My shop is approximately 600 square feet in a 2,500 square foot building. There is also an 8′x13′ finishing room on the mezzanine above the shop and two wood racks along the shop and back wall. When needed (like on a recent project where I had a commission for 5 dressers with upper hutches), I spill out to the other 1,900 square feet.
Major power tools are 10” Delta tablesaw with custom wing, 12” Power King bandsaw with the Carter scrolling guide, Jet 14” bandsaw for ripping and resawing, Sommerfeld router table with Triton router, 15” Jet planer, Craftsman 6” belt/9” disc sander, Jet oscillating spindle sander, 12” DeWalt miter saw, Craftsman drill press, 8” Grizzly jointer, Jet 22-44 oscillating drum sander, Oneida cyclone dust collector and Jet DC-650 (that is dedicated to the Jet 22-44ODS, sanding and vacuuming the floor). Tucked away under the stairs to the mezzanine is a 150 gallon compressor. Also present are a Foley-Belsaw circular blade sharpener, belt grinder, Tormek and hand saw filer. You might have also noticed the torsion box top sitting on saw horses and the outfeed table (which has an insert for when I want to use it as a downdraft table.
I have a decent selection of clamps, but honestly need more parallel clamps of the smaller (18” to 24” range) size. Most of the clamps are either in the framing of the mezzanine or hanging along the edge. I also made clamping cauls on the jointer to reduce the number of clamps required for glue ups.
Although I started out as a Normite, I’d say the shop is becoming more and more blended. I have to give Marc credit here. It would likely have been a long time before I knew about or purchased a router plane, for example, but have used it countless times. I know it has improved the quality of my power tool joints. I included a couple of photos of some of the handtools. My #7 and #51 Lie-Nielsen’s were tucked under the bench, as well as my DMT and Shapton sharpening stones.
I’m sure I am missing stuff, so please feel free to ask questions. You can also take a look at the Facebook page. There are more detailed photos there. Also, very quickly about me…I’m an architect by training and started woodworking when I was in my teens (I’m now in mid 30’s) under my grandfather’s watch. Still it’s only very recently that I began pushing to get a shop set-up, tuned up and running in order to make projects for myself, family and commissions.
The images were taken in between projects and originally intended for updating the insurance records, but I thought I’d post them here too. For what it’s worth, since I started vacuuming the shop instead of sweeping, it seems to stay cleaner and also cleans up faster. BUT, for those of you who hate clean shop photos…don’t worry, it is trashed now!
Hey Jay,
Very nice shop you have here. I’m in Streamwood and just started woodworking in the past year or so looking to get into furniture/cabinet making. At the risk of sounding like an Internet lunatic and because I couldn’t find your email I was wondering if you’d be interested in possibly having me on from time to time for an internship type experience. I’d be more than willing to help out around the shop on any projects you have (time permitted) simply in exchange for knowledge transfer and to get some good hands on training. I’m in your age group apparently (29) and aside from the fact that I’m trying to pick you up on the net am perfectly normal (well, mostly) :) let me know if this is something you’d be interested in and we can talk more. I currently just have my garage shop with some tools that I need to stash away during winter against the walls but am looking to eventually expand as time/money allows.
Nice shop. I was born and raised in Elgin on the north side. What part of town is your shop located?
East side Bill. I dare not say more than that so trolls on the internet don’t find it and clean me out. :)
What is that circle thingy on the edge of the torsion box?
Hey Phillip,
If you mean on the corner of the workbench, it’s a butternut trivet with a chip carved center.
Jay
Thanks for sharing. Great taste with the Delta miter stand! They don’t make ‘em like they used to.
Jay,
I’m very envious of your nice shop.
But lets cover that pink insulation, OK?
Eric,
There is actually enough space in between the pink and uprights to install 1/8″ plywood…alas, budget hasn’t supported buying that many sheets and painting them light color like I want to. Somehow instead of using the money to clad the walls a new tools shows up in the shop. :)
Jay
Why do you have the separate dust collector for the drum sander?
I find that (after running a lot of stock) the dust bag can fill up quit a bit. It’s easier to empty where it’s at. Also, I find that the Penn State filter I put on the Delta dust collector is easier to clean out by rotating the handle and moving the paddles around. The Oneida cyclone requires a complete tear down to remove any packed dust. Also, since I had the DC-650 before the Oneida was installed and it works better for me on this tool it justifies its existence. Hope that answers the question!
How do you like your Grizzly jointer. I plan to buy an 8″ jointer within the next ten days.
Considering the previous jointer was a 6″ Craftsman on pipe legs, I love it. I have had one issue with the it though. That was the guard was defective from day one. It wasn’t apparent to me for a long time because I wasn’t making the machine work for me. It was the other way around. Only recently did I realize I could be pushing the machine and also realize that the guard was not working like it was supposed to. I talked to Grizzly and they offered a part for purchase ($25 since it was out of warranty) as well as a solution for a fix. Since Dad is a metal worker I chose the fix. Now that the guard is fixed I have no complaints…well…maybe one and that’s being picky. I wish I had the longer tables. That just means I should have picked a different model to start with. For what it’s worth, we have a Grizzly horizontal bandsaw in the shop on the metal side and it’s a great machine too. In the end, from my experience, I’d recommend the Grizzly line. The products are good the customer service is great too.
I have the Grizzley 6″ and just love it. One suggestion: get the spiral cutters, you will not be disappointed. Makes a world of difference.
The pink is rigid insulation. The walls are cast in place concrete up to that height. 8″ concrete is about R2.18. We added 2″ rigid insulation to cover the concrete and are now up in the mid teens in the R value. Dad made the J channel at the bottom the the hat channel struts to cover the joints and hold the insulation in place as well as the cap in the sheet metal shop. I guess it’s been so long that they’ve been pink that I don’t even notice the color anymore! LOL
Nice! Pink walls?