay (9 feet by 36 feet) for a finishing room and, get this, dust-free office. Now, maybe if I could just clean up a bit.
Actually, come to think of it, I'd love to just have the time to put some dang walls up. I like what you did to the place!
Jeff
Heh he he , Lud- Jeff doesn't need a motorbike-he uses a helicopter-see the landing pad there on top of that ugly surfacer?
Actually, that is what I call a Genuine Surfacer of Magnificent Proportions. A bench mark machine. A permanent fixture. Something to really get results with.
At this stage I don't know if I am a swarf maker or a dust maker so not sure if pictures are forthcoming.Philip Marcou
Philip, I have admired the work that you have displayed here at knots. I would love to see a pic or two of your shop. If your shop is anything like your work I am sure it is magnificent.
Shame on you for using a shop vac to collect the dust from your Festool's. You should be reported to the "Festool Police" !In fact, I can't believe those dam things can work with such an inferior sucking device.J.P.http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
JP
Ha! Check that picture again. I only use the shop vac to sweep up. Underneath the Festool systainers is the CT-33 vac. Pretty darn nice vac, even if I did pay too much.
How dare you accuse me of such sacrilidge!
Cheers,
Jeff
Ok, upon further examination I now see my error. However, shouldn't the approved vacuum basically eliminate dust on the floor?What gives?Are you letting the dust from other tools contaminate the sanctity of the Festool environ? OH The Horror!Yes, I believe the only cure now is a wee dram of the 25 year old Macallan. Possibly three.I certainly hope by the morning you have come to your senses, or at least obliterated any memory of this thread.J.P.http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
Edited 1/19/2007 7:40 pm ET by JP
JP
Ah, yes, the Macallan. Well, my dad just turned 68, and we'll be celebrating Sunday while the Bears are beating the Saints! We'll be diving into that bottle quite well, thank you.
Those darn bags for the festool vac are too damned expensive to be filling up every day with the sawdust and shavings that hit the floor in my shop. I fill up the shop vac, dump it into the burn pile, and start over.
All memories of this thread will be erased, as I'm heading to a party in about 20 minutes. It's the kind where they serve (shhhhhh!) alcohol.
Ha
Jeff
OK Jeff, now you've done it. I was planning to post some pics but I would be downright ashamed after seeing your place. Very nice. By the way, do the Lie-Neilsen people stop by in a truck at your place weekly like the snap-on guy? Ha Ha!
Lee
Lee
Come on! We wanna see the pics. Let's go! I'll be taunting you everyday until I see em'!
All smiles,
Jeff
Jeff,
Tell you what. If the thread is still going in the next week (and I'm sure it will be) I'll post some pics. Right now those pesky customers have my shop full of about 35 or so kitchen cabinets. Can't fart without having to move a cabinet out of the way. But I can post a nice picture, the view of my back "yard" from the shop.
Lee
Lee,
That is a gorgeous view. It's snowing here in Chicagoland, and mother nature is whoopin' up some real nice Bear weather for the football game today. Here are some pics of the outside of my shop, and my view out from it. Also, I included a picture of my woodshed where I stall all my freshly milled logs. It was an old horse stable, and absolutely reaked badly of horse urine/manure! I gutted it, dug out 2 feet of the soil inside, and replaced it with gravel and a concrete floor. The two swinging doors are just wide and tall enough for me to get in there with my bobcat with forks on to pull stacks down.
Go BEARS!!!
BTW, any fish in that pond out back at your place? I've got a small pond, but only guppies in there! Ha! My son the hockey player would love to have a pond that size. I think the entire team would be at my house every night, then.
Jeff
Hey Jeff,
Go Bears, eh?
As the locals would say " ah, yeah, dere's fish in dat dere pond". The spot the pond is in is at the base of 3 hills on my property, and the ground stayed wet and soggy year around, so it was a natural decision to dig it. I actually gained a bit of useable land thanks to all the excess dirt that came out. Anyhow, I put 600 4-6 inch catfish fingerlings in, 400 perch and 50 widemouth bass.The perch and bass were about the size of a quarter. The perch are a bit small right now(I think the catfish are doing a number on them) and the bass are about a pound or so, but the catfish are running 4 1/2 to 5 pounds each. They go through 150# of feed a week if I let them. I can usually have fish on the table 35 minutes after I pull the last one out.
BTW, very nice shop. Looks first class. Your wood barn looks larger than my first shop. I can only imagine what you have stashed in there! Maybe we could trade-wood for catfish! Ha Ha
Lee
Whoops!! I'm an idiot, forgot the photo's. Here they are.
Jeff
Jeff,
I like the look of your workshop. I was wondering about the two copula's size and use? Are they fuctional? How do you adjust them if Winter is harsh?
Thanks,
Bill
Bill
The copulas are designed to allow heat to escape from the "attic" space, between the insulated ceiling and the roofing panels, which are metal. Before building the shop, I talked to as many people as I could who owned this style building. They all gave the same advice, some sorry that they hadn't done it themselves. Not only is it important to insulate the interior ceiling, but even more importantly to insulate the underside of the metal roofing panels. If not, at night, when it gets cold, the moisture in the air condenses and freezes on the underside of the metal, and then melts and "rains" the next day inside your shop.
My automotive mechanic had to remove all the insulation from the ceiling in his shop, built from the same material. He said it dripped every morning in the shop for about 2 hours.
The copula's are all 5' tall with a 42" X 42" footprint. They are created with vented panels so the heat can get out, but the rain can't get in.
Hope this helps.
Jeff
Hit 100 plus post! Not bad and we don't seam to have an argument anywhere in sight!
Doug Meyer
Refreshing, isn't it.
Jeff
Yes it is but I get the urge to argue with someone about somethign just because! :)
Doug Meyer
Arguments are just down the hall, last door on the left. That'll be $.50 each. Member Monty Python?
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I want to just say what a terrific and fun thread this has been. I hope it keeps going, because one of things I haven't taken the time to do in the last 3 years is really get my shop organized better. I have picked up some great ideas from so many of the pictures. My favorite of all is the ledger boards run around the perimeter of Garry's shop with french cleats, where different shelves, cabinets, etc... can be easily moved from area to area around the shop. Let's keep this thread going, and get more pictures posted, and maybe after a year or so, all our shops will incorporate the best things that we all learned from each other.
