 
A CHAIRMAKER'S SHOP One woodworker's take on shop layout. SHOP OWNER: Jerome Laux LOCATION: Union County, GA This is a view of my shop, when it was somewhat clean. To help understand things, I've included a diagram of my layout. 
First thing to the left is my sharpening bench. The base is poplar plywood with poplar drawer fronts, rails and stiles. I put an oak framed top on the bench. The framing is oak and the interior is a layer of shower tile board over a 3/4" poplar plywood base. 
Next are my lathe, small bandsaw, and cyclone. I've got a lot of narrow spindle blanks stored above the bandsaw. 
I store large turning blanks on this rack. The blanks are mostly 3" x 3" x 33"+. Although this stash is mostly comprised of hard maple, there is also some ash, oak, and hickory. These blanks will eventually become legs and stretchers for chairs. 
My jointer, router table, and drill press are located close together. Long lumber storage is on the wall rack directly behind. 
I salvaged the upper cabinets from my in-law’s kitchen remodel. They hang on French cleats. I built the base cabinets out of poplar plywood. The drawer fronts, rails, and stiles are aslo poplar with scrap plywood inserts for the door fronts. The tops are oak framed with a 3/4" poplar plywood base and a 1/4" tempered Masonite insert. The oak frame overlaps the base cabinets by about 1/2". The tempered Masonite can be removed if it gets severely damaged or stained, as it just sits loose in the frame. 
Next is my center cabinet with miter saw and left side cabinets. Their tops are constructed the same as the other cabinets. 
Here is my workbench. As you can see, I like building chairs. The spindles are all done by hand - rived from a log section and then shaped with a drawknife and spoke shave. I put track lighting above the workbench and my lathe. I can point the lights in critical areas and really illuminate the piece (or spindle) that I'm working on. I've got compact fluorescent PAR30s over the lathe and regular PAR30s over the bench. The extra illumination really helps a lot. 
My large bandsaw is this new Rikon saw. 
Finally, this is my Steel City 10” cabinet saw. . . .
Jerome Laux - (aka JL)
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