Shop tour videos are sort of a love ’em or leave ’em kind of thing. For me, I love them. Why do I like watching shop tour videos as much as I do? Simply put, ideas. Ideas for storage, ideas for workflow, ideas for layout. Seeing how a separate individual works and utilizes their space is abundantly educational. And it doesn’t need to stop at whatever hobby is yours. If you are a woodworker you can pick up ideas from leatherworkers; if you do leatherwork you might be able to pick up some ideas from a stained glass artist, and so on. So that, in a nutshell, is why I like watching tour videos. So why has it taken me almost 4 years to make one? That’s a really good question and I wish I had a good answer. I guess I kept telling myself “once I get this done, or maybe after I finish that”. Well you know what? This and that never seem to happen, or if this and that get done then the other thing needs taking care of. Catch my drift? Workshops are fluid. They are always evolving and something can always be changed, moved, or added on to. Tools change, equipment changes, and many times the location itself changes. I probably got to the end of that line of thinking and realized there will never come a “perfect” time to do one. Not to mention I am rather nostalgic and I feel as though I have already wasted several opportunities to do one for posterity’s sake alone. My father had a small workbench in the basement of the house I grew up in that housed mostly painting supplies. He was a painter at the time. Or at least he painted houses for money. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the economy was terrible and both my parents worked their asses off and did anything and everything to make ends meet. Back to my original thought, shall we? Slung across that old workbench in my dad’s basement were some paint clothes. I have what seems to be a crystal clear memory of what those paint clothes looked and felt like. But what I wouldn’t give to have a picture of that small damp corner of the basement with a lone incandescent bulb silhouetting those paint-caked stiff clothes. So having one or more videos of my shop evolving over the years is worth it enough for posterity’s sake in the hopes my children will want to someday look back on the time they spent in there.
Caveat: I have been woodworking and making things with my hands around 1992. It is rather unreasonable to think all these tools were acquired overnight. My first tools were a small handsaw, screwdriver set, and small corded drill. That was enough for me to start making and selling shelves and small end tables. I began to expand my tool arsenal to make bigger items and to do so more efficiently with more precision. Again, it evolves and doesn’t happen overnight. Find something you would like to make and go from there. It’s a world of endless possibilities.
My Tools Page (more up to date)
Amazon Store Page
Project Videos From The Tour:
Sandpaper Cabinet
Cordless Tool Cabinet
Spoon Making Router Jig
Marking Knife Build
Le Bucket Lid Napkin Holder Video
Spline Jig Hanging Above Miter Saw
The Start Of My Hardware Organizer
Door Board DIY Track Saw For Easy Straight Cuts
Zip Tie Holder
MDF Zip Tie Drawer
Pocket Hole Mounting Board
Workshop Sign
Drawer Pulls
Shoebox Container Organizer
Air Compressor Station
Workbench Organizer
Kraft Paper Holder
Table Saw Sled Article
Table Saw Sled Plans
Sled Tenoning Jig
Tools & Items From the Video:
*Some Items Discontinued & I tried to find the closet match
Red Poles I Use For Hanging Lights
Black Mechanic Boxes (much cheaper if bought in store – I got mine on Black Friday)
Binder Twine (because everyone needs it)
Aluminum Bar Clamp (cheaper at Harbor Freight)
Flush Mount Power Strip w/ USB charger
8 Responses
Good honest video. Watched it all. I laughed out loud when you were by the drill press and my table. Looked like you had giant horns coming out of your head. Like a viking…
I may have those horns at some point – I was actually hoping you might not see this as I was planning on giving the table back to you after I fix it – oh well
The video shows a working shop — not a “pretty shop” for making YouTube videos. Several projects going on at once, the scraps and off cuts near by, and the saw dust laying around. That’s my kind of shop!
you got that right Dave!
Nick, well I though I had a lot of tools. I like the holder under your lathe, how did you attach it to the underside of the lathe. I saw your aluminum clamps they look like the ones I have bought from Harbour Freight. Mine kept bowing on me till I cut a length of wood and sled into the clamp. My shop is about the size of a one car garage. Maybe on day I will do a shop tour on you tube also.
thanks – I have some wood holds going through essentially sandwiching it in place – I like the aluminum clamps – I don’t use them for anything needing extreme pressure because yes they will bend – I use them mostly for panel glue-ups
I watched the whole thing and felt right at home. It looks a lot like my shop. Lots of projects going on at the same time, Including organization! Thanks for including links to projects and tools.
no problem – I wish had I talked about less so I didn’t have to have so many links but, it is what it is