The Penultimate Woodshop

Originally Posted June 12, 2011:


A few weeks ago for safety week I wrote about a friend of mine who lost two (2) fingers to his table saw. In that post I emphasized that you must respect your tools.

Listen to that advice: Respect Your Tools. By that I mean pay attention; know how they work, where they are & what they're doing.

It is important you do as I say, not as I do. For if you do as I do, then you'll be an idiot too.
My Bird's Mouth Jig
You see, last Sunday I wasn't paying attention,I wasn’t heeding my router any respect. I was routing some bird's mouths for some window trim. Completing each joint took many back & forth passes with the router. As I finished the last pass, I wasn't paying attention. My right arm maintained the fluid back and forth motion as the router came off the jig. I’m not sure what my left hand was doing, but the next thing I can remember is pulling my left hand away, realizing that I had just made contact between my palm and the 1” x ¾” pattern bit which was fully extended beneath the router base.
Thankfully a trip to the ER revealed nothing more serious than a laceration about an inch long just below where my index finger connects to the palm. Eight (8) stitches later I got back home and finished the trim piece I was making.

My Trusty Old Porter-Cable 6912 D-Handle.

Why’d I make out so well? Just dumb luck. The router I was using was a trigger activated D-handled 1-1/4 HP Porter-Cable, actually the first power tool I ever owned. Thankfully, though the bit was still spinning when the accident occurred, I had already released the trigger, turning the machine off and leaving no power behind the rotation.


Will you be as luckly? We can only hope so. Better yet, Respect Your Tools. Don’t let your mind wander off and your router wander into your hand in the first place.


Have you been an idiot too? Comment here or use the hash tag #WWSW (WoodWorkers Safety Week) on twitter.

Update: Thankfully, since I first wrote this my hand has healed fine. Nothing more than a small scar. I hope any accident you have ends up just as well.
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As the shop renovation continues and the children's spring activities ramp up, it's been hard to find time to sit down at the computer and answer proper email, let alone write an actual blog entry. Luckily, I've discovered that the built in video editing software in Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) makes putting together a simple video like this pretty easy.

Here I am, describing the process of adding the jam extensions to the miter saw wall recess. This entire video was shot, edited and shared in the shop (on my phone).


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While I was busting my butt working on the house this weekend, I managed to sneak in just a wee bit of work on the shop wall project. I added jam extensions to the windows. While not rocket science, this was slightly harder than is sounds since the wall are uneven and the nearest reference surface is a few inches away from each window. In then end, each of the eight (8) extension jam pieces is different and all are tapered. My normal routine of relative dimensioning helped out big here and I was able to put my TS55 to good use cutting those angles. Here's a quick video I shot showing the completed window jam extensions.



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I've been working on re-siding the front of my house for about two years. Between the white cedar perfections & PVC trim, it's been slow going. With the coming of spring I've been focusing on closing up the few open items before taking more down.
To that end, I installed half of my rake trim last weekend. Today, before I could install the second half of rake trim, I had to finish the last bit of cedar siding on the gable end.
I began by shingling up to the top of the window. I then I fit & soldered the window cap, allowing me to finish the shingles on the gable end.
It's not furniture making, but installing cedar perfections is one of the most relaxing forms of Woodworking I know of. Each piece is fit with a few passes of a block plane and attached with two hand driven nails.
Throughout the day I snuck into the shop and managed to install the jam extension for the first window. It was a good day. Both of my projects moved forward.








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We now bring Morton's shop tour series to its conclusion with a video tour, hosted by the man himself.



For more on M. Scott Morton, check out his site at www.scottmorton.com or catch up with the beginning posts from this series.

Shop Tour: M. Scott Morton, Part I
Shop Tour: M. Scott Morton, Part II
Shop Tour: M. Scott Morton, Part III
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Last October, immediately following Woodworking in America (and some goading from Aaron Marshall) I began my bench build in earnest. I took the front-to-back stretcher panels I had previously made and begain to re-design around them. I also switched my intended front vice from a Veritas Twin-Screw to a leg vise. In order to make the leg vise, I bought a Lee Valley tail vise screw and an 8” cast iron handwheel from Grizzly. It took them both to a machinist I know and viola! They fit and work together.
The Lee Valley Tail Vise Screw

Then it got cold and I put the bench away for the winter so that I could insulate the shop.

I’ve been working on the insulation since early November and my shop has been pressed against the non-opened up wall since then. In that time I’ve completely re-wired the shop and brought outside wall to R-40.
The shop wall, today.I’ve also learned that I can be productive without a fancy pants bench. In fact, when I was walking through Home Depot recently, I found an American made beauty of a bench and bought it on the spot.

