I’ve posted in a few other threads about how I have been working in my shop to make it more conducive to instrument building as I’d like to at least give it a try. I have finished a majority of the work and wanted to share with you guys not only because I am proud of what I have done, but also because I would love any suggestions any more experienced builders may have. I also wold love to see how some of you may have arranged your shop and would love to hear methodologies and thoughts on how your work flow operates in the space you have dedicated to instrument building. Aside from my own shop, I have also been in Marty Jacobson’s a few times and think his is great. Of course he always told me every time I’ve come over that he had just cleaned an inch or so of dust off the floor, but its always looked really nice and well maintained, and I can get a good sense of how he works in there.
So here’s my Shop story….
I have about 20+ years of professional experience in cabinet building, trim carpentry and woodworking and enjoy it as a hobby as well. When my wife and I bought our house 17 yrs back, my shop was a small room on the exterior of the house, and I made it work. About a decade ago though, we bought a 12’x20' building and had it placed in the backyard for a bigger shop space. I ran a couple of lights and outlets in the 2x4 walls and wired in the male end of an extension cord so I could run a 100 ft extension cord from the house to make it plug and play so to speak. I set it up like many cabinet shops I’d seen and worked in with a big outfeed table for the tablesaw and a long workstation for the chop saw in tandem with the drill press and made the surface high enough to store things under; scrap wood and small electric tools under one side and large tools on mobile bases on the other; wood rack above the chop saw for easy access etc. But I never insulated or sealed the building from the outside elements. So I either sweated through the GA summers or wore extra clothes and ran a space heater in the winter. It has worked for a long time, but it became a space that collected my junk, half finished projects and dust. Being the father of 4 girls, it has also functioned as something of a man-cave... so of course I have a TV out there for entertainment… why not?
About a year ago, I started thinking I might want to try to build mandolins, but I knew my shop wouldn’t necessarily be sufficient. I’ve also always wanted it to be “better” but have never had the time or resources to do so. So having completed all the “necessary” home remodeling, I decided it was time to supe it up. So I have spent many, many months insulating, sealing, cleaning, organizing etc. my shop. I have particularly gotten a great deal done during the pandemic lock-down,… and here is the result.
And so the journey begins:
Some of the details:
1. The superintendent of the construction company that did a big construction project for the church that employs me as their Facility Manager gave me a boatload of insulation batts, so I insulated the entire building with R-19 and reused the coroplast which they used for temporary walls to clad the shop walls.
2. One wall and 2 of the doors are completely clad in scrap wood from my pile just because I thought it would look cool.
3. I sealed around all the windows and doors.
4. I trenched from the closest spot on the main house and ran 3 circuits to the shop for tools (outlets), Lights, and a dedicated quad outlet for “HVAC” (window A/C unit, radiant space heater and dehumidifier).
5. I added a window to the wall at the end of my chop saw bench so that I could cut extra long stock by sending it out the window.
6. I built a dedicated bench for detail work. I have always used my outfeed table from the tablesaw as a main workbench. This can be troublesome when there’s something I’m working on and need to rip a piece on the saw. Hopefully this helps.
7. Bought and set up a small cyclone system to attach to my shop vac for dust collection… can’t say enough good about this! I am amazed at how much suction I get out of my wee little (old) Rigid Shop vac…. (I had a pile of wood dust under my tablesaw that took up 3 garbage bags to get rid of). In conjunction with this, I’ve added functional dust ports to almost all of my big stationary tools.
8. I built an overhead filter-fan to help remove dust from the air. It is made from an old vent fan an HVAC-tech friend gave me. I built it to use the same size filters as our household HVAC unit. We change them every 2 months because we have a kid with asthma and they don’t get very dirty so I have a ready supply of replacement filters.
9. I’ve also done a lot of reorganization just to help it function better. Not to mention, I have probably made about 6 trips to the dump to get rid of junk I will either never use or finish.
All in all, I am very please because I have made it how I have always wanted. Not to mention how well conditioned it is. Not only does it stay cool in there in the heat because it is shaded by some big trees, but if I kick on the AC unit and the Dehumidifier I can be super comfortable in minutes. Even if I only make one instrument and never walk down that road again, I have accomplished creating an awesome space for myself that I have always wanted.
Critique and make suggestions if you want, I welcome that!
Now I just need to keep it clean…
Your turn… show us your shop! Tell us what has worked and what hasn’t? Dust Collection? Climate control? Finishing? How does all this work for you in your shop? ... I'd love to see some shops from pros that make some really high end instruments!
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