How much time do you spend woodworking versus shop tuning?

[Matt Armstrong]

For me, the ratio is pretty pathetic at this point. I cut myself some slack because I have decided I am still in "shop design" stages and am just getting around to the ducting for dust collection, but my only fear is that rather than it being a means to an end, the end is the means... meaning all I'm going to end up doing is permantly upgrading tools until the point where I have a great shop and a hole in my bank account... 10 years later...

But, the utilitarian side of me pops out and says "so what? what if that's all that came of this was an obsession to buy more tools and to have a shop? isn't it providing you with recreation?" So, in that sense, I guess it doesn't matter, really.

[Doug Mason]

For me, it took about two years to set up shop, learn sharpening, tuning tools, building a dust collector, blah....blah. I too became frustrated that I wasn't building furniture--my friends/family never thought I would build anything except a large pile of pointless sawdust--alot of silent chuckles. Roughly 95 percent of my time during those first years was spent setting up shop and learning the basics. I was very serious. In thinking back, it was really a self-imposed apprenticeship. But it was necessary--particularly as I am a heavy handtool user.

But late last year I reached a threshold--whereafter I have spent 90 percent of my time on projects and do very little shop-type work. I suspect everyone reaches this threshold at some point--regardless of weather you want to build "box-type" furniture w/power tools or "artsy"furniture w/a handtool focus.

You'll know it when you get there--but from my observations most people give up before they get there.

[Josh Reet]

Does it matter?

Why are you doing this "woodworking" in the first place? Is it to check items off a list of "built that" or is it to have fun and enjoy yourself?

If you enjoy fiddling around the shop and designing the perfect workspace, then let yourself enjoy it. The woodworking will happen in the future sometime. Or, it won't.

But it doesn't really matter as long as you have enjoyed yourself. I'm not much for hippie sayings. But it's hard to argue against the wisdom of "The journey IS the destination".

[jerry nazard]

Does it matter?

Why are you doing this "woodworking" in the first place? Is it to check items off a list of "built that" or is it to have fun and enjoy yourself?

If you enjoy fiddling around the shop and designing the perfect workspace, then let yourself enjoy it. The woodworking will happen in the future sometime. Or, it won't.

But it doesn't really matter as long as you have enjoyed yourself. I'm not much for hippie sayings. But it's hard to argue against the wisdom of "The journey IS the destination".

Good post!!!

[John Lucas]

For the past eight years I let new product reviews for website woodshopdemos.com run my schedule. Fun but not woodworking. Have now changed that...a few reviews if I want to do them and build furniture. That is what I am doing just now -- mission style bed side tables are the focus. I am actually cutting wood -- that is fun.
Here is photo from plans people: http://www.woodshopdemos.com/index.367.jpg

[glenn bradley]

The first couple of years of shop setup I made a lot of stuff but, it was all for the shop; workbench, storage cabinets, router table, tool stands. This is a hobby and all of the effort is enjoyable. I'm sure the timeline varies for folks based on money, time, enthusiasm, etc.

My shop has now reached that self-limiting stage; any new tool I want to bring in requires giving up a tool that I already have to make space for the interloper. Fortunately (although we always dream), I seem to have about everything I need to do what I want to do for now.

I wanted to add to this. I recently added a cyclone, the installation of which required moving my tablesaw/router table unit. As long as I was at it I just went full stop on making furniture and did a full maintenance, setup and alignment on my saw/RT. Aother time I had been mortising square holes for pegs in a drawer unit, I stopped to tune my chisels and planes that had been well used during previous projects. My point is that there are times where I do nothing but make and/or finish stuff. There are also appropriate times to dedicate your time and effort to your shop, tools, jigs, storage, sharpening, alignment, etc.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I'm probably 60/40 (working/"tuning"), and half of the 40 is probably just me puttering around doing almost nothing. I am still in the 'shop building' stage though, and most of the real 'work' is for specific projects from the 'honey do' list.

