Fake Woodshops vs. Your Woodshop

[Coop]

Maybe no one else saw it or it wasn't as important as it is to me... but Vinny pees in a utility tub. That's better than outlining your tools with a marker on a peg board. I've got a 4x4 post out back that rotting to hell because that's the only spot I have.

[Tom Cancelleri]

I'd hate to hear what happens in the finishing room.

[Dan S]

I'd be happier if my shop had better temperature controls than a propane heater in the winter and a box fan in the summer. Windows would be nice as well, as my shop is a windowless garage. I'd also like more space, so i could acquire a few more tools. As my fiancee likes to say, #firstworldproblems 

[..Kev]

In the end, I love nearly everything about my shop. For those items that I don't "love", they go on the list to get fixed. The issue is that it takes a lot of time to get a shop to a point that you love everything about it! A lot of patience is required!

[wtnhighlander]

My 'shop' is an oversized, attached 2 car garage, still being used as a garage, not heated, not cooled, not insulated, not even finished walls on the inside. My woodwork stuff is crammed into one corner, and the walls are lined with stored lumber, bicycles, skateboards, boot racks, fishing gear, garbage cans, assorted storage units and lawn care tools. There is a truck and a small SUV as well. I work in a tiny corner, or I have to move the vehicles and drag it all out in the floor for bigger jobs. I gave up all the gear from my previous long-term hobby, weightlifting, to make space for my TS and workbench.

And I love every minute I spend doing it. My wife tells me I should build a dedicated shop. I think she would just like my mess to be out of the garage. But I like the garage, because I can step out there any time for a minute or ten of pushing a plane or whatever. If my shop was a separate building, I'd always need a specific reason to go out there.

[RichardA]

Some people need to be in the right kind of mood to rub out a good finish.

    Viagra, will get them to the finish much quicker, I'm told by TV!   Mood not required!

[Coop]

Cochise, is a new shop something you're looking at in the future?

[davewyo]

I think that wonderful shop furniture and clamp racks are nice.

Truth be told, I wish I could set up my shop like a studio set.

 

As it is...I'm a renter, not an owner.

I live on my employer's property.

With the way my job schedule is, I have to set up and break down twice a year to clear out the shop for work season.

 

I have nothing set up permanently.

No racks on the walls.

No cabinets.

 

The shop has four ten amp circuits, so every power tool is 110v.

During full-on woodworking frenzy the lights often dim when I turn on a tool and a vacuum at the same time.

Gaps around the doors, poor lighting, insects, dodgy climate control, sketchy security, people and my cats always invading my space...you name it.

I'm Piss Poor and have no prospects of becoming even slightly rich, so I compromise with every purchase.

 

I have mediocre quality tools.

I make my work tables out of construction lumber and gorilla glue (the only good use I've found).

My bench is a "Ply-Bo"...the vise cost me more than the time and materials.

 

Nonetheless, I positively enjoy every moment I can devote to woodworking.

It's not the product...it's the process.

 

If your shop is nice and cozy, well organized and well outfitted; that is nice.

...but, for me, those things are not necessary to have a good time making stuff.

 

For me, the key is to enjoy the moment and not dwell too much on how things would be in a dream shop.

 

To the original question...I do think that it does an injustice to fledgling woodworkers if they see a work space and think "I can't do much good until I get XYZ".

 

Rest assured I run the shop vac now and then, especially while a project is in progress, but I'm waiting til spring so I can crank up the leaf blower and really clean the shop.

D

[wouldwurker]

I'd be happier if my shop had better temperature controls than a propane heater in the winter and a box fan in the summer. Windows would be nice as well, as my shop is a windowless garage. I'd also like more space, so i could acquire a few more tools. As my fiancee likes to say, #firstworldproblems

C'mon, Dan...your shop is so classy the pictures of it only come in black and white!

[Dan S]

C'mon, Dan...your shop is so classy the pictures of it only come on black and white!

 

That's because it looks like crap in color! 

[Adam Rahberg]

My shop is a two car garage, with no car in it.  6-7 bikes, some hanging from the ceiling for me to bump my head on on the way to the deep freeze to get some Elk out for dinner.  Two plasma cars that the kids don't ride, 3 scooters, a stroller or two, lawn mower, yard tools, bike trailer, WE HAVE TOO MANY DAMN BIKES!!!  Roofing crap (roofer sales and estimator by trade).  mouse traps, occasional beer cans, tons of dust, lots of wood,  hell, here's a pic of what it looks like right freaking now!!!  I literally just walked out and snapped a few pics.  It gets used, abused but I have put together some serious stuff in there.  And yes, that is a dead pheasant YUMMY!!!!!!

