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 Post subject: Show me your work shops
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:33 am 
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Cocobolo
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Location: SW Pa
First name: John
Last Name: Kitchen
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Hi guys. My first work shop was in a damp basement. Then I moved to the attic- no humidity. Then I cramped me and my tools into a 12x25' room in the back of my Photography Studio. My shop is more than doubling in size. We got a 5000 SQ Ft space for my Photography studio, so I get the whole outbuilding to myself! Basically 2) 12x25 rooms.
My idea is the rear room right will be spraying. Rear room left hand tools, bending, glueing, and fitting. Front room for all of the noisy sawdust throwing.
Please show me your shops so I can steal idea's wisely.


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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:57 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Off-topic but I thought you guys could use a laugh. And it often is much worse with tons of chips on the floor when I thin plates wow7-eyes


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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:24 am 
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Koa
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Good one, Alex!

My shop is 24' square. Its a converted double garage. I also have a 28' x 32' portable building (steel frame tent type) attached for storage.

Tooling is minimal but complete, and everything is on wheels so that I can re-configure the work space as needed. My primary work is canoe building and repair, but the guitar work is invading! Boats take up a lot of space.

I should take some new shop photos, the ones that I have on file are old. My shop can be seen in the photos on my blog.

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:51 am 
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Mahogany
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First name: Edzard
Last Name: Kolks
City: Eindhoven
Country: The Netherlands
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I have one of the smallest shops in the world: 7m2 (but 2.80 meters high!).

What you also have to take in account is the "working space" of your equipment. My bandsaw has wheels so I can move it when I saw a neck blank etc.





Best regards,



Edzard


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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:23 am 
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First name: Adam
Last Name: Truax
City: Toronto
State: Ontario
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Heres mine! Hopefully you find something to copy haha.

Image
Image
Image
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:30 am 
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OK, here's my little shop. I built it from the ground up. Dug out the perimeter, placed the foundation forms, poured the concrete etc..... Had some help with the electrical and framing but that's about it.

The shop is an odd shape and totals 185 sft inside. It is insulated, heated and has AC and humidity control (well sort of) between the electric heaters, the AC and a humidifier. I can hold the RH between 40-50% 11.5 months of the year The other .5 months is probably from me not filling the humidifier for a couple of days here and there.

My shop is pretty full of tools, jigs, storage, a spray booth and dust collection. How I actually work in there is beyond me.


Here’s a link to a previous post of my shop.

And here are some updated pictures.

Image

Image

Image

Image

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:53 pm 
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Cocobolo
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First name: Chris
Last Name: Wood
City: Chester Springs
State: PA
Zip/Postal Code: 19425
Country: USA
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Status: Semi-pro
My guitar shop is about 13x23, and is in my basement. I have to share the space with the boiler and water heater, which makes humidity control and heat in the winter interesting. Not a ton of power tools, I do many things by hand.

Chris.

Image

Image

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:58 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Alexandru Marian wrote:
Off-topic but I thought you guys could use a laugh. And it often is much worse with tons of chips on the floor when I thin plates wow7-eyes


So clean! [:Y:] laughing6-hehe

You really are using a fairly pronounced bridge brace there. I'd like to try one someday, but I'm not sure yet what would lead me in that direction relative to, say, not having a bridge brace or patch at all, which is where I am now.

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:01 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Location: Magnolia DE
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Last Name: Howard
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These first two are the saw room , where all the real dirty things happen...... It is about 12' X 16'
Attachment:
IMG_1215.JPG

Attachment:
IMG_1216.JPG

This is the climate controlled assembly area, it is 10'X 12' with an L shaped bench along two walls. The one side of the L is set up as a huge go-bar deck. This space was repurposed from a previous use and not actually laid out for this operation, but it is working fore me so far.
Attachment:
IMG_1217.JPG

Attachment:
IMG_1218.JPG


Brian


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:52 am 
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City: Lenoir City
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Mine is a work in progress to be sure. About 12' x 20'. I'm still changing some features that were left over from a cabinet making venture in a previous, much larger, shop.

Attachment:
DSCF0531.JPG


Attachment:
DSCF0532.JPG


Attachment:
DSCF0533.JPG


Attachment:
DSCF0534.JPG


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:33 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Jim Kirby wrote:
You really are using a fairly pronounced bridge brace there. I'd like to try one someday, but I'm not sure yet what would lead me in that direction relative to, say, not having a bridge brace or patch at all, which is where I am now.



