New shop and intro

[Don Wacker]

I found this forum while playing around on the internet in my board om. Seems like a nice group so thought I'd join in and participate. My name is Don. Back in July my shop burned to the ground along with two decades of work. Finally after a few months of work I'm almost ready to get back to real work. Its not done yet but is getting closer, still need to build utilitarian shop accessories but will get those done in the next few days.

Don

211070211069211068211067

[brian watson]

Nice. I had never thought it before but I like the approach of getting the tools laid out and then building shop furniture etc.

I could have used your jointer this weekend -- its hard edge jointing 4 foot boards on a 6" delta benchtop jointer.

[David Nelson1]

Welcome to the forum Don. Dag gone lotta mustard in that shop!!!!!!!!:D Looks great and lots of room to run out of sooner than later. Do plan on drywall or using a wood product on the walls? Looking forward to seeing your progress, you must have a utility room cause I see no dust collector!

[Jerome Hanby]

OSB or plywood makes for good shop walls. Makes it easy to attach cabinets or whatever wherever you like.

[Don Jarvie]

I was wonder why you had all yellow tools and then I read the post. Looks to be a great space.

Don

[Don Wacker]

Welcome to the forum Don. Dag gone lotta mustard in that shop!!!!!!!!:D Looks great and lots of room to run out of sooner than later. Do plan on drywall or using a wood product on the walls? Looking forward to seeing your progress, you must have a utility room cause I see no dust collector!

I'll drywall after the first of the year, getting back to work is the top priority. The dust collector is a cyclone mounted outside up about 12ft on the gable. That was a job.

Don

[Bruce Page]

Welcome to the Creek Don. It must be a terrible thing losing a shop like that. On the plus side, you get to start over with a clean slate incorporating all the things you learned or wished for in your first shop. You’ve got an excellent start!

[Sam Layton]

Hi Don,

Welcome to the creek. This is a great place, with great people. I am sorry about your old shop. Your new shop really looks great. How many sq ft do you have?

Sam

[David Nelson1]

I bet it was. Pic and more pics ole man or it never happened :)

[Don Wacker]

I bet it was. Pic and more pics ole man or it never happened :)

No good or finished pics yet but here are some bad cell phone shots of it going up.

211083211084

[phil harold]

Dag gone lotta mustard in that shop!!!!!!!!

But No LATHE!


Nice Shop!!!

[Don Bullock]

From one Don to another, welcome to the Creek. I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your shop, but it seems that you've struck gold with your new one. Please post some pictures when it's done.

[Don Wacker]

But No LATHE!


Nice Shop!!!

I had a 3520 in the old shop and just didn't use it enough to justify replacing it. I may get one of those new little nova's to play with but other than that no more lathes. Same thing goes for festool, I had a 20ft wall filled from floor to ceiling with perty festool boxes, just a domino this time around.

Don

[Charlie Barnes]

Don - the shop looks great so far. Are there any lessons learned or words of wisdom you would be willing to share with us regarding the fire and resulting activities leading up to your new shop?

Charlie

[Don Wacker]

Don - the shop looks great so far. Are there any lessons learned or words of wisdom you would be willing to share with us regarding the fire and resulting activities leading up to your new shop?

Charlie

Being a sole proprietor with no employees I bucked the system for years and was not subject to L&I or fire inspections. I did everything wrong a guy could do wrong. I stored way to many chemicals due to being lazy, Id buy bulk to save a trip to Sherwin Williams. Had way to many gallons of thinner and denatured alcohol on site. I hoarded scraps for no reason other than the fact that I might use them someday knowing full well someday would never come. I covered the walls with OSB that burns real well. I covered the osb with hundreds of chair and table templates that were just kindling. I had a wall of Festool boxes 20ft long and 8 ft tall that burn like cedar. My lighting sucked, if I needed more light id just use those cheap 4ft shop lights. One of those actually started the fire. There was just way to many flammables in to small of a space. This time around I think it will remain pretty sterile, cast iron doesn't burn.

Don

[Paul McGaha]

Welcome Don,

Sorry about the old shop but the new one looks great. You do seem to have a taste for mustard.

PHM

[Mike Cruz]

Welcome, Don. And, yeah, I too am sorry to hear about your old shop.

