You guys spend too much time with "shop improvement"

[Osvaldo Cristo]

It is for amateur woodworkers only.

Recently my wife made an interesting observation.

It wasn't directly aimed to me (indirectly, perhaps): "You guys (amateur woodworkers) spend much more time making stuff for your shop than useful things (she means furniture and any home improvement stuff)"...

Perhaps she is right as I have saw in the Internet muuuuch more of shop improvement projects from amateur woodworkers than actual furniture (or any other home improvement) projects. Lots of jigs. Lots of tool improvement. Lots of techniques to use our precious tools... but not so much "real" projects.

How much time do you use for your shop comparing with "useful" output? I am curious...

Personally I have an history around 80% ("useful") / 20% for the shop... but in the last couple of years, at most 50%/50%... perhaps 40%/60%...

Thanks in advance for your input!

[Tim M Tuttle]

I am fairly new to woodworking, just since Jan of last year, so I have spent a ton of time on shop projects. I am also extremely finicky and want to have the right tools, jigs, fixtures, etc. I just so happen to love shop projects though so I get as much enjoyment working on the shop as I do building non shop projects.

[Mark Bolton]

Not coming from a hobby perspective but when I was at a more hobby level looking back I can appreciate the learning that came with making jigs, fixtures, shop cabinetry, and so on. Its a way to hone your skills when your not doing it every day. Kinda like you make your mistakes on your own work.

You cant expect someone who has a passion for woodworking at a hobby level to be able to be dead productive at 100% the instant they walk in the shop to the instant they leave. We in business spend 50-60 hour a week non stop trying to sharpen those skills. When your walking into your shop for an hour a day and a few on the weekend (or far less than that) your going to stretch out the learning curve by a mile.

Dunno, for me, if it were a hobby, I would want to just go in my shop and "be". Maybe walk around, look at things, putter with this or that. It would be release from my day job or my retirement bonus from working for 40+ years. I wouldnt be expecting production.

I know several hobby shops that look like Nascar showrooms and I have never understood that type of shop. But if its what floats your boat, and your happy, screw what anyone else thinks about your productivity level.

I dream of having the time (and money) to really get the shop in the condition I want it. But work always takes precedent.

[Bruce Page]

Guilty as charged. Probably 80% of things I have made have been for others. Shop projects are just for me and I only have to please myself.

[Steve Peterson]

I sometimes go down to the shop just to unwind at the end of the day. It is enjoyable if I am making furniture or fixing up the shop. I spent a lot more time initially to get my shop set up the way I like it, but the ratio of "useful" vs "shop" activity increases over time.

[johnny means]

It's just a different part of the hobby. Some car guys rally race, their cars are always banned up and broken. Some car guys build show cars, they're 700 hp hemi will never actually move the car.

[Art Mann]

I take it by spells. Right now, I am in the process of building a house and much of the cabinetry and shelving is being done by me. Therefore, I am spending a lot of time on project work - 6 or 8 hours a day some days. After the house and shop are complete and I move my equipment in, I will probably spend several weeks tuning equipment and doing shop projects. In particular, I am going to install a whole new central dust collection system. After that, I plan to return to doing CNC carving work because it is fun and sometimes pays well.

[Frederick Skelly]

In my case, your wife is right. It goes in phases, but sometimes as much as 50% of my shop time is spent finding ways to improve my shop or my tools - that includes tool making. But I only do this as a hobby and it gives me pleasure to use a well organized, function workspace.

Aside: For ME, woodworking is a combination of several things
* Making nice furniture and small projects
* Learning new techniques and coming up with new techniques (I simply enjoy learning)
* Trying new tools (costly, addictive)
* Making my shop work better for me (effective storage, solid benches, etc)
But again, I do it for entertainment. Not to make a living. YMMV.

Fred

[Simon MacGowen]

It is for amateur woodworkers only.

R
How much time do you use for your shop comparing with "useful" output? I am curious...

