I bought my house about two years ago, and it was mostly because of this beast in the backyard. The previous owner was a cabinet maker, and this was his shop. I am slowly converting this 800 sq. ft. sauna into a proper woodworking shop.
Some of my tools are new, some are inherited from my grandfather. A cheapo Skil contractor’s table saw for now, but a mid-line CMT blade makes it workable. New Porter Cable Scroll saw does wonders for inlay work. The inherited Craftsman bandsaw is probably older than I am, but with a good blade, custom fence and solid miter, it cuts like a dream. Compound miter saw is a (don’t laugh) Task Force, but again, a mid line CMT blade, plus custom extended fences get the job done. Bench planer is a 12″ Delta that does its job well enough, and the drill press is a Northern Tools special that I picked up from a buddy, cheap. Most of my power tools are Dewalt, and my hand tool collection is unfortunately pretty slim.
I have a workbench that I built out of scrap that does its best to pretend its a woodworking bench. I hope to start building my split-top Roubo soon to replace it!
The Crown Jewel of my collection has to be my jointer. It is an inherited Delta/Rockwell 6″, external belt driven, full body cast iron behemoth. It has a custom cart built by my grandfather to tote it around the shop. It took me a while to figure out how to square and plane it, but once it was set, it cut down even the hard stuff like butter.
I love this shop! I am stuck in a dingy basement with a low celing and almost no light. This is a great idea! I really like the fans in the back and the double overhead doors.
Very Cool!
That’s a great space to work with. A stable of tools can be built up over time, but the space to put them to good use is much harder to come by. I can well imagine an insulated metal building must get a bit toasty in San Antonio at this time of year, though. ;-) Enjoy.
Nice shop Jeremy! Even the old tools work great with a little TLC. I look forward to seeing what you build in your shop! Keep us posted!
Shaun