I just returned from a house/community hunting trip to Williamsburg, Virginia with my significant other and it looks very serious that we may be uprooting from Lexington, VA to Williamsburg. I welcome the potential relo as I grew up 25 miles from W'burg (Hampton) and have many friends in the area. My initial concern is "will I have to give up my woodworking?" as the communities that we are looking have few properties that would accommodate (or welcome?) a woodshop and I know in advance that the garage will be used for storing our vehicles. I currently have a 20 x 24' shop with all my equipment on roller stands so I can configure it as needed but they are not compact tools (ie. 20" Delta planer; 20" Delta bandsaw, 8" jointer; tablesaw, chopsaw, drill press & W&H molder, 2 bag dust collection+ other hand & power tools) but nether the less "toys" I had accumulated for my retirement that is now upon me.
Years ago when I lived in Richmond and basically tool-less I was able to reconnect to woodworking by paying a very reasonable semester fee and use a local high school shop one night a week. We couldn't leave our projects on site which prohibited large projects but it was a great place to plane some lumber, rip and even glue up some projects and possible resume work back home. The class was mostly retired folks who were very knowledgable and helpful to a young wood butcher like me. All participants had to be checked out for their knowledge of proper operation and safety before they were "certified" to use a particular piece of equipment. I have contacted the local Williamsburg/James City schools and no one is aware of any such program in Williamsburg.
My purpose in this post is to ask the brain trust in the Peninsula area if they know of any clubs, co-ops, schools or fee based shops in the area that I could utilize as an alternative than to trying to reestablish my shop in the Williamsburg area. I am considering putting my shop into temporary storage upon moving in case I could find an off-site building or possible building site away from the residential area after we got settled.
Any comments, info or suggestions are most welcome.
Don