Personally I have an history around 80% ("useful") / 20% for the shop... but in the last couple of years, at most 50%/50%... perhaps 40%/60%...

Thanks in advance for your input!

Shopnotes existed for a good reason...but also folded for a good reason (how many shop solutions have not been covered by the magazine after all the reruns?).

At my current level of woodworking (decades after), I would say 90 to 95% non-shop related work. When I started, it might 30% shop-related. Unless I move to a new shop, it is unlikely I have many shop improvement projects to do.

Simon

[Cary Falk]

My wife calls it tinkering when I am not working on anything that she wants. She would probably tell you it is 90% tinkering and 10% useful. I would say it is the other way around.

[John C Cox]

Osvaldo,

I used to chide guys over on one of the amateur guitar building forums about this very subject... They would decide they wanted to build a guitar...

So they start buying tools...
And they start building jigs....
And more tools....
And more jigs...
Then build a workbench.... And another one after that first one..
Then rehabbing old tools....
And buy some special Guitar wood...

But what did they not do?

Right - They never built a GUITAR...

10 years later they have this spectacular collection of tools, jigs, fixtures, and beautiful wood... But have not actually built 1 guitar.... I realized I was headed into that trap after my 1st year - so I quit all that and just started building guitars on the kitchen table...

The reality is that you can build some spectacular stuff with fairly straight forward equipment...

Or you can collect tools, jigs, and fixtures... It's not wrong if it makes you happy.. There is nothing shameful about realizing you love collecting and rehabbing old tools better than you like using them..... Nothing wrong with realizing you love sharpening chisels to the point where CERN calls you when they need some atoms split... And you love holding them in your hand and feeling a 20,000 grit polished edge just glide through stuff.. Or finding and sharpening old saws.. Nothing wrong with that at all...

Only you can decide your hobby....


It is for amateur woodworkers only.

Recently my wife made an interesting observation.

It wasn't directly aimed to me (indirectly, perhaps): "You guys (amateur woodworkers) spend much more time making stuff for your shop than useful things (she means furniture and any home improvement stuff)"...

Perhaps she is right as I have saw in the Internet muuuuch more of shop improvement projects from amateur woodworkers than actual furniture (or any other home improvement) projects. Lots of jigs. Lots of tool improvement. Lots of techniques to use our precious tools... but not so much "real" projects.

How much time do you use for your shop comparing with "useful" output? I am curious...

Personally I have an history around 80% ("useful") / 20% for the shop... but in the last couple of years, at most 50%/50%... perhaps 40%/60%...

Thanks in advance for your input!

[Robert Engel]

I've seen that, too. But we need those guys don't we?

The shop can definitely consume a person and become the project, as any of us who have built or remodelled a shop know this. My shop is always in some degree of disarray and waiting for some little thing to be done.

I spend time between projects doing things that make my shop more efficient. Sometimes I take a break when I'm in a design dilemma or a big time consuming project.

I build jigs as I need them.

But I can only do it so long and I have to get back to a furniture project.

[James Pallas]

Here's my story. I have a chest on the bench I started in the fall. We needed a new window in a bedroom at the same time. I installed that and finished up the trim on the outside. It was then to cold for me to work in the garage. I then installed a generator and transfer switch, mostly inside work. I repaired two chairs. I then started on the inside window trim. All of the sudden a plumbing leak under the kitchen sink. Turns out it was a poor installation, 2 90s just under the floor on the drain. Cut out and reworked to the basement floor. Now have to put on the dry Waller and painter hat. It's springtime and the garden needs to get ready, the mower tuned up, a chain saw to fix. Still no work on the chest. Sometimes I do wish I didn't know how to do all of this.
Jim

[Jim Becker]

I agree with those who mention it comes in phases. I'm very much in a shop improvement phase right now because I'm working to transform from pure hobby to more work for others as an alternative to going out and getting a part time job at a Super Market or cooking in a restaurant to add to my monthly earnings in retirement. I have a little more to do relative to that before a new machine arrives and at that point my "phase" will shift a bit to the learning curve and then to producing stuff. But there will still be personal projects in the mix for sure...

