The Clean Out Begins

It never ceases to amaze me as to how much junk one can accumulate over time. My garage, aka workshop, serves as a museum of yester-year. In one corner there are boxes which have not been open in the 12 years since I moved in to this home. They came off the moving truck and were stacked there, never to be opened again. Next to it, the fishing poles and various “must have” appliances which failed the “test of need” in our home (such as the Sno-Cone maker I had to have, used once and retired to the garage). As the piles expand outward, various woodworking tools and tables seem to spawn from the mess. To the untrained eye, it would look like a scene from some post-apocalyptic movie. Yet, in my mind anyway, there is some level of organization. I can tell show you where the prized Ebony and Bubinga boards are, where the major power tools are, and where the hand tools should be. However, as the shop had been mothballed for almost two years, I find that finding anything often takes longer than the task it was needed for! The other day, while turning a pen, I set down a gouge only to spend twenty minutes looking for it. The shop, to my dismay, is no longer functional. 

So it begins… the clean out, that moment in time when one must start throwing stuff away! Better yet, one clears out enough junk that they actually start finding tools that went missing long ago!

The first day concentrated on one side only. As a result, two old pieces of furniture made their way to the dump along with several bags and a truck load of odds and ends. Some items went up into the attic while others were moved to new homes. The band saw was moved to a temporary home on the other side, as the router table and table saw looked around in amazement at the fact that they can now see the floor around them. At the end of the day, an 8 foot wide clear path of concrete led from the house door and out the garage. 

As I begin next week on the shop side, I will now have a temporary holding area for various tools. The shop may still look like a science experiment gone wrong, however, progress has been made. The next goal will be to clear out around the lathe and tool box. The shop side will take some extra time. The problem here is that many of the items will stay while the furnishings will be replaced. The newly cleared section will serve as a staging area for that.

I probably should have done this, years ago, when I realized that the shop would no longer be for handy work. However, sometimes we have to recognize just how inefficient something is before we change it. Other times, it just takes us a while to comprehend what we want to change it to. Of course, there is always budget constraints that must be considered.In my case, it was all three.

Until next time,

Kevin

A New Year and a New Beginning!

So it has been almost two years since my last post. However, A LOT has happened since then. I was notified that my National Guard unit would be deploying. That led to 5 military schools, mobilization training, and then a plane ride across the world. After several months in country, I found myself on a Medevac heading back to the states and now, several months after that, I am looking at a medical retirement. As a part of deployment, my workshop got mothballed. Now, I’m ready to begin rebuilding the old shop and look forward to the sounds of various motors as new shapes are revealed in the wood.

Initially it will only be a little bit here and there. I have discovered that the old shop needs a lot of adjustment and changes. First, there’s the fact that when I first started, everything centered around a 4 x 6 foot stand up table.  Over the years, as new equipment came in and my style evolved from general handyman to woodworker, the old shop has become less and less functional. In some cases it even hinders projects.

So what does all this mean for the Homemade Workshop? The first project will be a complete overhaul of the shop to become more organized and functional. Then we’ll jump right in to various projects. Some will be simple and quick projects like turning a pen or building a desktop humidor. Other will be far more complex like building a new screened in deck. The goal of the Homemade Workshop is to explore all facets of woodworking and the day to day projects that find their way in to our shops. As I am a hobbyist, my shop may turn a peppermill today, build a table tomorrow, rewire a lamp the next day, and sharpen lawn mower blades at the end of the week. But each project is an adventure. If done right, even the most mundane of task will build skill which translates to better and finer projects in the future.

Along with changes will come a strong use of Google Sketch Up. Seen on many other sites, I have found Sketch Up to be an invaluable tool in the planning of projects.

Hopefully by this summer I will start adding video blogs to this site. We’ll see, my video expertise is in the sub novice level :) .

Buttons!

After several weeks of downtime from shoulder surgery, I found that stepping up to the lathe again was somewhat daunting. Would the shoulder do what it was suppose too? I decided that maybe I should start off with the basics and ease back into it.

Meanwhile, several weeks ago, a friend asked if I could make wooden buttons for a sweater she was knitting. With the caveat of healing time taking precedence, I agreed. This would serve as an outstanding return-to-the-basics project. Spindle turning which transitions to face work would be the perfect project to practice with.

My friend had stated she wanted dark wood about 1.25 inches diameter. Otherwise no specification as to design was indicated. What to do? I decided to just have fun with it and turn a variety of designs for her to choose from. 

I found that turning these was a really fun project. In a short period of time, I was able to produce several variations of design. The real challenge, of course, comes with duplicating any particular design. Nevertheless, I found it to be a great back to basics project and a good choice for a little woodshop therapy.

In preparing this project, I looked around the web at various hand made buttons. I was surprised to find there was a decent market for these. I imagine the problem turners would have is trying to stock both the right shape and design to meet the customers need. After all, I came up with a dozen designs just playing around. I don’t plan on trying to stock buttons, but if anyone out there needs some, just send me a note. I’ll be glad to make some to order.

Until next time,

--Kevin

The Paramedic’s Wife has no Band-aids…

This has become somewhat of a joke in my household. As a medic, I have a fairly large aide bag designed to treat significant traumas and yet when my wife asked for a band-aid, I did not have one.

Woodworking projects are much the same. When one first starts their hobby, the product of their work looks much like a growing puppy…awkward, lanky, and somewhat clumsy. With each new project we hone our skills and our work slowly becomes more professional looking. Likewise, in the early stages, our spouses and families often receive the lumbering works of our labor. With smiles and quirky looks they take them and proudly display them on the back of an out-of-the-way book shelf. With each improvement, our projects begin inching forward into more prominent areas of our family’s home.

Then one day, something happens. A stranger wants to buy our work! Cha-ching! We have arrived. Not yet a master, but still able to produce a professional quality product that a complete stranger not only wants to display in their home, but is also willing to pay a retail price for. Suddenly, that money pit of a hobby can begin paying for itself! The wheels and cogs begin to turn as we dream of the newest tool that can be added to the shop if only we can produce and sell x number of Willy Wally Widgets.

Word of mouth begins to spread. Before we know it, multiple strangers are placing orders for our various goods. Meanwhile, with every new order, our faithful spouses see fewer and fewer projects. Then it happens. Those words that make you realize you’ve been neglecting them, “When am I going to get my Willy-Wally-Widget?”

How did that happen?

For the hobbyist, balancing projects is a tough task. After all, our shop time is very limited. Often, this equates to less than 6 hours a week. Generally, woodturners can produce two or three projects in that time. However, if it is segment work or other woodworking forms, a single project may take several weeks on its own. Two or three big projects and all of a sudden, it has been months since we gave that love of our life a professional quality product.

The funny thing is that often times it’s just as simple to produce two as it is one. It takes longer to set up the saw then it does to run the cut. So why not run two? Produce one for that commissioned order, and one for that loving spouse or family member who use to cherish those awkward works of expressions we called a finished project? Maybe, at the end of the day, you’ll see that growing puppy smile that reminds you why you started your hobby in the first place.

See you in the vortex,

--Kevin