Do you "complete" your shop furniture?

[jhart]

I keep finding so many things I want to build in this forum, they seem to get about 95% done. Like you Tom, when they're functional, I start using them. When I see other good ideas, I start to modify them.

Too many things to build, too little time to do it, I guess.

[tribalwind]

tom i actually think your see-thru bins for scraps is a terrific idea,better than drawers/doors, it lets you see exactly whats inside,keeps the dust out even more than a door would, great way of getting a grip on how much scrap to keep(doubt it'd work in my case lol) can pull out and move aorund or go through it easier on your benchtop..im sure theres more pros, i cant really think of any cons?

do believe im gonna steal this in some way shape or form
nice job,they sure look finished to me!

[scorrpio]

If I took time to prettify my shop, I'd probably never have time to build anything in it. As long as it's functional, it's good, and if I bang or scratch or dent something, the damage does not look near as bad as it would on a better finished piece. And if something breaks, it is so much easier to replace.

[rickd]

Everytime I see a picture of Rod's shop I feel the need to clean mine! Fortunately I fight off the urge by using the lathe.

everytime i see a picture of rod's shop, i get the urge to want to empty my shopvac right in the middle of one of his shiny, spotless, gleaming, perfect workshop floors and walls; rearrange his immacutely placed and aligned hanging and shiny tools and put glue stains, dings and gouges in his marble-like workshop table tops!!

but, mostly i just look and admire what a great workshop he has and wonder 'where's the dust'?? how does he do that?? it always looks great rod and is a real inspiration to me to try to clean things up a bit in my own shop!

and, in answer to the question, i use my workshop stuff when it becomes functional(which is pretty rough)!

[Ken Weaver]

Ken,
My Delta Mortiser will be here tommorow (rock!). What benefits do you find to having it on a stand? I mean is it pretty much like saving bench space, or mobility or what?

Stability and mobility - from all the reviews I read the mortiser requires the operator to put some pressure on the down stroke and I didn't feel comfortable with it just sitting on the bench. Other than that, I prefer for each tool to have its own "home", one that I can move around as I need to, thus I've put it on a Woodcraft/HTC mobile base like all my other tools.

[AlanJ]

Well, I'm not anywhere close to Rod's standard, but I've been spending the past few months getting my shop halfway set up.
I'm pretty new at this, so it's great practise before I unleash my new found skills on the rest of the house...
This is what my shop looked like last October

and this is it now..




I just finished the doors on the wall cupboard last night.

LOML plaintively asked 'are you going to make ME some furniture now?'

but honey. I haven't finished my router table yet....

[billwmeyer]

I am afraid that function is also my motto. It is not completely from choice though, it is out of time neccessity. I wish I had the time to do what Rod does, not to mention the talent that he has.
Bill

[BobSch]

I tend to start using a piece as soon as it's functional, unless I'm using that piece to learn a new technique.

[JimD]

I have started putting finish on most of my shop projects. For years I did not but the wood gets grungy from dirty hands and now I regret not finishing it. Nothing fancy, just some shellac or poly or whatever I feel like I have plenty of. The drawers on my BT3100 base use different woods and methods of construction as an illustration of what is possible. There is now a maple raised panel door, two oak flat panel doors, a softwood drawer that is dovetailed and side hung, a cherry drawer with a rabbetted edge and dovetails, a nailed together drawer, a poplar, oak, and walnut fronted drawer with dovetails, and lastly a kind of drawer kind of tray with a curly maple drawer front. In other words, there is some repetition in joints but as much variety as I could think of and wanted to execute. The only boards I bought specifically for the cabinet was the cherry. The others were left-over pieces from other projects. Everything including the base has finish on it. My router table is almost all plywood but it too has several coats of poly on it.

Jim

[Brian G]

I have a similar approach as Ken W. Each time I build something for the shop, I try to incorporate a new technique into the project. My goal is to eventually have everything in a cabinet or in a drawer. Hah. . . .

I'm more inclined to make jigs and fixtures on the fly, even if it means they are single use and end up in the scrap bucket when I'm done.

[Scottydont]

Your shop looks great.

Finish or finishing? I do better at one over the other. I like to use new techniques and put a nice finish on my shop stuff. Poly or enamel paint. Rod Kirby is my inspiration. Plus it's a nice gloat when the neighbors come over a drool at my shop. I seriously have a problem with completing projects to about 95%. Ask my wife! Most of my shop stuff is like a two phase thing. Largely due to time, money, space and my "can't seem to complete a project" habit. I sure there is a serious phsycological reason for that!

I need to get a more current pic with some changes, BT gone Delta Hybrid in, DC installed on the other side of the wall.

[Les Sayers]

Do you "complete" your shop furniture?

Hi

Short answer "No".

I do, however, have poly an all surfaces where movement is important - table saw infeed outfeed, router tables, RAS etc and I polish these surfaces regularly with a non silicon paste wax. Just look at the pics elsewhere (Posting Pics).

It puts me to shame to see some of those works of art; but I just don't have the time to finish to such a standard and would be afraid of all the dings.

[monte]

I try to but I am no where near as neat as Rod Kirby is.

[just4funsies]

Some of you guys are just SICK... It would be stressful and a shame to actually WORK in a spotless shop. As for mine, I often cut stuff up for no apparent reason, just because an inch-thick coat of sawdust actually makes it look BETTER!

[WayneJ]

I'm Retired and might not have that much time left. I'd rather make something that people will remember me for. Let the one that gets my tools after i'm gone clean up the mess.
Rod , that new sander looks like it will keep you busy cleaning up. Does it have dust collection.
Wayne