***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO

>I recently moved my shop from the back wall of my garage to what used to be the guest room in our walkout basement. The garage was dark and cramped. The basement room is relatively spacious a light with a window in front of my bench. What makes a great shop for me is that window!

Best Regards,

Ted

Maid service?

Steve Kubien

>That would be wonderful but since that is beyond to scope of most of us, I would have to say some state of cleanliness. It is more enjoyable to work in an area where you are not constantly tripping over things. I suppose 'organization' and 'lack of clutter' could be lumped in as well. Good lighting is also essential.

Aside from that, a shop must have tools which you ENJOY using. It could be something your great-grandfather used, vintage iron with character. It could be new precision machinery that amazes you with its power. A plane which astounds you with how well it works.

If your tools are not enjoyable, it is tough to enjoy the craft.

Humbly,

Steve Kubien

Ajax, Ontario

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Ron in Kokomo

>A great shop has plenty of light and has enough "experience" that it is now configured in a way that makes sense given the work that happens there. A "great shop" certainly means a lot of different things to different people. My interests are hand tools and chairmaking, so I really do not need a whole lot of room, oarticularly if I have another place for wood storage.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Frank D. in Montreal

>A good shop has enoug hspace to move around in but still feels cozy. And it's a place you can smoke a cigar in without getting admonished by anyone.

OK Frank...

Denis Chénard, Orléans, Ont.

>I'll let you smoke when you visit... If you give me one too...

DC

Ah, yes! Cigars and darts...

Ellis Walentine

>My programming buddy Craig comes over once in a while for some R&R away from the endless grind of computer world. He usually brings a couple delightful cigars and we proceed to fire them up while enjoying a game of darts and maybe some puttering. To us, my shop is the "clubhouse." I guess there are things that boys never really outgrow. :-)

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Bill Lowrance in Geneva

>For an amusing analogous theme, maybe see the jewelry-makers' resource website, Ganoksin, to which jewelers all over send photographs of their (invariably very compact, highly adapted) workbenches/ workspaces. http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/BenchExchange/index.htm

Well put Steve. Now to cnvince SWMBO ...

Victor Parisian

>to let me have the maid every other week...Naw, it ain't going to happen.

Forgetaboutit.

Victor - hunkering down in Pearland Texas waiting for Rita

A very personal view...

David Barnett - Venice, Florida

>1. SEEING - Abundant light; clear, white, natural or artificial (full spectrum). White walls, white floors. Good supportive optics; magnifiers, task lighting, and so on.

2. HEARING & THINKING - Privacy, solitude, quietude, visual order/aesthetics (nothing on the walls, etc.). A good view, if you're lucky.

3. WORKABILITY - Order, tidyness, serviceable tools and materials within reach or proper place (ergonomy wins over extra space). Uncluttered work surfaces. High ceilings. Climate control.

4. CAT

Ambience and atmostpherics help me get into an undistracted and creative state of mind. Everything else is secondary. Obviously, this is a one-person shop.

Meant to post directly under main topic, Ron...

David Barnett - Venice, Florida

>but your response struck a chord, as you can see. Works for me, heh.

My shop...

Ted Owen, Pittsburgh

>makes me feel insulated and protected from the world's cares. Wish I had a bit more space and light.

Best, Ted

Here's a link to mine, Bill *LINK*

David Barnett - Venice, Florida

>I never got around to sending my newer photos to Hanuman for the "Bench Exchange" (I've added another bench and doubled my equipment, since then), but I did post a couple pics to the main Orchid list in early 2004. Here's the archive link:


My earliest bench

How much does your maid service cost?

Steve Kubien

>

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

dave caudill

>I think there are a couple sides of this for me. First is the practical side which is the lighting, space, proper tools and setup. All of which needs to be in place to a certain degree of usefulness and functionality. Of course I think this is constantly changing to varying degrees as you learn more and your needs change or are refined. Secondly is the feel, the personality of the shop, those things that make it yours and yours only. Not that others wouldn't be comfortable there or be able to get things done. But those things that let you know its your shop. For me its some old tools that I like to have there and photos and shop calender and my old dusty radio on my favorite station. Not to mention some old metal thermometers and then a new one that tells me the temperature and humidity, accurately. Together these make it a shop that allows me to work comfortably and efficiently without having to constantly change things or get comforatable in as it fits me.

Now are there changes I would make. Yes. I have a cement floor and would prefer wood. I have only one window on one wall due to zoning constraints and would like more natural light. And I would like higher ceilings and a better method for storing lumber but for what I have considering zoning, lot size and other sideboards I have a pretty good deal.

Dave

Why practically nothing, Steve.

