Chuck Tweedy's Shop

[Chuck Tweedy]

Markku, er ... uh, Yes, my shop always looks exactly like this. I would never clean up before taking pictures that I plan on posting to the internet, that would be deceiving and represent my shop in an un-natural state.
Seriously, We had just come back from vacation - during which the car was in there - so I decided to take pictures after getting things back in order. It only took me a few minutes to make it presentable.

Jason, you can almost see the DC in the background of the second picture. It is behind that open side door, it is just a single sided ShopFox. Currently it is inside, however, there is a vent right there that I could run the duct through, and then the unit would be outside. That is what I really want. I would need to build it a little shed, and then would like to have the compressor out there to. I'm not sure how my neighbor would feel about this arrangement. :\

[Jason Rodgers]

As long as the little shed is well-insulated, you probably wouldn't have issues with noise (how close is the neighbor, and how friendly?). Heck, you might even be able to buy a simple shed kit from the Depot and plop it right down next to the garage. Of course, there's always the issue of air transfer when the DC is outside the shop, but you're already in the garage.

Building a structure onto the side of your house might not be code. A friend across the street had built a tool shed onto the side of his house, and his neighbor (a building inspector!) turned him in. The structure couldn't share a wall with the house, so he had to go inside the shed, cut the walls away from the house by a hair, and build an adjacent wall. Depending on your setbacks, a modular shed could work well.

[Clay Schaeffer]

Great looking shop, Chuck!
The couch is for the chicks and luthier groupies isn't it? They do have luthier groupies on the left coast don't they?
One of my shops has a roller coaster floor, and the other one is for when you want to do it in the dirt. <g>
You know you are going to have to increase your output or raise your prices to pay for all those improvements. Midnight lutherie might have to add a few morning hours. <g>

[Jason Rodgers]

Great looking shop, Chuck!
The couch is for the chicks and luthier groupies isn't it? They do have luthier groupies on the left coast don't they?
One of my shops has a roller coaster floor, and the other one is for when you want to do it in the dirt. <g>
You know you are going to have to increase your output or raise your prices to pay for all those improvements. Midnight lutherie might have to add a few morning hours. <g>

Ha-ha-ha! If this were f@c#book, I'd LIKE!

[Chuck Tweedy]

Hey, I'm fitting tops to bodies. I "like" that.

[Mark Swanson]

Hey Jason, it's ok to say "Facebook" if you want to.

[Darrel Friesen]

Nice looking shop Chuck. Looks a little staged (too clean).

[Chuck Tweedy]

Hey Darrel, as stated before "my shop always looks exactly like this". That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

[Randy Roberts]

Wait a minute, wait a minute.....I see no jigs! I don't see a single jig!

Do you have a separate "jig" room? Have you gone jigless?? If so, then what's the point in the first place??

You've gots some 'splanin" to do, Lucy.

[Chuck Tweedy]

Pictures 1,2,3 - Outside mold on body in Go-Bar deck (also seen in some other shots)
Picture 4 - 2 more outside molds
Picture 7 - Solara in cabinet, and 2 visible table saw jigs (at least I see them)

Inside that cabinet, on the floor, is where my bending forms outside molds live. Various jigs live on the shelves in there as well.

Go get your conga and lets hear a round of Babalu ... Ricky. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAV3bOJaQuY

[Randy Roberts]

Molds are molds, and soleras are solaras.
Jigs are those hundreds of little pieces of scrap wood glued together lying all over everywhere, that you can't remember what you made them for in the first place, but you can't throw away because you know they're for something important. Those are what I don't see any of.

[Clay Schaeffer]

Whenever you clean up the shop you are supposed to throw away all your jigs so you can make new ones with all of the improvements you thought of while using the first ones you made.

[Chuck Tweedy]

Oh Randy, you mean these?!?
They're in there.

[Jason Rodgers]

Molds are molds, and soleras are solaras.
Jigs are those hundreds of little pieces of scrap wood glued together lying all over everywhere, that you can't remember what you made them for in the first place, but you can't throw away because you know they're for something important. Those are what I don't see any of.

See those scores of drawers? They live in there. This new shop has so many drawers, Dexter could keep a different body part in each!

[Chuck Tweedy]

Jason, some small jigs live in the drawers but most are in the big storage cabinet.
The 15 drawers below the big bench hold the million little things that we all need close-at-hand.
The top 3 are: Pencils/pens, note pads, multi-tool screwdriver; X-acto knives, scrapers, tiny planes, butt chisels, small saws; Measuring tools, calipers, C-thru rulers, small squares, protractor, tape-measures.
Below that it just keeps getting better - You saw the tape and string drawer, cauls ...

[Mario Proulx]

Is that a gas-fired water heater, in the corner?

[Clay Schaeffer]

With that vent pipe it looks like gas. Be careful when you're spraying shellac! <g>

[Mario Proulx]

Or making fine dust...

[Chuck Tweedy]

Yes, gas.
I don't spray in the shop - outside.
And it is one of the many reasons to get the DC outside.

[Douglas Ingram]

Looks great! I appreciate it all the more knowing that good work comes out of there.

I wish that I could do something to my shop floor, but its about 1" higher in the center than the perimeter. That would be a pile of work to level out and I just don't have the time and opportunity.