[Scott Buehler]

Great topic! Haha, I'm in the process of building my shop at home after 25+ years of doing it for a living, and the stress of having to finish a job for the client can get to you...so to be able to get into your own home/hobby shop is a welcome relief. I will still do occasional "useful" and profitable work, but to be able to go in and tinker and make the shop better will be my stress relief, mostly because im doing it because"I" want to, and not because I have to. So yes, I plan on being very non productive! Haha

[Pete Staehling]

For me it varies over time. There are periods where it is 50-50, 0-100, and 100-0. Over the long haul, I'd guess 50-50. The good news is that I enjoy both and that it is all paid for by the work making "useful stuff" people are willing to pay for.

[glenn bradley]

I keep a list and knock out a few things I want to have around when I am between projects or at a stage of a project where things have to sit overnight.

Project:

381606

Jig:

381608

Project:

381609

Jig:

381607

Project:

381610

Jig:

381611

Etc.

[Mike Heidrick]

While building my second shop is going on three years, its way way more than 3x bigger than a typical shop or my other shop. So I figure I am under a year for each one of the new ones so far lol. My cnc work has paid for my finishing the new shed inside. I do my hobby customer work, and my real day job work, and do things with my family first. Many times I dont even start till 9:30pm and got to midnight or better. I go out in there and it is flipping exciting to work on this crazy thing I am building. Tell your wife come over and grab an impact and she can help me be faster so I work on it less.

[John K Jordan]

When building my shop I spent 99.36% of the time on the shop and 0.64% on projects.

Now I spend 91.31% on projects or teaching, 2.42% on the shop, 5.63% reading in my shop office/library and talking on the phone, and 0.64% making up statistics like this.

[Jim Becker]

I keep a list and knock out a few things I want to have around when I am between projects or at a stage of a project where things have to sit overnight.

Ditto. I have a big whiteboard on the door between my shop and the single, remaining garage bay (for the mower :) ) that has a list of all the various and sundry projects I want or need to keep in mind for when time allows. It's getting long, too. LOL :D

[Keith Weber]

My wife calls it tinkering when I am not working on anything that she wants. She would probably tell you it is 90% tinkering and 10% useful. I would say it is the other way around.

LOL! Cary actually hit the nail on the head! "Useful" is a very subjective term. I like nice things, and I like using nice tools to make nice things. It makes me happy, and really, that's all that matters. Aside from increasing safety, there is little that my sliding table saw does that I haven't done with very simple and less expensive hand tools -- it's just a whole lot more enjoyable to me use the slider. It becomes even more enjoyable after I've invested time building jigs, accessories, proper dust collection etc. to make it even more pleasurable to use.

Everybody has a hobby, and everybody's hobby is different. Some people find pleasure in things that other people can't understand. I've had more than a few people say things to me after like "You know that you can just hire people to do that stuff, right?", or "you know that there's places called furniture stores that sell that stuff?" Probably one of (what I considered ) the weirdest hobbies I've ever seen was when I was getting a tour of an airport by a buddy in Manchester, UK. We came across a guy sitting in a chair on a platform just outside the fence at the end of the active runway. He had a notepad, a pen, a watch, a pair of binoculars and a portable VHF radio. Every time a plane took off or landed, he would write down the time, the aircraft type and registration, the call sign, the airline, and any notable details, such as color or distinguishing markings. I talked to the guy for a bit and he said that he'd sit out there for 4 or 5 hours every day recording this information in his notebook. When the notebook was full, he'd pull out another, and add the completed one to his collection at home. I told him that it was very interesting. In my head, I was thinking, "this guy's lost his freaking mind!!"

