First Post - The Workshop

This is the first post on this blog and it has a picture of the outside of my workshop from this past Jan 2010.

The building is 24'x36' and the right 1/3 is my office and the left 2/3 is my workshop, so the workshop is about 24'x24' and the office is about 12'x24'. In later posts I will show some pictures of the inside of the shop. It has an 8' high ceiling and is fully insulated. Eventually there will be a wood burning stove in the shop and I'll burn all my scrap wood and sawdust in it as well as any paper products that accumulate.

Currently my power tool inventory is this:

• DeWalt DW744 Table Saw
• Palmgren 10" Band Saw
• Craftsman 10" Compound Miter Saw
• Turncrafter 10" Midi Lathe
• Delta 10" Drill Press
• Craftsman 4"x36" Stationary Belt Sander
• Craftsman 5 Gallon Compressor

I also have numerous 18v powered hand tools, mainly Ryobi, and lots of unpowered hand tools as well.

Most of my power tools are on stands with casters so I can move them around as necessary.

There are (2) 8'w x 7'h overhead garage doors on the east side of the shop, a 3'x3' single hung window in the center of the south wall and another window in the center of the rear wall or west wall, over top of my 8' workbench.

Flanking each side of the workbench are 4' wide floor to ceiling tool and equipment cabinets. On the north wall of the shop are 12' long shelves containing miscellaneous stuff as well as paints, stains and various other supplies. On the south wall next to the overhead door is where I store most of my raw materials, lumber.

The shop is a work in process which began in the fall of 2006 when I and a helper built it. Currently there is R13 insulation in the walls which are sheathed on the inside with 1/2" OSB (oriented strand board). The ceiling has R38 insulation but no sheathing yet. The sheathing will be installed before the next cold season starts. The floor is poured concrete.

There are (4) 4' long fluorescent shop lights in the ceiling as well as a ceiling fan right in the middle. This past winter I heated the shop with (1) 4' long 1000 watt baseboard heater. The heater is undersized and it takes 24 hours after turning it on for the temperature to get up to the 60 degree range.

Welp, that's all for now, I'll post more about the shop, the tools, the materials and the end results of what I do in this shop. I'll also post some info on the office which is the heart of where of the ideas and plans originate.