Whats your shop and tools mean to you.

Rob Keeble

Member
Messages
12,633
Location
GTA Ontario Canada
So Carol touched on a point in Rennies shop thread about amps.

The issue being what your shop does for you.

Many many many years ago now I had a visit from Larry and i recall him talking about puttering around in the shop.

Well for me i think if i lost the ability to go putter around and do something in the shop, be it making something or simply sorting of moving stuff around, well i honestly think it will be tickets for me and i will go off my rocker.

So how important is your shop and tools to you?
Have you given it much thought how much it means to you?

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
Well, it's had two years of neglect with my time diverted to hanging with the grandson. Now that I have a little more free time, I'm working to re-claim my shop. I'm trying to refocus and get it cleaned out, purging a few old hobbies and things that are simply clutter, so I can set things up for current interests. I've found with organization, my mind can focus on the creativity and enjoy. That said, I'd rather still spend the time with the grandson, but guess I've got to be a normal grandparent at some point and spoil him and send him home. ;)
 
I find that I cannot do my day job without the counterbalance of being in the shop. So much so, that I currently rent space to putter in until I can get a shop built again. Its a little inconvenient but it is better than crawling up a wall. And its not that far away. And it has some really cool tools I don't own that are available to me, like the laser and 3d printers (which I haven't used - yet). and some really smart people hang there so brain picking is absurdly easy. Next cool tool is the 3d scanner. Think about using that with a cnc machine!

The day job is very taxing in every sense. Helping people carry their baggage until they can handle it by themselves along with weekly worship prep and mediating human interactions tries the patience of Job! I would totally collapse if I couldn't immerse myself in a building project like the current cnc cabinet build. Once I have a system working on that thing it stays working. People aren't that simple! And I really look forward to being creative with the machine, to see what it can do and to see what I can do with it. Right now all the other machines just play a role in supporting that machine.
 
Soon to find out I think.

We are seriously thinking about downsizing. The house is way too big for the 2 of us and the property taxes are pretty steep for 2 retired folks. So at best it means my shop will be downsized dramatically or I'll have no shop at all. The real estate market is coming back so the time could be right in the next 6 months or so.:(
 
It means my sanity! I sometimes forget that I need to spend time in the garage/shop until I become a cranky and short fused at work or worse with the wife or daughter. They both know to tell me "Go turn something now!" The shop, even if just cleaning up or sorting drawers for 20-30 minutes really does calm me and get me back to the usual happy camper I am most of the time. The hot summer months are the worse, but sweat is better than cranky Jeff!! :D
 
Working in the shop definitely keeps me balanced. Even though I am still kinda hobbling around with this stupid knee, I gotta get out there and play with some wood. It doesn't matter if I finish something that day or not. What matters is I did something constructive, and the shop is where that happens for me.
 
My shop...

It's where I go when I have a spare minute.

It's what recharges this little introvert of mine.

My shop isn't just where I go to make things I enjoy.

It's soul nourishing.

It's psyche recharging.

It's my piece of heaven.

It's a very large part of what defines me as a human being.

It's where I go when everything else needs to just stop for a bit.

It's the pathway to leaving this world with things that hopefully outlast my body and keeps memories alive for my loved ones.

My shop is the only place on this planet that can speak honestly about who I am. How (dis)organized I am. How scatterbrained i am. What my current interests are, and what they have been.

My shop... is an extension of my heart and mind.

It's where I express myself.

The love I pour into my shop is the love that pours out of it into gifts for loved ones.

My shop ... is me.
 
What it means to me?

I could live in a 2 story garage. Shop on first floor - living quarters on 2-nd floor - don't need much for living quarters.

I have given LOTS of thought to it. Being 3.5 to 4 years away from retirement and planning what to do after - the shop and yard is essential to the plan.
I will NOT downsize until I CANNOT do the physical any longer.

I cannot sit still - I need something to do.

I had a conversation a few years ago with Diane. She thought we should spend time taking the grand-kids going out places. I tried to do that, but its just not me. I told her that if she wants to do that to do it on the cheap, but for me, no.