Everybody has a hobby, and everybody has a different idea of what is considered useful!

[Derek Cohen]

I am generally hyperfocussed when building, sticking to the task. My interest ilies with designing and building furniture, and once a piece has begun, little else is allowed to interrupt the process. I try to find something new each time, with new techniques to challenge. As a result, the build can be an intense, but very satisfying, time. Between each build it is great to chill out by building a new tool - hand plane or a jig for the next project. Between projects is a good time to get the shop back in order again. The shop gets messy when a project is underway, and so it is time to clean up, tune up, and ready everything for the next dive into the deep end.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Frederick Skelly]

Probably one of (what I considered ) the weirdest hobbies I've ever seen was when I was getting a tour of an airport by a buddy in Manchester, UK. We came across a guy sitting in a chair on a platform just outside the fence at the end of the active runway. He had a notepad, a pen, a watch, a pair of binoculars and a portable VHF radio. Every time a plane took off or landed, he would write down the time, the aircraft type and registration, the call sign, the airline, and any notable details, such as color or distinguishing markings. I talked to the guy for a bit and he said that he'd sit out there for 4 or 5 hours every day recording this information in his notebook. When the notebook was full, he'd pull out another, and add the completed one to his collection at home. I told him that it was very interesting. In my head, I was thinking, "this guy's lost his freaking mind!!"

Call it a sign of the times, but in a post September 11th world, this guys' hobby gave me the creeps.

But getting back to your point, there's an old saying I heard one time: "Everybody else's hobby is stupid." And ain't that the truth? :D :D :D

Fred

[Charlie Hinton]

Ha, after beginning retirement in January and getting the ok from SWMBO to take the whole garage as a full time workshop I got stuck in shop reorganization quagmire.
There was nothing going on other than just moving stuff around and thinking about how moving it somewhere else would be better.
I am kinda over it now, but for me it's an easy rabbit hole to jump into.
I actually use the jigs I have built and consider the time spent on them very worthwhile.
There are still some shop projects on my short list and I do not know if they will be functional/utilitarian or if I will use them to learn techniques that can be applied to higher quality furniture.
This is a hobby for me, but like many I wouldn't mind selling some things to support new tools and replenish the wood and hardware.

[Brian Henderson]

It all depends on what I need at the time. Sometimes, it will be all shop projects, I'm making new clamp racks at the moment and not much else. But others, it will be no shop projects at all. It just depends on what I need. And the better the shop operates, the more efficiently I can make non-shop related projects, so its win-win all around.

[Larry Edgerton]

I am building a house inside a shop right now, so I am good............

[tom lucas]

I do this as a hobby and I like an organized shop. Like many others I build a project, build jigs as I need, and clean up and organize in between. One of the issues with jigs is storing them. After a while you need a bigger shop just to hold your fixtures and stuff,and you have to build more storage in your shop just for them.

My personality is that once I start building something, I can be pretty compulsive until it is completed. Others start 6 projects at a time and take forever (if ever) to finish one of them. My compulsiveness to finish can get in the way of other chores. So, I largely confine my wood working to late summer or winter when all other things are done or can't be done because of the weather. I also still work full time, and that is always in the way.

I know a few engineers that are hobbyist wood workers. Sometimes they are too consumed with perfections of accuracy. So they spend all their time worrying about that 0.002" out of perfect that a tool might be whether than just making stuff. Sometimes they are completely paralyzed by these simple matters that don't really matter. I'm glad that's not me. "Good enough" is my friend. I've come to recognize it easily.

[Pete Staehling]

A couple other things I didn't mention...

First, I think that my time spent doing shop improvements and jig/gadget building was directly tailored to improving my ability to generate a quality product in a timely manner. I didn't fall down the rabbit hole of doing shop stuff just for the sake of doing it. It all was directly related to actual work quality/productivity. I build musical instruments so I think that specialized jigs may be a bigger deal than for some shops.

