It’s done

I’ve completed the first stage of my shop redo, and I couldn’t be happier. Almost.

It’s taken a couple of weeks, but I’ve finally gotten my bigger, better shop in order. The lumber rack – although quickly filled to capacity – is great and gives orderly access to my stock for the first time ever. My outfeed/assembly table turned out perfect, and has already proven its worth.

There are still some things to do. I want to enclose the outfeed/assembly table to create both cabinet space with shelves, and some drawers. I also want to create a storage center for all my hardware and small parts. And I just have to do something about that ugly concrete floor.

But I have work to do and a book to finish, so all of those things are on hold for now. I waited four years for this current redo and the wait was worth it, so adding a year and turning it into a five-year mission doesn’t seem that bad at all.

Oddly, although I now have lots of elbow room, the shop appears more cluttered than ever. I have a number of cabinets, but a lot of my storage is on open shelves. When the shop was cramped, I never really noticed how cluttered those shelves looked. Now, with room to move, those shelves look out of place and just plain messy, no matter how orderly I keep them. And open shelves are dust magnets.

Enclosing that outfeed table will help tremendously, as many of the items on the shelves will then be stored out of sight. And adding some simple doors to those open shelves may also help. But that will all have to wait for now.

In the meantime, I’m enjoying the most shop space I’ve ever had. For the first time, I can swing a 2x4 without hitting anything. And I no longer have to roll one tool out of the way just to get to another tool.

I am a happy guy.

Till next time,

A.J.