Why did I buy it? Many reasons. It beats all the shop made and high end benches I’ve ever seen on so many levels.

• No futzing with those hard to make mortise and tenon joints. This bench is even stronger with butt joints reinforced with two (2) cheap screws.

I dare you to find stronger, simpler joinery.

• A square edge for clamping and referencing? Not on this bad boy. The top has been rounded so that even silky smooth woodworker hands will love to caress it.

No splinters from that beautiful edge

• Does that big twin-screw of leg vise get in the way, always banging your thigh as you walk past your bench? Well who needs it? One of the most wonderful parts of this bench is that it pares down all the clutter of modern benches to the pure functional core. That’s why you’ll not find a face or end vise on this gem. Your thighs will thank you.

• The bench as a 3 dimensional clamping surface? Really? Who needs to clamp in 3 dimensions? Wood is only 2 dimensional, and so is my clamping. That’s why this bench is so great. Having its legs set back from the front apron and it’s leg attachment bolts set proude of the front apron make it virtually impossible to clamp to the front face.

Inset legs and proud bolts prevent the user from making any
face clamping mistakes.

• Apparently, heavy benches are all the rage these days with bench evangelists like Chris Schwarz talking up the benefits of a massive bench with a thick (but not too thick) top. Needing a massive bench is the oldest old wives tale in the woodworking book. All you need to do for any bench is stand on it while working and it won’t move an inch.

No stupidly thick and complicated top here!

• Deal with a complicated bench top glue up to only follow it by flattening the top by hand? Not with this beauty. A single piece of good old fashioned ¾” OSB is all the top you need. It comes dead flat from factory. In fact, just about the only way to warp this top would be to stand on it.

• Are the pieces you build too big? Not with this bench. The convenient rear lip prevents pieces from hanging over the back. No longer will you be building those hideous, gianormous chests of drawers and tables.

There rear lip is so awesome, it intimidated the camera so much
the photo came out blurry.So now that my bench saga is done, I couldn’t be happier. I ended up with the perfect bench, it only took minutes to assemble and I only spend $70.00 on the whole thing.
Behold the majestic beauty.Now, what should my next project be? Maybe I’ll pick up a laser guided circular saw and make some decorative boxes.
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In addition to the free formed conversation I had with Morton while touring his shop, I also emailed him a formal questionnaire. Here, my friends are his actual, factual answers about his shop.

Penultimate Woodshop: Did you plan our your shop layout, or did it just evolve in and ad-hoc fashion?

Morton: I try to plan, but it’s been ad-hoc as space has opened up, added new tools, etc.

PW: Whate is your favorite area of the shop? Least favorite?

Morton: Favorite area is around the assembly table, because everything is there, organized and I constantly work there. Least favorite is anywhere near the dust collector and it’s assorted hoses and dust.

PW: Shop furniture, build or buy?

Morton: Mostly built. I would prefer to buy, but everthing needs to be “just so” to either fit or fit my needs. But for jigs and accessories, I’d rather buy.

PW: Workbench, build or buy? What style? Would you change anything about it?

Morton: I have my torsion box assembly table that doubles as a workbench. Need to change quite a bit out it in terms of work holding, but it works really well. However, I’m building a Roubo this winter (or spring or summer - PW) - so that will of course be my main bench and the assembly tale can just be that: assembly. The split-top Roubo will be made from Douglas Fir and will be very out-of-the-box, no real modifications.

PW: Do you condition the air? Heat/AC/Dehumidifier?

Morton: The shop is in the basement, about 75% buried underground or surrounded by heated (house) space. It maintains a temp at about 70 all year round. I use a dehumidifier in the summer as I get significant rust problems (no water problem, but lots of humidity).

PW: Favorite activity in the shop?

Morton: Re-organizing or building prototypes.

PW: What tool do you own the most of?

Morton: Clamps (if they are a tool). Otherwise, funny - I hardley even have TWO of anyting - not even a drill/dirver or router [one each].

Morton’s Shop Technical Details:
Size: About 30’ x 30’
Attached or Outbuilding: Basement
Lighting Type: Overhead Flourescent -- added a few more fixtures myself and want to add even more.
Heated? A/C?: No heating or AC. Stays about 70 all year round due to some sides being buried and others adjacent to heated spaces.
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Pickup up where we left (Part I) off in Morton's shop at the sliding compound miter saw corner, if you then turn left, and run along the wall opposite the door, you’ll find his SawStop Cabinet Saw and his dust collector. While the saw stays set there against the wall, the dust collector does occasionally move, as it’s not permanently connected to most of the stationary equipment.

