"Messy" Vs. "Organized" shop

[Dan_Shade]

I second the comment on the windows. 

What kind of joinery is used?   Do you have dedicated shaper bits for the window construction? Do you use sash weights? 

[Old Greenhorn]

Very Nice windows Don, I wish I had half those skills.
 OK, I need to confess. I wrote what I wrote in reply #8 above but when I walked through the shop at the end of the day yesterday, I realized I might have been a bit of a hypocrite. I looked at my shop through slightly different eyes than the ones I had in reply #8 and rather than focus on how far it has come in the last 4 years, I looked at what a new comer would see when they walked in and realized, I have a ways to go yet. You guys made me search my soul and I came up wanting. ;D
 True confession time, The (downstairs) bench:


 

Now you may look at that and say 'that's not bad, easy cleanup in 10 minutes' but I look at it and ask myself "why do you have that pristine white tool board on the wall over the bench and not a SINGLE tool is hanging on it?" Gotta get that going.

The main bay looking East:


 
That is my lawn display trailer. I had the 'great idea' to rig it up so I could park it on the front lawn on the weekends and maybe grab a few small sales. At night it goes back in the shop. I did manage to draw in a single customer for a small purchase, but nothing else. Soon after I took this photo I made storage for the left over stock and hung it in the rafters. Today I will put the other stuff away and get the trailer out of there. Tired of stepping around it.

 The central clutter zone:


 
This is my problem area, machines I have not assembled or cannot find buyers for. Some winter day I will take a machine at a time and deal with it. Right now it is as tight as I can pack it. Believe it or not, there is a drill press, a horizontal mill, a metal shaper, anvil, apron brake, sheet metal bead roller, a chink of 304SS 36" diameter x 1.25 thick, and some other stuff stacked in that little space. (That vanity is the wife's 'restoration project that I have been moving around for 3 years now, she is gonna start it 'any day now')

The machine room:


 

This is my 'back room'. I removed the front wall and a dividing wall from it about 3 years ago and moved my Bridgeport and big lathe in there along with the main compressor. I can walk in and out and it is relatively neat, but I have yet to run the wires and hook up the phase converter to get them running. Waiting for winter on that too.

 Main bay, looking SW:


 

General clutter is the feeling I get here. All of the upstairs lofts (except the original 12x12 area in the far corner of this photo) have been added in the last 4 years. Upstairs is all wood working and some storage. No photos of that. I think I have confessed enough. Nobody is perfect, I have some work to do yet. I just wanted to keep it honest.

[Don P]

I know the feeling OGH. My shop is in the barn cause my "shop" is full of wood and storage of stuff. I thought I was making headway, some stacks of oak were heading for the kiln and out... but, it now appears I'm the proud co-owner of a community gristmill that needs to get out of the weather  :D. We'll rehab it and build a building at the farm museum, uh yeah, winter project.

When they called wanting the old farmhouse resided, well, it needs new windows, there are at least 4 different styles in it now from several lifetimes of hardscrabble and most, if not all, are pretty shot. They don't heat the building or need performance out of them just something visually close to original. I leaped before looking and bought a set of shaper cutters then realized I couldn't do through tenons with them so looked a little more and found a set of matched router bits that allowed that. I've built several nice shops in the area that stay clean. For projects like this I could just make a call but am trying to lay low in this strange time. The pattern bit is in the router table on the porch of the barn and the cope cutter is in a temporary router table, that piece of ply screwed to the bench behind the window frame. It isn't ideal and they aren't factory quality but they'll work ok. I looked into balances etc, these were old sash weighted windows originally but decided to just use sash springs, which, look them up, they make great hold ins for jigs and are about $4 a pair. I'll move that window over to my partner's shop today for final sand and paint.