In summer - I am barefoot, tattered shorts with paint dirt and stains. My feet are likely dirty. I wear a worn out tee shirt with holes, paint, glue stains. In winter a hoodie woodsman jacket brown flannel, a tattered sweatshirt and jeans, and shoes. I ALWAYS have something in the works. I want the kids to have memories of Pepe' in the shop or yard with tools cutting, painting, building, sanding. Sometimes they help me, sometimes just playing and running around.

July 4-th I wore clean clothes and didn't work in the some. We were having a family day. My daughter asked me what was wrong when they arrived. I said it was an image adjustment. Later in the day after sitting for too long I fired up the chainsaw but got too much push back.

Just the thought of selling off my tools, wood and shop is painful to even think about.

I need my shop and yard - plain and simple. Diane understands it fully well also.
 
The best way for me to describe what my shop means to me is to explain the criteria we had for moving for retirement. I was doing OK using our 2-car garage as a shop; fully equipped and I could move everything to one side so my wife could park her car inside at night. Our new location had to have ample room to build a shop. We weren't looking for a big house; just something nice for the two of us and definitely one story. What we found was a place at the end of a cul-de-sac with a hair over an acre, a one story house and an existing shop building.

The shop building was 16' wide by 36' deep with a loft area. If I had done nothing, I would have had an area of more than a 2-car garage, but both my wife and I wanted to enlarge it. From the time our offer was accepted, I began to draw up an addition. At first, I was just going to double the square footage but my wife kept encouraging me to go bigger. So, I ended up doing a 20' extension the full 36' deep. Overall, we've made more of an investment in the shop building than in changes to the house. I also built a 12' by 20' lawn equipment building in the corner of the property.

I spend varying amounts of time in my shop, depending on what's happening. Some days, it's just a few minutes; others I might be in there all day long. For me, it's a way to use my creative side and make things for us, family and friends.
 
I spend a lot of time in the shop - often just puttering around, not really working on anything. It's my main hobby, and I spend a lot of time at it.

When we retired, we downsized the house, but upsized the property. We have a 1300 ft² house, with a 2 car attached garage.

My wife has a quilting studio in the house's basement - a 14' X 40' finished room. She spend at least as much time there as I do in my shop.

My shop is a separate garage building, 26' X 32', with its own 100 amp sub panel. Heated, and with a window air conditioner. Has running water, but no bathroom facilities (its only downside).

The overall property is 1½ acres, with about 30 trees - mostly red oak, sugar maple, and sycamore. The oak and maple trees are mature - about 75' high, or more. So, there's plenty of yard work to be done that keeps me out of the shop. I generally enjoy the yardwork, so that's okay, but may have to start hiring some of the work out as I get older.

Right now, though, we're thoroughly enjoying our retirement!
 
So Carol touched on a point in Rennies shop thread about amps.

The issue being what your shop does for you.

Many many many years ago now I had a visit from Larry and i recall him talking about puttering around in the shop.

Well for me i think if i lost the ability to go putter around and do something in the shop, be it making something or simply sorting of moving stuff around, well i honestly think it will be tickets for me and i will go off my rocker.

So how important is your shop and tools to you?
Have you given it much thought how much it means to you?

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

Xs 2 Rob. Or I'd find a place to live where I can ride all years round. :)
 
My shop...

It's where I go when I have a spare minute.

It's what recharges this little introvert of mine.

My shop isn't just where I go to make things I enjoy.

It's soul nourishing.

It's psyche recharging.

It's my piece of heaven.

It's a very large part of what defines me as a human being.

It's where I go when everything else needs to just stop for a bit.

It's the pathway to leaving this world with things that hopefully outlast my body and keeps memories alive for my loved ones.

My shop is the only place on this planet that can speak honestly about who I am. How (dis)organized I am. How scatterbrained i am. What my current interests are, and what they have been.

My shop... is an extension of my heart and mind.

It's where I express myself.

The love I pour into my shop is the love that pours out of it into gifts for loved ones.

My shop ... is me.





