THE PERFECT SHOP

Well said, Jim. I’ve had those same (fleeting) thoughts!
DanK

-- Dan Krager, Olney IL http://www.kragerwoodworking.weebly.com All my life I've wanted to be someone. I see now I should have been more specific.

Jim, I have to agree with you about all that!
All it took for me was loosing it all and still having the woodworking bug bad enough that I learned to work out of half of a two car garage. I still sometimes miss my big stationary tools and the room to set them up but hey, I can still make some killer stuff!

-- Folly ever comes cloaked in opportunity!

Great thoughts Jim. When I started out in woodworking 2 years ago, I worked in my den, on my back porch, and in an open door garage…...........and it WAS Winter-time and cold! I now have a shop I helped build, better tools, and a passion that cannot be calmed. LumberJocks and all the people on it have taught me dang near all I know and I continue to soak it all up. Thanks for being one of those teachers.

-- Use it up, Wear it out --------------- Make it do, Or do without!

Well said Jim.

-- A positive attitude will take you much further than positive thinking ever will.

Jim…

That all makes sense…

It’s just like… The more money you make, the more you spend…

And that amount for a given person May be 2x, 4x, 10x, 100x times as much as what you do…
... a little of something is all relevant as to what is a lot of something…

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence…

etc. etc. etc.

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: https://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/index.php?media/albums/users/joe-lyddon.1389/

Great post Jim I believe it is not the cost of the tools you have or even how big your shop is its how you use the space and the tools that counts. I work in a single car gargage with Laura and we do just fine even if our garage is wood and tools I think we put out some great product and our sales prove it.
Dennis

-- http://www.landwoodworks.com (L an D Woodworks)

you are exactly right Jim, ive seen shops that are the most grand looking shop ive seen, and then ive seen shops where i saw there tools and thought they would not produce the quality type work, then to go look at there projects and be blown away with there talent, yes and i have even seen some smaller shops that were smaller then mine but set up so nicely that i envied there shop, but each persons shop can be the place that masterpieces are made, i think we should each be grateful we live in a country where we can have nice shops, and stores to go buy needed tools or wood, there are many places in the world where getting the tools is hard to do, the other day i saw a video of a guy making chess pieces right on the street, using a foot powered lathe and he was not in any kind of shop..they were great chess pieces too…im very grateful for my shop. and even though you have more routers then me, i still like ya..:)

-- GRIZZMAN ...[''''']

I don’t pay any attention to shops, but I look at all the projects.

-- Bob in WW ~ "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence

I agree with you Jim,

I was 3,000 miles from my decent shop this last summer building a custom cherry kitchen under a 10’ x 10’ canopy and a very small single car garage. Everything was folded up each day and set up again the next.

It is not always the best shop and tools but how to use what one has at hand.

Here is the result: The doors are solid book matched panels and the side panels are custom book matched veneer.

I would like to note that Charles Neil did the finish on the cabinets and we also did the re-sawing of the solid panels on his band saw.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

Well said, Jim. Many a time I’ve thought about trading in the old Delta contractor saw that I’ve been using for almost 15 years, and upgrading to a nice cabinet saw, but then I think, it won’t make any difference in the way I cut lumber. Or scrap my old workbench, that I made from a solid core maple door. It does everything that a new custom made Roubo can do. And I don’t think that if I finish putting up the rest of the sheet rock on my shop walls, it will make a difference in the finished products coming out of my shop. So, like you said, it’s better to put your energies into creating the best piece of woodwork that you can, with what you have. The satisfaction is the big payoff, especially if you’re doing more with less. Thanks for the post.

Thanks for all of your input gang.

Wow they turned out great,it doesn’t hurt to have Charles as your finisher . Beautiful work a excellent example of what I was talking about. Three cheers For John hep hep hooray .

-- https://www.artisticwoodstudio.com/videos

John Ormsby

WOW!

That is dedication… or making do with what one has…
... God bless those wheels under all of those heavy things… They make a huge difference!

That is a very nice table saw… proving it doesn’t have to weigh 300 lbs. to be good… LOL

Wonderful work, John

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: https://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/index.php?media/albums/users/joe-lyddon.1389/

Jim,
I think you hit the nail on the head! Just make sure you got the thumb out of the way! +10

-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."

I find that I like to see what other folks have – not necessarily more, bigger, better, or fancier toys, but the homeade jigs, tools, and set ups. Those are the things that drive my creativity and give me new ideas. Same goes for the projects. Sharing what we do and how we do it betters the person sharing as well as the person reading about it. This is the fundamental reason I am part of LJ – to better myself, and possibly, in some way to add to the betterment of the craft.

-- Earl "I'm a pessamist - generally that increases the chance that things will turn out better than expected"

Jim you are so right ,

-- Jesus Is Alright with me