Evolution of a shop

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SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
Recently, I have been asked about my shop. Some didn't know it had been that bad or why. So I thought I would provide some history for you and some lessons for myself.

My shop and its related misadventures have always been a source for jokes (mostly by me):gar-La;Finally after over 3 years, Now I have it were I really like it. It meets almost all my goals and those that it doesn't, it can, because I have the storage I need and I still have 2 more storage cabinets, I plan to make. A combination out-feed, assembly table with drawers in its base. Finally put drawers in the under the drill press cabinet.

Right now, I can freely walk from work station to work station and get my work done, find most things reasonably quickly when I need to AND have seemed to have finally pleased the LOML, because now she is bugging me about my computer room instead of the shop.:eusa_danc:eusa_danc

BTW, toolferone gets the credit for all the good points of the layout.:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

This all started when I decided to make a large workbench on the back wall of my garage. The original idea was to have a place to indulge my retirement hobbies. Building model sailing ships and building custom computers to sell on eBay. I had a few power tools, a ryobi BT3100 TS, a Rigid 12" SCMS, and a bunch of Rigid Cordless tools. I found an idea for basic construction of the bench in a woodworking magazine and then I modified it for what I thought would be my needs. A bunch of 2x4, 2x6, and 2 solid core doors later, the workbench was done. Then I found a plan for some storage cabinets and a parts cabinet in some other WW mags and suddenly my goals changed. Now I wanted to go beyond basic carpentry and work on something whose scale was 1:1 rather than 1:74(model ships):gar-Bi
I made a list of the primary Tools that research told me I would need(or want)
TS
BS
Drill Press
Jointer
Planer
Drum Sander???

Now life and my buying habits started to get me in trouble. As I looked for tools, if I found what I thought I would need at a good price, I would buy it then, even if I didn't need it yet and/or have any place to put it. I started the website. And I began to make trips to FL every 6 weeks because of my mother's increasing dementia. The never seemed to be any time to really get things going.

Tools, boxes of parts, and new gadgets started to stack up on the floor. Every time, I wanted to do something, I had to move all these things around to make room or I just worked in the midst of the clutter.:gar-Cr And all that would make the clutter and dirt even worse. Every project was 10% work and 90% finding things.:swoon::gar-La;

Anyway around January of this year, my time commitments eased and the shop crawl moved my schedule up a month. And I reached a point where now I can really do some work. :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc

So the point of all this is to try to share how I started and and where I am now. I have taken various pictures and put them into an album that when looked at in the order I arranged it, will give you some idea of the progression of the shop creation.

BTW, the shop disaster pictures that I always show, were the result of my trying to maneuver my DeWalt TS and RT combo onto a mobile base that I had built. The saw tipped over knocking me and it into the plywood rack I was building at the same time. Large sheets of plywood were now all over the place, I was trapped under the table saw for a short time. I finally escaped, righted the saw, and moved all the plywood that had landed outside the garage into a haphazard pile
 

FredP

Fred
Corporate Member
and NOW the REAL adventure starts!:rotflm: I have not looked at your mess er um shop pics yet but I'm pretty sure it doesnt resemble MY mess[ and yes i mean mess! ] I tell myself that sifting through the crap to find stuff is perfectly normal and is to be enjoyed!:gar-Bi I gotta come by sometime fer a peek and sneek! hopefully before it all gets messed up. yeh RIGHT!!!!! enjoy the journey my friend.:eek:ccasion1
 

Glennbear

Moderator
Glenn
Thank you for sharing the shop genesis Steve I can definitely relate to E
some of your trials and tribulations :

Every project was 10% work and 90% finding things.:swoon::gar-La;
That about sums up where I am right now with a large percentage of my tools and machines still packed away in boxes from the great move last spring . :embarrassed:
 

Travis Porter

Travis
Corporate Member
Fred, I have been to your shop, and I do not consider it a mess. Lots of nice toyls, but not a mess. A bit heavy on that there gold color, but still, very well laid out.

Now Steve's shop looks very neat now, but I have seen some of those scary pictures of his in years gone.
 

MikeL

Michael
Corporate Member
Steve, that is an amazing transformation. Thanks for the photos showing the progression. I'm glad you've got it the way you want it. I know how frustrating it is to move piles from one spot to another when trying to get something done (I was doing it today :BangHead:)

Congrats :icon_thum
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
Wow! Steve you did it. You fit a huge shop worth of tools into a much smaller space. You've found the zip disk of workshop organization. I know this has been a long time coming and at times seemed absolutely impossible (I've seen it and I thought so:new_shock). Now your ready to start woodworking, what is going to be your first project....to mess the shop up again :lol::lol::lol::lol:

Dave:)
 

Keye

Keye
Corporate Member
I like the old shop better.:rotflm:

Some folks like to work on their shop and make jigs. I hate it. Wasting time when I could be making something usefull. OH, you mean all those shop improvements and jigs are usefull:eusa_danc:eusa_danc.
 

Canuck

Wayne
Corporate Member
Steve,

Time to put all of those fine tools to work!!!!:wsmile:

You have performed a wonderful transformation there! I bet that you feel a lot better knowing where everything is .............at your finger tips!!!

Looks real good on ya! Now lets just add a bit more sawdust to the mix.

Thanks for sharing what can be done. I guess I also could do with some lessons in shop organization!!!:BangHead:

Wayne
 

Gofor

Mark
Corporate Member
Bravo Steve!:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

However, if I didn't have to look for things I need and know I have, I'd never find all those things that I forgot I have!!:rolf::rolf: (CRS is bad enough, but now its progressing to not remembering that I forgot something. Its not all bad, tho. Sometimes when I discover an old treasure, its a "WOW, I forgot I had that!!")

Go
 

JackLeg

New User
Reggie
:rotflm::rotflm::rotflm::rotflm::rotflm:
HOLD IT NOW!!! IF WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT "MESSES", THEN I DEFINITELY RESEMBLE THAT REMARK, AND AM THE SELF PROCLAIMED "MESSIEST SHOP ON NCWW!"

AND I DARE ANYONE TO SHOW ME DIFFERENTLY!!

:rotflm:
 

sapwood

New User
Roger
Before shop: Jaw-dropper 8-O
After shop: Jaw-dropper 8-O

Having seen the before and after, I like the after :eusa_danc
The shop is as well organized as the website . . . just took longer :D

Roger
 

Travis Porter

Travis
Corporate Member
Wow! Steve you did it. You fit a huge shop worth of tools into a much smaller space. You've found the zip disk of workshop organization. I know this has been a long time coming and at times seemed absolutely impossible (I've seen it and I thought so:new_shock). Now your ready to start woodworking, what is going to be your first project....to mess the shop up again :lol::lol::lol::lol:

Dave:)

He had a project out and working on it during the shop crawl. Pics, Steve, pics!
 

Bas

Recovering tool addict
Bas
Corporate Member
:gar-shock I know you described the "shop disaster" last month, but it wasn't until I saw the pictures I really figured out what you meant! It looks like a tornado spent a weekend in there playing with the tools!

Amazing clean up job.
 

Tar Heel

New User
Stuart
Nice pictorial Steve. I need to develop some of your organizational skills. I spend too much time looking for things...I usually find what I'm looking for but it takes too much time. :BangHead:
 
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