My Workshop _ Just Keep Swimming

Hi,

I would like to do this almost more for myself than for you, but I'd like to document my workshop as she gets along and changes. I've been updating / upgrading the space since I got the lease in July 2020. It's been a lot of re-thinking and doing some things wrong, etc. But I'll show you where I started and where I am. I tend to update it every few weeks (mostly w/ small upgrades, sometimes w/ big upgrades). It will also be neat to see a photo dump / archive / journal when this part of my life finally runs it's course.

Maybe it helps some of you, but probably not. Maybe you can at least enjoy it and / or harass me as you see fit.

Space is one garage door (typical residential sized, nothing special). Note the wall where my realtor and property manager are talking... there are two rooms behind them. Those walls will come down (mostly). I'll have to upload a plan layout, but basically a big square with a bathroom that pops out in the middle of the wall w/ the garage door.

Here it is as I leased it in July 2020:
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From this photo, turn yourself 180 degrees:
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From here see the wood cabs on the left to find yourself:
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Note the lack of lighting... I spent a long time putting in chains of cheap LED lights. That was my first task (and getting keys made for the doors).


here's a photo of me using the space in late summer 2020. I was trying to be both a wood and metal guy. I've mostly given up on the metal part since. Still not sure if that was the best way to make a handrail (by building a platform), but I've moved on since then.

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On to 2021.

Photo space before I tore down this wall and got rid of this room. Gorbachev, tear down this wall

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There was now only the room to the right of this photo. I kept it for a while thinking it would eventually be a finish room, but the space it took up kept being an issue. So eventually I decided to get rid of most of it. I still kept some wall (which I have still standing) in the thoughts that I would eventually re-close off the space for a finish room.

I've decided on a different route, so I think I should remove the rest of it, but electrical is going to be whole time consuming thing so I've been putting it off.

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Somewhere in all of this I built a few big pergolas out of cedar. I used this nasty solvent based Penofin coating. To put on the coating, I bought a cheap airless and a cheap ish carport tent. We illegally sprayed all the boards in the tent. This was before neighbor and I installed a fence along the property so the tent was already a homeless person's home from time to time depending on the weather, but then we had a huge wind storm and viola! I woke up to no tent. Found it a few blocks down but never put it up again. It was thrashed and I just threw it away.

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It looks like my shop was pretty static for the year of 2022 or I just didn't take any photos of the shop space. I think that was the year I tore my achilles in March and that set me back quite a bit both mentally and physically. I did pick up a new planer (18" old heavy Powermatic)... my first three phase machine!

October 2022 Shop layout:
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But 2023 was a busy year. Machinery wise, I picked up a Centuro bandsaw, a Griggio shaper and a big radial arm saw (Rockwell)... all old heavy metal. All three phase. I also FINALLY got some dust collection, but nothing amazing. I found a huge industrial place selling an oddball three phase ~1 (I think, going off memory) horsepower dust collector that is essentially a roll around Grizzly. I have yet to pipe things in permanently because I have yet to decide on my final shop layout. Which I need to do soon.

Finally got my clamp racks going. My tall pipes lean in the corner to the right of the photo.


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This happened. Luckily the landlord paid for a new solid door as long as I did the install. Very lucky and happy with that outcome given the problems with NNN leases.

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For a long time I was using the Bosch miter stand as my "miter station" in my shop. I hated it. I finally took the time to build some proper cabs. This is before I got my big radial arm saw so I'm a bit bummed about the placement now, but I didn't know any better at the time.

I decided to keep my welding table and welders and steel in case. Sometimes I do get work here and there to do some metal fab, but I make sure it's items I feel comfortable with as my welds are not aesthetic enough for high end unless I grind them.

I still (as of April 2024) need to add measurement tape and a stop to the right hand side of this set up.

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That's an interesting space, Andrew. I like that you opened it up. Sometimes that works out best because it's not too difficult to add back if needed but the open space is more conducive to getting things laid out better for workflow, etc.

Cleaned it up a little and took some photos on my day off. I did some more organizing after the photos lest you judge me. But it gives the gist of the space and layout as is currently (April 2024).

Outside looking in. Plan is to have material delivery go directly in box. I pull it out as needed.
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Just inside the front door. You can see the material I am going to have moved out to the container on the left. It's also in the way of creating a workspace / bench for the RAS. The right side is a nice little table made from two sawhorses and a few 2x4's to create a support system for materials coming in for future work and work to be installed going out. I'd like it to remain mostly empty... i.e. it clears off relatively quickly.