Jeff
Hey Jeff, This is what I was trying to achieve when I Started this, I just wanted ideas to reset the shop. I recently had my shop up for sale becouse I was going to locate the shop at home. (had the deal done and contracts signed) I had to back out becouse alot of work was coming in and we just couldn't have any down time. Now that I have decided not to move I am chomping at the bit to make some changes. Too many years have gone by without change.
Lets keep this going, Lou
Here are a few shots of mine..
I favour handtools, but do use a 14" bandsaw (with 6" riser kit and a new 1.5 HP motor) and floor standing drill press a fair bit, a 12" sliding tablesaw less so, and a router table hardly at all. A new addition is a 12 1/2" thicknesser-planer.
My workshop centres around the Karri and Jarrah bench. Here is a new benchdog (came to live with us just one week ago).
View Image
Behind little Aura (my 14 year old son named her!) is my saw tree complete with backsaws.
View Image
Above this is storage for handplanes and chisels (an older picture). I have a few ..
View Image
I find it amazing how many tools and how much mess ones makes to build a simple box:
View Image
And another view
View Image
Regards from Perth
Derek
Edited 1/23/2007 8:06 am ET by derekcohen
many of these shops are too clean and organized. I think each person should include one picture of a recent work as well. that way we know some time is going into building something vs making the perfect shop :)
I'm jealous of the size of many of these collections. i'm jammed into a 12x18 basement w/ low ceilings that i'm slowly overstuffing w/ tools.
this is a great thread.
Good point where is the mess? Do you all have another shop that you build things in? I don't think my shop looks that clean after I spend a day or so cleaning it.
That being said I do have a an ok amount of space being about 12 x24 and the one thing I do have going for me is that I have a very tall ceiling starting at about 8'6 and going to about 17'.
Doug Meyer
Morning BWW...
I currently have a country kitchen table in progress along with 4 chairs I made from taking pallets apart from my part time work. The table-top is sized and awaits in the wood-rack room (1/2 basement) behind the shop as there is no room left at the moment till these are finished.
Immediately behind is a full bed-room suite for my wife who has patiently awaited teens to be gone so we can replace the "opps.. boom-bang-crash... sorry mom" furniture she has patiently endured over the years. So.. my shop will be maxed for at least 3 years.
But.. even then at the end of day when the lights go out, every tool.. machine.. floor.. etc. will be as it was when the sun arose. That's just the way I prefer to work. I see no reason personally to have to waste my time looking for something that had a pre-designated place before I used it to be anywhere but in that pre-designated place at days end.
So.... being tidy doesn't always translate to "just for show". You take the pics just after the shop is completed as it will never be quite then same but with a minimum effort, it can be very close IMO. But it helps to have the extra space behind the shop that keeps clutter from over-whelming you. Secret pic of secret hidden space attached. The rack is filled on a as-needed basis as my supplier is within 15 minutes. ha.. ha...
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
Edited 1/23/2007 11:20 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
How do you like those Jorgensen clamps? That is the only brand I own, and I was wondering if the Bessy clamps were better. I don't really like the ones I have, they don't seem as if I can get them tight enough. They are little heavy, and hard to handle by yourself.
Morning Miller..
I was fortunate that my company agreed to purchase 10 (4-48".. 6 30") for me for a project on a 100' show-room counter several years ago along with another $1 K in goodies (Bosch barrel grip jig-saw, etc.).
I love the Jorgy's... I suppose I can't relate to why they seem to not be able to get tight enough for you as I feel they can deliver a "death grip" similar to a croc jaw. ha.. ha...
I don't personally care for the Bessey. The Jorgy has a foot at one end that allows a one man operation and sits flat on my assembly tables. I have built about 18 work-benches for myself and friends over the course of 35 years and I wish the Jorgy's had been around on all those applications. I use them as the base clamps on large table-tops.. etc. and use an equal amount of standard pipe clamps on top. In other words my theory is spare the clamps and spoil the project.
There has been a "rave" about the new Jet clamps.. Look good on paper to me but I feel they are over-priced at the moment at least. If and when they come down in price I may take one home for a test ride, but for the time being I will "dance with the one that brung me" and that be Jorgy!. :>)
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
I appreciate your reply. I over tighten one of mine once, and it hasn't been right ever since. I didn't cheat or anything, I just hand tightened it. That is what had me wondering about the quality.
Evening Miller..
You're quite welcome, sir..
You could have just got a "lemon" as happens with any manufacturer on occassion. I have seen cars, machines, etc., etc. that just was not right that came off the same assembly line and should have been basically idenical. And in a few cases, nobody has pin-pointed exactly how the defect or problem occured. I chalk it up to "one of life's mysteries" and just keep on trucking as it "just happens"? ha.. ha...
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
Sarge,
Since you like your Twin Screw Veritas Vise, here's a picture of how I installed one on a workbench I built.
Bill
Hi Bill ,
Wow ! what a beautiful workbench , you don't actually let any tools touch it do you ?
just kiddin , a real thing of beauty
dusty
Morning Bill..
First to echo old (experienced) Dusty.. Nice bench there.. !
I put the front vise at the opposite end so I can use a "tail-hook" in the twin to anchor long stock on edge I edge joint with a hand plane to get a final mating "kiss" before glue-up. I can vision ways to use it the way you set it up also. I think it all boils to your style and the way you approach things. That's why building your own bench is important to me, you don't have to compromise with what a designer see's as right for you.
I might add on the subject that the twin screw end mounted adds another plus. If you have custom built you bench to fit a certain space to keep from "cramping", the twin can add another foot length to your bench when fully open. Couple that with 15" no-rack clamp space in between those screws and you have a rather "dynamic duo".
And if you happen to line your work-bench in front of your TS.. along with the assembly table in that same line-up next to the work-bench.. and you made them both the same height as the TS.. one might be able to support 16' stock for ripping in a one man operation on that TS by opening "ye olde garage door" and placing Rigid flip-top stands on the out-bound end in "ye olde drive-way".
Not that this ole country boy is clever enough to think of that and has done it successfully, but I would be willing to bet my life savings that it would work! ha.. ha...
So... again the twin screws can be very versatile in your needs if you let your imagination run wild a bit...
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
Bill,
Your Veritas vise configuration greatly interests me as you effectively have those two shoulder vices, one at each end of the vice, outside the screws. I would like to amend mine (the face rather than the tail vise) to achieve something similar.