Second, I find that the moving around of stuff and general reworking of the shop is best done more than once with some productive shop time in between. That way the work directs the reorganization in a way I couldn't manage up front.

[Mike Cutler]

Osvaldo

I have to agree.
I use to build a lot of jigs, just because I thought they'd be handy someday. Most have now found the scrap dumpster at the dump. Most actually never got used They got in the way, or warped through the years.
The last jig I built was a coping sled. It's pretty good actually, but it's going to hit the dump too. The plywood base distorted, curved,a little bit. I'll copy it using aluminum, or buy the one from Infinity. I'm kind of tired of making jigs, just to eventually throw them away for one reason or another.
Other than rearranging some stuff, and throwing a bunch of stuff out, to make more room to actually work, I haven't done much in a few years. I want to work on projects, not the shop.
Oops! I do have one "shop improvement: project.
A tree took out the corner of the garage, which was formerly a greenhouse, so I have to rebuild that corner of the garage this spring. That corner will become part of the shop space. I lied. Sorry.:o

[Ole Anderson]

I will spend two hours making a jig that might save me a half an hour because I "might" need it on another project.

[Derek Cohen]

.....Probably one of (what I considered ) the weirdest hobbies I've ever seen was when I was getting a tour of an airport by a buddy in Manchester, UK. We came across a guy sitting in a chair on a platform just outside the fence at the end of the active runway. He had a notepad, a pen, a watch, a pair of binoculars and a portable VHF radio. Every time a plane took off or landed, he would write down the time, the aircraft type and registration, the call sign, the airline, and any notable details, such as color or distinguishing markings. I talked to the guy for a bit and he said that he'd sit out there for 4 or 5 hours every day recording this information in his notebook. When the notebook was full, he'd pull out another, and add the completed one to his collection at home. I told him that it was very interesting. In my head, I was thinking, "this guy's lost his freaking mind!!" ....

Odds on that he was autistic (Autism Spectrum Disorder).

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Brian Holcombe]

I like the actual workshop to be a nice environment but usually spend very little time on fixtures. Most of my tool racks are just scraps.

I’m guilty of hanging art in the workshop, I spend 10+ hours a day so it may as well be enjoyable.

[Brandon Speaks]

I work on whatever I feel like at the time (or course doing any urgent projects for the house on priority). If I dropped all woodworking beyond basic home repairs there is no one but me that would really care, so I figure my shop time is mine to do what ever I want. I likely spend more time tinkering than furniture building, who am I kidding, it is probably 90%, but who cares. Its not a job, and the day it is not fun I wont do it, its entirely possible that I wont set foot in my shop from mid may through September and spend that free time in my boat hunting muskie, again who cares. If its not your job do what is fun and what makes you happy. This is why when we redo our kitchen next year I dont want any part of it, I can make 10x what the work would cost in the same time at my computer or in a meeting and I dont want deadlines on my shop time.

[Bernie Kopfer]

Perhaps we should recognize and acknowledge that too often our shops are an extension of our ego. If you do not believe that, observe your reaction if someone make a disparaging remark about your shop or what you say to yourself when someone excessively boasts about their shop. Our (male and female) egos get us into trouble all too often manifesting itself in needing more things such as tools, jigs,space etc. My ego keeps telling me how much happier I will be if I just get that ....... The ego is a liar and once recognized as such I can choose to listen or not. I often listen, and my justification is that it keeps me busy and the economy going. 😇

[Marshall Harrison]

I agree with those who mention it comes in phases. I'm very much in a shop improvement phase right now because I'm working to transform from pure hobby to more work for others as an alternative to going out and getting a part time job at a Super Market or cooking in a restaurant to add to my monthly earnings in retirement. I have a little more to do relative to that before a new machine arrives and at that point my "phase" will shift a bit to the learning curve and then to producing stuff. But there will still be personal projects in the mix for sure...

