How do you divide your shop time?

[vaking]

Looking at some recent topics I want to ask one more question?
How do you divide your shop time between projects that are designed to enhance your workshop and projects that are designed to benefit other people or at least other rooms of your house? I am under the impression that woodworking is about making something useful or pretty. Making workshop tools or fixtures I consider somewhat self-serving - these things benefit the process of woodworking which is not a final goal. I have read somewhere in the book an advice that one should limit his self-serving time to one day a week (not counting jigs that you need for a specific project you are working on). Ever since I read this - I feel guilty because I am often finding excuses to do something for a workshop even though I know perfectly well - there is no such thing as a perfect shop. There will always be something to improve. I am not critisizing at all - if anything I am probably guilty of being self-serving more than most people - I just want to find out what percentage of your workshop time do people spend enhancing workshop vs building fine furniture or other products useful for normal mortals.

[Tom in SoCal]

"Making workshop tools or fixtures I consider somewhat self-serving"

Isn't that what woodworking is all about?

[Rob R]

interesting thing to think about. i've been working only on the workshop lately. big project coming up and i'm stalling.

[Tom Miller]

It all depends on your purpose. Luckily, I can rationalize my own purpose so that whatever I do is well-aligned to it.

On one end of the spectrum are the folks who put food on the table with the proceeds from their WWing. On the other end are folks who need a hobby to relax. Somewhere in between are folks who need to justify using family $$ for WWing tools by making something useful. I'm somewhere in between.

That being said, I suppose I try to be at ~50:50 doing stuff for fun, vs. doing stuff that's useful. Luckily, the two intertwine quite a bit, or I probably wouldn't be a hobbiest WWer.

Regards,
Tom

[sacherjj]

I made enough projects to justify using the garage space for woodworking. So now, 100% of my time is cleaning up all the stuff in the garage and building stands for the machines. This takes time and doesn't answer the questions of "when can you put shelves in here" and "when can you make a new desk" and "when can you make the corner cupboard." Hopefully the nice weather will allow a little more driveway space and time to get things situated. However, each new tool was setup enough to test it out and make some sawdust. My priorities are THAT far out of skew.

I am frustrated at the progress now, but not near as frustrated as I get when trying to work in an unorganized, cluttered shop. I keep thinking back to trying to woodwork in my almost 1 car garage at my old apartment and it keeps me on track of building the shop right. I think my next project is actually going to be a 10x15 shed. This will house the grill, mower, and all the other stuff that doesn't belong in my wood working shop... err, I mean the garage.

[kwgeorge]

I guess that is one of those “It depends” questions. If I had a bunch of house projects and repairs to do I might feel guilty about working on shop related projects. The funny thing about me is that the wife would rather have me go out in the shop and build whatever I want too. If that ends up being a piece of furniture for the house then she is extra happy but she just wants me to relax and enjoy my weekend. For me, woodworking/woodturning is my escape and relaxation to the point of almost being a Zen thing. I do however like to challenge myself with whatever I decide to do.

The nice thing is the wife is my best supporter and always “Ooohhs and Ahhhs” over anything I make anyway.

[mschrank]

Jeez, woodworking is my hobby. My form of relaxation. Primarily, it's all self-serving whether I'm making a shop fixture or a new bed for my son.

That said, I am frustrated (as is the LOML) at how long it is taking to set up my shop so I can begin "real" projects. I've already put several things off (false drawer fronts and doors on my workbench, a stand for the drill press) in order to speed things up and get the shop usable for all the "real" projects on the list.

But I figure once the shop is "done," I'll always be finding ways and spending time to improve it...an won't feel one bit guilty doing so.

[Warren]

I make things for myself and/or the shop as time permits. Otherwise I'm making stuff for sale, for non-profits, and as gifts for friends. Probably only 10% of my shop time is spent on shop items, not counting the jigs as required.

Now, when I was just starting and creating the shop, it was probably reversed with 90% of my time spent on cabinets, tables, stands, shelving and all the other usual stuff.

[Otter]

I am in 100% me time for all woodworking. I just finished a 4 months of doing stuff for everyone else, now it is my turn for the rest of my life...