May I ask, can you keep those capacious outer edges parallel alright when you do mount a worpiece in one outer jaw end? I presume you can decouple the chain drive and force parallelism if you need to (but do you even need to)?
Thanks in anticipation.
Lataxe
Sarge , nice looking projects in the works , sounds like you have have plenty of job security .
Here is a few more views from different angles .
dusty
Morning Dusty...
From the looks of some of that machinery.. ya been collecting for quite some time. Nice to see some older machinery hanging around still gettin' the job done efficiently in our modern scheme of how the world evolves.
Let me retract the statement of "older machinery".. Shall we saw "more experienced machinery" that still meets modern demands. ha.. ha...
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
After learning and growing up on and having some old iron type tools I am having a difficult time grasping the import mindset .
It may not be relevant but , after 30 , 40 or more years will the import models still be in service ? Heck , will we be in service ?
Those are some reliable machines , they are there everyday and never late .
dusty
I agree with you about the old machinery, but find it difficult to find anyone that is willing to depart with it. Why would you? If I had some of those older machines, I wouldn't even consider it for sale but rather pass it to my own clan.
So... whether we see the new wave of machines as not as good or not, they are what most are going to have to deal with regardless. Between a rock and hard place sums up the current situation for the most part and leaves little choice but to play the cards you get dealt to the best they can be played. The trick IMO is to attain the knowledge of when to "hold" and when to "fold" and when to just plain "run". ha.. ha...
Got to get to work on those old muscle cars.. old iron in their own right and if you want one.. you're gonna pay big bucks these days!
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
Hey dusty,
Are you missing a second hold down nut on that shaper? Nice cabinet work.
Paul
Hi Paul ,
No missing or second hold down nut is used . I have never seen a second nut on any like machines . I currently run five shapers and have not had problems of a loose nature ever . Have you seen two holdown nuts on one spindle ? With some tall cutters you can run out of threads . Or are you referring to the collar knives ? Don't let those scare you .
thanks for the kind words
dusty
Hi Dusty,
Good to hear you haven't had any problems. I'm using 3 shapers 2 of which are grizzleys. They both came with 2 hold down nuts that the manufacturer insists you use. Ah. Just thought of something. Maybe one nut works if it's a clockwise thread with a counter- clockwise spindle rotation With 2 nuts needed if you reverse the spindle to a clockwise rotation. Anyway..... I'm glad it's staying put
Paul
Cole,some manufacturers get paranoid with the DIY market-hence the nonsense about two nuts.
What is important is that there should be that heavy duty washer with tab on the inside to engage with the groove in the shaft. It ensures that should the collar or block turn on the shaft it cannot also turn the nut- especially when in reverse rotation.Philip Marcou
Good evening Phillip ,
Just wanted to tell you , I too saw those 3 new planes on the bench in your shop pictures awaiting completion and such . Can't really explain but the sight evoked my spirit to want to hand make shavings again .
The sight of them was a thing of beauty , your products are superior to any I have personally used , by the looks of them and from what I have heard from those who have used them. I only hope I may someday own one or two .
thanks for sharing
dusty
Dusty,
"I only hope I may someday own one or two".
Why wait, old chap? After all, time passes at an ever-accelerating pace and soon we will be mouldering in the sod. Gather the mickles and muckles together now, send them to young Philip and enjoy yhe Wonderous Things he will send in return.
Lataxe, an unashamed Marcou fetishist.
Hiya Lataxe ,
You certainly are correct about the fast pace that time passes , it seems each year goes faster than the year before .
I think your recommendation of not waiting is good advice .
thanks
off to the salt mine , maybe a good day and I'll earn enough to buy one of Phillips beauties .
dusty
Hi Dusty,
Pardon me for intruding on your & Lataxe's post, but I received an email from Wiktor Kuc today, he will be handling Phillips sales in the US. There will be a price increase coming up shortly and he wanted to let me know of it. If a deposit is placed before Feb 15th, you can lock in the old prices, with the balance having to be paid before March 1st. Which is what I am trying to do. Just wanted to let you know, if you are thinking of a purchase, it would be best not to wait too long.
Lee, (hopefully) soon to be the owner of one of Phillip's beauties.
Lee , Thank you for the info and the heads up , I need to contact Phillip , I have no idea what to expect for price . Quality tools pay for themselves , eventually .
I better sit down
thanks again dusty
Dusty,
I can forward Wiktor's email to you if you would like, it lists all the planes with current prices and the price after the increase (pretty substantial increase, btw)
My email is [email protected], if you want, drop me a line and I can forward the email to you.
Lee
Hi Philip,
My grizzleys don't have a grooved spindle or a washer with a tab. I guess thats why they use 2 nuts. Maybe. Thanks for your interest.
Paul
Hi Derek,
Nice selection of hand tools, Nice Porche too. What year is it? '54, '55
Learn something new every day and enjoy woodworkng, Paul
Thanks. The Porsche 356A is a '57. Ex-Sacramento. It is my moving restoration inbetween woodwork. It goesquite well, but I am still doing up the body and interior.
Regards from Perth
Derek
A friend of mine in High School had a '52 which he completely restored. A year or so later he grew tired of it and sold it for $ 1,800.00. OUCH! Hang on to yours. Way cool.
Paul
Is that Porsche a 58?
Close. It is a late '57.
Regards from Perth
Derek
You should feel better knowing that you are not the only slob out there. I am a slob as well. We should start a support group.
Some very nicely organized shops. I am in the last stage (workbench const) of re-organizing mine and already want to build a post/beam shop sometime in the future using logs I plan to salvage from a barn on our family. I built the cut off station benches similar to the plywood bench featured in FWW, but I changed the design to delete the front legs so i can store lumber below without having to fish it between legs (been there).
Just thought I would share a smaller shop (345sq ft)
Morning Brad...
345 sq. ft. is about 3 times the size of my first little shop in 1972. Where there's a will, there's a way..
BTW.. you got a lot of un-used space on that wall in the 2nd picture. So........... ha.. ha...
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
yup, some un-used space. Fits the 36"x72" bench I am working on. I bet you managed to fit everything in your earlier smaller shop too.
You have any pics of your 100sq ft shop? Seems every night I build some darn jig and need another spot to fit it. Can't imagine how to fit all the little items in the shop.
