My fellow JumberJocks, you have been like a second family to me over these wonderful first few years of learning woodworking. I sometimes wonder if I would have made this far without the wisdom and support this community provides. That’s why, just like my real family, I could not wait to tell you about my latest woodworking news: The Gloat to End All Gloats…
My wife and I relocated to southern Maryland last winter on a temporary assignment for my job, and I recently accepted a job to stay here permanently. So we started looking for a house to purchase, and of course I was hoping to find one with a separate shop. After looking at a few different houses our realtor suggest taking a look at this sorta unique house that had an external build that had been used as a wood shop in the past.
We became interested immediately after looking at pictures of the house, though there were none of the shop. When we first arrived at the house I told our realtor to show me the shop last. I didn’t want to fall in love with the shop but not like the house. She said “sure, just keep in mind if there are any of the woodworking tools you want we may be able to make them part of the offer”. I looked at her and my wife and said “What woodworking tools…?”
Well, to make a long story short, we absolutely loved the house and the shop itself is a ~1600 sq. ft. semi-professional wood shop with several large tools, dust collection, air lines, etc. After my wife and I discussed the property to make sure we weren’t buying it just for shop (oh did I mention above the shop is a 1200 sq. ft. studio for my wife’s business?) we decided to make an offer a little over asking price including the tools in the shop. And they accepted!
The final offer included all the tools in the shop, except a few that are the son’s, who was selling the house for his mother. The father, the pro woodworker, passed away a few years ago. Mostly the son took some house building/carpentry tools like floor nailers, etc. plus a Jet MIDI lathe and workbenches. In the end I got:
• Grizzly 24” Wide Belt Sander (G9962Z)
• Grizzly 20” Extreme Planer with Spiral Head (G9967Z)
• Grizzly 12” Jointer with Spiral Head (G9860ZX)
• Grizzly 26.5” Resaw Bandsaw with Power Feeder (G9963 & G1094)
• Grizzly 4HP Dust Collector
• Tons of spare metal DC pipes, hose, gates, etc.
• Jet Gold Series Table Saw with Excalibur Plywood Sled
• Jet 1.5 HP Closed Stand Shaper
• Jet 1.5 HP Dust Collector
• Jet Air Filter
• Dewalt DW788 20” Scroll Saw
• Craftsman 12” Band Saw
• Craftsman 10” Pro Laser Trac Radial Arm Saw
• PeformaX 16-32 Plus Drum Sander
• Delta Lathe
• ~20 Turning Tools (most are Robert Sorby)
• 2 x Vega Lathe Duplicators (1 big, 1 small)
• Leigh Dovetail Jig
• Legacy Woodworking Ornamental Mill (this thing is a beast!)
• Woodmaster Molder/Planer (with a ton of molding knives)
• Cambell Hausefeld Iron Force 60gal Compressor
• Incra 5000e sled
• Roller Stands (including an expanding one)
• Three routers
• A box full of router/shaper bits
• Tons of clamps
• A small library full of woodworking books, magazines, and plans
• Anti-fatigue mats
• An entire finishing cabinets with tons of bottles of Trans-Tint dyes
• And some more odds, ends, lumber, and accessories…
So, is that a gloat or what? All hooked up to metal DC pipes and dedicated 220v lines for each tool.
I’m sure all of you can imagine how excited and honestly a bit overwhelmed I am about this! We got word today that everything is finished, approved, and we are scheduled to close on the house next Friday. I can’t wait to get in there and start making saw dust!
Also, let’s not forget I have my own tools that fill a large two-car garage! I told my wife if by the end of February of next year I have all my tools integrated and the new shop ready to go I’ll be doing good. It’s going to be a busy few months getting the shop setup how I want, but boy will it be fun!
The shop itself around 12 foot ceilings and is in the shape of an “L” with the main part being 50’ x 30’ and the small off-chute being 15’ x 10’. Plenty of room I would hope! I’ll be able to have both table saws with outfeed tables with room to spare! It’s also got a large automatic bay door and HVAC system. As I mentioned before all the 220v tools have their own circuits and there 110v outlets everywhere you could want and then some.
Now, I’m sure ya’ll have been patiently waiting for the pictures, and without further ado:
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES WITH CAPTIONS
To be honest, I feel a little “unworthy” of such as shop given I’ve only been doing this for five years or so. I guess I’ll have to work to rise to the level of craftsmanship fit for this shop! I can think of worse challenges one could have. Plus a few of the large tools I wouldn’t have been able to justify in my “dream shop” because they are so expensive and designed for a production shop. However, I certainly won’t feel bad using them now!
Finally, I’m thinking of doing a blog series on moving in, setting up, and the learning process behind my new shop. Would that be something some people here would be interested in?
Thanks for looking!