Funny how building the shop essentials will take a lot of time. Many people think of the big tools as the shop. But as I am sure you are well aware, it is the workbench and layout of all the hand tools you use every day/all the time that takes the personal touch, forethought, and planning. The best of luck to you in getting back to work...and staying coooooooooool. Oh, and keep the pics coming!

[Brian Tymchak]

Welcome aboard Don! .....I bet you get Christmas cards from your PM dealer... ;)

[George wilmore]

I see from your pictures you do not like powermatic.lol You got the start of a great looking shop most of use dream about.

[Joseph Tarantino]

I covered the walls with OSB that burns real well.

welcome to the forum. looks like there's a good amount of floor space, so i'm jealous of that. whenever guys ask about shop wall coverings, the first thing mentioned is osb. too bad you had to find out the hard way what a bad idea it is. here in my county in NY, garage/shop walls are to be covered in 5/8" fire rated sheet rock, the same thing for boiler rooms ( both sides of the boiler room walls). and does that cyclone cause a harmonic vibration to the building? lastly, as the resident jet/powermatic critic, i will refrain from any comments on the machinery.

[Mike Cruz]

Joseph, while I understand the point that OSB is flammable, and that it can enable rather than retard a spreading fire, I don't see that/how OSB is the problem. The fire didn't start because of/from the OSB. Sure, I could have put up 1" fire retardant drywall (if they even make that), but the reality is that everything else in the shop, the joists, the plywood subfloor, the hickory flooring, the 2 x 6 studs, the headers, the rafters...EVERYTHING is wood. Don mentioned that the fire started from the lights. Likely no where near the OSB. Unless he put OSB on the ceiling, where it doesn't serve the purpose that most of us like out of OSB which is that you can screw anywhere and not have to look for a stud to hang things.

Bottom line is that bad wiring, inferior electrical products, and sloppy habits (like throwing rags soaked with liquids that can combust) are what start fires. Unless you have a steel building, OSB on the walls is not the perpetuating factor in a fire.

Of course, this is a "guns don't kill people, people kill people" discussion. But I just don't feel it is fair to count OSB as a wall covering a dangerous choice. And code, unfortunately, is not necessarily a good measure for what is safe and what is not. Look back 30, 20, or even 10 years ago, and look at what is considered "safe". Not to mention, there are plenty of codes that are absolutely ridiculously "over" safe. I am NOT suggesting that codes are bad or that they are arbitrary. Rather that code does not necessarily mean right.

[Paul McGaha]

I wasnt aware that we had or needed a resident Jet/Powermatic critic.

Dont need one at my place.

PHM

[Don Wacker]

I wasnt aware that we had or needed a resident Jet/Powermatic critic.

Dont need one at my place.

PHM

Its all good. I know a guy that swears Ryobi is the best thing out there. I just visited a commercial cabinet shop yesterday that claims work benches are a waste of money and space, they use rockwell jawhorses for everything. To each his own.

Don

[Joseph Tarantino]

Unless you have a steel building, OSB on the walls is not the perpetuating factor in a fire.....
But I just don't feel it is fair to count OSB as a wall covering a dangerous choice......

1. actually, since osb is not a fire retarding factor, and it is flammable, it can very much be a perpetuating (from perpetual, meaning to continue or endure) factor in a fire.

2. then by all means, enjoy using osb if that is what you choose to use. while your point about the building being made of primarily wood based products is correct, the reason to use drywall is to not add materials to the structure that provide additional fuel in the event of fires from faulty electrical connections and sloppy habits.

[Bob Wingard]

I used Hardi-Panel cement board for all my inside walls for just that very reason ... won't rot .. won't burn .. won't absorb water .. bugs won't come near it. My fluorescent lights all hang about 10" from the ceiling on chains, so even if a ballast goes up in smoke, it's not likely to spread. I am, however guilty of storing WAY too much wood & solvents in the shop.

[Shawn Russell]

Don,

Was your fire story posted in Wood magazine? I don't remember the cause of the fire, but the guy lost 20 years worth of work and tools. Sorry to hear for you loss.