I don't Brad.. as that was in 1972-74 before I knew what a camera was. I can tell you that my TS at the time was a Shopmate circular (circa 1950's) mounted to the bottom of a 2' x 4' piece of ply and supported by portable saw-horses when I needed it. I kept hand and hand held power tools underneath the work-bench that was located with one side to a wall. The bench was 2 x 4's that had metal threaded rods running through holes drilled in them and nutted down.
I had to move things outside to the drive-way just to move around when I was in there. I didn't have any jigs at the time, but I still managed get some things built. Where there's a will, there's a way.
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
HI,
Nice start, do you have some more pics of the macinists chest? and is it actually usefull. I love them but am struggling to work out where to put one. (probably inside storing the family history)
dave
Here are a couple more pics of that chest. Nothing special, i know Sarge could fit more drawers and items in it (ha!ha!). I actually bought it at costco. I couldn't buy the materials for what it cost and I thought it would store all my misc tools. Having mixed feelings about it now, but its all learning.
As an aside, I actually think it is kind of sad that we harvest the wood in Canada, put in on a barge, ship off to china for them build and I cannot even buy the commercially available materials to build it for what the store can sell it for.
Thanks,
That explains all the warning stickers.
I have recently seen furintiure in one of our department stores made from solid Mountain Ash in Malaysia retailing for about what I might pay for the materials. They seemed well enogh made, but I agree about the philosophy.
On the machinists chest on top, did they fixe/hinge the front cover or does it fully remove?
Dave
Lou,
I only watch the TV in my head (its uncensored and I like all the programmes).
BBC Radio 3 is my normal shed entertainment. They play all varieties of classical and some jazz. They play the whole thing (no silly 3 minute bits) then have fascinating interviews with artists, composers, conductors and so forth. Many of them are insane and therefore wonderful to listen to.
One even learns to enjoy that music of the violin-murdering, piano-beating and atonal-honking kinds.
Of course, I am able to leave the large yellow earmuffs off more now, what with planin' and chisellin' instead of so much sanding or other motorised processing of the wood. I am therefore enjoying even more of their weird music.
Lataxe
Well here is my mini basement shop. Ive taken over the entire basement of my 1730 house. All my machines are at the same height so there is no interferance and to save space. This is a tight shop to work in but soon Im going to move some things into the back room and move my wood to the garage.
http://mysite.verizon.net/jasontowne/id1.html
Wowza!
Wowza not alot of room for me to gain weight is the only good thing about my tight shop
holy crap....talk about using every inch of avilable space....
Hey Lu,
I'm "Zoning" space inside my shop so I can use some unused space...LOL..
It helps to make the shop feel like a shop. I found these at the local flea market for about $5 each. Two of them have Patent dates of 1893...
Using the unused space on the upper walls and ceiling, I used mirror clips to hold the saw to the angled ceiling and a half moon of Walnut with a shallow rabbet to hold the saw tip.
Bill
O- No, Its you again!!!! I hope your saws fall down LOL
-Lou
Here's mine. I moved into my house four years ago and turned a downstairs familyroom into my shop. It covers over half the basement and I still have room to expand it as the need arises. On the other side lays my collection of old tools I've collected over the years.
Wow ! very cool old tool collections, do you use any of those in your works ?
dusty
Thanks oldusty! I use the ones that are in my tool cabinet. There's about 10-15 old Stanley planes in there and about 50 antique tools total that I pull out on a regular basis and put to work. I also have a match set of hollows and rounds along with other various molding planes I have sitting on a shelf right by the cabinet. The tools I have on the white bookcases are for collecting purposes until the day I get tired of looking at it and put them on eBay.
Mike
Hi Mike ,
I keep picturing all your old tools and wanted to show you part of my collection of old junk that my wife has displayed in the house ( can you believe that ) don't bring no dust in , but the tools are o.k.
dusty
very nice dusty. Is that an early style Stanley 45 I see?
Mike , Good eye , it is only partially there , like only one half , there are no outriggers or any other attachments , I can't find a model # .
dusty
I was limited to 600 sq. ft. floor & lofts. I also wanted to be able to keep furniture out of the way. I went with shed dormers and two lofts easily accessible from atop a table in the center of the shop. I used old sash for the windows, 20 altogether for lots of daylight. The windows in the sliding doors line up with the windows to either side when the doors are open. Workinng out well but still a work in progress.
Hi all,
My shop is 20 by 30, two story, with storage upstairs. Heated with a Vermont Castings gas fireplace. It is 100 feet from my house and where I make my living.
Dan
Now that is a shop to incite passions in a woodworker . . . and I'm not referring to the nude statue! What a wonderful building and shop.
That shop looks cozy and warm. I like the light from the windows. I have seen Gary's (one of 1st posters) and he has a large and well lit shop.
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
We garage dwellers station or mobilize our dust-makers to get them near the outer door to help with dust control.
We organize to maximize our little space we are fortunate to have as we realize others may have much more, but some have even less. In my case, it's heated, well lit even though not enough natural and located where it can be used all year with the heater only getting the call about 2 months of the year.
I dream of a converted barn, century old warehouse, a building with wooden floors, over-head beams and walls.. cobble-stone or old brick by a lake, stream or bay, natural light windows and of course a big pot bellied stove over in the corner... but I wake up to find only my little shop in the garage just as I left it the night before.
The reality in my case is, it's mortgage free and regardless of it's small statue... it's mine and I have a place to work with my hands and my mind with the pleasant smell of wood all around me . For that I consider myself fortunate and truly grateful!
SARGE.. jt
Edited 1/19/2007 2:27 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
Edited 1/19/2007 2:30 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
Sarge,
Can you come and help me clean my shop! It looks like you applied the finish to the machines instead of the wood.
Very neat shop.
Joe P
Evening joepez...
I like to paint (?) along with work with wood. I built pretty much all my base cabinets and they got 3 coats of porch and floor gloss. I found dust is easier to blow off with a leaf blower when they have a slick surface. At the end of day, I jiust open the two outer doors and start in the rear of the shop with an electric leaf blower. Takes about two minutes to take care of business. ha.. ha...
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
That is a very, very, nice shop!
Thank you miller. It's just what I got to work with. I would love to have a 30' x 60' with a separate building for finishing. But the reality is "I don't". ha.. ha...
