Bill’s Humble Shop

I had never been able to saw a straight line or even nail a board. About three years ago my son needed my help on his Eagle Scout project. We struggled but with lots of help, built a playhouse on the church playground. Afterwards I took the leftover lumber and made myself a little workbench. I began picking up a tool here and there and before I knew it, I wanted to make a few projects. For fifteen years my life revolved between my two sons. My oldest kept us at the baseball fields 9 months out of the year and my youngest kept me busy as an Assistant Scoutmaster. My extra activities had come to and end and I am so glad I found woodworking. My wife and sons even get into it occasionally. The following are a few photos of my humble little shop.

My first workbench was made from leftover Eagle project. A grinder, sander and drill press are in the background. Also is the pegboard and table saw. With more scraps I made a stand for a hand-me-down miter saw, complete with an old Kirby for dust collection. Also are shelves for sanders, jigsaw and such.

When the wood started piling up I had to make lumber rack, cutoff bin. The router table sits below.

After the projects started, I decided I needed a better workbench. I made this one with a low budget. The large and small shoulder vises came from Highland Woodworking. I started playing around on a lathe and had to have one. I have made several bowls now. Plan to start turning pens soon.

My latest purchase, from Highland Woodworking, is my new 14 inch Steel City band saw. I plan on picking up the riser block and fence later on. I have already cut bowl blanks and attempted a collapsible castle.

Well, thats my little shop. I started off small but I plan to upgrade most of the tools. Over the last couple of years I have made several projects including Adirondack chairs, quilt racks for charity, a cedar chest for my wife among other items. You can check them out at: http://lumberjocks.com/billboard You can check out my shop cam on Ustream or on the Live Cam list. I am live in the shop a couple of days a week. I have been enjoying my new hobby, especially bowl turning. I plan to take the bowl turning classes at Highland Woodworking soon.