My Humble Beginnings – Shop Tour
This week’s shop tour comes from a young science nerd living in Temecula, Ca in 2004. Yup, that would be ME. Thanks to Chris H. for reminding me that I still had pictures and a write up on ShopTours.org. So I thought it would be fun if I posted the write up and showed you my humble beginnings. Let’s hop in my little time machine and hear from Marc, an aspiring woodworker from 2004. Enjoy!
I used to have my shop in just one bay of the 3 car garage, but since we never park in one of the other ones, I started eyeing the combination of two bays. So after getting the green light to switch the garage around, I finally have a nice functional space. I was able to make some built-in bench space that allowed me to rid myself of a few annoying stands. I gained a great deal of storage space to boot. And as a bonus, our workout area is separated enough that I won’t be tempted to start assembling large furniture in that space.
I added one more light, but I have a total of 4 units in the whole garage. Each one has 4 T8 bulbs. I think I need to add one more and I will be satisfied. I painted the whole garage several months ago and it is amazing what it does for the space. It really gives the light something nice to reflect off of. It has become a very inspirational space. Looking back from the drill press area, there’s the workbench and my thinking area for planning and drawing. I even do my homework in here. (I was taking courses for an MBA at the time- Future Marc)
Looking toward the front of the shop. You can see my jointer and the exercise equipment in the background. The Jet air cleaner does a really good job of keeping the air clean. But then again, most of my tools are connected to the dust collector or shop vac during use so very little hits the air to begin with. Overall I am very satisfied with its performance.
There is a closer view of my drill press, as well as my miter saw and my oscillating spindle sander. Also note the table saw top. What you can’t see in the pictures is the small pin that serves as the splitter. It is just as effective as the full size units and has proved its worth many times over (especially when I recently ripped a 6ft maple board that started to bow as I cut it. Without the pin the wood would have pinched the blade…yikes. For now, I forgo the guard until I can get the overarm style. Unfortunately there aren’t any aftermarket, easy on/off standard models that work on my saw.
I do feel lucky to have this much room. But as we all know, we always find a way to make it messy, so what it looks like here is no guarantee of what it will look like when the next project gets going. I almost always have the TV on while I am working, but rarely do I watch it. Its kind of annoying to others because I will watch the same movies like 3-4 times in a row just because I like the background noise. But usually I put in my DVD recordings of Woodworks and Norm. It is very handy when I need to copy a technique or idea.
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Man, Marc. Either those are paper towels or you have a really big butt! j/k
Honestly, this is far better than some of the pro shops I have seen. The company I work for has a carpentry shop and it’s not nearly as organized and some of the tools in it are not of the caliber you show here.
It’s easily two or more times the size of my shop!
Yes It looks rather humble I guess it served its’ purpose. Getting you making things and getting your name out in the community. And eventually online where we can all share your knowledge. I know my beginnings were probably even more humble. Just an old,old,old craftsman table saw vintage 1950, circular saw, 1/4 in drill, assorted hand tools. But they did the job until I could get something better. But all in all I think I’d rather have your new stuff. Claude
What I would be interested in knowing is how much (if any) of your first shop do you still have? Do you still use any of the original tools or have they all been replaced?
Marc,
This is a riot. Even the narration has a fresh faced naivete to it. It is great to see where you were just 4 years ago and is inspiring to see how far you have brought the business. What did you do with all the old tools when you started to upgrade to the new slick stuff you have now?
Pete- lol. I do have a rather huge butt.
John- Interesting question. I still have the three bench top tools: the drill press, the craftsman miter saw, and the oscillating spindle sander. The only one that is in daily use still is the spindle sander. The Craftsman miter saw was my jobsite saw for a long time. But the saw, the planer, the jointer have all been replaced. Interestingly enough, soon after these pictures were taken, a friend of mine decided to get out of the hobby. As a result, I got an INCREDIBLE deal on a Powermatic tablesaw and planer. So you can see where my love for Powermatic began. I still have that planer, and only recently replaced the PM66 with the new PM2000.
And to answer Shannon’s question, let’s just say it pays to be a friend of mine. :) Typically when I upgrade, I give a friend a killer deal. If there aren’t any takers, I sell it using Craigslist.
um, Marc? was that Norm I saw on the TV? ironic, most ironic………
I love your first shop. Not a Powermatic or Festool in sight. Just tools like most of us have.
wow thats cool. looks a bit like my shop except bigger. nice setup there though. and just think about all that you have now. makes me start to think!
Dude, this is tripping me out. Your old shop damn near looks like mine!!! It is uncanny how similar even where the tools are located. Even the damn Jet air filter. Yours is a bit cleaner than mine though, gotta give you props there. I bet if you had met you at the Festool booth in a woodworking show in Vegas, you would have some Festool stations in there!
Oh, jeez…. hit the rewind button on the way back machine…
Actually, Marc – for a garage woodworking shop, yours is nicer than mine now. Guess you have always been destined for big things! ;)