1000% selfserving cause that is why I started doing wood working

[ironhat]

"The nice thing is the wife is my best supporter and always “Ooohhs and Ahhhs” over anything I make anyway".

That would be nice to hear. I settle for, "Oh, that's nice". Funny how us men crave our wives complements.

"I am frustrated (as is the LOML) at how long it is taking to set up my shop so I can begin "real" projects".

LOML is most frustrated by the amount of money that it takes to equip a shop. After 30 years of working off of a Shopsmith and using handtools I am beginning to get my act together and, in my mind at least, the size and quality of the projects reflects it. As far as what I choose to do, it all depends on how long it has loomed large on the 'ToDo' list or how absolutely fed up I am with working around the absence of a jig or improvement in the shop.
Later,
Chiz

[rickd]

enough already!!

the last thing in the world i need, or want, is to start to come up with "reasons/excuses" with regard to how i spend my time woodworking. i had enough of timesheets, budgets, analysis, reviews etc. during my 40 year working career. i'm retired now - give me a break!!

to me, it is simply a hobby and a pastime that i thorougly enjoy - like my loml and her sewing and quilting. i think her sewing room looks great too(tv, computer, dvd and sewing machine equip. etc) - and she makes nice stuff - too. she says the same about my woodworking. she sometimes suggests projects for me to do if i want to, and occasionally i'll ask her to do something when she has time.

call me self-serving, whatever, but i basically do what i want to do in my workshop and i don't feel one ounce of guilt about it. i've got a lot of other things to occupy the guilt part of my mind if i ever chose to - but never woodworking.

[JimD]

I am another guy who spent significant time on my shop initially but not so much now. I work on the shop when I have useful scrap available and an idea of something I need for the shop but not much desire to start another furniture project. In other words, I do what I want to do the most at that point in time. LOML does not push (but I keep busy and she knows what she wants will get done in a reasonable amount of time).

Clean up is at the bottom of my list (and my shop looks like it).

Jim

[RodKirby]

the last thing in the world i need, or want, is to start to come up with "reasons/excuses" with regard to how i spend my time woodworking. i had enough of timesheets, budgets, analysis, reviews etc. during my 40 year working career. i'm retired now - give me a break!!

to me, it is simply a hobby and a pastime that i thorougly enjoy - like my loml and her sewing and quilting. i think her sewing room looks great too(tv, computer, dvd and sewing machine equip. etc) - and she makes nice stuff - too. she says the same about my woodworking. she sometimes suggests projects for me to do if i want to, and occasionally i'll ask her to do something when she has time.

call me self-serving, whatever, but i basically do what i want to do in my workshop and i don't feel one ounce of guilt about it. i've got a lot of other things to occupy the guilt part of my mind if i ever chose to - but never woodworking.

Rick - amazing! With the exception of "tv, computer, dvd..." every word you wrote applies to me - thank you

[Pappy]

Shop time is mostly my time and I probably spend too much time on shop projects. Rarely does anyone come out when I am working, so it is my get-away.

[WEG]

Wow what a question...
So the're are some who need to put percentages on the time spent on projects vrs shop items vrs "nothing" in the woodshop? There are 'standards'? I don't get it...who cares??? This is a wonerful relaxing, frustrating, satisfying, annoying, ...hobby for most of us. Boy, some of my best time spent down in the shop is doing something that results in firewood or sawdust...and a big smile. Other time it's doing something to make someone else smile "WOW , You did that???" Now that's nice! Keeping time on such things to me is like trying to justify every purchase...sometimes it's just because I want to have it. Trying to justify most of my toys will only give me grief and no toys....Can I ever plane enough rough sawn wood to justify the planer? Maybe, but who cares! I like having it and being able to plane the rough old wood I stumbled on into something new! Ah, enough of my philosophy on life.... Enjoy your hobby, don't think you need to justify everything, and if you don't get something at the "best price" the other guy did, the world won't end... the kids won't go hungry. If your that close to the line with finances, you shouldn't have a hobby like this, you should have a job like this! When you get old like me, you soon discover life's too short to worry about the small stuff. Enjoy your family, your friends and the things you like doing.
Sorry for the loooong winded speech, I guess I'm possessed!!
WEG