There are others that have much less and I started there 35 years ago. As I stated.. just grateful to have what I have.
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
Hey SARGE,
Is that a Veritas Twin Screw on the end of your bench?
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Afternoon Bob...
A Veritas twin screw it is! I find it to be very versatile in the fact that you have a lot of clamping room between the screws. And the fact that end mounted it can be used in conjunction with the front face vise by putting a home-made tail-hook that sticks out of the front face vise side.
I clamp two pieces of soick in the front vise and run them along tables edge to the tail-hook (2 x 4 with a dado for the trailing end of stock to sit flatly on and the outside edge of the dado traps the stock to hold it tightly against table. Adjustment for different widths is made by moving the dado in or out and clamping it tight against the trailing edge) for support when edge jointing with a hand plane for a final "butt kiss" before glue up. And I'll be doing just that today for the top of my kitchen table in progress. Lots of interesting possibilities is presented with that twin IMO.
Regard...
SARGE.. jt
Edited 1/20/2007 1:26 pm ET by SARGEgrinder47
Sarge
It sounds like you are very happy with the Veritas twin vise. I've been considering either building a new bench, (I need a 2nd one) and was wondering how well it resists racking. The vise I have right now is a piece of crap. I have to put a like thickness board in one end of it to keep it from racking every time I use it. I'm getting tired of searching for the proper sized "T" for the job every time. Thanks for your input.
Jeff
Afternoon Jeff...
The vise won't rack if the stock is located between center screws. Well.. if it rack any there, I can't see it with a naked eye. If you position off center, use the end outside the screw (and that's when my front vise gets the call) or place angled stock in it, it will rack to a certain degree. I keep a few thinly wedged pieces of cedar on hand (bought in a bundle at HD) to compensate.
I think any vise will have a tendency to rack a degree or two when you position off center. I have not seen the perfect one yet for wood. Now a heavy machine vise with large screws and high tolerances is another story.
All said, I love the flexibility of the twin. Is is absolutely perfect? Back to rule (1) Nothing is absolutely perfect. At least nothing I have ever been able to afford is! ha.. ha...
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
Thank you, sir!
I'm still in search of a vise that won't rack, that I can use to hold boards for dovetailing, etc..... standing vertically before me. Mine is so brutally awful!
I wonder if one of those older Record 52 1/2, 53 1/2, etc...(whatever their name is) with a nice wide set of wooden jaws added does any better. Maybe that would be a good new thread.
Jeff
Jeff,
I have two Veritas twin screw on my newly-made bench and find them purrfeck, as Sarge mentions.
When the workpiece is between the two screws you have some 15 - 16 inches width to fit it (more is possible if you want to use a longer chain and their longer chain cover). This is sufficient room for all but the widest pieces.
Holding work between the screws means there is no side-to-side racking possible (unless you deliberately disengage the chain drive, which you can do to allow unevenly shaped pieces to be better-gripped).
There is a very small amount of top-to-bottom racking, because of the weight of the outer vise jaw; but this is obviated by planing the inside of the outside jaw-face so that the bottom of the jaw is around 1/16th inch less thick than the top. (The procedure is described in the Veritas instruction booklet). The top of the jaws then always meet at the same time as the bottom, as the inner jaw faces are parallel despite the very small "droop" of the heavy outer jaw as it hangs on the screws.
***
I also hold work on one edge of the vise, outside one screw. As Sarge notes, it will rack a very small amount when screwed down hard. However, if you disengage the chain drive you can rack the vice the other way (by up to 1 revolution of the farthest-away screw) to take out the effect of any such rack.
Frankly, the amount of such racking is so small that I never need to compensate. Having leather-lined false jaws helps, as the grip-for-a-given-closing-force is greatly improved over that of bare wood jaws.
***
To all intents and purposes, then, the twin screw vise is easily made to operate so that the whole area of its jaws come together at once. Any slight racking tendencies of the kind mentioned above can be compensated for with the inbuilt chain-disengagement control, without spacers, wedges or other bits.
The only thing missing is a quick release (not really possible on this vise design, I imagine) so the vise must always be screwed open and shut by turning those long, long threads. The screws give around 10 - 12 inches of maximum opening, once the jaws have been fitted; so you can be screwing quite a bit, with large pieces.
Get one (or two); you won't regret it - as long as you fit it per instructions.
Lataxe
Thanks for all the good information on the twin screw vise. It sounds to me like the way to go after your thorough explanation. I didn't know there was that much room between the screws. It'll be apart of my plan for my next bench.
Jeff
Dear Sir Froe, I bought two twins , one for the expediant bench currently in hand and one for future bench which will be a beast with three sled bases all from my two old hickory trees. The current work I am trying to finish up on my next trip to the new digs in March. It is a factory maple top 2 1/4 x 29 x 60" currently sitting on a wheeled version of Rockler's bench frames improved with my flat bar cross members punched with a Whitney to bolt up with Nylock nuts all around.
The vises are a Record 53 on the front mortised flush into the edge and the wide twin at the end, I have acquired very clear cherry (10 percent moisture content as I left them in mid Dec.) that dressed out to 2 1/8 x 9 1/2 for the bench end face and 10 1/2 for the moving face x 31" to be dressed flush to bench width with champhered edges (1/8").
The questions that I have for you and Sarge(and any other helpful souls) focus on the face sizes . Thick enough? Tall enough? Should both be equal height(9 1/2 in this case)? Look for a better wood species? I will shim the final planner pass to provide a 2 degree(enough?) pitch to the face to insure a tight face to face closure. I will try to figure your 1/16 offset on my final height and it would be a joy to see a pic of your faces with the leather, what type and finish of leather, what adhesive?
The future bench will be another wide twin with a Emmert pattern makers clone at the front after we drop 4 trees, two old growth hickorys and two old growth black walnuts and sufficent time to dry unless I find a good (read economical) kiln. All the best, Paddy.
BTW, did a fine 5 lb. corned beef on Sat. and it was yummy. Took the leavings today to some much older mates at the billiard emporium (who have no frau and live alone) for a heat it up in the microwave lunch and a good time was had by all. I did however reserve 5 nice slices, two cups of taters and carrots and a 1/4 piece of cabbage for breakfast on the morrow, Bubble and sqeek, just dice up the cabbage and taters into a fry pan with a 1/4 stick of sweet butter, crisp it up, flip it over, put the meat pieces on top to warm with a plate or small pot cover on top till the bottom crisps up, All it needs is a few fine twists of black pepper and a good cup of Asam tea. Joy to the world. pfh
Hi all- I've enjoyed seeing the variety of spaces we choose to spend the hours. Here's my shop, such as it is.
