Fully loaded

I talked about my hatred for impact drivers last week, which divided my readership in half. Half strongly agreed with me, while the other half strongly disagreed with me. I’m okay with that ratio.

I stood in my shop earlier today, scratching my head, trying to come up with an idea that would hopefully have a higher percentage of people agree with me. I say “stood” because the shop is so packed right now it’s hard to move in. Then it hit me. My shop is too small and I’m guessing at least 95% of you think your shop is also too small.

If you happen to be one of those folks who think your shop is either the perfect size, or possible even too large, I’m very jealous of you and your ample shop. I have no idea what that feels like, but I’m certainly happy for you. If you want to see how the less fortunate woodworkers live, read on.

The current state

My shop has a 16′ x 26′ footprint, with a mostly usable second storey. I’m doing just fine in it, though it certainly has its challenges when it comes to finding an open bit of floor to put a project. If I’m making a smallish piece, there’s really no problem; the challenge comes when I’m making a larger piece of furniture. I’ve built a 10′ long dining table and a wall unit in the past few years, and they both pushed the limits of my workspace.

Right now, I have two medium-sized vanities on the go. On top of that, a contractor friend of mine asked me to laminate eight pine slabs that all finish at 14″ wide x 2″ thick and are between 5′ and 6′ long. This was a bit of a rush job, which I’m happy to help with.

None of these projects are huge, but when you add them together, then add a bunch of clamps across the pine slabs while the glue dries, I’ve got to turn sideways to get pretty much anywhere in the shop. One time I had to crawl on my hands and knees to go underneath a drying slab. This situation was made worse by the fact that I didn’t know this pine slab project was going to happen until about 9 a.m today, so I didn’t really have time to get my shop organized, as my friend was waiting for me when I pulled up to my shop.

Life in the fast lane

We all just do what we can in our small shops. Having machines on wheels, keeping surfaces at the same height, having a place for everything and not saving too many offcuts all help keep a small space productive.

In addition to some of those small shop basics, I had to open the double doors to be able to joint the edges of all these pine boards. As I was within an inch of completing one longer edge, the board butted up against the wall, which made me quickly adjust the angle of the jointer. I didn’t realize the electric cord was already taut, so that slight move unplugged the jointer. Not a big deal, but somewhat frustrating. A few adjustments had me back up and running. At another point, I was ripping one of the longer boards, only to have it bang into one of the partially finished vanities. Again, a few adjustments and I was back on track. Wrestling these big planks through the planer also provided some challenges, but nothing that a few adjustments couldn’t fix.

Flexibility is the cornerstone of a good small shop. Making a small jewelry box one day, starting a large wall unit the next day, then moving onto a chair the following week is common in my situation.

The future is bright

About a month ago I wrote about a new shop I’m designing for our yard. It won’t be huge. Sadly, it’s the sort of space that I will wish was larger for many years to come, but such is life. It’s going to be an improvement over my current space, and will allow me to work on my property, which is a nice benefit. Until then, I have to remain flexible and adaptive in my current workshop. Come to think of it, that’s an approach I’ll likely be using in my new shop, too.