That's where I am too. I'm in the process of building out my shop (i.e. garage) and using my woodworking to augment my retirement. Its also to makes some things for the house and to pass own as heirlooms to the kids.

I'm hoping someday to make the crib for each of my kids' first child. Got to get them married first though. Seems millennials (or at least the ones I spawned) don't move out and marry as early as I was hoping. So plenty of time for shop and skill building.

[michael langman]

This is a difficult problem, question for me, because I cannot spend the amount of time in the shop that I would like. When I get in the shop I don't want to spend time improving the shop, I would rather be working on my project.
At the same time, I worked in my profession with many, many tools, and in order to work efficiently everything had to have a specific place in my very large 3 piece tool box, and on my bench. After awhile things become habit forming in that way and I become efficient.
I have not reached that point in my wood shop yet, after being in my woodshop for many years.

[Howard Rosenberg]

Interesting observation and certainly some interesting answers here.

One thing worth remembering is it's a HOBBY for us!

Everybody performs their hobby according to their interests, skills and tastes. Some of us make furniture. Others, guitars. Or kayaks. And games and toys.

We make our projects from solid wood. And out of sheet goods. We use centuries-old joinery techniques. Some use contemporary technologies. We paint them. We stain them. We dye them. We topcoat them. And we wax them. Some of us even veneer them.

There are many ways of accomplishing the same result under the general heading of hobby. If that's what somebody likes doing, I think shop projects is a great use of the individualistic creativity each of us brings to our hobby.

So I guess this is a long-winded way of saying "to each his own."

Howard

[Mel Fulks]

Keith, it's possible the guy was from a family that was involved with "Civil Air Patrol". I hadn't thought about that in decades, but they used to run public service TV anouncments for it . It was a big deal for a long time.

[Simon MacGowen]

I

So I guess this is a long-winded way of saying "to each his own."

Howard

One of my key reasons to look at other people's work is to enhance my own work. So, I admire mostly those who produce great work with great methods (including techniques, jigs and shop set-up) which I have two areas of expertise to tap into.

I have seen photos or videos showing people spending almost ALL of their shop time in building shop projects (workbench, shop aids and jigs, dust collection, etc.) without one single serious furniture or cabinet build shared. Often, their objective is to show a new tool they have bought and used it in -- another - shop project. To me, they are only "readying" themselves for woodworking. Until and unless they move beyond that phase of getting ready, I don't go back and check on their progress. It is not hard to find these people on youtube or other social media. If you are at the stage of setting up a shop or only interested in sheet good projects, they are fun to watch. I am well past that, and incremental shop improvement projects only happen once in a blue moon, esp. in a well-equipped shop.

Now, if you are in the business of helping people set up shops, that is a different story.

Simon

[Jim Becker]

I will spend two hours making a jig that might save me a half an hour because I "might" need it on another project.
I will do that, not to save time or even with consideration of another future project...I'll build the jig to make the component(s) accurately and safely. Sometimes, that's just part of the job.

[John Sincerbeaux]

I think it is a “Dude Thing”
Name a hobby, passion, or profession and you will see the same thing. We all(well most) fall into a “Vortex” of having the best, fastest, coolest product that is available for that market. Maybe no hobby proves this more than bass fishing. Here in Texas, guys treat this hobby like religion. Check out their boats. $100K boats with crazy performance engines, motor lift plates, trim tabs, SS custom props all so they can fly accross the water at 80 mph to go sit��. You see the same things in bikers, skiers, musicians etc.

[Rick McQuay]

For some, the shop is the hobby and they make stuff once in awhile because they have a shop so why not. There is nothing wrong with that. For others the hobby is woodworking. I'm a woodworker. I don't like making jigs so will make one if it's really necessary. I don't really care what my shop looks like but I try to keep it organized. The challenge is I have a small shop so everytime I upgrade a machine or buy a new machine, I have to rearrange. As I add tools, I have to put them somewhere. And the biggest challenge is keeping lumber out of my way.