And it is still a hair smaller than what Bouchet did! but my plantilla is a bit smaller too. The density plays a role too and I can't tell yet what works best.
In any case this full width brace changes the response dramatically. It is really a shock to switch back and forth between one of these and a Torres-type. I prefer to play the Torres, but from the outside the Bouchet really delivers. The reaction of those who handled both my Torres and Bouchets has been divided in about equal parts, both sell, matter of taste.
Bream was a big fan of Bouchet, he had at least 3, and his "Baroque Guitar" recording is epically beautiful to my ears. Another must-hear recording with Bouchet's is the set (several CDs) of Ida Presti and Alex Lagoya.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:58 am 
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Koa
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Location: Lorette, Manitoba, Canada
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Took some new shop photos yesterday. As you can see, space is at a premium due to the size of what I work on. If you look closely, you can see all my guitar templates hanging on the back wall. My L-00 build in on a bench to the far left, but its behind stuff and you can't see it in the photos. Well, if you peek through the bandsaw you can just make it out. My viola da gamba is on the desk over by the dust collector in the back corner. In the front you can see my DIY thickness sander made from a re-purposed radial arm saw.


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 2:34 pm 
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Seems I never have enough works space surfaces , So here is what I did to give myself another surface to work on and it only took a small piece of 1/4" plywood and a little time.


The Table saw sits idle alot so I decided it would be a good work surface that could be used alot more often . I made the table top to slip over my fence to keep it secure and it is easily movable when saw is needed .

Attachment:
100_1068.jpg
Attachment:
100_1069.jpg


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 2:41 pm 
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Cocobolo
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Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2009 5:36 am
Posts: 251
Location: SW Pa
First name: John
Last Name: Kitchen
State: SW Pa
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
Hey! Thanks guys! Love the pile of Canoes! I did see ideas. Mainly, going up. I need to get my wood storage off of building real estate.


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 12:25 pm 
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Koa
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Location: Powell River BC Canada
First name: Daniel
Last Name: Minard
City: Powell River
State: BC
Country: Canada
I love seeing shop pics!
Here are a few of mine. I have a luxurious amount of space, the building being 26' X 38'.
I recently added a 10' X 24' extension to house an office & spray booth. These pics are from last year & a few changes have happened since then. I STILL don't have siding on the extension, though.

Image

Viewed from just inside the entry door.
Image

Inside the 10' X 12' "building room", humidity & temperature controlled.
Image

Wood & instruments stored over the go bar deck & in the cupboard
Image

Image

The main working area
Image

Big old 28" resaw & little Laguna 16.
Image

The dirty room. Most of the dust is kept behind closed doors.
Home made thickness sander.
Image

Image

Image

Looking from the back of the shop to the roll-up garage door.
Image

I don't have a pic of the spray booth. It tkes up 10' X 10' on the far side of the new extension & has an outside door. No shared air with the shop.

If I had built the shop strictly with guitar building in mind, it would have been MUCH smaller.
But I sure don't regret having all this space.


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 10:51 pm 
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Koa
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First name: nick
Last Name: fullerton
City: Vallejo
State: ca
Zip/Postal Code: 94590
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mine is a 10 x 16 ' shed I built this summer. A sliding barn door makes working outside a snap. The slab was already conveniently there. High ceilings make for better storage too.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:14 pm 
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I posted--long ago--a pic of my shop.
I've done some modifications since, and am quite pleased with the results.

This type shop has some built-in advantages:
1) Lots of fresh air
2) Strong natural lighting--free by the way
3) Best feature--discourages the casual "looker", and only the serious customer now comes around.

Anyway, here's my set-up:


Attachment:
shop 3.jpg


Thanks,

Steve


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:22 pm 
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Koa
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Location: Powell River BC Canada
First name: Daniel
Last Name: Minard
City: Powell River
State: BC
Country: Canada
Steve; I love your shop. Wanna trade?


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:23 pm 
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Koa
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Wow, there are some nice shops in this thread!!! I operate out of a space that is roughly half of a single car garage. It would be wonderful to have a bit more room.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:49 pm 
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Cocobolo
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First name: Chris
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City: Chester Springs
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Zip/Postal Code: 19425
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Steve,

I used to have a 3 car sized garage/shed like yours. It was pretty scary when the wind blew!

Barn cats liked it, though.


Chris.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:23 pm 
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I don't really have a shop. I do have a small music room, one corner of which has a built in bench with a tool box underneath. I do set up work there. Right now I'm CA pore filling my latest build.

Image

I do most of my build work outside on my front porch, on an old Black and Decker Workmate.
i have an 8'X10' shed that i have been planning to erect to do most of my dirty work in, but I need money to set it up right. Every time i get any cash, it goes to actually build a guitar as opposed to building an area to do that building in, lol. I'll get there one day.

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:41 pm 
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Koa
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Location: Powell River BC Canada
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One of the best investments for a shop (no matter how big or small) is drawers. Lots of them!
I bought a bunch of cheap plastic four & five drawer stacks from Wal Mart a few years ago. They are holding up far better than expected & they help organize a ton of STUFF that would otherwise be clutter.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:50 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Zip/Postal Code: 17938
Country: usa
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This is a few pics of my shop . I have a building 2 floors 24 by 40 . I have climate control . I love it.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 8:57 pm 
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Koa
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City: Tucson
State: AZ
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THE best investment is dust control.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:26 pm 
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First name: sean
Last Name: loughney
City: lackawanna county
State: pennsylvania
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
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