Celebrate 7000 Members and Growing with the "Show Us Your Shop Giveaway"!

[deepcreek]

Joe,

Welcome to the FOG.  Now we need more photos of you shop.

Kreg is a great guy.  I asked him for advice on something and he offered to take the time to teach me.  Told me that others had taught him so he was just paying it forward.

Can't beat that.

Peter

Right now most of my shop is overrun with materials for a house I'm building for my Mom.  As soon as I reclaim it, I'll take some more photos (and make more sawdust).

Kreg is a great guy.  He has a nice article in Gary Katz's latest issue of "This is Carpentry".  Of course, knowing that Kreg is a great self-promoter (and I mean that in the best possible way) I imagine that everyone here already knows that!

 

[EcoFurniture]

I would love to show off our 400sqft shop outfitted mostly with Festool. I think it would be a great example to show people that you don't need 2000sqft to build kitchen cabinets/bed frames/ build in units AND make money!
So, why don't I post some pictures? Well. Even though we already put up some cabinets, they still don't have any doors, our new Kapex still hasn't arrived and therefore the worktable can't be completed. It just doesn't look good enough for a contest...

Anyhow, I started a topic on Talk Festool about moving the shop. http://www.talkfestool.com/vb/shops-storage/2449-story-moving-shop.html

 

[peter halle]

Kreg definitely knows the importance of promotion.  But get beyond that and he is true himself and has an interest in others who wish to learn and better themselves and their abilities.  Gary Katz has similar qualities.  I would bet that Tommy Silva also has those same qualities.

GO Guys!

Peter

 

[deepcreek]

Tom Silva could not have been nicer during the few minutes we chatted after his seminar.  We ran into him the next day while he was checking out the exhibits and he recognized us so we visited a little more.  He's a good man.

 

[BoulderBay]

I always think my shop is pretty nice - until I see some REALLY nice shops!

I have a lot of Festool equipment and it ranks among my favorite equipment to use. I am a hobbyist, but spent a lot of years in construction and have a deep appreciation for tools and their value. Although Festool is not inexpensive, it provides value. If I were still in the trades I would find the portability of  hand tools but the quality of cut normally provided only by stationary tools invaluable.

 

[peter halle]

Russ,

Your shop is great.  I often ask this question around tax time.  After seeing your shop I was worried that someone else would beat me to it.  Are you looking to adopt a kid adult jealous woodworker for the tax benefits?  If so, just let me know.

Peter

 

[Neill]

Russ,

Your shop is great.  I often ask this question around tax time.  After seeing your shop I was worried that someone else would beat me to it.  Are you looking to adopt a kid adult jealous woodworker for the tax benefits?  If so, just let me know.

Peter

Peter,

As an accountant and somewhat of a neat freak, I am often asked how I can get any work done, my office is just too neat, even during tax season.  I might say the same thing to Russ.  Too neat.

Neill

 

[Chuck Kiser]

I always enjoy looking at other shops and workspaces. I am amazed at the quantity and quality of work that can be produced in less than ideal situations. I am lucky enough to have a 37 x 24 garage/shop that my lovely bride allows me full use of.

http://picasaweb.google.com/KnollwoodConstruction/ShopPics#

My sig line details my Festool 'holdings'. I say holdings because I treat them like a investment.

Everything in my shop is portable. If I am able to build in my shop I will. If the work is on-site, then the entire shop gets loaded into my 16ft toy chest on wheels. The nice part about having the shop on wheels is the ability to store all the extra tools that are not needed in the wood shop on a day-to-day basis. It really frees up the floor space.

The best reason for me to use the the Festool system is the 'portable precision' that it provides. The quality that used to come only from stationary tools in a shop can now be performed on-site. Of course, the dust collection is a nice bonus for myself AND the customer.