[woodbutcher74]

To me the Dream Shop is just that. Everyone has to have a dream. I compare it to the guy that buys a boat and by the time he gets it home, he's already wishing he had a bigger boat. You need a goal to work for. My 8' x12' shop ain't much and I dream of having a dedicated stand alone shop building, and don't know if I'll ever get it. If I keep workin and dreamin anything is possible. When I started this hobby I'd have never dreamed I could build some of things I have turned out. Just keep workin and dreamin.

[dwacker]

Mine after little project. I just finished 45ft of upper walnut shop cabinets for a friend still in process of setting up his shop and a oak book case on the honey do list. Not hard to clean as you go. Makes life easier.

[Jim DaddyO]

My shop time is done for the winter.  

 

 

Most of the work gets done on the lawn, which is MIA right now.  I am not pulling the table saw out on the snow.  I did get part way through a project which is on hold right now.  Most of the tools and all of the finishes are in the house. 

 

 

 

Once the world thaws out it will be time to start on a new shop.  320 square feet with heat and electricity so I will be able to play year round.

 

 

Note that I am using the original version of Sketch Up!   lol

[BrandonD]

The shop plays a large part of the process for me. I enjoy woodworking, but I also enjoy working in a clean organized shop. I like to experiment with different floor plans and build shop projects to meet an organizational need. I enjoy researching when I'm looking for a new tool... I like maintaining the ones I have. It's all part of the hobby for me. During a project it can become a mess, but I often pause and clean up throughout with a good detailed cleaning at the end.

 

I think it all depends on the person. My great grandfather's shop was a complete mess all the time. The important thing is that you're enjoying your time in it.

[collinb]

My garage looks like a bomb went off. I have more tools, that most mechanics only dream about. It would be easier to go buy a screwdriver than it would be to find one in my garage. I changed the water pump on my old truck took 3 hours. 30 minutes to change the pump and 2 1/2 hours to find the tools.

No way I could work like that in my shop. 

 

My garage looks like a bomb needs to go off.

[collinb]

My shop time is done for the winter.  

 

 

Most of the work gets done on the lawn, which is MIA right now.  I am not pulling the table saw out on the snow.  I did get part way through a project which is on hold right now.  Most of the tools and all of the finishes are in the house. 

 

 

 

Once the world thaws out it will be time to start on a new shop.  320 square feet with heat and electricity so I will be able to play year round.

 

 

Note that I am using the original version of Sketch Up!   lol

 

The outdoor portion of your shop looks exactly like mine, though perhaps yours is a little cooler.

I'm looking forward to 50+ w/o rain.

Task 1: saw bearings & belt.

Task 2: baseboard & other trim work to get that dang kitchen finished!

[wouldwurker]

 

 

Mine after little project. I just finished 45ft of upper walnut shop cabinets for a friend still in process of setting up his shop and a oak book case on the honey do list. Not hard to clean as you go. Makes life easier.

 

 

 

 

Very nice PB. 

 

My original point may have been mutated a bit in the thread.  I was never referring to tidy vs. messy or organized vs. disorganized;  rather, realistic vs. unrealistic, and how it may negatively affect our expectations for our own shops, but also our satisfaction of our own shops.

 

Your shop, my shop, Steve's shop, all the corner garage shops - they all share common ground.  We're organized in our own way.  We build efficiencies that are specific to our needs.  We work within our means. 

The hobbyists fit a passion for a craft into two small spaces, the physical space in our home we've dedicated to our shops, and the intangible space in our lives between family and work. 

The professionals are presumably more bottom line focused; which means pragmatic, efficient, safe workplaces, all dependent on the black and white of the balance sheet.  Buying in bulk saves money, but also means having a dedicated place to store 5000 hinges, and that place isn't likely held together with hand cut dovetails.

 

Reading the past 43 posts and seeing pics of 'real shops' made me feel better about my basement shop, and I hope it made others feel better about their own shops. 

 

None of them look like what I referred to as 'studio set shops'.  They all look like labors of love and we should be proud of all of them.  Furthermore, they're ever changing - sometimes for the better, and when life throws us a curveball, well...they may get smaller.  Someone mentioned putting a scroll saw/vacuum cleaner combo in their closet when they moved into an apartment.  And for that period of time, that was his shop.