I'm reminded of a friend of mine that had an old Camaro that he built into a race car. He used to truck it to the track every few weeks to race it, but he spend unreal amounts of time and $$ in between races (either to make it better, or to fix what broke in the last race). I'm guessing his ratio of working-to-racing was 95/5. But if it's a hobby, everyone looks at it differently. (Granted - if it's an income-producer, then you need more 'productive' time and less cleaning/tuning).

[Monte Milanuk]

Haven't got near as much of either done as I would like to or should - but while I do like the woodworking aspect of it, and building something at least as good or better than I could afford to buy otherwise... I have to confess, I'm more fascinated by the home-brewed ingenuity I see in a lot of people's shop projects. Usually the first section I flip to in any magazine is the reader-submitted 'Shop Tips' - built more from there than any where else ;)

[Jason Beam]

I'm just starting to see the light at the end of my shop tunnel. We bought our house in november of '07. Did a lot of house-type stuff until about march of '08. That was when I got started on making the garage into a shop. I did it all - took everything down to the bare studs, insulated, rewired, drywall, etc etc ...

This was accomplished mostly on weekends and evenings since I'm still a productive member of the workfarce [sic]. It all went pretty quick at first - demo, framing, laying a floor, wiring, DC plumbing, drywall - all that went up in just a couple months. Once the drywall was up, the taping and mudding started. I got the first layer down just fine but when the sanding time came, I hit a wall. It took me 2 months to give up on sanding all that mud (i put it on too thick, i did it wrong - first major drywall job). I finally caved and sprayed some texture and started priming. This was about July of '08.

Once the paint was, it was cabinet time. I put in 14' of cabinets along a wall and set about putting the tools where they belong. I started building some drawers so I could get all the crap out of boxes and into some form of organization. By this time, it was September and I had kind of an open house with the local club. Days before, I was just stuffing things into drawers without organizing 'em really.

It was at this point I hit a head and absolutely had to get started building furniture or I was going to go out of my mind. At the old house, I'd just finished a year-long shop revamp before we found our current one - so it'd been a good solid 2 years since I'd built any furniture. I was getting a little stir crazy. So I started on a coffee table - which led me to building a vacuum press which led me to resawing veneers. I actually got the top glued up, legs cut and a bottom panel veneered by about April this year.

Then we bought motor scooters ... they were parked in the shop and that made it impossible. So I started building a shed ... 2 months go by and I'm building stuff for the shed to get it organized.

Now I have my shop back ... I've spent the last couple months taking care of that cramming into every available space problem from last year - getting stuff organized. I've finally reached my limit on disarray... now everything's getting a place so that it can be put up out of the way and so I can find it when I need it. I'm sick of digging through 18 junk drawers trying to find what I need.

So ... not much progress on that coffee table ... but the shop's getting better and better organized everytime I go out there now. I'll tell ya ... it was much easier to build a shop from zero than it was to pack up everything I owned and move it to another building. Gradual acquisition makes it really easy to find a home for things ... when you have this pile of stuff to go through it's a lot tougher. But ... it's coming along. It's actually close enough to get back to furniture, but I haven't reached that limit just yet - I will, but I'm getting organized while I have the gumption to do so :D

[Michael Schapansky]

It's a chicken or egg conundrum. To build anything you have to have the tools, not just some of them. You need all of them. So I bought a tablesaw. Very nice. I want to build cabinets to put stuff in. My worst problem is I have nowhere to put anything. So I have mostly built my first cabinet. My pocket screw jig is in transit so I can attach the faceframe, and build up a door. Looking forward to it. In the mean time, the everlasting rear deck refurbishing is still going on soaking up time. I keep buying tools for that. The backyard fence is falling over from dry rot and the goats are helping out by rubbing on it to scratch themselves. So. As soon as the deck project is done I'll rush headlong into rebuilding the fence in an entirely different style. Much more time out the window. In little bits here and there the shop gets attention when there's time. The DC cyclone that I got for such a good deal through the MS cashback program is installed and has power to it and there is no ducting to connect to anything. All horizontal surfaces are covered with whatever projects are going on. Like cleaning the carb for the riding mower and sharpening the blades. Repairing a couple of gates and there's always fencing that needs attention...