What it lacks in space it more than makes up for in crampedness.I never realized how small it looked until I brought out the camera.
Is that a homemade cyclone, or did you buy it complete? Looks like the blower from one of the smaller commercial blowers on top, but I'd guess you made the cyclone?
That looks about like what I'd like to have at some point.
Don
Hey Don-Nice call- The cyclone is a shop project- I built it using a plan from Wood Magazine and the motor is from Penn State.I had never worked with sheet metal before but decided to give it a try. The plan was bullet proof and really fun to make. My shop is 24x24 and I have 6" duct running across the span and 4" tapers to each machine. It has no problem drawing all dust/chips from the table saw, planer, jointer and drum sander (one at a time of course)You can get the plan from and old issue or buy the plan. If you choose to go down this road- I suggest buying the plan because I read somewhere that several modifications were added after the mag was published.regards,
dave
Paddy,
I can tell you what I did with my Veritas twin vises but you have to understand that I'm no expert on the things. Here is what I did and the reasons why:
The jaws are 2.25 ins thick on the face vise and 2.5 ins thick on the tail vise - plenty of meat for both the screw-holding flanges to be mounted into and also to distribute squishing forces so the jaws themselves don't distort when tightened on a workpiece.
One set of jaws (on the tail vise) is 7ins deep, which is the minimum needed to mount the vise hardware properly and allow the screws to clear the 2.75 ins thick worktop.
The other set of jaws (on the face vise) are 10 ins deep. The outer is a single piece whilst the inner is a 7.25 ins piece screwed to the underside of the 2.75 ins thick bench-edge (making 10 ins in all, to match the outer jaw). This vise thus has its inner jaw face flush with the bench edge.
I am planing to recut the jaws of the face vise, to make them less deep (10 inches deep is redundant really) and to put a T-shape on the top of the outer jaw. The T-shape will provide extended gripping against the bench edge, on the outside of the screws - like having two shoulder vises.
****
Three of the four jaws are made with laminated (top to bottom) pieces of hard maple, each piece having straight grain. The 4th jaw is a single piece that has straight grain throughout. (It must have been a gigantic tree). This hopefully means that humidity changes will not see any significant cupping or other distortion in the jaws.
Hard (rock or sugar) maple was used for its resilience. I suspect cherry will be less resilient, unless you have old growth, close-ringed heartwood.
The Lee Valley instructions recommend, as I remember, tapering the outer-jaw inside-face of the vise by planing with a 3/32nds shim under the bottom edge. I hung mine first and measured the top-to-bottom racking. It is 1/16 on the face vise (probably because it is heavier) and near zero on the tail vice. In time, as the screws bed in and wear, these values might increase, I suppose. It is not too irksome to dismantle the vise in order to replane that face with a bit more taper, should this become necessary.
LV recommend that the inner vise faces are not permanently attached (eg glued) to the bench. This makes sense, as any jaws that are damaged or which warp can then easily be replaced.
I made some false jaw faces of 3/4 flooring-chipboard faced with 3/32nd thick leather on the gripping sides. I used the flooring-chipboard because it has very high resistance to squish - it is really difficult to dent the stuff. The maple of the jaw vises indents much more easily than does this chipboard. (Perhaps chipboard laminated into 2 ins thick pieces might make the best "proper" vise jaws)?
On the other hand, I faced these false jaws with leather, which WILL indent around a workpiece in the jaws. This provides better grip for a given squishing force and the leather returns to normal afterwards. The leather is 3/32nds thick hide, with one suede face and one smooth face. The suede face is wetted first then white PVA glue spread. Andy Rae answered my query in Knots about how to use leather on vise jaws - he gives full details of the sticking-on process.
At present the jaws just hang over the screw threads. I did make a pair with magnetic attachments but then scrapped the idea as I didn't want to put anything into the face of the jaws, in case it transferred a mark to the workpiece when the vise is used without the false jaws. In practice, the loose jaws stay lined up and are easier to put in and take out.
I stuck the leather to false faces rather than to the vise jaws themselves because I envision using other types of false faces for other purposes - eg to hold various diameters of post & rung chair parts or curved pieces. I will eventually have false jaws for every significantly different holding task. However, I think I may stick leather directly to the faces of the tail vise, as it is the face vice that will be used for holding the various shaped workpieces.
Well, I have rambled too much now so I'll stop. One last point though - follow the LV installation instructions to the letter and you will have no bother. Otherwise, rumour has it that you will have a great deal of bother.
I'll take some pics and send in another post in a day or so.
Lataxe
Much thanks Sir, you stired my grey matter to realize that while I always used inserts to suit the task on my 4x7 Wilton on a utility bench, why would I not even have a flicker of thought for using them on the big vise, DUH? I now know what to do with that (just a little bit too short) third slab of cherry.
I have reviewed Brother Lee's admonition and will take heed. I plan to lag bolt the inner face to the bench end and plug the holes as I have trimmed off pieces of that plank from which to cut matching plugs. I look forward to seeing the pics. No hurry, I have till March. All the best, Paddy
Paddy,
A few pics as promised:
The leather was a "half a hide" from a goat. It is 3/32nds thick and a light fawn. It cost £25 ($50) and there is enough left to do at least the jaws of the tail vise as well, in due course. The false jaws are crude but effective. They just hang over the screws and protection pins.
As you can see, the leather does not compress a lot when gripping a workpiece but adds sufficient grab so that less pressure is needed than is the case when gripping with only the plain wooden jaws. The workpiece no longer slips. The leather-lined false jaws also preserve the wood of the jaw faces from getting dinged or otherwise marked by a workpiece.
The face-vise jaws are too deep at present and I intend to cut them down to the same depth as the tail-vise jaws. (Don't know why I made them so big really). At the same time I will replace the top edge of the face-vise outer jaw with a longer piece the same depth as the benchtop thickness, which will extend to the bench-end on the left and for around 6 inches on the right. This will provide a couple of small shoulder vices, in effect.
I would recommend one of the Veritas twin screw vises as a face-vise, rather than using a Record or other single screw design. The lack of racking is worth it.
