Friday, November 1, 2013

The Workshop

The Workshop -- November 1, 2013 --Soon after we moved in, we started building a workshop.  It's pretty nice.  My kids teased me about the size and cost, but I just reminded them that my next workshop--if I was lucky--would be the craft room at Panorama City.

In any case my neighbor, Davy Gagne, master carpenter and wood carver, built the shop to my design and Ron Raben's plans.  It is 720 square feet (heated), and the way Davy did it you cannot tell it's an addition.  If you look at the photo, you might notice that the siding is a little higher on the left side of the down spout.  I did much of the grunt work, and that saved some money.  It cost a bit, but the appraiser said that it added more than twice the cost to the value of the property.

This is where the things needed for the Tanzer 16 get fabricated.  There is a dust collection system, and the power for the big tools is located in the floor.  There are at least two outlets every five feet.  240 volt power is located on the two far sides of the shop as well as in the floor.  Last year we plumbed in air.  Hot and cold water are available in the finish room.

Behind the tool cabinets there is a finish/spray room and a separate sanding room.  The 4 x 6 work bench is 1/8" lower than the table saw so it can be the outfeed table when needed.  The router table moves and is 1/8" higher than the table saw and works nicely as an infeed table.  The cabinets house an embarrassingly large collection of tools.  Some of my father's and grandfathers' tools are displayed on the walls.  There is 320 feet of unheated storage above.  (The building was designed for easy conversion to a legal two-story apartment if needed.)

It has been a great joy to work in this space.  Everything is handy and easy to access.  It is possible to do quality work in a routine way.

 
 
Today's Cliché:  Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.