My new shop layout

[bruce johnson]

It has been a little while since we had a shop tour. I finally got my shop layed out today and have got the bench tools pretty well set for now. I have a 12x26 area to work with. It is a more open floorplan than before, but has worked out well. Starting at the patio door - That bench has the belt sander, drill press set up with Norm Lynd's slicker, and the drill press I use to punch holes with. Underneath are 3 scrap storage tubs, and a shelf for strops and power tools like the jig saw and a handheld vaccum. The rack next to it holds some clicker dies above and sandpaper and stones underneath. Next pic - The small file cabinet next to that has patterns and catalogs. The bench has the granite stamp rock on it, and the pegboard next to that has the stamps, mauls, swivel knives and push beaders/ticklers. The stamps are sorted into in green pill vials hung on the pegboard. I have a small wood block in front of the rock to hold the tools in current use. Next pic - the pegboard backs up to a work bench. On the pegboard on the side the round knives, straight knives, string bleeder and other pointy sharp things all live together. With them all in one place it tends to keep you alert when close. Above that bench is a shelf that hold some of the finishes and edge treatments in use, along with tape and band-aids. On the back wall of the tool bench are the groovers, french edgers, edgers, and awls. The dividers and calipers are there too. Under that bench is the silver safe, shoeing anvil for rivets, and one scrap tub. to the right is a parts cabinet that holds the nails, screws, copper rivets, and Chicago screws. All the fasteners are in one place. The next pic shows the tool racks. The rein rounder is mounted on the bench in front. The first rack has the end punches, draw gauges, chisels, big dividers, scissors, and screw drivers. The rack next to that has the spikes, pliers, choke strap, hammers, and bouncer. There is a fire extinguisher next to that, and a splitter on that end of the bench. Under these two benches are some drafting files that hold cutting patterns. They are large drawers that I can keep everything flat, even skirt and briefcase patterns. The next rack holds the saddle hardware, and the last illustration from Will James' book "Smoky". The bench on the end has the other two splitters, the crank skiver, and the crown splitter. The stirrup stretcher is under there, and out of the way. The drawdown stand sits out in that corner of the benchs. The other corner of that end has the big sewing machine, and the flat bed sits next to it. Next to that is the bell knife skiver. The leather is stored on the racking next to that. Some things like strainers, horn wraps, and cinches hang there. The leather is stored in concrete form tubes, thanks for that idea to Greg Gomersall. The saddle trees sit on top for now, and stirrups are on the pegboard hung from the top. The cutting table is a heavy old metal desk. I put pipe sections over the legs to raise it up to a comfortable height. I cover it with scraps of particle board for protection. I have a 2x4 sheet of HDPE to cut on. I like it in the center where I can get all around it. The knives are withing arm's reach. Power tools and supplies are in the drawers, and a file cabinet sits under the middle for office supplies and pattterns. The rack at the end holds part cabinets with hardware and silver. The woolskins are rolled and kept above that. The sliding door goes out to a covered patio. I have a table out there for oiling and another for glueing. The buffers and grinders are out there too. Separating the metal from the leather has helped a lot. The lighting is overhead switched shop lights that are placed so I don't work in any shadows, I put UV film on the windows to keep it cooler and sunlight limited. The walls are all insulated. One of the nicest things are 4 outlets at each electrical box - no more power strips or extension cords.

[CitizenKate]

Nice! I really like how you have built separate stations for each task - tooling, cutting, stitching, setting fasteners, etc. That is what I hope to achieve the next time I remodel. That way, you can have numerous projects going at the same time, and don't have to keep setting up and tearing down the setup on a single workbench for each task.

Kate

[Johanna]

Hah! No coffee pot and no radio- and you call that a shop!

Looks great, Bruce. There will be an inspection next month to see if everything is still orderly and neat.

~J

[Luke Hatley]

Very nice shop........clean.....neat ...ordely & organized

[bruce johnson]

Johanna,

The shop is actually an attached garage, and the coffee pot is just inside the door. The boom box is in front of the saddlehardware rack,(currently playing a CD by Kandace Kalona, Elton Joorisity). I had a question about the pegboards. They are 2x4 feet boxes made from old fence boards, and the pegboard is screwed to the back. They just sit there, but can be moved if need be. They look pretty ranchy. Sharing a common wall with the house it stays pretty comfortable, but there is a wall air conditioner and two electric heaters.

The shop will still be pretty neat. I have to confess I used to be a little/lot messy. I have improved. I got the walls closed in here (used to be open stud walls with remains of insulation - typical rental until we were able to buy the place) and it looked better, I kept it better. After I visited Keith Seidel's shop in September, I do even better than that. Keith has the cleanest, neatest shop I have ever been in.

[MADMAX22]

Hah! No coffee pot and no radio- and you call that a shop!

Looks great, Bruce. There will be an inspection next month to see if everything is still orderly and neat.

~J

LOL well he has the radio behind the splitter under the buckle rack but your right no coffee pot and no laptop, I would have to have a shop lappy in there somewhere so when I needed too I could hop on the ol internet and figure out how to do something I wasnt sure of ofcourse not like he needs any help with anything from the looks of it.

Outstanding looking shop and very well layed out and organized. I like. Makes me kind of jealouse. Enjoy it as much as you can.

[tonyc1]

TV and DVD/VCR are missing also!

[Randyc]

Bruce

Nice shop, very neat, clean, and well organized.

Randy

[ArtS]

What a great layout Bruce. I'm envious of the space! Really well done.

Art

[BruceGibson]

Very nice, Bruce!