I'm about out of places to drive nails and hang stuff, I haven't shot a pic of the ceiling joists, a lifetime of construction sort of makes it a hardware store in there  :D

Edit: An OT aside, back in the day windows were the master carpenter's job. He would grab one of the boys with potential and they would hand make the windows between other duties as the house was being built, wooden pattern planes, chisels, etc. It was an old man's fussy job that didn't require humping timbers to the second floor and also broke in the kid. I've had those thoughts when doing those jobs, I've gotten there more by attrition than anything else. The trouble nowadays is with the small parts and machinery, stuff like this would eat a kid, progress :-\

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, I get it Don, oh boy, do I get it. I held back a little and didn't show or discuss my other 'overflow' places. I have a 12x20 shed that I had set up nice, put a power panel in it, ran wall outlets and good lights, 2 very nice work benches (one has a soapstone top), loft storage, etc. Lots of tools in there too and another (my best) drill press, 5" belt and disk sander, bench grinder (also my best) and the whole thing is turning into storage and is a total mess. I even installed a steel overhead beam with a hand cable hoist to work on the garden tractors.
 I also have a 12 x 24 Rhino shelter on a raised crushed stone pad out in 'the swamp'. It looks like a Quonset hut. After I put down the stone, I laid plastic then put salvaged T&G pine down in 2 layers for a 'floor'. This is my dry cold storage where the tractors and other stuff go in the off seasons and the snow blowers come out. It is collecting a lot of engine  and machine parts and stuff that is in 'pre-scrap' condition. I need to do another pass through it (next summer).
 The more I think about this, the more I feel like a slob. :D
 Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. (That ain't me.)

[Crusarius]

What you guys all have (and me) is a disorder I like to call FSD! Flat Space Disorder. 

Flat spaces are required to have shtuff piled on top of them until it is precariously balanced, child losing, avalanche risk. Flat spaces are evil and need to be dealt with by covering them with good tools and projects. Flat spaces are not just benches. the floors are involved in that as well.

Remember, flat spaces are evil, and must be dealt with!!!

This has been a public service announcement. Thank you, please drive through

[btulloh]

Hi.  My name is Bob and I'm and FSD-aholic.  It's been 11 seconds since my last FSD experience.  I am not in recovery and don't expect to be.  I have to leave the meeting now, as there are a couple one or two small flat spaces I need to cover with objects.

=======
FSD - yes.  I thought maybe I was the only one.  At least I know now there are others like me.  Perhaps we need to start a thread like the weight-loss thread for mutual support.  

Nah . . . some things will never change.   

[Old Greenhorn]

Hi.  My name is Bob and I'm and FSD-aholic.  

Hi Bob!

[petefrom bearswamp]

I am partially OC so my shop is relatively organized and clean  
I try to sweep and otherwise clean up once a week, but as I have aged it gets neglected.
If I dont put a tool back in its place, it often disappears for a couple of weeks until I stumble on it when looking for other stuff.
Flat surfaces accumulate crap as seems to be common this thread.

[doc henderson]

 Hi Bob  @Old Greenhorn  lets see how it looks in 15 years.  It looks great now.  After both my parents are gone, and in-laws with various divorces and moves.  we had space and became the family storage facility.  It is hard to motivate to jump into stuff that is not even yours.  I am task oriented, and often am squeezing in a coat of finish, or cutting a part, after a long day at work.  I used to say I need more space.  I think I am saying thank God I do not have any more.  My shop has a 34 x 34 area for garage and greasy stuff, welding. car parts ect.  I have a 34 x 50 foot area that is the wood shop.  with the same size basement under it. compressor boiler ad lots of wood and mechanical stuff in the basement.  two car trailers of stuff from my parents home in a corner of the basement.  lots of room, but much is spread out and needs attention.  maybe this will motivate me.  need before and after pics.   :D :D :D

[doc henderson]

I think my son and I could finish sheet rocking the garage except the 4 x 12 stack of sheetrock has to be cleaned off first.

[Roxie]

FSD will need to be added to our forum dictionary.    :D :D

[customsawyer]

Mine may not count since this post is in the general wood working. My shop is full of saw blades and sharpening equipment. There is normally a path from the door to the kiln controller and another from there to the back door so I can check inside the kiln with out walking around the building.

