Most starting out in woodworking have the dream to one day own a shop as the one pictured here. This is still my dream and ultimately my goal today.
My ideal shop is almost exactly like the one in the photo above. The reality is that it’s very difficult to start out that way without some planning.
If you are like me and woodworking started out as just a necessity and later became a hobby, ultimately translating into a passion, your ideal workshop may be a long way away.
I am going to give you some valuable advice based on past lessons and mistakes, as well as the wisdom of woodworkers that own their dream shops.
When starting out in woodworking, there are a variety of places to start. Many experienced woodworkers will give you advice based on their years of experience and offer their best solution to begin your career.
Mainly, their wisdom comes from experience.
I am going to take a slightly different path by asking some questions. This will help you on your journey.
- What area of woodworking do you want to focus on? Do you want to build furniture, start with small projects, trim carpentry, or do you want the skill to be able to take on a multitude of projects? This may be one of the most important questions to answer as it will guide you in your decisions as to what type of equipment you are going to need. It will also lead to a variety of other questions. Right them down and research the answers that best fit your situation.
- Do I want to create most of my projects with hand tools, power tools, or a combination of both? Don’t breeze through this question quickly. Take the time to devote a few days researching and ultimately trying to determine which path to take. Getting as many answers to this area will save you a ton of time and money when setting up your shop.
- How much time are you able to devote to this hobby or passion? It’s important to know what time you have available in order to put together a reasonable time line to set up your shop. Setting up the shop is going to encompass a tremendous amount of time, so you want to get this right on the first try if possible.
- How much of a budget do you have? The answer to this question doesn’t have to stop you in your tracks or persuade you to take a different path in regards to how you will build your projects. What’s most important is that you formulate a gameplan to be able to afford the equipment you desire.
- What manufacturer will you go with? There is nothing that says all your equipment needs to be from the same manufacturer. I have Grizzly, Porter Cable and ShopSmith, just to name a few, yet I haven’t found any problems working on my projects. However, if I were to start all over, I would most likely save longer and go with Powermatic and others similar. It’s personal preference and I love my Grizzly table saw. I just found with Powermatic they don’t cut any corners and I like the fact that everything is made in the USA. You will have to determine your own path.
These 5 questions are just the start. There are so many more that you will come up with when you start researching these 5. Don’t cut corners here.
When I started out, I didn’t do all the research and my budget dictated every tool I bought. In the long run this has proven costly.
My larger machines like my table saw were great purchases, but I wasted a lot of time and money on cheap routers, hand tools and other power tools.
Shop Setup
This is my current shop setup. It is far from a dream shop, but it definitely gets the job done.
My shop is in my basement, so I am limited to a very small footprint. I can’t have a separate location for each tool and most operations have to be set up.
This is where setup becomes critical.
In the beginning, my shop was cluttered and cramped. It’s hard to tell in this picture, but I have a lot more room to put together my projects than I ever had in the past.
Although, I can’t rip down a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood, I rarely ever do on my table saw. It’s far too dangerous in my opinion and that is why they invented track saws.
Golden Nugget
Track saws can literally take the place of a table saw. So don’t leave it out of your equation when looking at the table saw to be the staple of your shop.
If you think a table saw is a must, check out the video below and check out Eric’s YouTube channel. Every project he does encompasses his track saw. Festool Woodworking Shop Tour
And he didn’t skimp on the brand, Festool is money well spent.
One of the best ways to design the layout of your shop is using Google Sketchup. I left you a link here:
It won’t take you that long to get up and running and I do have a sketchup video on my YouTube site, so be sure to check it out. Sketchup Intro
This will allow you to create several different set ups without going through the trial and error I went through. (I changed the set up of my shop just about every week. You should see all the holes in the walls).
One major factor I highly suggest you take into account is dust collection. Do not skimp on this equipment as your lungs will take the brunt of it, not to mention your wallet. Here is a great place to start with dust collection: Bill Pentz
If you are fortunate enough to have a two car garage or similar size space you can dedicate to your shop, don’t try to fill it with equipment all at once. You wallet and back will thank you!
