My shop impressions, in reverse order this time:
Travis: If Tim Allen was a woodworker, this is probably what his shop would look like. Some heavy-duty machinery for the grunt factor, and a massive array of hand tools and portable power tools to tackle just about any job imaginable.
The 16" jointer was impressive. It looks like a bowling alley. If it weren't for the knives, I would have run up and done a sliding belly flop on that beast. The sliding table saw was equally impressive, I secretly suspect that if you press the red button underneath the table the whole thing comes to life as a Transformer! :new_shockThe dust collector was undersized for the shop though, since I saw quite a bit of sawdust everywhere
Of course, the highlight was when Travis SHOVED a big piece of figured wood through the bandsaw. My Woodslicer blade leaves just as nice a finish, but only when resawing 2" pine. Not 20" hardwood! Holy TPI Batman.
It was good that Travis' shop was at the end of the crawl, or we may have spent the entire day there. I think we need to have a smaller "Tool Parties" as companion events to the future crawls (hint hint), so we can actually do some comparisons and make a little sawdust (actually, I just want to play with the Festool stuff....)
Doug: After much WHINING about how there wasn't much to see at his shop because it's so small, I was expecting a belt sander in a broom closet. What a great shop this man has! Doug has done an absolutely phenomenal job lining up everything for maximum efficiency, all components are easily accessible. The cyclone does a great job of keeping the shop clean, impressive duct work through out the shop. I also took a few notes on lumber storage, I should be able to fit a couple of hundred board feet in my shop after all. Clamp racks, router bits tray, saw blade storage, tons of great ideas there.
Doug is extremely modest about his own accomplishments, but his work shows great attention to details. His workbench has a few "scars", but quite honestly, I didn't notice them until he pointed them out. I saw quality joinery and great wood selection. The scars on his table saw on the other hand -get some spray paint dude. Gotta respect the PM gold!
Don: This was my favorite shop, I'm not going to deny that. The pine floors and cabinets are beautiful, and the massive quantity of 8/4 stock in all varieties provided a wonderful scent. Everything about the place just said "artisan at work". I also learned of this wonderful invention called "windows"! Natural light makes such a huge difference.
Don was an extremely gracious host, sharing his expertise, jigs, shop made contraptions etc. The chair on display was stunning. I may never possess the talent or patience to build something like that, but I am certainly going to try! Very inspirational. Between the pine, trash can separators and coffee, I felt very much at home
I tend to fall into the "I want everything category and need a 40x40 shop to house it all". Don's shop felt extremely "balanced". I'm sure he wishes for more space now and then, but I thought the blend between storage, power tools, hand tools and work surfaces was outstanding.
Tom: Tom's shop is HUGE! The man has a phenomenal collection of tools (both power- and hand tools), but it's easy to overlook exactly how much in that cavernous space. Two drill presses, two disc/ belt sanders, two band saws, the only thing of which there didn't appear to be two were bathrooms! The shop has fantastic high ceilings and a large sliding door, which makes it a very open airy space. I admit my basement shop sometimes feels a little claustrophobic, so this was great to see.
Everything was well organized, big 6" DC pipes, compressed air, lots of lights, both fluorescent and spot lights. Fridge, toaster, microwave, you can live in that shop! Tom also has the coolest place to store his bandsaw blades, namely around a working traffic light. I also liked his collection of hand planes, spokeshaves, cabinet scrapers etc.
Scott: Scott's shop is what I think most woodworking shops look like. I really like his scroll saw setup, with the workbench, all the tools within arm's reach, lighting, all very efficient. I wish had room for such a bench, to have a place to sit when doing intricate work. I also liked the mobile bases he built, I once tried to build one for my old drill press and it didn't turn out too well, it's not as easy as it looks. Scott added some material to the edges of the platform, as well as some centering blocks for the tool stand legs, it keeps everything nice and square. I was also impressed with the shop layout, having the table saw stationary and having the other tools roll out around it. I may need to swap some of my tools around to match that setup.
Scott also displayed some beautiful scrollwork, the detail is just phenomenal. I also have Air Cleaner envy. Those things are a lot quieter than I expected, one of the great things about the crawl was seeing (and hearing) tools in action. Can't get that from a catalog.
Steve: I had not seen Steve's shop before, so I can't really comment on the changes. Visiting Steve's shop is like being a kid in the candy store. There are so many great tools and contraptions to see, it never seems to end. It's a good thing some of his storage has doors and drawers to obscure things, otherwise we'd just have spent all day there drooling. So while munching on a donut and slurping coffee, I made a mental list of everything I still want to get for my shop. I'd include the list here, but it spans 1300 items.
The vise on Steve's bench is like something from a Sci-Fi movie (if they made Sci-Fi movies about woodworking). Combined with the crosscut-sled-on-a-winch, lumber rack and new air compressor setup, and it was clear the master Tinkerer lives here. Steve also showed his sharpening setup, the more I learn about woodworking and the associated skills, the more I realize how much more there is to learn!
Steve also donated some of his dust collection accessories, a mad run on the box o'goodies yielded some clamps, 4-to-2 1/4" reducer and a piece of flex hose, just what I had been missing!
Dick & Rita: Two shops for the price of one visit! I really liked Dick's setup, all that natural light is wonderful. The floor mats are a really nice feature, I have plastic tiles over the concrete floor, but I may add something like that in front of the workbench.
Despite having a full complement of power tools (including a drum sander!), the shop did not feel cluttered at all. Everything was centered around the table saw and a huge assembly table. It was very easy to walk around this center setup, great workflow with this layout. I also liked the clamp rack, shop project #93 on the list. DC, heat, ventilation, compressed air - everything was extremely well organized and hidden, this is how utilities should be done. I liked the router table and table saw extensions, two areas where my own shop is sorely lacking.
The scroll shop inside was terrific, going from crafstman to artist within the span of 20 feet. One again great attention on workflow and dust collection. Of course, I question why someone would want to be on Jordan lake with such a terrific setup, who's got time for water and outside stuff when you're woodworking!
Many thanks to all the hosts, I learned a LOT yesterday. :notworthy: In fact, this was the first time I saw a shop other than my own! :eusa_danc
