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Thursday, May 30, 2013

VIDEO: Shop Tour

Last year I took a class at Dictum with Christopher Schwarz to build my Roubo bench. The class was a blast, and I wound up with a beast of a bench with a 5 1/2" thick French oak top.

Wow.

It gets better. Chris had to get back to Munich, so I offered to give him a ride if he would help me unload the bench from the SUV.  

Good move.

Chris not only has build a bunch of these, but I found out he is the world's formost expert on unloading benches from an SUV. I think without his help I would still be in the hospital.

He was so amused by what I was using for a shop, he made a video and posted it on the LAP blog.

I have since reorganized everything in my storage room/shop and thought you might want to take a look. My whole shop is about 90 square feet. This is also our storage room, so I have to share space with that.  

I have moved and gotten rid of a bunch of unnecessary stuff, and am mostly happy here. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't sneeze at a bigger shop or a window, but this is my space, it's all I have.




Park Row (LeGroulx) (Matt LeGroulx) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
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14 comments:

  1. Ralph BoumenotMay 30, 2013 at 4:30 PM

    I've seen phone booth that are bigger than your "shop". If it works, it works.

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    1. Brian EveMay 30, 2013 at 4:35 PM

      There aren't too many advantages to it being so small other than it is all I have, and when it needs a deep cleaning, there isn't much to it.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousMay 30, 2013 at 5:35 PM

    The biggest advantage (not to be sneezed at)is one we small shopkeepers seldom realize, because it's hard to measure. It's the time you would have wasted in a larger shop, randomly walking from one work station to the next, rather than simply reaching in front of you for what you need at any given moment.

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    1. Brian EveMay 30, 2013 at 7:50 PM

      I think I would just make more messes and pile up even more junk.

      Delete
  3. Paul BMay 30, 2013 at 5:43 PM

    Mine is about the same size and although I have a window for a bit of ventilation, it's under a deck, so the lighting is very similar. As long as I stay organized and don't pile crap infront of the storage cabinets, it's plenty big.

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    1. Brian EveMay 30, 2013 at 7:49 PM

      I'm amazed at how often I don't miss more space. The only time it becomes a problem is when working with really long stock. If I can do the operation on my bench, I'm golden.

      It would be nice to have a band saw and a thickness planer, but there is obviously no way.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousMay 31, 2013 at 12:27 AM

    I suppose you could look at a small shop in the same way as a tool chest. Its size limits the amount of things you can acquire. While most would see this as a bad thing, there is something to be said for a minimalist approach. I don't say this just to be encouraging, but also because of my current situation of having a large basement shop that is now hopelessly crowded with crap.

    -Eric

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    1. Brian EveMay 31, 2013 at 7:54 AM

      Haha! Eric, I have to say, I am definitely one of those at risk of allowing my shop to become hopelessly crowded with crap.

      One great thing about a minimalist approach is that you really get to know your tools intimately. I don't know how these guys can work when you have 17 different smoothing planes to choose from. I would probably pick the one that doesn't immediately need sharpening.

      Delete
  5. Chris JMay 31, 2013 at 4:12 AM

    Thanks for posting. I found this video very inspiring, I wish there were more like it from people with "micro-shops".

    I'm just getting started with woodworking and live in a small apartment so my woodshop is our guest room. The room is a little bigger than your shop but I have the challenge that there is a bed in there and I need to break everything down and either store it in the closet or in another room whenever someone comes to stay with us (once a month or so). I'm still figuring out how to set it up optimally (and still buying my primary tool kit) but part of the fun at this point is solving that puzzle.

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    1. Brian EveMay 31, 2013 at 7:58 AM

      Hi Chris,

      Thanks for your kind words.

      I agree, that it is fun figuring it out. I had it set up differently before, and it actually feels like there is more room to work now. If you compare the now vs. before with the video on LAP (just imagine it without all the storage crap everywhere) things are a lot more open now. The big trick was just getting rid of all the stuff I didn't need.

      Delete
  6. SnakeyeMay 31, 2013 at 7:02 AM

    You weren't lying. It is small!

    If I get too impatient waiting for the garage door replacement, mine might be just a tad smaller than that. But I'm holding out a little longer for the garage option.

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    1. Brian EveMay 31, 2013 at 8:00 AM

      If I could add one square foot, I would.

      Patience, grasshopper. It will be worth it. That is as long as it doesn't get "hopelessly crowded with crap."

      Delete
  7. AL OndicJune 1, 2013 at 2:42 PM

    Brian you are a space utilization genius. I just posted your video on my Facebook page (Woodworking with AJO) and have linked to your video on my website ( www.woodworkingwithajo.com ). At my website, I have listed your video on my "Videos" page under "Shop Tours."

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    1. Brian EveJune 1, 2013 at 2:57 PM

      Thanks, Al, you are too kind. Necessity is the mother of invention.

      Delete