[Peter Aeschliman]

I feel like I wrote the OP's post!

My shop is remote (30 minutes from my home) so I spend maybe 1 day per week out there. I'm in a constant cycle of working on the shop itself. It's been a few years since I took up woodworking and since then I have changed locations of walls, redid some siding, insulated and drywalled, changed some of the wiring, etc.

What I've done to keep myself sane and to learn what I really want and need out of my shop in terms of layout and tools is that I have sprinkled some woodworking projects in the mix. So I'll work on the flooring in the shop, then build a coffee table, then do the drywall, and build a kitchen table.. so on and so forth.

The sad thing is that those projects have led me to change things in my shop... I learn about what works and what doesn't, but the more woodworking projects I do, the more I change in my shop!

I enjoy the problem solving aspect of it, but really, I see my shop is a tool. So I'm really looking forward to the day when my DC ducting is all set up, I have my tools where I want them, and I can start focusing on improving my woodworking skills!

But like everyone else, I think that time will come. I just have to be patient and enjoy the process.

[Darius Ferlas]

For me it used to be 50/50 but now, after a lot of time on SMC I spent more time on tuning my shop than on woodworking.

Before, I thought I only need a table saw and sand paper.

It is your fault people!!!! ;)

[Rod Sheridan]

For me it used to be 50/50 but now, after a lot of time on SMC I spent more time on tuning my shop than on woodworking.

Before, I thought I only need a table saw and sand paper.

It is your fault people!!!! ;)

Glad we could be of assistance!

Regards, Rod.

[Dave Lehnert]

Does surfing Sawmill Creek include "shop tuning" If so, I'm at about 99/1%:D

[Chris Tsutsui]

Does shop cleaning count as shop tuning? :(

[Paul Johnstone]

I just feel that I have such little shop time now, that I want to spend as much time building stuff as possible. There's a lot of stuff I could do to make my workspace better/ more efficient, but I realized that it's an endless cycle.

I probably spend about 90% of my shop time building now. 10% on cleaning up/putting stuff away/sharpening.

[Neal Clayton]

but I realized that it's an endless cycle.





that's the key, i think. everyone goes through a phase of wanting the latest and greatest gadget when they start out, probably. but after awhile you realize that you need the 4-5 accurate tools for whatever it is you do and unless they get broken, that's about it.

so other than cleaning sap off of iron tables, greasing bearings, and emptying the DC can, i don't do alot of tinkering with tools.

[Sean Hughto]

I find that shop projects - storage cabinets and such are good breaks between furniture projects or even during larger ongoing projects when you just need to get a fix of finishing something. Also, shop projects can allow you to practice new techniques or installing new hardware, etc. without the pressure of having it potentially ruin anything important.

[Alan Zenreich]

I'm clearly in the "building out the shop" mode.

Acquiring tools, figuring out how to get them installed in my small space, and learning to use them are all enjoyable challenges.

Working on the shop makes for low stress tests of the equipment. For example, a shop cabinet was a good item to do my first edge banding on.

My non-shop woodworking projects are almost all technique practice on the varous tools (turning, routing, etc.)

I made some small maple boxes a few months ago. My sister asked "What is this box used for"... and I replied "Nothing in particular". I made them purely to practice rabbeting on the router table, the functionality and use of the boxes were not considerations.

Fortunately I don't need any more furniture... except for the headboard we've been thinking of replacing, and that's a low priority item.

[Don Jarvie]

While some may say you only need a bench and a few tools you can make things but to really make things you need a good setup. Tools need to be semi organized and room to work is imperitive.

There's nothing more frustrating trying to do something using a too small a bench or not the right tool. You end up wasting more time trying to get the set up to work instead of working on the project.

When we moved 7 years ago I went from a 15 x 20 shop to nothing. The basement in our new house wasn't practical and I am finally converting the 2 car detached garage to a shop. I figure I won't be building anything furniture wise until next summer. I'm at the wiring stage now.

