That's My Dream!

Bill Satko

Member
Messages
3,209
Location
Methow Valley
I hate my current shop space, as it does not reflect my revised philosophy of practicing woodworking. It has been about ten years ago, that I went to one of the annual woodworking shows that traveled to Seattle and first saw the Lie Nielsen booth. I was struck by a lightning bolt of inspiration, realizing that there was a more challenging, but I believe, rewarding way to work wood. More rewarding, because it relied not on machinery, but the development of my hand and eye. This should not have been a surprise, because my neighbor when I was a child had both hand tools and woodworking machinery. But being a child, it was the machinery that I associated with woodworking. That was then reinforced by the New Yankee Workshop that enthralled me for many years and became the standard of what a shop should look like.

With the change of more of a hand tool approach to woodworking, came more of a dissatisfaction with my working space. It now seemed crowded and not optimized for hand tool woodworking. If I was starting from a clean slate, making the change would be easy, but when you have a space full of machinery, corded tools, other non-woodworking items; it is a slow process to making a real change. But I always had a dream of a shop with very little clutter and just the bare necessities. I see a lot of shops that are packed to the rafters (literally!) with tools, wood and whatever; with only a small space to move around, but that is not my vision. My vision has always been something akin to the Anthony Hay Cabinet Shop at Williamsburg. Now there is new inspiration for me. The following link is to Jamie Bacon's new shop. It is a confirmation of my own ideas and an encouragement that there are others with the same vision.

I am not alone!

I am a firm believer that your space determines how you work. I continue to work my current space into more like my ultimate vision. The bench was the start and I am close to finishing a tool chest to pull all of my handtools together. This winter I am determined to make a huge transformation that will necessitate getting rid of a lot of tools that I hardly use. And someday soon we will be leaving this house and I will be able to start my space from scratch. I can't wait! In the mean time, for those of you with a like mind, enjoy the link to a great woodworking space.
 
well bill i can see you in there but the out side is to modern for you,, i see you in a rustic looking sided shop that will show age in the siding rather than neat white paint, but the one they show in other old towns were white i think so perhaps that was the way they were..
 
I would have included a small bathroom with a sink so in the cold weather(or warm) you dont have to run back into the house and drag any sawdust with you.

Definitely running water with a sink, but more for sharpening and cleaning. I wouldn't mind taking a break and going to the house for a break. Besides, it looks like he has plenty of bushes right behind his shop if there is an emergency.

The shop is just a little too sparse, even for me. I would add some in-period tool cabinets, drafting table and a real wood burning stove with a couple of comfortable chairs. I would also need a covered porch in my climate. Besides, it would be nice to sit out there and work on really nice days.

I really like the wood floor that he has. Overall he has created a space that you would like sitting in for any reason and I would like all my work spaces to have the same feeling. The shop should feel just like another room in your house and not some third rate space akin to the laundry room.
 
Beautiful shop there. Bill, I see you've been reading the Anarchist's Tool Chest. I've just finished it myself.
Before I tackle the chest - and probably won't any time soon - I made a box in my bench to keep my planes in, and the dust off.
I don't think I'm ready to fire all my tailed apprentices, but it does feel tempting to get all the power tools out of the way, and just have quiet open space.
I appreciate you posting the link.
Any idea how big the shop is? Elia Bizzarri's is 10x20, and he puts out some fine chairs.
 
Definitely running water with a sink, but more for sharpening and cleaning. I wouldn't mind taking a break and going to the house for a break. Besides, it looks like he has plenty of bushes right behind his shop if there is an emergency.

The shop is just a little too sparse, even for me. I would add some in-period tool cabinets, drafting table and a real wood burning stove with a couple of comfortable chairs. I would also need a covered porch in my climate. Besides, it would be nice to sit out there and work on really nice days.

I really like the wood floor that he has. Overall he has created a space that you would like sitting in for any reason and I would like all my work spaces to have the same feeling. The shop should feel just like another room in your house and not some third rate space akin to the laundry room.

I like the space in many ways, but I also think it's maybe a bit too Spartan for my liking. Doesn't have a warm feel yet, but that will come over time. I like your idea for a warm corner by the stove Bill, with a couple of chairs for visiting and thinking. I think Frank Pellow calls his as a Contemplation Corner maybe? I know he's spent some quality time there with grandchildren and visitors:thumb:

Like Ken said, I'm far from ready to ship all the machines out, there's too much saving of limited shop time connected to them, but I see myself gravitating toward a dedicated handtool/bench area or room over time too.

Thanks for posting this Bill:wave:
 
Beautiful shop there. Bill, I see you've been reading the Anarchist's Tool Chest. I've just finished it myself.
Before I tackle the chest - and probably won't any time soon - I made a box in my bench to keep my planes in, and the dust off.
I don't think I'm ready to fire all my tailed apprentices, but it does feel tempting to get all the power tools out of the way, and just have quiet open space.
I appreciate you posting the link.
Any idea how big the shop is? Elia Bizzarri's is 10x20, and he puts out some fine chairs.

Ken, the shop is 15 x 20. Right now most of my go to planes are in my existing tool box, but it is not big enough or structured correctly to allow for quick access; too much shuffling of trays and planes to get to everything. I am building a more traditional chest and give that a try. It is based on a chest in Bernard Jones's "The Practical Woodworking", although I do have Chris's book. I am also not ready to get rid of all my tailed tools, but most can go and I would not miss them.

I like the space in many ways, but I also think it's maybe a bit too Spartan for my liking. Doesn't have a warm feel yet, but that will come over time. I like your idea for a warm corner by the stove Bill, with a couple of chairs for visiting and thinking. I think Frank Pellow calls his as a Contemplation Corner maybe? I know he's spent some quality time there with grandchildren and visitors:thumb:

Like Ken said, I'm far from ready to ship all the machines out, there's too much saving of limited shop time connected to them, but I see myself gravitating toward a dedicated handtool/bench area or room over time too.

Thanks for posting this Bill:wave:

Hi Peter. I did not know that about Frank's shop. I wish I had that space in my current shop now. Well, the next one will have it for sure.
 
I completely agree with your neander approach Bill. Although machines are in our shops to give us the extra time we need to make our projects, most of us are hobbyists and have few time to devote to our passion and we have to admit that it is then when machines come handy.

The noise of machines is something I have to accept despite I don't like it. Myself when I'm carving I don't even listen to music, the best music I can hear is the noise of a well sharpened gouge or plane cutting wood. Loosing the notion of time while working wood is one of the best experiences I can recommend.

I also dream of a shop with north light where my hands can be busy, my soul rest and my mind wander.
 
The noise of machines is something I have to accept despite I don't like it. Myself when I'm carving I don't even listen to music, the best music I can hear is the noise of a well sharpened gouge or plane cutting wood. Loosing the notion of time while working wood is one of the best experiences I can recommend.

I like the music of hand tools and detest the roar of the machine. Even the sound of chopping out dovetails is music to my ears. I love to hear the crunch of the wood as the chisel bits deep into the wood from the blow of the mallet. But you are correct, there is nothing like the swoosh of a well sharpened hand plane on wood. I rank it up there with Miles Davis's trumpet on the So What track of the Kind of Blue album or Bill Evans' piano on Waltz for Debby.

I have to go now and make some of my own music.
 
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