Further Refinements

Over the next two or three years I worked happily on projects until my mind drifted back to shop organization, spurred on by boxes of supplies that migrated from one horizontal surface to another – being constantly in my way. I needed storage space. (Here is the floor plan in question.)

The contents of all three rolling carts were juggled and the carts were placed in different locations around the shop. One cart contained the tools used most frequently at the bench. Yet another contained hardware and supplies used at the drill press while the third cart was moved beside the dust collector and contained tools that were used much less frequently. The bench cart stayed by the workbench and the hardware cart was moved along the overhead door (on the Northeast wall) beside the drill press.

Oh yes, I positioned the drill press in front of the overhead door because I tired of smacking perfectly good lumber against it when using the bandsaw. I hate overhead doors in woodshops. Of course they afford excellent access for large objects but they squander heat in the winter and render an entire wall useless for hanging things or installing cabinets. However, the freestanding drill press worked quite well in front of the door, especially when teamed with a rolling cart brimming with pertinent accessories.

I will quickly add that the workbench was moved nearer the window, almost touching the wall. I originally wanted to get behind the bench while working but I found that the lighting was superior next to the wall. I never went behind it anyway and, if I needed to, it would be easily moved.

There were two minor changes that should be mentioned. I repositioned the chop saw against the sheet goods rack as it was in the way when moving things in and out of the overhead door. Second, the planer decided to stay on top of the table saw extension. I was able to remove it easily when necessary but much of the time I didn’t have to.

This leaves the most important change I made – the back bench (as I referred to it). Tired of tripping over cardboard boxes, I decided to build a bench along the back wall of the shop, as I called it (otherwise referred to as the Southwest wall). Being somewhat impecunious at that time, I was compelled to build it on the cheap. At some point we purchased several of those large, steel storage shelves from the home center. I recalled something in the assembly notes stating that, at half height, they could be used as a workbench, so I emptied one (onto the floor of the basement) and moved it to the shop where I split it apart to make the two halves of the bench. With a plywood top in place (covered with Masonite) I mounted my lathe to one end and set up a permanent sharpening station on the other. My contractor’s tool case and mortiser also found a home on the new bench. Between the new shelves under the back bench and the single shelf above, I had a home for all the items that played musical tool top for the last few years.

After four and a half years, the workshop was finally as functional as I hoped it had been from the start. In actuality, getting any shop to this state takes some time. I remained in my little space for only another six months, but I still managed to acquire several tools and make a few more changes.