 

This isn't a recent picture as it is much worse now. As I have gained another 1000 blades or so and there doesn't seem to be no end in site.  

[doc henderson]

looking through the avatars to see who is wearing a white shirt with a thin black tie, and athletic framed black glasses.   8)  and the pocket protector and scientific calculator.

[Crusarius]

FSD will need to be added to our forum dictionary.    :D :D

Woohooo!!! Will I be famous?

[21incher]

Messy when I  was young and had extra  time to constantly search for tools plus I  didn't  get hurt  tripping  or slipping on stuff and falling  down. Cleaner now that I  am older,  tired of wasting  time hunting for tools and slipping or tripping on sawdust or cutoffs can send me to the er.😉.

[Ed_K]

 Wait a couple of yrs ;D, I'm constantly looking for tools an such that I just put down :(.

[JRHill]

I am still absolutely insulted with this subject. Yeah, it truly is a guilty conscience.

[YellowHammer]

looking through the avatars to see who is wearing a white shirt with a thin black tie, and athletic framed black glasses.   8)  and the pocket protector and scientific calculator.

Somebody's wife works for NASA and has equipment in space that was assembled in a true clean room.  So the workshop looks almost the same except for the people wearing bunny suits.  

[Old Greenhorn]

I am still absolutely insulted with this subject. Yeah, it truly is a guilty conscience.

It's just a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter. :D

[gspren]

  Does anyone else have too many buildings, not too much space, just too many separate buildings? I don't do any fancy woodwork but in my barn I do have a radial arm saw and drill press that are stationary but also 100 ft away in my first pole building I keep most of my power hand tools and mechanic tools but 200 yards away in my newer pole building where I keep the RV and lawn mower I sometimes need the disc grinder or some wrenches and things seem to be where I used them last which isn't where I need them now and I don't always remember where I used them last.  

[WDH]

My sawmill operation is 3/4 mile from my house and workshop so I ended up with two of a lot of things.  One for here and one for there. 

[DR Buck]

 Does anyone else have too many buildings, not too much space, just too many separate buildings? I don't do any fancy woodwork but in my barn I do have a radial arm saw and drill press that are stationary but also 100 ft away in my first pole building I keep most of my power hand tools and mechanic tools but 200 yards away in my newer pole building where I keep the RV and lawn mower I sometimes need the disc grinder or some wrenches and things seem to be where I used them last which isn't where I need them now and I don't always remember where I used them last.  

When we had our farm I had 3 different shops.   Never could find what I was looking for and had 3 of many tools.
Now in retirement I have one location and still can't find anything.    I also still have all of the 3 of tools but will be thinning those out in the near future. 
 

[Ljohnsaw]

My sawmill operation is 3/4 mile from my house and workshop so I ended up with two of a lot of things.  One for here and one for there.

My cabin project is 60 miles from home.  I was getting tired of hauling my toolbox back and forth so I've started building up a second tool box.  At home, my shop is below the house (see above) so I tend to work up in the driveway where there is room.  Sooo, need another set of tools so I can stop going back and forth.  Working on a 3rd set...

[Banjo picker]

No doubt, I'm in the Messy, but I know where everything is.  You let my wife organize an area, and I spend the rest of my time looking for where something is.  Maybe if I can get the other building put up I can go to the organized side....probably not.  I'll just get more stuff.  Tim

[Stephen1]

 Does anyone else have too many buildings, not too much space, just too many separate buildings? I don't do any fancy woodwork but in my barn I do have a radial arm saw and drill press that are stationary but also 100 ft away in my first pole building I keep most of my power hand tools and mechanic tools but 200 yards away in my newer pole building where I keep the RV and lawn mower I sometimes need the disc grinder or some wrenches and things seem to be where I used them last which isn't where I need them now and I don't always remember where I used them last.  

Think of the exercise you are getting.
Where my cabin, and soon to be new home, everything is in a different shed on 2 pieces of property, my son calls this the The Land of Walking, because everytime you want to do something you have to walk to a different shed to find it, maybe.