Sniff Sniff..............I love ya man :D
 
Long ago (2001), J.O.A.T. posted the following on the "Wreck"

"My shop helps me relax, makes me feel

better (more "up" I guess you would say), and helps ease the headache.
It is enough sometimes just to know it is there, that is is mine and no
one elses. Sometimes I go out there for hours making something,
sometimes I just piddle around, sometimes I do a little and then just
sit for awhile, and sometimes all I do is just sit, listen to good music
on the radio, smell the sawdust, watch the birds and squirrels, and
don't think about anything much at all."

I could not explain it better than JOAT back then and I still can't.
 
Last edited:
Long ago (2001), J.O.A.T. posted the following on the "Wreck"

"My shop helps me relax, makes me feel

better (more "up" I guess you would say), and helps ease the headache.
It is enough sometimes just to know it is there, that is is mine and no
one elses. Sometimes I go out there for hours making something,
sometimes I just piddle around, sometimes I do a little and then just
sit for awhile, and sometimes all I do is just sit, listen to good music
on the radio, smell the sawdust, watch the birds and squirrels, and
don't think about anything much at all."

I could not explain it better back then and I still can't.

*LIKE* :thumb:
 
Yep, That's pretty much it. I'll never do any thing really 'fine' as far as woodworking, but I like spending time out there and I like just knowing that I can do a bit of anything.

I work with my brain at work, and at the end of the day, there's not much there to show for it. But the stuff I do either around here, or in the shop, gives me a level of tangible satisfaction I can look at and see the results of my labors.
 
Interesting comments..
It is something I am trying to come to grip with. The house we bought is smaller the lot is smaller and the garage is smaller. I have too many hobby's and don't do any of them justice. the garage where we are moving has very little power 1 four foot T12 and zero insulation. I may well get rid of my Delta contractors saw, my 14 inch band saw and dust collector, jointer. Keep the Delta scroll saw metal lathe, small Mill. Start doing woodworking more like Dan does where I open the garage and move things out in the drive. What I have already found is it takes me about the same time to mow the yard with the 21 inch push mower as it did here with the B7100 Kubota with a 5 foot deck, and it is a lot more work! I am taking to much but this move has me thinking my stuff owns me more than I do it. I always want a place to putter but really don't need half of what I have. Since I retired and don't work electronics every day my interest in that hobby is coming back. So try to keep enough tools to do most of the jobs around the house and car. Actually I continue to get more excited about getting rid of stuff and spending more time with what I keep. I would like to do more pens as I found that very relaxing. And they made nice gifts while requiring very few tools..
My interest
 
Yep, That's pretty much it. I'll never do any thing really 'fine' as far as woodworking, but I like spending time out there and I like just knowing that I can do a bit of anything.

I work with my brain at work, and at the end of the day, there's not much there to show for it. But the stuff I do either around here, or in the shop, gives me a level of tangible satisfaction I can look at and see the results of my labors.

Yup. I was having trouble articulating my thoughts but that's about it right there.
 
You know I had the conversation with my Dad last night. They retired almost 20 years ago when they were in their mid 50's. Dad fell in love with trout fishing when I was in my teens and it has been his passion for many years now. He's gotten where it's hard for him to bend over just to get the fish out of the water. He's fallen 3 times this year on the banks where he fishes as they aren't the most even. He's had surgery a couple of times now on his shoulders and it's gotten where he just doesn't enjoy the sport as much. He's gone once in the last month and it was hard to hear him tell me that he thought he was done with it. But as many of you, he's adjusted and has other interests and will adapt to what life is throwing at him. One of my goals has been to get my shop setup where he can come and use it as well, heck, he's got quite a few tools in there that were his in the first place. ;) He and I also share an interest in shooting, so hoping to do more of that with him also, even if he can out shoot me with one arm behind his back.
 
Since i am retired my shop allows me to pursue goals of my own choosing, and to work as little or as much as I choose. The shop keeps me physically and mentally active. The shop allows me produce usefull projects that I can take pride in, usually.:rolleyes: This site allows me to see other people's work and to share my own. Woodworking has been apart of my life since I was a youngster, the shop I now have is a continuation of a life long hobby.

Bill
 
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