Ever feel like your SHOP is your hobby?

[Jason Christenson]

It seems like more often than not when I get the chance to head down to the shop I spend it sweeping, re-arranging tools, re-routing DC lines or something else that's not building or turning something. Anyone else ever feel like their hobby is actually shop maintenance rather than woodworking?

Jason

[chris del]

I didnt wood work for 2 years because I was building and setting up my shop!

[Doug Shepard]

Amen. Two summers ago, most of my WW season was spent patching concrete then epoxy coating the garage/shop floor. That was followed by one of the longest cyclone DC installs on record. I stopped that with some of the machine hookups still left to do and started on a workbench project that's going on about 6 months now. I'm a few weeks from having that done, but then still need to finish up the DC machine hookups. I might actually get time to make something not for the shop this summer if I keep my fingers crossed.

[Jim O'Dell]

I started rehabbing the building my shop is in, back in November of 04! Still building shop fixtures!! Still have one tool I bought during the summer of '04 that still hasn't made it out of the box yet!!! The mobile cart for that planer is the next item on my list to build.
So, in a word....YES. At least at this point, my shop is my hobby. At least today I finally got my wife to start thinking how the kitchen needs to be rebuilt. We even discussed a few things. We agree on most of it. But she insists on having way more space between the main cabinets and the island than I think we need. It's about 7 1/2' away now. I want 4 to 5, she wants 6. I wonder who will win that one??? Jim.

[Scott Haddix]

It is a constant battle for me to balance the work I want to do to improve my shop with using my shop 'as is' to build the things I need the shop for in the first place.

I can sympathize with all of the comments I've read. I have jigs I want to build, a new bench I want to build, a new planer cart, drawers for the underside of my TS extension, and the list goes on. I've basically set a rule for myself that I have to alternate between shop projects and non-shop projects (I think of them all as wood working!) to keep my efforts reasonable.

Great topic. Guess my wife isn't the only shopaholic!

[Jim Dunn]

Hey, "shop time" is shop time no matter how you slice it. Course our wives, wwking ladies excluded, don't quite see it that way. "Oh nice, you made a thingamajig. So where's my cabinet?"

[Bert Johansen]

You sure struck a chord with your post! Indeed, there is always a long list of shop projects that need tending to. Most recently I have been sketching a plane till, and was planning on making it out of poplar, MDF or ply, but got a stash of cherry that has me thinking what a nice cabinet it would make. Not enough to make the two bedroom chests planned for LOML, mind you, so the guilt thing isn't at work. Then there is the ever-present collection of antique sawdust . . .

[J. Z. Guest]

Nope, doesn't happen to me. I spend the bare minimum of time working on my shop & cleaning up.

What I am guilty of is not spending enough time in the shop. Sometimes, I slack off too much online, or just don't feel like working any more. Sometimes, after a tough day at work, I just want to have a couple beers and watch Star Trek DVDs.

[Mike Langford]

Hey, "shop time" is shop time no matter how you slice it.......

Amen,brother!
I not only have my shop to rearrange and build fixtures for but now I'm having to work in my wife's new shop!

My wife does stained glass work (small corner of my shop) and many other crafts (sewing,knitting,glass etching,cross stitching,etc.) that she did in one of our spare bedroom....

.....Last week (with tax refund) we purchased a 10'x16' lofted barn for "her" shop!....So I get to wire,insulate,install (2) windows,paint,build cabinets,etc in her new shop and then I have to rearrange and build fixtures in my shop again for all the new space I've (re)gained!! (I Love It!)

I'll posts some pics of her shop soon in the "shop section"

[Narayan Nayar]

It took me a while to get my current shop "set up". I was feeling bad about it towards the end, since I had purchased all this equipment under the pretense that I would be building stuff for the family, but I absolutely hate looking for tools and since I don't get a lot of time in the shop, things just go so much more quickly if it's organized. Also, because I have a bad back, it's really not a good way to work if I'm constantly picking stuff like cutoffs or clamps off the floor to move it elsewhere. That problem was recently solved, but even before then I basically promised myself that I would try to do something for the house--no matter how small--between any shop project I took on.

Small projects: picture frames, that desk and chair set for my 2-year old, a doorstop, a little gate for the side of the house. Stuff that doesn't take too incredibly long but definitely rationalizes why I'm doing this.

So what do I do right after I get the shop just organized enough that I can do stuff efficiently and without hassle? I get new equipment, of course, which requires me to redo my ductwork. Sheesh.

[Tom Veatch]

I agree with Jim, "shop time" is "shop time". I enjoy building things, and it doesn't matter whether the "thing" leaves the shop or is a permanent resident in the shop.

Of course, the wife tells the friends, neighbors, relatives, and anyone else that will listen. that my hobby isn't woodworking, it's "building a woodworking shop". She may be right, but either way, it's still building "things". I've noticed 'though, she does seem to be getting a little impatient for those 6 bookcases and the kitchen island she ordered. Maybe so, but the workbench, mitersaw station, wood rack, plywood rack, utility shelving, cutoff bins, assembly table, outfeed table, router table, table saw accessory cabinet, dust collection system, air compressor piping, etc. etc., not to mention the 48x32 building enlargement have all progressed pretty steadily. Gee, I love being retired.

[Charles Wiggins]

It seems like more often than not when I get the chance to head down to the shop I spend it sweeping, re-arranging tools, re-routing DC lines or something else that's not building or turning something. Anyone else ever feel like their hobby is actually shop maintenance rather than woodworking?

Jason

I KNOW it is. I have almost no tools and no money, so I just keep collecting small tools in hopes that SOMEDAY I'll enough $$ to buy a few critical tools and some REAL wood and actually make something worth making.

[gary Zimmel]

My shop seems to be in a constant state of upgrade.. I build a few projects and do a little more upgrading. After the cradle thats being done right now and then a couple of Morris chairs it will be the base cabinets for my new miter station. Should have my shop exactly the way I want it in about 50 years.

For me it's all shop time. My wife really doesn't understand it completly but thats OK.

[scott spencer]

"Ever feel like your SHOP is your hobby?"

Absolutely! ....all the time! Or least I see the shop as a big part of the hobby! Love the tools, the selection, bargain hunting, setting them up, dialing them in, enhancing them, arranging the shop so it works better , building up the tool inventory, planning the next upgrade....it's all a huge part of the appeal to me.

I also like the wood itself regardless of the project planned or what I do with it....it's fun to collect a stash, work with a new wood, etc.

And of course the projects themselves are a big part too.....always a satisfying feeling to be nearing the home stretch of a good project!

[Anthony Whitesell]

I'm still in the setup stage of the shop for the first time. So I am alternating between:

1. pick an actual WW project
2. start WW project
3. Find I'm missing a necessary tool
4. Research, decide, and purchase tool
5. If it's an accessory, wait for it to arrive and continue
If it's a tool, make a stand and room for it, which often involves rearranging everything in the basement and possible another visit or to to Number 3 and 4
6. Find out that I need a jig
7. Attempt to build jig, only to end up at #3-4-5 again.
8. Finally build jig
9. Restart project
10. Finally finish

So I think I'm finishing 1 actual WW project for every 3-4 shop projects. I'm hoping that once, I've acquired the basic tools that I can start cranking out WW projects on a whim.

Luckily, since the cycle takes so long I'm able to watch and wait for sales and save lots of $$$. There is a place near me that sells shorts 25% off and cutoffs for $1 (usually 1 sq ft piece, any type of wood may be in there). The cutoffs wood types are randomly available so I stop weekly to "browse" through the bin.