 

[rnt80]

My shop doubles as our garage.  Luckily for about the last 3-4 months we've been able to use our former neighbors garage to park our cars in so I've been able to leave all of my equipment set up.  The garage is roughly 20X20 and while it feels cramped at times I remember back to the days when I was working on our apartment balcony...that makes my current situation a lot more enticing.
My assembly table is based off of TWW design with a few modifications.  It houses my CT22 and I built a boom arm out of pvc to keep the hose and cord at bay.  I do all of my sanding (ETS150), routing (1010, 1400), dominoing, shelf hole drilling (LR32) and cutting of sheet goods (TS55) on the table.  I drilled some 20mm holes on each end that offer a variety of clamping options.  The skirt on the front has a t-slot routed in it so that I can clamp pieces vertically.
I built the wings for my Kapex station 6-8 months ago.  They are based Gary Katz's design and have served me well.  The saw is close enough to my assembly table that I can just switch the vac hose and cord out whenever I need to use it. 
While there isn't a logical flow to where everything is placed I can move about the shop without having to move any of the equipment.

 

[justinmcf]

here's my shop. 3 metres wide by 3.2 metres long!

it is also the laundry room and gym.

i have made 38 restaurant tables, 155 bench seats, 8 bar tops,  25 book shelves, 6 computer desks, 2 king size beds and 4 bedside cabinets.
all in this beautiful roomy workshop!

people are always amazed when they see how small the area is.
i need to buy more tools, but there is no more room.

i will be very excited when we buy a house at christmas time. i dont care what the house looks like.
my priority is a big, big garage!

i do envy the other peoples workshops, but i must congratulate them also, it is a labour of love, and takes a lot of time and money to build a decent workshop.
i am inspired also, and will take some of the great ideas i have seen here and put them to good use when i upgrade to a larger house.

regards, justin.

 

[BoulderBay]

Peter and Peter,

There is no such thing as "too neat"! LOL. I have a small space by some standards, and yet quite ample by others. I really, really like to buy and to use my tools. I am not a "collector" as it may appear from the pictures. I just can't work in a mess and HATE looking for things. My shop does get messy and cluttered when I am making things, but admittedly I clean up as I go along. My wife says that I am obsessive compulsive. I think of myself as simply neat. LOL

Also, I have no sons only daughters. That said, however, my son in law has made it clear that he is first in line... Sorry Peter.

Russ

Russ,

Your shop is great.  I often ask this question around tax time.  After seeing your shop I was worried that someone else would beat me to it.  Are you looking to adopt a kid adult jealous woodworker for the tax benefits?  If so, just let me know.

Peter

Peter,

As an accountant and somewhat of a neat freak, I am often asked how I can get any work done, my office is just too neat, even during tax season.  I might say the same thing to Russ.  Too neat.

Neill

 

[peter halle]

Neill,

Sorry that I couldn't be of assistance.  Just trying to be helpful. ;D ;D ;D ;D

Peter

 

[score0matic]

Russel what are you using for a Table saw?   

Justin Great use of a small space.  My work area is about the same size xcept I use the trailer to store many of my tools.

Craig

 

[rnt80]

Russel what are you using for a Table saw?   

Justin Great use of a small space.  My work area is about the same size xcept I use the trailer to store many of my tools.

Craig

I have a Ridgid 3650 that I took off of the base.  It sits atop a workstation that includes two router tables and an outfeed table.  My assembly bench serves as an infeed table.  I've had the saw for about 6 years and while it's served me well at some point I'd like a cabinet saw.

 

[B.L.M.]

I am working on a very big project right now, so I thought I submit my Jobsite-Workshop. It is a 2 car garage 24 x 38.