[Cary Falk]

I work out of my garage. I used to like woodworking now I think I do woodworking to justify my tool habit. I love tools. I love tinkering with things. I will start a wood project and find out that in order to complet this part I have to do "x". I n order to do "x", I need to complete "y". Before I know it I am 5 projects off. It's a hobby for me. I build a few things. I buy tools. In the end I enjoy it. I look at it like this. I make things. I qet paid for a few of them. Other hobbies like golf for example, you buy tools(clubs, balls, etc.) and all you get is a score on a sheet of paper and you can't farm out your services.

[Wilbur Pan]

Why is there a dichotomy between "woodworking" and "shop tuning"? I would say that anything that contributes to the completion of a project counts as woodworking. Building a shop cabinet so that you can get your collection of router bits organized so that you can find the router bit you need to make the edge treatment on a table top counts.

Now, you can argue that one is more fun than the other, and we all fall on different parts of the spectrum when it comes to liking one over the other, but both are still needed to finish any project.

[Maurice Ungaro]

I have a different problem: I can't get motivated to get back in the shop and finish projects, let alone start new ones. I think this all came about as a result of a big project of making some chairs and a bench for a restaurant last year. An aquaintance (sp) of mine kept stringing me along about how he wanted me to be his production manager for a small chair manufacturing operation that he was setting up. That was two years ago. I helped out setting up his retail operation, with the promise that once the store was open , production would be shifted to a new local facility. That came and went. Last November, he got a contract to produce a variant of his chairs for this new restaurant. He designed the products, and I built the prototype, refined the design and completed the order. His son was my assistant to use at will, and between the two of us, we got it knocked out. Afterwards, when I hoped the manufacturing would start, he said that I would be needed desparately, but for now, his son could handle the orders. Uh huh.......

I got my hopes up again in February when my sole surviving family member, my brother, came for a visit and declared in no uncertain terms that he would be leaving California for good and moving to my town. We kicked around ideas of building and selling furniture, etc. Really got stoked about that. He got back home, made up with his overbearing wife and he's staying put.

I lost so much interest in making anything that my wfe finally bought a "good enough" nite stand at World Market for $39, having given up on me ever making it for her. I've now accepted it as a permanent peice of the decor.

Maybe I should have a big sale. You guys will get first dibs.

[Peter Quinn]

I used to spend maybe 75% of my shop time setting up shop, or at best every other shop period was used to make jigs and storage units or stock support of one form or another. Add to that wiring changes, DC mods, lighting improvements, boy it takes a long time to build a half way productive environment alone from scratch.

I guess i have reached a point where something like 10%-20% of shop time is dedicated to shop improvements, and its not that much doesn't need to be done. I just decided to get things to a workable place, get some work done, and make the most necessary improvements as needed or as time permits.It seems building the shop never really ends, but hopefully the time dedicated to it diminishes eventually.

[johnny means]

I have a different problem: I can't get motivated to get back in the shop and finish projects, let alone start new ones. I think this all came about as a result of a big project of making some chairs and a bench for a restaurant last year. An aquaintance (sp) of mine kept stringing me along about how he wanted me to be his production manager for a small chair manufacturing operation that he was setting up. That was two years ago. I helped out setting up his retail operation, with the promise that once the store was open , production would be shifted to a new local facility. That came and went. Last November, he got a contract to produce a variant of his chairs for this new restaurant. He designed the products, and I built the prototype, refined the design and completed the order. His son was my assistant to use at will, and between the two of us, we got it knocked out. Afterwards, when I hoped the manufacturing would start, he said that I would be needed desparately, but for now, his son could handle the orders. Uh huh.......

I got my hopes up again in February when my sole surviving family member, my brother, came for a visit and declared in no uncertain terms that he would be leaving California for good and moving to my town. We kicked around ideas of building and selling furniture, etc. Really got stoked about that. He got back home, made up with his overbearing wife and he's staying put.

I lost so much interest in making anything that my wfe finally bought a "good enough" nite stand at World Market for $39, having given up on me ever making it for her. I've now accepted it as a permanent peice of the decor.