 

I started this thread because I do see a frustration, especially amongst the beginners like myself, that their shop doesn't look like the ones in FWW.  I also sensed that like me, there was a conception that everyone else's shop looked like the FWW shops.  And with it, came a feeling of frustration and self-deprecation that we wore on our sleeves.  Hopefully for some, that conception has been broken.

 

Would I like to have the magazine photo shop?  Absol-f'ing-lutely.  It might take 45 more years and I'll be long retired, but maybe it'll get there. 

 

And when they finally take me to the home...the one where I get pudding three times a day and my pills come in a little white paper cup...look me up and come visit. 

 

We'll build something together with the scroll saw in my closet.

--VJ

[collinb]

 

 

 

 

Very nice PB. 

 

My original point may have been mutated a bit in the thread.  I was never referring to tidy vs. messy or organized vs. disorganized;  rather, realistic vs. unrealistic, and how it may negatively affect our expectations for our own shops, but also our satisfaction of our own shops.

 

Your shop, my shop, Steve's shop, all the corner garage shops - they all share common ground.  We're organized in our own way.  We build efficiencies that are specific to our needs.  We work within our means. 

The hobbyists fit a passion for a craft into two small spaces, the physical space in our home we've dedicated to our shops, and the intangible space in our lives between family and work. 

The professionals are presumably more bottom line focused; which means pragmatic, efficient, safe workplaces, all dependent on the black and white of the balance sheet.  Buying in bulk saves money, but also means having a dedicated place to store 5000 hinges, and that place isn't likely held together with hand cut dovetails.

 

Reading the past 43 posts and seeing pics of 'real shops' made me feel better about my basement shop, and I hope it made others feel better about their own shops. 

 

None of them look like what I referred to as 'studio set shops'.  They all look like labors of love and we should be proud of all of them.  Furthermore, they're ever changing - sometimes for the better, and when life throws us a curveball, well...they may get smaller.  Someone mentioned putting a scroll saw/vacuum cleaner combo in their closet when they moved into an apartment.  And for that period of time, that was his shop.

 

I started this thread because I do see a frustration, especially amongst the beginners like myself, that their shop doesn't look like the ones in FWW.  I also sensed that like me, there was a conception that everyone else's shop looked like the FWW shops.  And with it, came a feeling of frustration and self-deprecation that we wore on our sleeves.  Hopefully for some, that conception has been broken.

 

Would I like to have the magazine photo shop?  Absol-f'ing-lutely.  It might take 45 more years and I'll be long retired, but maybe it'll get there. 

 

And when they finally take me to the home...the one where I get pudding three times a day and my pills come in a little white paper cup...look me up and come visit. 

 

We'll build something together with the scroll saw in my closet.

--VJ

 

 

A little like my b&w darkroom.

Yes, i have a dry side and a wet side.

But it is certainly more crowded less than ideal in layout and components than the ideal ones portrayed in the (ok, old these days) magazines.

Like all other areas it is easy to confuse form with function.

Form is best when it serves function the highest quality product possible is produced.

The rest, it seems, may be superfluous.

[thewoodwhisperer]

I have to admit that I take a small amount of umbrage with the implication that nice shops are not "real" shops and that displaying these nice shops is somehow harmful to the craft. If you're the type of person who is typically concerned whether your neighbor has more cereal in their bowl than you do, then seeing "studio" shops could certainly have a negative personal impact. But I'd like to think that most people don't think that way. For me, the reaction was different. I saw those nice shops and decided that one day I would have one and I made that a priority in my life. I didn't begrudge my single bay of a two-car garage while I had it, and I didn't see myself as underprivelaged or held back. I saw myself as a hard-working scientist who was enjoying the hobby and making do with what he had.  The only reason my shop eventually went in the "dream" direction was becuase I made a significant career change. In effect, it was seeing those immaculate "dream" shops that made me want to do woodworking for a living and to teach others how to do woodworking. A net positive I think.