Education
YouTube is filled with millions of videos on just about every subject relating to woodworking. This is a great place to start learning the different techniques you want to incorporate into your shop.
I suggest you watch a few videos before you automatically subscribe to any channel. It’s important that you enjoy the way the person presents the project.
The Wood Whisperer, Marc Spagnolo, has some of the best videos out there. He has a unique ability of teaching while keeping you entertained.
His wealth of knowledge is staggering as his site can answer just about any question or problem you may have. I highly encourage you to start there. The Wood Whisperer
One of the best ways to learn some hands on woodworking for a small fee is to visit any local trade shows being offered in your area. One of the places I visit and have signed up for is The Wood Working Shows
You can see a schedule of shows for the calander year as well as buy tickets at a discount.
I never took advantage of these shows until recently. What a mistake.
They are filled with so much information as well as discounts to products you will most likely have on your list of “must haves”.
On top of all that, you get to rub elbows with some of the best in the business and they share so much information, all at no additional cost.
Of course, the best education you are going to get is the stuff you pay for. You can go to your local woodworking store to inquire. They offer several courses that will start you off right.
And then there’s online. Several sites will offer some type of paid program and all the reputable guys offer a money back guarantee.
I was a member of Rob Cosman’s shop (Rob Cosman’s Online Workshops)
He is a master at both hand and power tools and his concept for sharpening hand tools ensures my planes and chisels are always razor sharp.
One of the best parts of his online workshops is that you get to see his techniques with no editing. So when he makes a mistake, you get a front row seat to be able to benefit from the lesson.
His recommendations on hand tools as well as some power tools have saved me both time and money. And the quality is equal to tools costing three times as much.
On top of that, he produces some of his own tools that are second to none and built on over 40 years of experience in the industry.
His online workshop isn’t cheap, but the projects you will be able to build will sell for far more than the annual membership.
Projects
If you are like me, you are going to want to build every project you see on all the sites I’ve given you.
The project to the left is a result of Rob Cosman’s teachings and those half blind dovetails are cut by hand by a student.
Try to restrain from biting off more than you can chew.
It is best to start with a solid foundation of techniques. If you did your due diligence as suggested in the beginning of this article, then you will know what techniques you want to learn and ultimately apply to your projects.
Power tools can make short work of milling the lumber needed for a project, but there are going to be times when hand tools get the job done safer and with more accuracy.
This is why I suggest y
ou start with small projects.
Here is a project I took from one of my Woodworking magazine subscriptions. It wasn’t that difficult and once I created a system to machine all the parts, I was able to rapidly produce them.
Although it does involve utilizing a dado stack blade for your table saw, there are other ways to get the same results.
Woodworking is an art and you just need to use your imagination.
This project taught me so many basic techniques, but most importantly taught me the importance in set up to eliminate wasted time and material.
The cost of the material is minimal and it only took me two days to produce this prototype. Now I can turn out a dozen in two days.
Selling these can be quite profitable as well. Profits you can use to buy your next much “wanted” tool.
Safety
This topic should really be at the beginning of the article. I have never taken safety for granted, but I have made my fair share of mistakes that has left some nasty scars.
Before using any tool (Power or Hand) don’t just consult the manual. Consult the professionals.
If your tool comes with a safety device, don’t remove it.
Never wear gloves when working with power tools that have spinning bits such as a router table. If you want to see what can happen, let me know and I can send you a picture (Not my happiest day).
If you search YouTube for “Power Tool Safety”, there are plenty of videos showing you why you don’t want to cut corners.
I would also suggest that along with your first power tool purchase, get a good respirator. And I’m not talking about the box of dust masks for $1.99.
A quality filtered respirator like the one below will keep the dust you can’t see out of your lungs. This way, you won’t have to cart around an oxygen tank in the future.
I have merely scratched the surface of where your new passion can take you. I believe that if you follow a system and the steps I have laid out for you here, you can be up and running in no time.
I will leave you with this quote from Rob Cosman:
“If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, when will you ever find the time to fix it”?
These are words you should live by whenever you take on any project, no matter how small. Start out with your shop set up embracing that saying and you will save yourself a lot of time and money.
Adios and enjoy your new adventure!
Peter