Worst Shop Ever

When I lived in apartment right after college I did a few projects in my apartment. First I refinished a dresser (I did strip it at my parents house before i moved it, but still had to sand and finish it.) Then I built an end table and coffee table, which used glued-up pine panels from Lowes which I had them cut to size. The rest of the parts were poplar boards that I cut to size with a plastic miter box and Stanley back saw. I was also into car audio stuff and built a subwoofer box for my new car and installed my entire stereo system at the apartment. For that I had Lowes cut the panels to the basic size and then did the rest of my sawing outside with a long extension cord and either a circular saw or sabre saw but everything else was done in my apartment.
 
My first woodworking shop was a old 16x20 granary on the farm I lived on. It was pretty bad, bad enough dad wouldn't use it for anything....1 electrical receptacle and one light bulb. No ceiling, insualtion or heat. It smelled of all the past residents (mice) and had a musty grain odor to it as well.The roof leaked in one spot, I learned that the hard way as the rain ruined a new small Delta sander my wife had bought me for Christmas that year.

I put a new roof on it, added receps, installed leftover windows and yellow vinyl siding...it was an improvement.
 
I've been fortunate so far by always having a shop that outsized my current needs. Even my first shop was big, it was roughly 12'x12'. That sounds tiny to me now but at that time all I had was a table saw, workbench and planer (I didn't even have a set of chisels). So I don't really have a way to classify my "worst" shop.
 
My first shop after I left home was the corner of the living room in a second floor apt. In a college town. The down stair neighbors were loud music loving college students so I my new shop vac and craftsman band saw blended in nicely most times. I mostly woodcarved there because of the restrictive nature of the place. I then went through a series of several unheated garages in rentals after we got married, one of which, the landlord allowed me to dig power to. My labor and his supplies was the deal. At 22, the ambition to hand dig the 100 foot trench by hand was there and it was great! I was living big there as it also had a chimney so I could burn a small woodburner in winter.

Now, we are in the throws of raising four kids and I still dream of heat. My current workspace is a 34 foot diameter grain bin that I pulled the perforated floor out of so plenty of space. It is fairly dry and wind resistant so I get along. The upside on this one is true 3phase power. I enjoy the time I spend out there as a tinker with the kids. My 10 y.o. Daughter has become a good plane waxer and shows interest in the old tools. She hangs around out there with me pretty regularly and I try to teach her things. I still juggle power cords and lighting but am getting by. I am just happy that I have a dry place and skills enough to refurb tools to use. I am definitely a budget worker for now. Did I mention that I dream of heat? We have the space to build in time. It is just a priorities thing right now.
 
Hello Brent! I missed your Introduction thread, so a belated welcome to the forum. I would be interested in seeing pictures of your grain bin shop. Suggest you start a new thread if you do.

For the fellow oldtimer's....I wonder what Travis is up to now.:)
 
i have been in one of those that is used for tool storage and in the summer they get hot, bet they get real cold in the winter too.. i agree with bill you should post your specail shop in our shop tour forum and welcome to the forum ask away we will do all we can to help you out.. and bill probably in more trouble with the latest lady or other endeavors..
 
My work area is a bit of an unorganized mess and still I am still putting things together but I will shoot a few pictures if I get a chance and post em up as my work in progress some time soon.
 
Top