[Jeff Heath]

Not me! I built my workshop 17 years ago, and I just put walls up last year. I got tired of looking at insulation.
381701

Maybe this year I will get to making the ceiling.

[Brian Holcombe]

Beautiful shop Jeff!

[Jeff Heath]

Thanks Brian. I spend so much time in there, it was time to make it cozy. Thinking about putting my bed in there....:D

[Jim Becker]

I just finally did the ceiling thing, Jeff...with a "real" HVAC system it became necessary to insulate and cover the bare joists that have been that way since I moved into my shop in early 2000. (I actually have a little more ceiling work to do when I get home from some personal travel)

[Edwin Santos]

Not me! I built my workshop 17 years ago, and I just put walls up last year. I got tired of looking at insulation.
381701

Maybe this year I will get to making the ceiling.

You likes the old 'arn my man!

Would you share some details on that deep throat bandsaw?
Edwin

[Bill Carey]

Interesting question, Osvaldo. My answer has several facets. I enjoy making things that work - things that perform a function, and are efficient at it. So that could be the kitchen island made from reclaimed wood, or the simple little geegaws I made to hold my fishing poles on the garage door when it goes up. I just made a mortise jig because I could have used it on the project I just finished, and I want to do more mortise and tenon projects. And making the jig was just as much fun as making a lamp - thinking it thru, weighing options, being efficient in my use of wood, etc. I'm happy with most things I make, but of course take more pride in the "real" accomplishments, like the island, clock, cremains boxes, lamps etc. (next up, a Greene and Greene rocker) But I don't value the effort I put into those things more than the effort I put into jigs, cleaning and sorting lumber, or setting up a new (or old) tool. To me it's all a part of this woodworking bug I got bit by 50 years ago.

Put to answer your question directly, I would say 40% of my time is in improving the environment I work in - in other words, shop shit.

But I gotta tell ya I'm really proud of those geegaws: I've been waging war on the fishing poles for years: they always seemed to be in the wrong place, or under my feet, or tangled with something else. But now - I'm Attila the freaking fishing pole Hun!! They have been tamed and conquered.

[Simon MacGowen]

I'm a woodworker. I don't like making jigs so will make one if it's really necessary. I don't really care what my shop looks like but I try to keep it organized. The challenge is I have a small shop so everytime I upgrade a machine or buy a new machine, I have to rearrange. As I add tools, I have to put them somewhere. And the biggest challenge is keeping lumber out of my way.

We share almost an identical modus vivendi in the shop! I have lots of jigs on the wall or in the shed, but every one of them was made because of a project's needs. I hardly need a new jig or see one that I think would help my work.

Simon

[Brian Henderson]

I just finally did the ceiling thing, Jeff...with a "real" HVAC system it became necessary to insulate and cover the bare joists that have been that way since I moved into my shop in early 2000. (I actually have a little more ceiling work to do when I get home from some personal travel)

Same here. My last shop, I spent 17 years with bare joists and insulated walls and it didn't bother me at all. The new shop was complete moving in so I didn't have to worry about it.

[Brandon Speaks]

I was thinking about this one more today as I was hanging out in my shop, not really working on anything, just messing around.

The shop is an important part of the living space for me even outside of the hobbies I do there. Even going back to high school if we were at someones house where were we hanging out? In the shop, garage, or barn. In all three houses I have owned if a buddy is coming over to have a beer where do we hang out? In the shop or the garage. If I am with my wife I am in the family room or dining room, if I am spending time alone or with friends its in my office or my shop (or maybe on the lake :)), and if in the office its a pretty good bet I am working.