Lataxe
Sir Lataxe. thanks for taking the time to do the pics. Stunning faces. massive even. A picture is surely worth more than a thousand words.
Did you do the concave support runners under the bench to help the vise screws when extended?
I will stay with the Record for the moment as I have already let it into the bench edge but will latter in the year play with the pattern maker on a utility bench before commiting it to the future bench. If I can not find one of those dandy looking York end dogs I will do two 3/4" dog holes on the edges. It's really weird as I saw another York style piece of hardware about 3 months ago in a pic of an old antique bench, maby it was an omen? Peace, Paddy
Paddy,
I have no concave supports under the bench top for the screws of the Veritas vise ....yet. If any significant sag or drag develops in the screws with use, I will fit some supports in a trice.
For now, the vise will fully open and close using only the rapid winding handle. There is a bit more drag when the vise is fully open than otherwise; but it is insignificant as yet. I suppose use and wear will see more droop in time - as with other things. :-)
Lataxe
Jeff,
The short answer to racking on the old records is that they do, and that wide false faces would only make the problem worse. (I know this because it is what I have)
Over the last year or so I have started two things that dodge the problem, and I know this is just reinventing the wheel. I think I over-tighten the vice, I rather suspect that if I need both hands to tighten the vice then I probably should think of another holding approach.
I keep a few pieces of clean stock the same thickness as I commonly use to sit in the other end of the vice. If I did this properly, they would have a little 'T' shape so that I could drop them in on the left side of the vice and have both hands fee to position the workinf stock. I also try and use the left side of the vice occaisionally to even out the wear.
My second strategy has been to teach myself to use the bench top more. ie, not use the vice at all. This has bee an absolute revelation in speed and ease of work, and the vice doesn't rack. The clue comes from all of those classic workers who do their dovetails straight down.
Dave
Dave
I have a whole bunch of those little "T's" made out of the various thicknesses of wood, also. That's what I'm hoping to eliminate. Thanks for the input on the Record vise. I think I'll give the twin screw veritas a try.
Jeff
Sarge
Nice shop space. I hope to have one like it someday. Right now, I'm grateful for my limited space in the garage. Everything but the bench is on casters and sits around the perimeter. We still park both cars in the garage, unless I've got a glue up or finish process going. BTW, I was at The Cutting Edge yesterday and drooled on a SC 18" bandsaw--very nice machine. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
Afternoon CT...
Thank you. I moved the cars (p/u trucks and my wife's Cherokee) outside to the drive-way "where they belong". The trade-off became therefore two-fold...........
You have to get her a new vehicle more often and my lovely lady won't allow me to make anything other than for her unless it it for a charitable cause which I used to do a lot of. But... since the "oops-boom-bang-crash teen" is gone, it has been escalated to "for her" as we can finally risk putting a more delicate grade of furniture in our own home.
"Free... free.. free at last"! ha.. ha.. ha..ha..ha..
The trick to getting that garage dedicated is "you gotta find an angle" that will get a hasty approval and then don't waste a second doing it till it reaches the point of no return. Again....... as with anything else in marriage,compromise, deploy rapidly and strike hard before the other side catches on. :>)
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
Fantastic shop, but where is all the dust. I've got dust all over everything even stuck on the walls hanging off the light fixtures etc. What is your secret????? You shop looks like a show room. Wish mine was that neat.
Juglans, Seems like a warm place to work. Nice shop
-Lou
Dear Jug,
Nice setup! A couple of questions:1) Your TS is a PM66 with a newer top? Kinda cool.
2) How do you like that woodmaster sander?
3) Do you like the jointer/planer combo? I didn't recognize the brand.
4) Your bandsaw is so............... big.............John
The table saw is a 1972 PM66, all original. I like the Woodmaster drum sander, but for some reason I go through a lot of expensive paper....something that I am doing wrong maybe? The jointer planer combo is a Mini Max FS 350, I think its an FS35 now. Early 80's. I don't use it as a planer, as I have an 18-inch Rockwell wdge bed style. I bought it and exclusively use it for the jointer, 14-inch capacity. Tables are not quite as long as US jointers, but it does not see to be a problem for me. I have a 1947 Delta/Rockwell/Crescent 20-inch bandsaw and a Walker Turner 16-inch, same vintage. Both great machines.
Dan
Awesome shop.
ok afew pics of a shop i make a living out of
nothing fancy a double car garage, fully insulated with electric heat(4500 watt), afew stationary tools, afew portable away on a job site, materials for home jobs and paying jobs all over the place
but this is reality for me, ok tomorrow i have to rip some door jamb, re size a door, build a shelf unit etc etc
so for an example of an operating functional woodshop this is it, nothing fancy, but it pays the bills
next week i'll be building a kitchen in here
and my hobby? restoring antique planes, hows that for irony
Edited 1/19/2007 5:45 pm ET by steve
Lou, here is my 200 m2 place. It is a walled off place within a big wooden frame building.Wood floor.Mostly old machines rebuilt by me, mostly three phase. Metal working stuff is at far end to lessen the dreaded fine dust-dust extraction is not yet up to speed-left it behind in Zimbabwe. Most of the "cabinets " are adapted from the crates I made to ship all this stuff here. I like stuff at eye level . I am the only body in there so I arranged machines with sufficient space around them, but near enough to each other to utilise table tops as place to put parts being worked on if necessary. Timber is stored on racks-just posts with the wedge mortised horizontals bolted to the walls.The surface grinder stays on the "outside" where I also put my not so good timber-it is a dirty thing and looses more oil than 40 Harley Davidsons.Compressor stays in its own dust filtered cabinet- it is a Hydrovane turbine type.The table with blanket on is actually an assembly table-it has wheels so I can move it where necessary. Workbench is entirely unconventional, knock down, rock steady- I prefer that type of vice and an overhanging top so I can clamp things.
Philip, many thanks for a view of a shop that a man has to make a living in. Some of us are truly amaturs but with no less love for the craft. As an old Machinist Mate off of submarines [MM-1 (SS)] that is a lovely engine lathe.
You are however a dirty dog for not showing a frontal shot of your rack of user planes. Hah.
All the very best, Paddy
Strewth, Philip!