David Barnett - Venice, Florida

>She's small, doesn't eat much more than my cat. Don't know what she would actually charge, as I don't speak Tagalog, or whatever quaint tongue she speaks, and I don't intend to learn anytime soon as she might figure out that I don't really intend to marry her and the menu with the gold sticky-seal I shake in her face whenever she slacks off isn't really an indenture. For now, she's just happy to be out of that shipping container she stowed away in.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Jim in Burlington On

>What I really like about this shop of mine is it's only 7 stairs to it. It's rather small with 7' ceiling a little to low for my liking. The shortage of space meant sacraficing a assembly table which means that any large project takes over the whole shop. The lack of large equipment is not a downfall I rather enjoy the peace and quite. If there was room I'd certainly put a recliner down there. Music is a big part of my shop now where it was impratical with a larger shop. There something magical about seeing the stool and bench to sit at seems my Blood pressure just goes down now that there's no large pile of work to do these days.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>I feel comfortable in my shop because I have it reasonably well organized but with enough clutter to keep it interesting. Perhaps the number one requirement to make a shop a good shop is to have so many old hand tools that you often find one you didn't know you had.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Alan Hamilton

>In my checkered history of assaulting wood I've had everything from a shop dedicated (almost) exclusively to woodworking, and semi-dedicated areas where I could leave my tools and materials in place, but those are not my favorite woodworking spots. By far my favorite place to work was on my front porch!

In the years I was becoming over-educated I had the upstairs in an old Victorian that had been divided into two apartments. Working in my rooms was out of the question; there was no garage, and the basement was too small and the ceiling height was only around five and a half feet; so the porch had to serve.

I got a Slzbrglyz bench (because it is strong enough and light enough to move easily) and I altered it so I could take it apart and put it together in a minute or two. Alnog with the bench I was able to store my bench, with stock and work in progress in the hallway downstairs, next to the front door. It took me no more than ten minutes--and probably less--to get completely set up and butchering wood.

It doesn't sound that great, so why was it my favorite?

There are some technical reasons: the light was wonderful, and cleaning up was a snap. After putting away my tools and work all I had to do was to pick up the big pieces and and sweep the shavings and dust into the shrubbery (with my landlady's permission, of course). But these aren't the real reasons I liked it so much.

My house was on a street that led to and from our little (and I do mean'little') downtown; every day there was a near constant stream of people poking along back and forth. Some--not many, but some--walked by without a glance, but most leaned against the rail or mounted the steps to see, to chat, to help, to ask, and generally pass the time. That was GREAT! I made many new friends, some were wood workers and some were not. But they were all nice people and a pleasure to talk with.

I learned a lot from some of them. One fellow showed me a way to cut tenons that was much faster than the way I had learned; a nice, handsome young woman showed my how to carve a duck decoy and various other anamals; and another woman taught me some finishing techniques. The atmosphere created by this was sunny and genial. The work was lighter and went faster--or at least it seemed to. Some even helped me clean up! It was simply more fun.

So I have to say my favorite shop was not a shop at all. My favorite shop was a porch!

Alan

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Bob Hackett

>My shop is where time stops,and then disappears.

It feels more like home than the livingroom.

It`s the cool of a cave in July and the warmth of a woodstove in January.

It`s where my I own everything in it and it owns me.

It`s comfort and light,creativity and release,Sweat and sometimes blood,frustration and success,tradition and innovation,collaboration and solitude.

It contains nearly everything I need to feed my brain and my soul.

A good shop is where you can go and appreciate the work.

A great shop is where you can go and appreciate the man.

Mainely,Bob

BTW-Things I would wish for,higher ceilings(high enough to accomodate that monster bandsaw I`ve been dreaming about).More wood storage space(big enough to think of Nakashima dreaming among the planks).More light(4 all glass walls would be close to enough.Then I`d be working in either the forest or the garden or the cove).Radiant heat under a wood floor(I`d settle for radiant heat under the current slab of concrete).That I could stop time permanently for my benchdog and best friend Otis and his girlfriend Zoe.

Space-light-fresh air-quiet-reachable-mine 

Conger - the Irish diaspora in Munich

>

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Bill Lowrance in Geneva

>It's obvious but somebody might as well mention it: A dream shop would be laid out and maybe partitioned in a way that would separate dirtier, dustier, oilier work (such as grinding and sharpening) separate from cleaner work (drafting, assembling, finishing).

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

philly

>A good shop is comfortable, organised (if not tidy ;)) and a place you can turn out quality work.

Regards

Phil

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER***

Tony - Memphis

>I figured everything would be covered when I saw this the other day, so I didn't respond. Well, as I was working in my jam paced 16x20 shop over the weekend, my eureka was how thankful I am that my builder mistook what I said and built me a ten foot ceiling (I had spec'd 8 foot outer walls, but he made them ten). I love having the tall ceilings!

Tony - who at 5'4" still appreciates the tall ceiling!