These are the Festools I use:

2 MFT/3; Kapex with extensions; MFT/3 extension table: CT 33; TS 75; Trion PSB 300EQ; Domino DF 500 Q; MFK 700 EQ; OF 1400 EQ; OF 2200 EB; Rotex RO 150; EHL 65; T15+3; MFS 700;VS 600; CMS Modul OF; CMS Modul TS; CMS Modul PSB; Systainer Port;

 

[kullervo]

We've got a small shop out here on Kauai, and we love it! My parents built a house out here, and we made a space for a woodworking shop. On the first of July it was empty. By the first of August, my father and I had built this. I had no previous woodworking experience, and was a bit intimidated by the idea, but the Festools were so straightforward and so safe-- and my father's instruction was so good-- that I had no problems at all. I loved it. See all that perfect trim? That's all mine!

You can see the systainers-- we have most of the major players except the Kapex and the Domino (hubba-hubba). My personal favorite is the plunge-cut saw. To go from near-phobia to confidence in a day was rather dazzling. I made a pair of sawhorses in my first two days "on the job." From there the shop just came together-- literally. We even got wildly confident and made drawers, and they work! We did have some fun with the router, which I now call Fang. Turns out when they say routing plywood sucks, they're right. It also turns out when they say "clamp everything down really well first," they are also right. But we had some good laughs out of it.

At the end of the day we have a beautiful, functional shop. The dust recovery system means that the tradewinds don't swirl sawdust through the house and the neighborhood (my house is downwind). I'm planning my next projects, and my father can't wait to get back here!

Mahalo nui loa,

Lorelei

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

We have had some fine examples of shops posted here.  I would just like to bump the thread to remind anyone who has not made an entry that the final day for accepting entries is tomorrow.  I will be randomly selecting our four winners from those entries and announce the winners no later than Monday.  Good luck to everyone!

 

[EcoFurniture]

Thanks for the reminder Shane!

Although our new shop is not quite done... I thought I should take a quick video and show you guys around.



Festool we are using are:
TS55
3x MFT
OF1400
MFK 700
Domino
2x ETS125
Kapex
2x CT-Mini
And many other bits and pieces like guide rails, systainers and sortainers

Cheers,
Andreas

 

[Jesus Aleman]

I was finally able to get time to take some pictures of the 'workshop'.  My workspace is in a single car garage, but the square footage is variable.  There is an imaginary line that keeps creeping to the right of the first picture depending on the boss's mood.  I approximately have 5' x 14' of usable workspace.  From the pictures it seems that I have more, but the BBQ and patio furniture are stored in the garage during the winter.  As you can see only the jointer is cast iron.  All other tools are portable and primarily festool.  Once I have some time, I'll setup everything on casters or mobile bases.  What the festool system allows me is to maximize the use of this reduced space without much sacrifices in quality or productivity.  This is a hobby, but I also have limited time to enjoy it.  The other festool advantage is dust collection and noise.  I'm able to  use the tools after the kid has gone to bed with no complaints from my personal management or the neighbors.  I use a CT22 with a dust deputy for all my dust collection needs.  So far it works great with the planer and jointer when I use the 4" hose.  The limited space makes me think hard about work flow when I'm conceptualizing a project.  I currently only have one bench (MFT/3), but I plan on making a set of Joshua Finn benches that can be stored on the wall space above the MFT when not in use.    

I currently use the following festools: MFT/3, Domino, ROTEX 125, TRION, TS55, parallel guides, rails, and an assortment of accessories and consumables.  What I would really like to add is a set CMS module so I can have a very compact and versatile TS, "bandsaw", router table setup.  A Kapex would be nice, but so far I have a reliable method with the parallel guides for ripping and MFT for cross cutting.

Shane thanks for putting this giveaway together.

 

[danrush]

When packed up or ready to go into a job box for transport to an out of state (or country) job, the total footprint of my "field shop" is about 6 sq. ft.  This includes all compressor, nailers, saws (4), hand tools, modified mft, Kapex and shop built wings, hardware and screws, touch up box, tarps, and (16) 21" x 48" x 1/8" masonite panels to protect flooring.

I like to travel light!

I'll post more details in a bit.  Most of my set ups have posted elsewhere here.