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Biography
Shop Tour

Shop Tour

Many years ago, I made the coffee table in the picture on the left. I must have had no large power tools, so I have no idea how I did it. In any event, I was working as a computational scientist and helping raise four kids, so my interest in woodworking did not persist.





After retiring in 2000 and moving to a large old house in Virginia, I had a dedicated shop area.





However, it was a challenge to complete large objects in this limited space. Those large objects included a Stickley-style queen bed,





a Stickley-style entertainment center,





and a pair of tall bookcases.





In May 2006, we moved to a much newer house. I built two new walls in the basement, carving out for myself a new 2-room shop.

As you enter the main room (which is about 15' x 20'), you face a workbench. We will now take a tour of the major power tools I have in roughly the order I got them.





For a number of years, I only had a Craftsman Radial Arm Saw (RAS). It seemed to me (erroneously) that it would be safer than a table saw - with that blade poking up out of the table. It turns out that you can do quite a lot with just a RAS, but mostly crude items, not much fine furniture!





Next, I got a router, but found it very frustrating to control. Then, I discovered that I could make a router table, and ever since, almost all of my routing is done using the router table. With just the router and RAS, I was able to make the three large items mentioned previously, and many other things.





Then, it was apparent that I would spend less money on wood, if I bought it unplaned. That led to a 6" Delta Jointer,





and a 12" Delta thickness planer.





Then, I got a Delta table saw, to augment the RAS, especially for ripping.





Then, I got a drill press, for those rare occasions when I need to drill straight into a piece.





Next, the kids gave me a band saw, which now opened up the possibility of actually making a curved piece.





A Delta dust collection system is now hooked up to most of the tools, and presumably keeps my lungs cleaner.





This allowed me to get a down-draft sanding table. After all, sanding produces the finest particles. In this photo you can also see that I have mounted my hand-held belt sander to the workbench.





The OTHER room I made is a 15' x 16' 'finishing' room, that supposedly has no sawdust in the air. This room also has a utility sink and storage for finishes.