 

Of course, if you go into a pro shop with mutliple employees at work, you're going to see something quite different. But you're comparing apples to oranges. A multi-person production shop isn't remotely the same thing as a hobbyist single craftsman shop. Hobbyists see their shop as a creative refuge, not a production environment. And like any hobby, it's heavily dictated by one's expendable cash and personal priorities. So hobby shops will range from a small hole in the wall to a giant backyard facility where you could eat off the floor.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think that it's incredibly important to get the perspective you did by seeing what goes on in a professional shop. Of course we could all get by with LESS than we currently have. But most of us in this forum aren't billing by the hour. We do with MORE because we can and because we enjoy the process of bettering our shops. In some cases, people enjoy that process more than building furniture. That's not the case for me, but I have always enjoyed taking a break from furniture to work on shop specific projects.

 

So I might be in the minority here and everyone knows I am lucky to have a pretty freakin' nice shop space. But my goal isn't to produce 40 projects a year like a pro shop. My goal is to show woodworking and to glorify it in a space that inspires me and will hopefully inspire others.

 

Edit: For anyone who doesn't know, we've been publishing shop tours for years on the site. Some of them might make you envious and some might make you feel better about your own space. Oddly enough, none of them are fake. http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/shop-tours/?mode=archive&apt=shop_tour&menu=community

[AceHoleInOne]

I've been trying to get into video, because no one gets cool stuff if they don't do it on video. Or something. All I've worked up the gumption to do is a few no comment shop tours. Basically, that means me standing in a circle moving my phone in a manner that doesn't get someone sick. My workbench is clear only when it's being moved. Scrap everywhere.

 

Check out my Harbor Freight/Powermatic bandsaw.

 

 

Sex sells, get your view counts up.......then soon a brand new SawStop will arrive. Then you become on a first name basis with the UPS driver who brings you shit to "test" from all the tool manufactures, and if ya like it please, please film it for us. 

 

-Ace-

[AceHoleInOne]

Naked woodworking. Could work. I see a SawStop sponsorship.

 

Ummmmmmmmmm         I just cant say it or the powers to be would drop the hammer on me. You wouldn't have to buy any hot dogs.............

 

 

-Ace-

[Dan S]

I took this last night right before I fell asleep on the couch. Last night I started rough milling stock for my next project, a trestle style Midi lathe stand. The biggest drawback of my shop, is that it still has to function as a garage from time to time. Thus everything is on wheels and can be rolled up against a wall or under a bench.

 

 

 

 

[Dan S]

Naked woodworking. Could work. I see a SawStop sponsorship.

 

better hurry, "naked turner" is taken already.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIjiP6AB6o55juuMe-MmtfwB76AdyMocp

[wouldwurker]

I have to admit that I take a small amount of umbrage with the implication that nice shops are not "real" shops and that displaying these nice shops is somehow harmful to the craft..... (truncated - read full post above)

 

Marc - I think we're more on the same page than you think.  Not sure if you read my follow up clarification post - it went up a few minutes before yours.

While I consider your shop a dream shop, nothing about it seems 'unrealistic'.  It looks like shop of a professional woodworker and woodworking content provider - the shop of a real guy, with a wife, and a kid, and a dream that he turned into a full time job reality, and can proportionately dedicate his time to it.

 

The shop I visited the other day wasn't a production shop by any means, it was Steve Duncan's ("Wdwrker" on the forum - an awesome, generous guy who invited me to his shop solely to share his knowledge).  He has a helper once in a while, but by and large, it's just him.

In my head on the drive there, I expected the magazine photo.  When I opened the door, I was surprised, and happy to see a wonderful 30+ year labor of love.  It was a 'dream shop' in every sense of the term.

 

Fact is, most of us beginners don't ever get to see other hobbyist's shops.  Really, it's limited to the pics in the magazines.  Safe to assume that the folks that post shop pics are a self-selecting sample as well.  In my head, I assumed everyone's shop must look like that. 

 

Talking to many members on the forum, I really do hear a lot of "as soon as I turn my space into a real shop, I'm finally going to build xyz".  That's why the theme of my post was really 'if it's your shop, then it's real - so let's see your shops"  I wanted folks who would never think to post their garage corner space, or musty basement area in the 'shop tour' section to proudly display those photos.

 

I certainly don't think FWW does a disservice with their shop photos, but for the beginner, if that's the only frame of reference, it can be disheartening sometimes as it does create a lot of range on the yardstick by which to measure their own space.  The photos posted from the users in this thread fill in the middle of that yardstick.

 

Like I said in the OP, I like when I see a Dr. Pepper bottle in the background of your shop.  Especially when I'm looking at one on my own bench.