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Just a different angle. Added those two quick and dirty cabs to the left of the miter saw. I have a book shelf (w/ lots of coating TDS's), a samples shelf as I accrue more and more for customer projects, and a sort of "in the moment junk drawer" shelf that I plan on constantly removing and adding tools etc that I am using for the current task. So right now it has a lot of putty knives, disposable gloves, calculator, etc. because I was painting a lot recently. (calculator probably stays full time).

Otherwise, my beater workbench. Has a lot of holes for bench dogs. They aren't aligned very well (I tried, but it's such an imperfect table to start with that I can never get the holes to align). So I use the adjustable bench dogs on the table and the pin type bench dogs on the vice. So in essence, I'm pushing the pins against an adjustable dog so that my alignment issues are mostly resolved. Works great honestly and I think was a good solution vs spending hours and hours to get perfection.

I have a lot of doors to make and maybe one more drawer.

Back left in the photo was my "brilliant" horizontal sheet good storage. Terrible idea. Can't wait to get everything moved over to the container. I will still need shelving for my veneers but it won't have to be as large.

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A closer look at the back left half of the shop. The vacuum table capable of 4x8 sheets and my assembly table / MFT table. Doubling as both has been hard and inefficient. Looking forward to a different solution. Maybe having another big and low assembly table is the answer? Don't know yet. I hope that my RAS will do most of the cross cutting.

The vacuum table is stacked w/ two projects that need to ship within April. They will take their turn on the assy table as I start getting them ready for install. Not sure what to do w/ the tracksaw tracks. Need to hang them at some point.

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Turn your head right and you'll see the back right of the shop (Northwest).

This is and always has been a wasted / inefficient space. I'm organizing the steel in the container and selling the steel rack I made many many moons ago. That will be a major help. Not sure what will become of this space, but I can't wait to have it open up. I think overall I'm going to change everything about my space anyway so I'll know more once it's cleared up.

May or may not keep the roll around glue up table.

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Another sore spot is this part of the shop. Just meh on organization. Can't wait to get things dialed in! I want that space in the back of the photo (front right of the shop) to be a paint / finishing booth. I built the quick and dirty cabs earlier this year to replace some of that industrial shelving you see. I did get rid of one industrial shelf. Two more to go. I need to figure something out with that side wall because it drives me a bit nuts.

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Different angle. Same stuff. Nothing really to add. Sometimes I bike commute into work.
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Yeah, I really wish I tore down ALL the walls. I have that oddball ugly wall I kept and now it's going to be very painful to remove it so I ignore it for the time being.

OTH, walls are kind of nice because you can put big tools and cabinets against them. I think it will gone.. maybe not this year, but I don't see it sticking around.

Nice space Andrew.I'm envious for sure.
However, that mountain bike with the Italian leather saddle sure is interesting.That's not a Selle saddle, so it could be a San Marcos. None the less, now I know that you're someone that understands the term, "on the rivet". Merckx and Hinault would be proud. ;)

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Originally Posted by Mike Cutler

Nice space Andrew.I'm envious for sure.
However, that mountain bike with the Italian leather saddle sure is interesting.That's not a Selle saddle, so it could be a San Marcos. None the less, now I know that you're someone that understands the term, "on the rivet". Merckx and Hinault would be proud. ;)

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I do love that bike. It's a Surly w/ a Brooks saddle and a Jones handlebar. I have no idea how I lucked into getting this bike w/ a front rack (and basket) for a mere $1k, but I did! I added the rear rack and use an Arkel laptop bag (for back in my remote engineering job days). It's a great bike. Very little troubles even though it's the bike I'm the laziest with in regards to maintenance. The brakes definitely need something like quarterly re-adjustment.

Thats a great space and awesome equipment. Seeing your images makes me lonely for a real shop. +1 for Surly bikes Ms and her friends ride Surly's and call themselves "The Surly Sisters" our son has one too.

Nothing beats a Brooks ... once it's tamed to your ass.

As easily confused as I am, do you have a general line drawing of the lay-out? I find when I think my metal days are over that needs pop up for metal my daughters need something or other and I’m back into it. Having about no room I buy steel as needed and keep as little extra as possible. Interesting the way you retain the shorts on your rack. I keep a small amount of it but it has to be able to be laid in vertically and secured. Is that horizontal furnace serving only the shop area? If so, I’d suggest a pretty close look at the burner area. I can’t tell if it is condensing or not, but a bunch of fine dust will wreak havoc with it. Might look at pre-filters and/or an ambient filter box.
I include my latest metal project. Eldest daughter/SIL re-purposing an old barn for the kids, ages from 8-75. She had to have a fire-pole and I banged out this gate for it. Upstairs is music studio and video room. They did a nice job with the space.

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My assy table grew in length a bit for a project.. pretty ugly and unfortunately has a dip that I need to fix down the road...

But, it's going to be nice for my 10 ft project!

11 ft 3 in x 4 ft 5 in