Chuck Tweedy's Shop

[Chuck Tweedy]

Hey All,
In 2011 I built a couple guitars, but really I concentrated on getting my shop in order.
The shop is really a 2.5 car garage that I completely emptied in September 2011, put in laminate floor, storage cabinets, electrical and tons more lights.
Then I started building the shop as a big island and benches along one wall.
In the middle of the island, dust collection ducts converge to a single vertical column that goes up to 5" ducts that run along the ceiling over to the collector.
One of the best things is a chest of 15 drawers that has really helped me organize and store a lot more stuff.

View from the garage door looking in to the main part of the shop. Island to the right, and benches along the left wall. You can see the tables saw's blast gate is open and the duct going up (power coming down)

View of my main bench which also acts as the out-feed table for the table saw.

Similar view but with the vise in place and the "tape drawer" open.

[Chuck Tweedy]

Now ... along the left wall:

Computer area. Will become my finish bench since it has natural light from a window just above to left.

Next to that is a deep, ow bench with 3 huge drawers. I have my bin-boxes on the back of it.

And last down that row is a high bench with a peg-board above it. This is a great place to do neck work.

[Chuck Tweedy]

At the far end of the island is where the thickness sander and my big bandsaw is. They are positioned so that they share an outfeed table. This has really been a great space saver.
At the very back of the shop is the wood and jig storage cabinet that is about 4' square inside. This is the "cabinet under the stairs" that used to be a waste of space, and where I always hit my head (*#!!%#*!!)

Looking to the right of that last high bench, you can see the sander and the storage cabinet with one door open. Clock pencil sharpener, lacrosse sticks, etc.

Here is the bandsaw, sander and their outfeed table from the other direction. You can see out the garage door and also see the window above the finish table.

Around the island past the bandsaw is a heavy butcher-block bench that currently has my go-bar deck setup on it. The deck usually lives in the storage cabinet. I use this table for heavier work (you can see the arbor press). I also clamp machines, like the grinder, to this bench temporarily.

[Chuck Tweedy]

Finally, the couch - the best part of the shop. I'm about to flop on it right after I finish posting.
AND - I can still get a car in the garage!
It takes the place of the couch (which swivels around infront of the table saw). The floor is fine under the car, and it has plenty of room on either side.
We don't put the car in very frequently, but it is very easy to get it in there when we need to.

Words can't describe ...

You can see the couch back along the closed garage door.

[Jim Bonnell]

Wow Chuck, I'm very envious. That is one fine job. My small one car shop pales in comparison. Now get off the couch and get busy cranking out some guitars.

[Jason Rodgers]

Chuck, you have REALLY been working hard on that shop! That is some incredible planning and use of space. AND the car fits?! Nuh-uh, you just did that to show off!

Outstanding work!

[Greg Robinson]

Great looking space Chuck! I've been slowly working on my 1.5 car space, I'm jealous!

[Arnt Rian]

Very nice! I envy you that floor, that is one thing I am going to upgrade in my next big shop reno. So, what's the floor construction, apart from the laminate part?

[Mark Swanson]

That is just so sweet Chuck! I envy your cool shop, and the couch is really cool....If I had a couch in my shop I'd never get anything done.

[Mario Proulx]

The ChuckMahal....!

[Ron Belanger]

Nice shop Chuck!!

[Chuck Tweedy]

Hey guys, thanks for the nice comments.
Arnt, the floor is all straight from the Home Despot. It was very inexpensive (I think about $730 in total - all materials, my labor).
It really helps make the place a lot nicer to work in. The light is better, the temperature is much better regulated, the humidity is much better regulated, and the sound in here is much less cave-like than before.
First I completely evacuated the space and hosed down the concrete floor. My kids and I used brushes and soap and scrubbed the whole surface clean (which was not easy since the dog spends a lot of time in here with me). I let it dry, and then laid the floor. It took about 2 full days on my knees - knee pads are a must.
It is a 3-layer sandwich:
0.006" plastic vapor barrier, duct taped together so that it is one continuous sheet covering the entire space
Closed-cell foam "cushion" layer. Made as a flooring underlayment - don't rememeber how thick
The floor "boards" (more like cardboard really)

The store was getting rid of the flooring I bought, so it was something silly like 70 cents per square foot. So ... 25'x30' = 750sqft x $.70 = $525 in planks, + $200 in plastic sheets

[Dave Anderson]

Such is a nice shop you have Chuck. If I had a couch in mine I'd probably be layin' out listening to the
radio or playin' guitar all day!<G> I like how you have the island organized with the feed tables And all the drawers.

[David King]

That car had better not try to drip any fluids or it will end up out in the doghouse.
My question would concern how you would work on multiple projects at once with your outfeeds doubling as your benches. That's the problem I'm constantly running against in my shop which is considerably larger. I'd love to have bench tops that could be flipped over for double duty with work still attached firmly to the bottom side while the glue dries etc.

[Chuck Tweedy]

David, the outfeed for the sander and bandsaw never has anything on it (lie). Well, it generally is clear, but often has temporary stuff on it left by my family - being right inside the door it is the natural place to dump stuff.
Point is, I never setup anything there - to dry or be stored.
The main bench is an active work area that I'm always using so it can be a hassle to clear it off sometimes to use the table saw.
However, there are 4 other horizontal surfaces that I can abuse to my heart's content and not get in the way of an outfeed surface - that's what saves me.

[Bill Raymond]

Wow, Chuck, you really have been a busy beaver. I wouldn't recognize your garage from the photos. Nice job.

[Randy Roberts]

Wow! You really have been busy.
It looks like you've got a couple thousand square feet there instead of just a garage. The couch is a great "feature", I just hope Marissa didn't give it to you permanently because of you spending so much time working on the shop <g>.

I even spotted where you put the egg incubator!

I am curious about how the flooring holds up to the weight of the car on it. I may try that on my half of my garage. I've gotta hand it to you, having the car just sitting there waiting and that plaid suitcase hidden behind the couch (probably already packed) is just brilliant. It will be so handy when someone drops by with warrantee work.<g> I'd park it facing the other way though, faster getaway.

Oh, and I just finally noticed what a phenomenal dust colection system you have... I don't see a speck of sawdust anywhere.

[Chuck Tweedy]

Thanks Randy ... I think ?

Getaway car - very funny. What is warranty work??

To brag more - Yes, the dust collection system works very well. I table saw / bandsawed and sanded the neck wood for 3 guitars last night and had only a tiny pile of dust to sweep up. Mostly from the bandsaw spitting little wood dust balls.

[Markku Nyytäjä]

Did I see a car in that garage? Wow! I've never seen a garage with a car in it. I've always believed that garages were built for bands to rehearse in, or to store obsolete golf bags and skis for garage sales.
No, really, that's an impressive work shop. It's thoroughly planned and the space has been used in an effective manner. I'm also impressed by the order and cleanliness of your shop. Mine is a former office room and it would barely room one small car, but there's plenty of room for sawdust and tools in a beautiful chaos. Every now and then I get tired of not finding stuff and then spend a day cleaning and organizing the shop. Now I see a well organized clean shop exists, and it's in our own solar system.

[Jason Rodgers]

By the way, Chuck, where's the DC unit live? Weren't you looking for a new unit?