Shop Makeover – Progress: Wood Storage

Bill Satko

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Methow Valley
I don’t know how others feel about their work-spaces, but I do know what I need in a work-space. It is important to me that it is free from clutter and that it has a certain aesthetic appeal. My own current shop feels cramped, cluttered, cold and hard. It is the result of utilizing a space not designed as a workshop but as a garage. I had bought a bunch of tools and tried to make them fit the space without concern to how it looked and made me feel.

If I were to build a wood shop today, it would more like Jim Tolpin’s
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or Jamie Bacon’s.
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These are spaces that I associate with woodworking. Of course, my idea of woodworking was that practiced by the farmer/woodworker of the 1700’s, so it is only natural that my ideal workshop would look similar to the spaces they used.
Someday, when we move from here, I will build that ideal workshop, but in the meantime I have decided to put some effort in transforming my garage into more of a workshop. I have given myself until July to get it done. Actually my wife has given me until July. In a moment of weakness, I agreed to give her a corner of the garage for her pottery wheel. That corner is crammed full of “stuff” and requires that I shuffle things around. So July, that corner needs to be done.

I have decided that the only way to eat this elephant is one bite at a time, so here is the first wall. This is what it looked like years ago
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and then again what it looked like recently.
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This is what it looks like now. Complete except of some cove trim at each end of the pine paneling to cover the gaps. I spackled, sanded and repainted the walls. Painted some old cabinets and moved them on the wall. Covered the concrete walls, which I always hated, with wood paneling or painted plywood. I have tried to soften the hardness of the space and make it look…you know, nice. I need to cover the floor with something, probably a vinyl roll covering and/or mats. Better for my feet and hand tools.
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I will continue to post as I complete each section. I need to keep my nose to the grindstone or before I know it July will slip past and it will be Thanksgiving or something and I will be in the doghouse.
 
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A project that hits very close to home, Bill. I'm looking forward to following along and borrowing some ideas. My own space has become as much a heated storage as a shop the past two winters, with little room to do anything (or enjoy it). That has to change.
 
I love watching shop's morph as we discover things that work or do not work for us. When I looked at the second pic in the bottom set of four I actually sighed with relief . . . and I wasn't even stressed. Looking forward to the next bite of the elephant.
 
Thanks everyone, but it is only the start. The next wall requires building some built-in drawers and cabinets. It is going to take some time.

Tom, I salvaged the uppers but junked the lowers. Most all of my hand tools fit into my chest, I do have some woodies in boxes that will fit in the cabinets to the right. The smaller cabinet to the left will hold my handsaws.

Ryan, I was thinking that last line would be too subtle for most.
 
Great looking start there Bill.

Is that English workbench designed to be used from the front only?

I've found so much more usability in my Roubo bench by having it approachable from all sides.

One thing that if I could turn back the clock I would do for sure is take the time to put down a wooden floor, man would that be sweet, but it is not going to happen in the Dungeon, no way I could take the time to do that. The next workshop will have wooden floors.

Cheers!
 
Stu

It is if you consider the location of the vise and the placement of the dog holes. That being said I have worked on it from all sides but 99% from the front. That is why I now prefer it against the wall. I can always move it. I am already liking the panel wall shelf to place my tools as I work.

Big yes on wood floors but not for this space. It still needs to be a garage for next owner.


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Actually seeing the transformation makes one feel inspired to do woodworking, I can now understand where you're coming from. Nice job on the space, can't wait to see more. :lurk:
 
That's a lot of outlets for a hand tool workspace! :rofl:

Looks great though. I'm sure you will enjoy spending time there.
 