I worked out I could get at least 17 of my shed into your one - plus a few more up in that roof space, probably. Why, the first shot down the length of the place has gone all misty at the end, with the distance (or is it the curvature of the earth)? And is that a medium-sized aeroplane I see off in the corner there? (It is a hanger, after all).
An excellent domain that perfectly suits His Excellency. I like that butler's table too.
Lataxe
Philip
Man, are you organized! Great looking shop, especially of those three Marcou's sitting there, just waiting to be shipped to Crystal Lake, Illinois!! :) As soon as I get my daughter's college fund handled this year, you and I shall be doing some business, methinks.
I love all the old vintage machinary, as well.
Jeff
Hi Lou , Hope your not too bored to see another shop , I have aquired things mostly one at a time , as a bargain appeared .Sorry for the file sizes .
dusty
Well Dusty, I assume you haven't had to sit down and calculate how to squeeze in another tool in that s---p---a---c---e have ya?
I would guess that you make a living out of that "puppy" as anything short of that should sectioned out and made into condos! ha.. ha...
I wish..
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
Hi SARGE ,
Many of the machines are on wheels and get pulled out for use and to keep maximum space for assembly and storage and walkways . Believe it or not in a few days of building boxes the shop gets rather full . Yes , the shop is an occupational place .
My last shop looked remarkably more like Phillips / hanger and had half again the space , but it was a rental and this is ours . I wish I had more room .
I started in a 1 car garage , you must have space to make a living at cabinetmaking , with furniture pieces and hobby work a smaller space can work great .
I am a firm believer that " great things , don't necessarily have to come from great places "
dusty
Our woodshop is in an old stable building of around 540 sq ft. More space would be nice but it's luxury compared to what many have. After rebuilding it's about 98% new construction. Zoning and Historic District rules limited our options, and we wanted to preserve the ambience of the old building.
I suspect there are lot more 1000 sq ft and larger home woodshops in North America than there were 25 years ago, and that a major factor is the development of inexpensive "pole barn" and metal building construction. In fact I wonder what the ratio is of over 2000 sq ft and larger home woodshops today to 25 years ago. My guess is at least 10 times as many today.
Great thread! I've always wanted to see as many other woodworker's shops as possible. I hope this keeps going indefinitely. So here's my humble little space.
The overall building is 28 x 24 with a 16 x 24 garage and a 12 x 24 woodshop. My last woodshop was 16 x28, so it has been a challenge adapting to the new space. Of course, I would have liked to build something two or three times as big, but the money just wasn't there this time. Perhaps I'll add on in the future, but for now it works remarkably well. I did have to part with some of my bigger machinery -- a PM 60 jointer and a PM 100 planer. While I cringed at giving up those beasts, I decided that in the future I'd probably rather have a wider jointer anyway, to I'll probably get a 12" combo planer-jointer if I do add more space. Grizzly just came out with a nice looking version of the euro machines. For now, I hand plane faces flat and use my benchtop planer. To get a straight edge, I hand plane or screw a 6" rip from a piece of 1/4 ply to the board and run through the table saw. It works for now. I also tried having a 14x42 lathe in here for a little while, but eventually got rid of that too.
I do some paying jobs out of the shop as well as plenty of hobby stuff. The nice thing is that I can spill over into the garage if I'm doing a big project. Although I never make wood dust in the garage, so I use it just for staging or finishing.
The little 7 x 12 deck out the double doors makes a nice workspace for sanding or cutting when the weather is agreeable.
I have the woodstove in the garage, because my dust collector (5 hp, 14" impeller, yes I like my lungs!) blows directly outside. If I'm burning in the stove, I have to close the door between the shop and garage an open a window when I turn on the DC. The stove does an okay job of heating the woodshop. Also, the french doors face south for solar gain, and I sometimes use a little electric space heater if all else fails.
I put the woodshop on piers mainly as a cost saving measure. The floor is insulated, but I'd rather have a proper foundation. Maybe I'll do that if I add on.
Howdy Northbound...
You have about 3 times the space even sharing with the cars as I had in my first shop and I made it work. I was good at leaping obstacles in those earlier days and I had to move half the stored things outside that little single car garage ( 12' x 18' shared with a hot water heater, washer & dryer) just to walk. No matter what you got, making it work is what counts in the grand scheme of things.
BTW.. I think I spotted a UFO over your shop in that first picture. Keep your eyes open.. shoot first and ask questions latter! ha.. ha...
Regards...
SARGE..jt
It's a work in process. I'm remodeling a 1950's corn crib into a wood shop and office upstairs. 28X44 upper and lower levels each have 10' headroom.
Wm
Have fun with that renovation! When I purchased my home where I'm at 7 years ago, my original thought was to turn the horse stables (old building) into my woodshop. It was 25' X 20', and I was going to add on a little. Well, I just couldn't stand the smell of horse pi$$, it was so overpowering! So, I gutted it, and turned it into my wood shed. My neighbor, 3 doors down, had an old corn crib that he just knocked down about 6 months ago. I cried! It was nowhere near as nice as yours, but he definately could have saved it. I ended up building a new building for my shop. Metal pole barn. Not the ambience I was looking to add on the outside, but for now, it'll do. Someday, I hope to take the metal down, and put some proper wood siding up.
Enjoy your project!
Jeff
Thanks Jeff. You have a very nice set up. I know what you mean about the old animal buildings. Luckily the only thing the corn crib held was corn beans and oats. My grandfather and uncle built the crib in 1953. Jeff, where are you from? Looks like Minnesota. I'm from Iowa but work for a Mankato Mn company. Here's a couple more to show my progress.
Wm.
I'm in northern Illinois, about 1 1/2 hours northwest of Chicago, in unincorporated McHenry County. All my neighbors keep horses in their barns. I keep tools!
Sawdust is so much easier to clean up than the 'other'.
Jeff
Afternoon William...
While I'm up for coffee between finishing chairs... Corn crib my hinny! The house I grew up in was about the size of one of your shop floors and mama told us there were folks out there that had woodshops bigger than our house. ha.. ha..
Excellent idea for the conversation. That's taking what ya got and making the most of it. And you ended up with elbow room to spare.
Regards...
SARGE.. jt
All; Here are a few snapshots of my two part shop. Nothing to do with epoxy, just my big machines (band saw, jointer, planer) and lumber rack are in one building and the main shop in an old garage.
"... Buy the best and only cry once.........
Edited 1/22/2007 5:49 pm by dukeone
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