Maybe I should have a big sale. You guys will get first dibs.

Sounds like somebody needs a good kick in tail.:D

[Chris Ricker]

Never, ever forget that woodworking is a HOBBY (for most of us), it is done as a distraction from "real life". The fact that you spend more time "tuning" your shop or building stuff is immaterial. Have fun, relax and enjoy the process, that's what really counts.
If you feel that you're spending too much time working ON the shop, build something, anything. You'll know if you need a new tool, workspace or, storage space.

It's really about the journey rather than the destination.
Been there, done that, keep reminding myself of it.
All the best.
CR

[Stephen Edwards]

For me, my woodworking and my shop are both a hobby and a part time income. When I have a job to do, I'm on that practically all of my shop time. During those times I'm always thinking about building some other jig/fixture to make the work more efficient or a better way to lay the shop out in terms of how I move from machine to machine.

As others have noted, it's good experience to try new techniques as we're "perfecting" our shops. It's like as I'm building a box I'm learning to think outside of the box. That's FUN!

This is a good question that you've asked. I'm enjoying the responses.

[Jim Kountz]

I spend a fair amount of time fine tuning my setups and work stations, building jigs or templates. I look at this work as just another part of woodworking as a whole. The shop itself is a tool after all when you think about it. Its another item we need in order to do the work we do. So to spend time on the shop to me is no different than honing skills. Now for the full time guys I can see where this would become very costly but for me right now the shop is an addition to my income and not the main source so its not a huge deal if I want to shut down for a week or two at a time and redo my dust collection for example. Which I have done twice in the last 10 years.

[Adan Madrid]

Matt,

I agree with the rest of the fellas and echo the ideology that you should enjoy this journey and would further recommend that you take the time to build your shop furniture to the best of your abilities and better. Take those opportunities to explore and learn new methods of work and joinery. Build it right the first time and you will enjoy it for years to come. The experience you gain in building your shop furniture and jigs will prove valuable in the future.

[Gene Howe]

Does it matter?

Why are you doing this "woodworking" in the first place? Is it to check items off a list of "built that" or is it to have fun and enjoy yourself?

If you enjoy fiddling around the shop and designing the perfect workspace, then let yourself enjoy it. The woodworking will happen in the future sometime. Or, it won't.

But it doesn't really matter as long as you have enjoyed yourself. I'm not much for hippie sayings. But it's hard to argue against the wisdom of "The journey IS the destination".

+1000!!! From a woodworker(?) on a 12 year journey to a nice shop space.

[Don Jeansonne]

Since I retired 1 1/2 years ago, the ratio was the golden rule -- 80/20. The shop being 80, buying tools, fixing jigs and fixtures, storage, dust collection..... Now I am moving towards a 50/50 balance and ultimately (maybe??) reverse to a 20/80.
I have learned that the previous guy saying , "it is the journey.." that is important. Doing what you enjoy is waht it is all about.

So -- do enough to keep your wife off your back and have some spending money to buy more "man toys" is my spin on it.

[Rob Fisher]

It's really about the journey rather than the destination.

Ha, I must really be in it, as I read the above quote as " It's really about the JOINERY rather than the destination." :p

[Bob Slater]

You nailed me. Just don't tell anybody. I haven't been around here much lately because I built a welding room. Didn't stop there as now I have purchased a beautiful metal lathe made locally (Standard Modern Series 2000) have it all apart for the refurbishment and am eyeing a Bridgeport Milling machine that I would hope to adapt to CNC in a year or two. I love being in the shop. So far it's not what I make, but what I can make. I also added a Library in a cabinet.

[Ed Garrett]

My gross ratio is about 20 to 1.

I spent about 20 years making a lot of nice furniture and built-ins. Gradually I outgrew my shop. Last year I started a major shop overhaul. I'm still rebuilding the shop. It's gonna be nice, but now I can't see it being done before Christmas. I told myself that the shop itself was a big woodworking project. With that in mind, I've enjoyed it and soon I'll have a killer shop.

Sincerely,

Ed Garrett