So given that I spend a reasonable amount of my discretionary time in the shop, spending time making it how I want it and making things for it makes sense. At my first house I even had a recliner out there. It is also the one area of the house that is fully mine, not that I dont have say about how the living room, family room, or kitchen are set up, but the wife has a bigger say. The shop is the place that I set up however I want so I spend time making it how I want it.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Sometimes, I will spend a day building a jig, that will only be used for an hour. But without such jig, I couldn't do the paying job that I'm doing. The time and materials to make jig is included in my cost estimate, so I'm doing both. Several of my brain pharts have been bought by the magazines, which helps to off set time costs. It's like when I say I don't have any tools in my shop that cost me anything. They have all paid their way over the years. My schedule "C" on taxes reflect it.

[Jeff Heath]

You likes the old 'arn my man!

Would you share some details on that deep throat bandsaw?
Edwin

Yep. It's the good stuff.

Which bandsaw? The one on the left is a DoAll V36, which is my metal cutting saw. The one stripped down in the back is my Yates American 30" woodworking bandsaw, under restoration. What details would you like to know?

[Jeff Heath]

I just finally did the ceiling thing, Jeff...with a "real" HVAC system it became necessary to insulate and cover the bare joists that have been that way since I moved into my shop in early 2000. (I actually have a little more ceiling work to do when I get home from some personal travel)

Jim,

I know I've been losing tons of heat through the ceiling for years. I heat with wood only (the wood burning stove is an old school Fisher), and I know I'll use a lot less wood with a proper ceiling to help seal it up. Having a sawmill, there's always tons of firewood around here, and that has made it, unfortunately, less of a priority. I hope to get it done, finally, this year. I need more pine logs to make the ceiling lightweight, though. I have 1000's of bf of ash cut and ready, but it's too heavy. I don't want my ceiling sagging from the weight.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have a rule, after each piece of household furniture is completed, I get to make something for the shop.

It can range from a new cabinet to something simple like a drill bit tray.

I have a very small shop, organization is really important so that I'm not wasting valuable shop time moving things out of the way.

I also like a shop that looks nice, so the base cabinets are Baltic birch, the drawer and door fronts are trimmed with walnut to give a nice look, and the cabinets have a semi-gloss polyurethane finish. overkill for sure, however it looks nice and I like that.

I have a friend whose father has a shop that looks like a tornado visited it, he can find everything in that mess, and work there as well. I couldn't, looking at it would drive me crazy........We're all different...............Regards, Rod.

[Jim Becker]

Jim,

I know I've been losing tons of heat through the ceiling for years.

That's exactly why I finished the ceiling since I now have a "real" HVAC system and want to take advantage of how little energy it will use with a properly insulated envelope. With your wood heat, you should also benefit, but may need to provide a means to further regulate things if the heat off your wood burner starts to, um...accumulate. :) IE...a way to let heat out when it's too much! LOL

[Mike Ontko]

Building jigs and fixtures for the shop as well as building the shop itself (dust collection, spray booth, workbench, assembly table, mobile carts, sawhorses, etc.) is a necessary part of the process. This isn't needle point...though even for that you still need a hoop frame, a place to keep your needles and thread, and so on.

I still have the three sheets of 3/4 birch plywood that I bought to make my shop cabinets with...three years ago. They're leaning against the wall along with parts and pieces for several other shop construction projects that I haven't gotten around to quite yet. Because I've been building my shop around the projects that I've been tasked to make, it's been a slow process. I've only had time to make jigs and other shop items as their needed to support one project or another--tapering jig, shooting board, crosscut sleds, spline jigs, and the list goes on.

[Jeff Heath]

That's exactly why I finished the ceiling since I now have a "real" HVAC system and want to take advantage of how little energy it will use with a properly insulated envelope. With your wood heat, you should also benefit, but may need to provide a means to further regulate things if the heat off your wood burner starts to, um...accumulate. :) IE...a way to let heat out when it's too much! LOL

Oh, yeah! Quite often it's 20° and I have to open a couple of windows because it gets to upper 70's in the shop. Some woods, like oak, produce a lot more heat than others, and I have to pay attention to what I'm feeding the stove.