My shop makes me smile!

That's quite a shop Alden. What a great post. Could not agree more that the shop is a special place. It does not matter if you are just starting out in a small area or if you have an entirely built out shop. It's the vision of where you want it to go and what you want to accomplish in it that gives great satisfaction. This post just made me feel very calm... :)
 
Just fantastic Alden!!! :eek:

Guys, I have been in Alden's house (a few years back before he had his shop built) and it is truly beautiful. EXACTLY like what you see in the magazines. And the setting is just as beautiful.

It's no surprise to me that your shop matches the house so well Alden.

I'm so envious of those windows and that view!!! :D Those damn eastern WA winters though! ;)

My shop is very special to me. I can't wait until I can dump all this money I'm saving into a bigger/better one. There is barely an inch in my shop that wasn't figured into the planning stages of lay-out, re-lay-out, and re-re-lay-out... to get things where they're comfortable to use.

I'm kind of mad in the shop lately, as I'm having trouble getting anything done, and my simple Little Giant upgrade is turning into something big... but normally I'm quite elated with my shop :)
 
Thanks for the peek Alden. I see what you mean about dream shop. Thats incredible! If you get tired of working on your cad and knives you can just take in the view on the back deck. I hope to see you again this June at Joshs.
 
efleming said:
That's quite a shop Alden. What a great post. Could not agree more that the shop is a special place. It does not matter if you are just starting out in a small area or if you have an entirely built out shop. It's the vision of where you want it to go and what you want to accomplish in it that gives great satisfaction. This post just made me feel very calm... :)
Click to expand...

Man, that's exactly what I was going to say, so +1.

I enjoyed the bits about "first shop." My first "shop" was a 2.5'X3' table I built from pine boards that I hauled from the living area in my efficiency appt to the small patio outside. I used a 2X48 hobby grinder from TKS and made all my first knives on that patio. I still have the table 20+ years later; my blast cabinet sits on it. The grinder still sees use once in a while too.

Today my shop is half the basement segregated from the laundry area by a couple of tarps (why my wife lets me get away with this is beyond me, but I love her for it). When I go in there it's like coming home. The space is all mine, everything in it is stuff I've acquired during my life, and it's sitting where I put it. I built all my benches (custom height; I'm tall) and keep tweaking it as time goes on. I try to keep it cleaned up and usually that goes pretty well. ;)

I recently had a period of almost three years when I didn't make anything; all I did was fix honey-do stuff and rebuild my samurai armor. During that time my shop felt alien and irrelevant. I'm sure glad that's over! :thumbup:
 
Thanks for everyone's comments on the subject. :)Thanks for the remarks about my own shop. I have spent many many hours getting it to this stage.
Nick thanks for the kind words. You can stop by and check it out! I have no idea what you are talking about regarding winter here.:rolleyes:
Bruce I realized I did not post any pics of the cabinets. I'll post one to give an idea. The countertops are actually real heavy duty with two layers of 3/4 inch particle board. When I was building it the family gave me a hard time about building a kitchen, as the cabinets gave it that look. The two benches in the finish shop are different heights for different postures. Also the one facing the river had to be high enough to make me look out. The views from the belt sander and from the forge are the same.
I don't hide out in the shop but it truly feels like a sanctuary to me. As you can see I put all the stuff I've gathered (well not all) in my lifetime in there for me to look at and enjoy.
Atakach, I've never used coal, but the tongs I got when I bought my anvil from an elderly friend still give off the coal smell occasionally even though they haven't been used in a coal fire for fifty years! It is cool to smell that history!
I've got to get out to the shop now, at least for a little while. The feelings are stronger after verbalizing them.:) The dog is waiting right there for me.

See Ya :thumbup::thumbup:
Alden
 

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Great shop Alden! I know the feeling of building your own shop. My shop is modest in size. I built it myself by hand, including hand digging the foundation. I even had my wife out there from time to time during the build. The only things I didn't do were the electrical wiring and the cabinets. My cabinets are hand made by my neighbor out of hickory. I go there to make knives, read, watch sports and just hang around with friends. My shop is my happy place. It's only 12' x 16' (due to my small lot size, that is as large as I could build because of the set back limits). I'd love to have a larger shop someday, but for now, it's all mine. I'm proud that I built it myself instead of having a builder come in and do it. I understand the attachment that we have with our shops. This is the first one that I've had that was dedicated to knifemaking, and it puts a smile on my face everytime I walk in there.
 
I too begin to feel slightly crazy when too long a period of time goes by without the option of working with my hands. I move around a lot, and wherever I go, I try to find an area out of the weather where I can cram just enough tools to make a knife the hard way.
I might live in a place for six months, all the while acquiring tools and clutter without a thought for the dreaded day I move. When that day finally comes, I have to sacrifice the tools that I can bear to part with and herniate myself carrying the ones that I can't . Usually in the space of a weekend, with house cleaning and moving to do as well. I've let some tools go that I wish I hadn't, but got some great ones along the way.

I am in a phase without a shop once more, just for a few months until I leave the Islands and go back home. (Really home.) I'm looking so forward to it as my best tools that were too heavy to bring to Hawaii are still in my old shop that I built on my parent's property in eastern Washington, there.
The shop in Washington is a barn that my father and I built ourselves, as I recall about 22'x30', dirt floor with (unpeeled) log framing. Some of the most peaceful, enjoyable, blissful days of my life have been spent in that barn. Throwing knives at a target across the shop between heats forging a blade, cranking music at midnight, 10 degrees out side.
I had a shop in Makawao, Maui, that I miss badly as well. I built my 1st 2x72 grinder there and made big strides in my ability. One day in particular kind of sticks oddly in my head, a Saturday that I got up early and worked on a matching pair of hunters all day. It was the most absolutely beautiful golden day, the wife and roomates were at work, so I was all alone.
It was peaceful and quiet except for the low radio now and then, and every time I stepped out of the finishing room into the carport forging area, that huge view across the valley to West Maui mountains with the Pacific Ocean framing all sides would greet me. The knives went well, the day went slow and smooth, and somehow it makes me feel a little bit sad to remember it. I think it will always be one of my best days.
Thank you for this thread, Alden. Yes my shop does make me smile, even if sometimes it's only in my mind.
 
That shop is to die for Alden. Thanks for the invite to come up and stay. Your place looks right at home with 3 feet of snow but I may wait until summer time. Kaye and I go to Spokane at times and it would be fun to have a Cabellas/sleep-over sometime.
 
Alden, your shop is an absolute dream!!i'd throw a couch and tv in there and never leave :)


My shop is small,full,dirty and theres no place i'd rather be.....,accept alden's shop :cool:
 
Very impressive shop there Alden: I know you have a great feeling walking in there daily. I still do here. :D

But lately with all the remodeling in the bed rooms and with the mattresses and box springs and who knows what else setting in my shop, I am starting to become a little sad lately, but that will pass. :yawn:

Terry
 
Anyone with a decently set up 'shop knows how you feel fella, surely ? It's a place in which to BE as much as a place in which to do ;)
For me it's like the feeling I get from being in the woods with the rifle in my hands or by the river with my fishing kit. It's the RIGHT place to be, it's what I am, who I am.
I feed and sleep in the house, but I LIVE in the 'shop and in the countryside ;)

With a 'shop like yours, oh boy.. I'd move in ! :)
 
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