The router table, OSS, storage cabinet and bench lumber.Moving passed the saw, the next corner is occupied by Morton’s Ridgid oscillating spindle sander (OSS) and Bench Dog router table. A storage cabinet of small draws rests next to the OSS and the lumber for Morton’s future bench lays next to the router table. On the walls above, a very small window frame and adjacent former window frame serve as cubbies to store toolboxes and other small items.
Notice how Morton takes advantage of the recess in the wall to
achieve a great deal of storage with no floor footprint.Rounding the OSS and router table corner brings us along Morton’s storage wall. He took advantage of a recess in the the middle of this wall section to build a storage rack for his Festool collection (bigger than mine, I’m pretty sure) and clamp racks. Because of the the recess in the wall, none of these racks steal valuable floor space.
Storage on the back of the shelves in the "dead end" section of the shop.If we stay along this wall and follow it to the end opposite the OSS, we’ll find a dead end created with the installation of shelves between a column and the wall between the shop and family room. Both sides of this “dead end” are used for storage. Some of it (like his utility and sharping bench) is kind-of organized. Some of it is not.
As we all do, Morton has shelves in his shop that hold a bit of everything.The kind-of organization also extends to the opposite side of the shelves. They house old tools, light fixtures, wine and all sorts of others, miscellaneous stuff. Moving passed the shelves brings us back to the shop entry door and through it, the family room.

As I mentioned above, Morton has the lumber for his new bench acclimating in his shop now. Like many of us, he’s caught the winter 2011/2012 workbench building bug. For now, he makes his torsion box assembly table serve double duty as a bench. It’s a fairly function bench, with a typical metal face vise and plenty of storage beneath that dead flat work surface.
The existing, torsion box bench.Between his lumber storage, equipment, assembly table and future bench, Morton’s shop is a high functioning woodwork space that’s proofing perfect for producing his high quality custom furniture.

p.s. - since my visit in November, Morton has added a small child’s bench area to the shop for his kids. You can check out his post about it here.
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It the early winter I took my kids up to Boston for a weekend away. We started with a great day at the Boston Children’s Museum. On Sunday, we made an equally great stop at the shop of M. Scott Morton Furniture Design + Construction in nearby Harvard, MA.
M. Scott Morton: The Man, The Shop.M. Scott Morton (or just Morton to his fellow woodworkers) is an avid woodworker making custom, “one piece at a time” furniture for his clients. Many incorporate his iconic bent strip aesthetic (I’m making that term up) to wonderful affect.
Morton, working on a prototype hall table incorporating
his bent strip aesthetic.The finished hall table, on display at WoodExpo.Morton’s shop is the non-family room side of his basement in a wonderful house that was originally a New England barn. It’s a little divided up by concrete columns, but that’s the price you pay to be able to drive a tractor on the floor above. The shop is entered via the family room, but just next to the shop door is the garage door, so it’s not too hard to get things in and out.

The shop is roughly 30’ x 30’, though the above mentioned columns and some shelves break up the space a bit. There are two windows, one small and one smaller. Luckily, the white walls and columns combine with good artificial lighting to make the space seem open.

When we visited in November, the shop was about 70 degrees, a temperature that Morton says it stays about all year due to it’s being half buried and surrounded by other, conditioned parts of the house.
The equipment cluster around one of the support
columns which interrupt the space.Morton’s tools are arranged as I suspect many of us would, with a cluster of big equipment in the center. His band saw, jointer and drum sander surround the center column. The drum sander gets plenty of use and was in the middle of a sanding belt change during the tour.
Lumber anyone?Along the Entry wall, on the right side as you enter, is Morton’s lumber storage. His horizontal racks are filled to capacity, with additional wood stacked on the floor in front. At the far end of the lumber rack, there is a sheet good rack on wheels which holds full 4x8 sheets vertically and has storage for smaller cutoffs in front.

Moving passed the lumber storage, the one window is revealed. Sitting in the window frame is the dehumidifier which must run all summer in order to counteract the miserable summer humidity the metro Boston area is burdened with.
Take that, SCMS dust!Finally, a small counter that serves as a miter saw cabinet resides in the corner at the end of that first wall. Morton’s recently build dust shroud encases the back of the saw and his fuse box box keeps all the electric conveniently close on the wall behind the saw.



We'll continue around Morton's shop in Part II. Until then, how is your shop setup?
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