Shop tour

[Jason Rodgers]

I've seen many of these pics on another forum, and I never get tired of looking at them. A well-organized space and gleaming, well-cared-for tools are a beauty to behold. Thanks again, Arnt!

[Jim McConkey]

Arnt, did you build all the cabinetry, or did you find it pre-made somewhere? Your shop has reminded me I definitely need to include more storage in my new shop, but finding affordable cabinets of the right dimensions is proving nearly impossible. I like the idea of separating the clean and dusty areas, and I think the few big power tools I have will be banned to the garage because they are rarely used and circulation in the new shop isn't the best with only limited possibilities for dust removal.

[Arnt Rian]

Jim, I only built the bases for the benches, the tops are mostly 40 mm solid beech counter tops from Ikea (!), and the cabinets are leftovers from a kitchen renovation, rebuilt wooden office furniture and the like. The bases are construction grade spruce, with mostly band sawed lap joints or tenon and mortise joints, so everything is quite solid. I prefer cabinets and drawers over open shelves when I can, as it makes much easier to control dust build-up, which is becoming a bigger and bigger issue with my allergy situation.

[Jason Rodgers]

Don't know what folks have locally, but Portland has a great place called "The Rebuilding Center." It's all donated, recycled house parts. Pretty much ANYTHING you need, you can find, and it's grown massively since we started going there about 10 years ago. Their kitchen cabinet area, for example, is expansive. It would be very easy to take shop measurements and find some combination of drawers and cabinets to fit your needs. I've heard of similar places popping up in other cities.

[Michael Lewis]

Nicely evolved shop and very clean! I am envious of the clean aspect. I have difficulty throwing away anything that might be useful, like used sandpaper, string wrappers, glass jars, etc. I should make better use of my trash can.

[Jim McConkey]

Sorry for the delay - our internet has been broken for a week.

I completely agree with the drawers over shelves opinion! For some reason I had never even thought to check Ikea. Their countertops are a LOT more affordable than any of the others I have seen anywhere else. My benches are topped with MDF right now, and they work fine, but they will not win any awards for looks. It is really hard to tell that your cabinets were separate, because you have so seamlessly integrated them with everything else. And they appear to be real wood, which is nearly impossible to find here. Everything seems to be made of laminated MDF these days!

Jason, before I saw your message, I just found out that there is such a store in Baltimore (called The Loading Dock), about an hour away, but it may be well worth a trip one of these days. There are also a couple of ReStores (Habitat for Humanity) around here as well.

My old shop was pretty messy, less for Michael's inability to use a trash can as it was a lack of proper places to put anything. That is one thing I hope to remedy in the new shop. And as Arnt ended up doing, I am leaving the few big, rarely used, sawdust generating machines in the garage. Other than a few occasional swipes with a piece of sandpaper, the shop will pretty much be restricted to shavings and scrapings.

[Mike Fleck]

Just wanted to say thanks for the tour. I noticed the leather between your vise jaws and thought it was a good idea. It just saved me a lot of heartache the other day when a freshly painted guitar slipped in the vise!
Mike