Project time vs. Shop Upgrade time

[Larry Fox]

100% shop for me over the last two months. Almost 50% increase in usable floor space, new DC install, fresh coat of paint, etc, etc. Looking forward to getting back to some project work though. Normally, I would say that it is about 75 project and 25 shop doing little improvements, maintenance, etc.

[Jack Briggs]

99% project (work); 1% shop.

I've got so much I need to do to the shop, but have to make a living with work back logged about 12 months.

Tough position.

[Lee Koepke]

Mostly shop time. I dont do this professionally, so like several others said, I do it to relax. So no matter what I am building, its good therapy for me.

I sorta build a jig for a project, then do a small project. I will try new things out on shop stuff then translate that into finished work one day.

[Glenn Clabo]

A real problem with me. I've been renovating an old house and have never had enough time to give to the shop. I realize that if I would just stop working on the house...and set up the shop correctly...I would save time and effort. But I just can't seem to take the little time I have left after work. Dreaming about retirement....

[alex grams]

Great thread!

And i thought that i was the only one who spent all weekend working on a drawer cabinet for tools.

I figure though that the longer you have your shop, the less time you put into the shop and more into the projects. I just purchased my first house in March, so my shop isn't even a year old.

I still have:

-To build a 6x8' storage building in my back yard (so i can move my yard tools there and have more room in the garage!)
-Build an extension table for my saw
-build a mobile work bench
-split the lights into two switches (i have 4 2x40' flourescent fixtures, of which 2 need to be turned off when the garage door is open, or else they just shine onto the door in the ceiling)
-Add another wiring run for 220 for the soon to be DC
-make some clamp storage racks
-build doors for cabinets i made for storing chemicals and such


and that doesn't even include the house list my wife wants finished

-finish trim in front entry (just retiled it)
-build faux columns in front entry
-refloor entry/living/office/dining/bedroom/hallway
-move fence forward on side of house
-build garden for next spring
-rebuild the deck
-retile the kitchen!

Crud, i think i just depressed myself by listing everything i need/want to do....

[Matt Meiser]

If you are making a living from your woodworking, then you should probably worry if you are spending more time on shop projects than other projects. However, if its a hobby then do what you are happy doing. Is is practical? Well no, but if you want practical then you should probably be buying furniture instead of making it because I'm pretty sure that not too many of us have actually spent less making our own furniture instead of buying when you look at the big picture!

[Lewis DeJoseph]

I took eight months of spare time ..

I can't even imagine having 8 months of spare time. It must be nice. I am having a hard time getting my shop up and running. So most of my time is spent setting it up and home improvment right now.

Lewis

[Billy Chambless]

Lately, it's about 80% shop upgrade time, converting a spare bedroom to a shop. Hopefully in a couple of weeks, I can get it down to about 90% project time and rember why I thought i needed a shop.

[Jim Becker]

Like Bill R, most of my time is now projects, but earlier on I did more shop project work. It's a natural progression. And shop projects are great for testing new techniques while you are servicing the needs of your environment.

[Jim Summers]

My time seems to flow like several others in this thread. It'll be all spent on a project. Then at the end of that something was realized and then it will be shop related time to satisfy what was missing in that project. Then another project. Purely subjective, but I would feel more time to projects than shop related now. But a year ago it was the reverse.

[alex grams]

Good point Jim. I used making a tool cabinet this weekend as a test for some different mounting styles and techniques for making drawers. (spacing flushed mounted drawers is a real pain)

[JayStPeter]

After I moved, my shop was the project for a year or so. Since then, actual work on the shop is far less. When I complete a furniture project, I usually take a break and spend a couple weeks of shop time (which usually only adds up to 8-10 hrs) on the shop itself. Usually I do a bunch of cleaning and sharpening. But ocassionally adding storage and such. I've been slowly building a neander workbench that's nearing completion after about two years. After that I have a couple major upgrades planned. Unlike the bench, I will have to get them done before moving on to another project since the shop will be partially dismantled. I expect it to be a couple years before they are in place. It's a balancing act of time and money.
As Jim mentioned, usually if I'm going to try a new technique I will find something to do for the shop that uses it. Most recently, the workbench has been a handplane learning experience.

Jay

[Jesse Cloud]

The deal I have with my wife is 2 projects for the house for each shop project. Just finished 4 house projects, so its wide open time to make a handtool cabinet and a stand or cabinet for the OSS.

Of course, if I factored in shop maintenance (sharpening, flattening, lubricating, troubleshooting, cleaning, emptying dust, etc) it would probably be about 50/50 shop/house.

[Doug Mason]

Currently, I am at about 85% shop, 15% project; my freinds think that I will never build anything!! But in hindsight, in the last two years I have gone from a background of having only pounded a few nails to fully wiring my shop, building out-swing doors, fettling planes and sharpening hand-saws. Another problem I've had is that my shop is in an old, failing garage--which in turn has taken alot of my time to fix up. But for me, the bottom line is that in constructing my shop, I have learned most of the skills that I'll be using in the future--so it certainly isn't wasted time. Just frustrating.

[Al Killian]

For m trying to get the new shop"move in ready" is takeing up 90% of my shop time. I really do not have a choice as I need the space and the larger electrical supply. This is not fun as projects pile up and never get done. One day we will all have the shop to where we can spend 80-90% of time working on projects and only 10-20% working on the shop.