Shop Talk

Well, if there’s one thing I love, it’s talking shop.  I actually keep a blog almost specifically to allow me to talk shop.  I know no one else in close proximity to me that does this kind of woodworking, and sometimes the life of a loner; a rebel, just isn’t as sexy as Pee Wee Herman makes it sound.

Anyway, back to the shop.

Anyone who reads me regularly knows how much I love my shop.  Anyone new to this nonsensical babble can get a primer on what I think of my shop here (first) and  here (second).

At some time early in my foray into working wood, I realized that a shop doesn’t have to be all business. It can, and should, be a happy place.  A place where you can pause and look around, and like what you see.

This morning, kind of early, I did just that; paused and looked around.  And what I saw was, well, disgusting.

You see, I just finished a dandy little knick-knack of a project and, as I am wont to do, destroyed my shop in the process.

I looked around this morning, and came to the conclusion that my shop was a complete disaster.  Months of normal, day-to-day work in the shop along with the occasional fun project coupled with my habit of working like a slob has produced a condition heretofore unseen in this little 24’X24′ box of life ongoing.  Disaster. Utter.  Complete. I don’t even have the vocabulary of superlatives to describe the state of disrepair.

This will wind up a two- or three-part post on The State of the Shop.  I’ve never really done a “shop tour”, knowing full well that’s something most working-class guys love.  We love seeing how other people set up their shops, and bragging a little on the ways we do things in our own.

So, in the interest of keeping posts brief and to-the-point, some ‘before’ pics, with short descriptions, soon to be followed by The Great Clean and a shop tour, with ‘after’ pics and better descriptions.

Enjoy wallowing in my filth.

*These pics start at the man door and revolve 360 around the shop.

Welding table, bookshelf, torches

Anvil, sawbench, shavehorse

Table saw, drill press, bandsaw

Lumber rack, stove, jointer

Workbench, window, lathe

FRIDGE

Ugh.