In my view, shop space needs to take into account how much quality time you get to spend in it and what you intend to do in it.
When its a home diy do all garage then its serving a multipurpose role and not all those roles or purposes are ..well frankly enjoyable or quality time spent.
Working with hand tools in a calm well laid out organized environment is way more conducive to quality creative time and that's far more enjoyable than the battle in the chaos of the multi role multipurpose shop.
To me the ideal is having a garage and a stand alone shop and separating the tasks to be done in the two even down to the tools and materials. But many cannot look to that luxury.
I think a lot has to be considered as to what one wishes to do with ones time when one retires and do not have to split time between career ,kids, home diy/ maint and hobby/pastimes.
A friend of mine is clearing out all his tools, in retirement he and his wife plan on traveling.
That's completely opposite to my own outlook. But illustrates my point.

Bill only thing I would look at given you have mentioned selling in the medium term is how much capital and effort you put into your space that is not going to get you a bigger sticker price on the space. Save that money for your end shop. If the next guy is not a diyer and I would presume that you not selling them a fixer upper house then questionable as to how they would value the space in a home sale.
Case in point my last shop I took incredible care to make got taken down and in my market did me no good in existing in the first place. I got my money out of it, but for the market could have put that time and effort into the basement and got a better return in the short term.


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That's a lot of outlets for a hand tool workspace! :rofl:

I admit it's pretty funny. I even had the thought that it looked kind of strange the other day, when I was admiring it. Then I thought, no will notice. :)

Working with hand tools in a calm well laid out organized environment is way more conducive to quality creative time and that's far more enjoyable than the battle in the chaos of the multi role multipurpose shop.

Exactly! I am glad you understand.

Bill only thing I would look at given you have mentioned selling in the medium term is how much capital and effort you put into your space that is not going to get you a bigger sticker price on the space. Save that money for your end shop. If the next guy is not a diyer and I would presume that you not selling them a fixer upper house then questionable as to how they would value the space in a home sale.

The wife and I talked about this and we are in agreement that we are willing to spend some money now to enhance our environment for the next 4 to 5 years. Trust me, the money and effort I am spending is insignificant and especially considering what it is buying us. But I appreciate the point you are making.
 
Well, after remarking to a co-worker how I have not been sick for over 6 years, one of people in my group brought the flu to work from her husband. Three of us went down hard with it and I brought it home to my wife. That was a little over three weeks ago, so little has been accomplished on the shop make-over. One thing I managed to do was make my own coving and install it where the paneling mated with the adjourning walls.

"Make your own coving. Why?", you may be asking. I admit, I could have run to Lowes and picked up some coving and be done in a half hour. But we don't have pine trim in this area of the country. If it is not hemlock, then it is oak. I just thought it would look too strange with hemlock and pine together. Besides, I have hollows and rounds and can make any type of moulding. Problem is I needed a 3/4 inch round and the one I had was an old plane, not in the best of shape and missing it's companion hollow. The sole needed reshaping and iron needed flattening and reshaping to fit the new sole shape. This ended up taking a lot more time and right in the middle of all this I get sick.

Not having a matching hollow, I had to create a hollow profile that I could then wrap with sand paper and use to reshape the sole of the round to the proper profile. I also took a slight curve out of the sole, so now it is flat. I reground the iron to fit the proper shape and sharpening it on my fine India stone and then my translucent Arkansas stone. Ended up being very sharp as evidenced by a faint blood stain on the round sole.

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Now the fun part. I cut some rabbets to eliminate the waste and to provide points that the round could rest on. After getting the profile, I then cut the waste away on the table saw.
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This is what it looks like with a close up of the right hand side. I think it looks nice.
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Why make anything, because we can I say and it does look good :thumb:

Looks good Bill, hopefully your starting to get over the blech's, I'm guessing it's the same stuff that was going around down here that put a bunch of folks I know out for a week or so. Nasty stuff.
 
Here are some more pictures, showing me making the cove on the left side of the bench. I couldn't help messing around and I profiled some small rabbets along with the cove. It all got ripped off on the table saw.

I forgot to mention that I also made a sticking board. That is kind of how all my projects go. I end going in so many tangents that it is not surprising it takes me so long to do everything.
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