[Greg Peterson]

Fires are a nasty business. Until you have experienced one you can not appreciate its severity and absolute, indiscriminate, destructive nature.

Would you rather have a fire in the corner of your shop or the entire interior in flames?

My small, modest shop has a little over 600 square feet of wall. That's a fair amount of fuel for a fire that might otherwise be relatively localized and cause a lot of smoke damage. Lining the interior surface of a shop with OSB greatly enhances the opportunity for a fire to quickly spread and virtually guarantees a complete, total loss.

[Mike Cruz]

I hope to never experience a shop fire (or any fire for that matter). I likewise hope none of you do either. My point is that a building made entirely of wood, and I mean entirely (except for the roof...as is my case) with exposed trusses and hickory floor, is going to go up like kindling if a fire starts...regarless of the wall material. Yes, OSB will burn, spread the fire, and do anything but inhibit the spread of the fire. But fire spreads incredibly fast, and the difference between OSB and drywall (at least in a shop like mine) is, I don't think, significant.

That said, my shop is also a stand alone building. If it were in my basement or garage, or in any other way attached to the house, with a closed ceiling where you could basically encase the shop in drywall, then yes, I see your point. The fire's spread may be slowed enough to save the rest of the house. My building, being 24 x 30 would be a pile of ashes by the time the fire department got here...either way.

[Don Wacker]

Shawn, no that wasn't me. Fire sucks that is just life. Drywall makes a big difference vs osb especially when its the only thing on a wall. Nothing gets a fire going better than O2. Taped and mudded drywall keeps the O2 levels low enough and keeps the fire out of the inside of the walls. The fire inspector marshal told us that if the building would have been sealed up and drywalled it would have been repairable instead of laying flat. That sounds like some fairly common sense advice, so that what I'll do. Also I think keeping a shop as sterile as possible is a good choice.

Thanks for the kind word folks.

Don

[Don Wacker]

I got enough done last week that I can at least get back to work. Here are the updated pics. Still need drawers and organizational stuff but that will just have to come in time as I get spare time.

211549211550211551211552

[Mike Cruz]

I just don't know what I would do with such a clean and organized shop... Looking great, Don.

[alex grams]

Don, not to intrude, but I presume (judging by all of your new machinery) that you got a decent insurance check to help rebuild?

Did you have a rider in your insurance for your garage, or was that covered by your standard homeowners insurance?

[Don Wacker]

Don, not to intrude, but I presume (judging by all of your new machinery) that you got a decent insurance check to help rebuild?

Did you have a rider in your insurance for your garage, or was that covered by your standard homeowners insurance?

You have to have commercial insurance if your doing business. Homeowners doesn't cover commercial.

Don

[Mike Cruz]

That's what my insurance company said... If I sell ONE thing out of my shop, I am considered a business and no longer covered under my homeowner's policy.

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Congrats on the new shop, and the chance to change things to suit your current needs. And very Very! sorry to hear about what happened to the old one. While I sure the hurt to the business is not good, as long as everyone is alive and unhurt the rest is just stuff. And hey from the looks of it you got some pretty good new stuff. :)

Jealous of the space and all the yellow present in the new shop.

And welcome to the creek. The people here are the best around.

Joshua

[Brian Elfert]

What about putting OSB on the walls first for haning things and then drywall over that? Expensive, but it allows hanging stuff anywhere while offering fire resistance.

[Matt Meiser]

Not terribly expensive though at $7/sheet for 7/16" OSB. Quick calculation says $250 for the OSB for a 24x32x10 shop not accounting for doors and windows.. Install goes quick with a nail gun. In the big scheme of building a shop that's not a big addition. The other advantage is that hitting it the drywall with a board means damage, but not a hole.

[Jimmy Smith]

Hello, All I can add is when you do something you sure do it FIRST CLASS, Do you have any pictures you would share of items you made before the fire? Thanks Jim

[Don Wacker]

Hello, All I can add is when you do something you sure do it FIRST CLASS, Do you have any pictures you would share of items you made before the fire? Thanks Jim

No I dont our onsite server was in the shop when it burned, we also used it to run the little cnc that didn't get replaced. I now have a offsite hosting service and will be asking previous clients to help with new pics for web based client gallery.


Don