Shop Upgrade

[Patrick Tipton]

Greetings all.

I finally got tired of the mess that was my shop and decided to try and make it the way I want it. Step one was insulation and then installing left over tongue and groove pine on the walls. I then put in a new panel, lighting and electric. Finally, I decided to take some nice red oak that a friend of mine sawed up with a Woodmizer and make a shelving/tool storage unit for my hand tools.

I ripped the boards using my table saw, but everything else was done using hand tools. I wasn't too persnickety about sizing or getting a perfect finish, but the oak came out fine.

Hand planing all these boards reminded me again and again that sharp blades (and a little wax) are your friend. The unit is a little shy of 6 feet wide so I ended up dovetailing rails on the front and back to stiffen the shelves. The shelves are installed in rebates on the sides and then were glued to the rails.

My wife visited the shop and said the organization inspired her to want to make something.:)

Pictures show the storage unit and my sharpening station/kiln. The joinery isn't perfect, but was fine for my shop. I need to install a small leather strap across the open chisel storage - not one of my better designs as I narrowly escaped a cut from a falling chisel when I bumped the unit.

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Regards, Patrick

[Rodney Walker]

Very nice job. It does look like an inviting place to work.
Rodney - who's still living with bare studs, but dreads the thought of cleaning the shop enough to panel it.

[john davey]

Wow...... All I can say. I just walked up from my basement shop and this is the first thing I see..... Wow.... :)

[Jim Matthews]

YOU MADE SLIDING DOVETAIL SHELVES?!!!

For your woodshop - sliding dovetails?
It's inspired. Demented, but inspired.

[David Keller NC]

Patrick - Another option to putting a leather strap across the open hangers for your chisels; buy some small neodynium magnets from Lee Valley, and inset them into the back of each open space on your rack (with epoxy). The 1/4" or 3/8" neo. magnets will be enough to keep your chisels in place when the rack is incidentally bumped, but won't be so strong as to present a challenge to get them out.

[Paul Saffold]

Nice job Patrick. I'm sure you will see that it is easier and more enjoyable to work in a well organized shop. Looks like you may have a weakness for draw knives.

[Patrick Tipton]

@Rodney - mine was raw studs, no insulation and a floor full of the prior owner's junk. I am embarrassed to admit how long it has taken me to clean up his/my mess, but it sure feels nice.

@John - TY!

@Jim - You made me laugh. The dovetails are just the front and back rails. Sliding dovetails for the shelves crossed my mind, but only briefly ;-)

@David - Magnets are a great idea. Thank you.

@Paul - Amazing what a difference it makes to be in an organized shop. I still have work to do. As for the drawknives, yes, I have a little weakness. I regularly use 3 of them making chairs. The others are, well, a weakness ;-)

[Matthew N. Masail]

Wow, Nice!! I love that storage unit it's awesome !

[Brent VanFossen]

What a warm and inviting place to work. Nice job.

[Larry LaRoque]

Great shop remodel, well organized and inviting. I noticed the Texas license plate on the wall, are you a transplant to NJ?

[Patrick Tipton]

@Matt & @Brent - Thank you - definitely makes the shop an even bigger draw.

@Larry - TY and yes, I am a transplanted Texan. I moved to NYC twenty something years ago and somehow ended up on a farm in rural NJ. We fly a Texas flag on my home and my kids still think of themselves as Texans, even though they were born in NYC.

[Jim Matthews]

Shhh.... don't let anyone know about Jersey.

Let them think it's all Hackensack and Snooki...

Jim
(formerly of Glassboro)

[Patrick Tipton]

Shhh.... don't let anyone know about Jersey.

Let them think it's all Hackensack and Snooki...

Jim
(formerly of Glassboro)

Too funny Jim. You are right, its all Hackensack and Snooki ;-)

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Patrick - Another option to putting a leather strap across the open hangers for your chisels; buy some small neodynium magnets from Lee Valley, and inset them into the back of each open space on your rack (with epoxy). The 1/4" or 3/8" neo. magnets will be enough to keep your chisels in place when the rack is incidentally bumped, but won't be so strong as to present a challenge to get them out.

Mr. Keller, that is a fabulous idea. It will work and requires minimal modification, keep the look the same, and improve safety. My worst injury this year came from a chisel that was knocked off the bench.

Mr. Tipton,

The shop looks very nice, excellent work!

[Dave Anderson NH]

Nicely done Patrick. You are going to have a problem however. Now that the place is comfortable and nice looking you are going to want to add such heathen tailed apprentices as a microwave, refridgerator, coffee maker, boom box, and so forth. Your wife will have to start stomping on the floor to get your attention and you will only surface to use the bathroom, eat meals, and go to bed. Been there, done that, and have the sometimes irate wife.:D

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Nicely done Patrick. You are going to have a problem however. Now that the place is comfortable and nice looking you are going to want to add such heathen tailed apprentices as a microwave, refridgerator, coffee maker, boom box, and so forth. Your wife will have to start stomping on the floor to get your attention and you will only surface to use the bathroom, eat meals, and go to bed. Been there, done that, and have the sometimes irate wife.:D

Well then obviously he also needs to add a bathroom and a bed down there!

[Joe A Faulkner]

Very inspiring. Congratulations on the upgrade. Well done!!

[Patrick Tipton]

Nicely done Patrick. You are going to have a problem however. Now that the place is comfortable and nice looking you are going to want to add such heathen tailed apprentices as a microwave, refridgerator, coffee maker, boom box, and so forth. Your wife will have to start stomping on the floor to get your attention and you will only surface to use the bathroom, eat meals, and go to bed. Been there, done that, and have the sometimes irate wife.:D

Too funny guys! Dave, my shop is about 200 ft from the house so she has to do more than stomp. ;-) Once the woodstove goes in, they might not see me for days on end ;-) @Andrew - we're pretty rural so I can get away without formal facilities ;-)

Thanks all for the encouragement. I have a new fan back chair on the drawing board that is going to get built starting in about a week. That floor is too clean. I hope to post pictures - I get going, forget time and to stop and take them!

Regards, Patrick