Workshop Re-Organization

December has always been a slow month for me. So this year I decided to use the time productively and reorganize my workshop. This needs to be done every so often and I have been putting it off for some time. I have trouble throwing things away; tools that I may need for some obscure project and wood scraps that could come in handy have accumulated and I have run out of room. Many artisans experience this dilemma.

 I work in two rooms. One contains my machinery; bandsaws, jointer, thickness sander, drill-press, lathes, and a dust collector. The other room is my instrument building area. It contains my principal free standing workbench and several long counter-top type wall benches with storage underneath and all of my hand tools. I decided that I could make better use of the space if  I switched the two rooms. The problem is that there is no place to put everything while I am making the switch - except to pile it up.

Once I made some space in my former machine room I was able to move the machinery into its new location. I was able to move the jointer and drill press myself by putting rollers under them and wheeling them into place. But my bandsaw and thickness sander were too heavy and cumbersome so I hired a pair of movers.

 It was humorous. It took these guys ten minutes. I had removed the table from the bandsaw and unbolted it from its base. The largest guy looked at the bandsaw, rocked it gently on its stand gauging its weight and then putting it in a bear hug carried it into the new machine room. The sander was more problematic because it was a tight fit through the doorway. Once the new storage areas are finished I will be able to stash the boxes that are blocking the window and make progress on getting things organized.

Now that I have some space in my new assembly room (the jointer and dust collector were located against the vacant wall) I can patch the walls and paint. The vacant wall has been finished and in a few days I will build a wall bench with underneath storage. Yesterday I took down the tool racks from the wall on the right (the bandsaw was located here) and patched the rough spots. This morning I painted and this afternoon I'll start building the bench against the far wall. My principal bench will be located in the spot occupied by the cluttered table in the foreground. I hope to be finished soon.

 My New Year's Resolution is to have a great time building wonderful lutes and guitars. And to all of you - Best wishes for the Holidays!


The first image is taken from:  http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/did/