Workshop improvements Vs actually making stuff

[city17]

I think it might be a combination of things. Some people just enjoy the process of improving their shop, and if it's your hobby then that is just as good a thing to work on.

But speaking for myself, I think it can sometimes be a bit of an excuse. Creating furniture can be difficult, requires work, thinking, designing a plan, and you could actually fail. So instead of doing something difficult that might fail, you do something that's risk-free and relatively easy. Possibly a way of procrastination.

Combine this with the fact that we're confronted with a myriad of jigs, superior tools, and (seemingly) perfect workshops on YouTube, and it's easy to fall into the trap of always thinking you need something more to create decent results. When in reality I was able to make some decent things when I only had a few saws, chisels, and pocket hole jig.

 

[billw]

I have an issue. I don't seem to have the workshop improvements Vs actually making stuff balance quite right.

I tend to be making stuff during the week (after my day job so not much time gets spent) but then think up a ton of things I need to improve about my workshop which I then spend all weekend working on. Every weekend I say cool that's about all that needs doing but invariably I'm back doing more "improvements" which are increasingly more needs rather than wants.

Anyone else like this or is it just me and my workshop ADHD

Workshop stuff is far more forgiving that's for sure. It's way too cold to do anything now anyway which is why I've been quiet.

 

[MarkDennehy]

I seem to spend a lot more time than a pro would on shed improvements, but I'm not a pro, I'm an amateur which means most of what I do is what a pro might call prototyping if they were blind drunk and feeling charitable. If all you do is prototype, you won't ever have the same jig-making to piece-making ratio that a pro will have because that's not how that should work.

But hey, so long as you're happy, if it's your hobby...

 

[Ttrees]

Shoestring budget work on those bargain machines
Ain't nothing forgiving about that!

Agreed on the cold, only been getting back out to the workshop recently.
That brings up a good point which others have hinted at, and seems quite relevant
for a lot of folks,
Some dealing with the situation head on the proper way, and sorting out the environment which can be costly.
For me getting a system sorted to bring the timber into equilibrium in a much warmer and dryer climate is something else to figure out.
This house is one thing, but if I were to make stuff for the folks house, that would need
more thought, all the furniture and whatnot is bone dry with the sitting room furnace going non stop.

I was having to keep soaking the timber with a cloth last year just to do some glue ups in this damp house.
A climate controlled room not really possible if I wanted to build instruments though.
At least not sensible making just a few things a year.

Tom

 

[MARK.B.]

I detest every minute spent in my workshop but it gets me out of the way when my good lady is on the warpath

Make it safe first and foremost Improve or add what you need to achieve your job in hand , as for improvements i can spend hours thinking up all sorts of things i would like but in reality and the cold light of day it was just a never a Go in the first place .

 

[D_W]

Make it safe first and foremost

this....

one of my reasons for loafing into the workshop is being too tired to do anything for work, etc (at a desk) but not having the lack of anxiety to just sit on the couch when work is piling up (as in , should I be working Sunday night or late at night on the weeknights? Sometimes it's just not in the cards).

Mixing that with tablesaw could potentially be dangerous, and when not enjoyable in the first place (dictates either point dust control or cleanup afterwards), working entirely by hand became obvious. Learning to saw tens of feet in a row by hand or developing the mechanics to plane up to a couple of hours if needed (Without being in great shape) turns out to be just what the dr. ordered. Relatively safe, flows the juices like a brisk walk up a slight grade, and builds connectedness to the present without making connectedness of digits a thing of the past.

 

[NewbieRaf]

Agreed and being in a garage with no power it’s way too cold although over the weekend I knocked up some shelves for the mrs. Looking forward to better weather to get back into it

 

[Robbo60]

My attitude with this is that woodworking & metalworking are my hobby, but they're my hobby because I enjoy the process, not because I'm in it for the end result. Whether the thing that I make is a jig/fixture, a set of functional shelves/drawers to tidy the workshop or a pretty coffee table for the lounge is largely irrelevant as long it gets me in the workshop designing and making stuff and generally doing what I enjoy.

That might explain why I've got so many welded steel projects that are finished except for painting...

I am rubbish at painting as I have no patience for it. Just want it done. On the other hand my wife is brilliant. We recently "upcycled" our early 2000 Pine country style kitchen by painting it. 22 doors, 20 drawer fronts, cooker hood etc. Special furniture paint "Frenchic" - 4 thin coats of paint, 2 coats of finisher. It looks fantastic. Excuse mess on before photo. Moral of the story is find someone who is good at, and enjoys painting your stuff.

 

[sploo]

The important thing to remember here is that your home (and friends, and family) have limited space for tables, bowls, and all the other stuff we make in our workshops, but there are always improvements that can be made to your workshop

 

[Keith 66]

My workshop is pretty well sorted now, new driveway & drainage last year, Then a big blitz on the workshop itself this year. Made new steel doors that open easily & are secure, Replaced the roof completely & sorted out the gutters, rewired it with new lights.
And i still found time to make stuff.
Last thing is do i keep the brazing hearth? Dont use it much & it takes up a lot of space & ends up being used as somewhere to put painbrushes & junk!

 

[stuckinthemud]

Its all making stuff. I work full time and my shop time is very limited. Right now I am making crossbows, they are really difficult to make, possibly illegal to sell and my wife literally won't give them house room. I derive enormous pleasure from building them and improve my skills hugely every time I work on them. If building jigs is your thing, or tidying, or building, or restoring, or spending time playing with your kids, don't fret about it, enjoy the moment

 

[Lons]

What some of the others said, as long as you don't need to make money from your workshop why worry about it just do whatever makes you happy, there will be enough less enjoyable tasks like carrying out maintenance, repairs, sharpening.

I spend a fair bit of time reorganising even though the workshop is 30 years+ old, I recently made some tools, loved it and now an oak TV stand which I'm enjoying. If it's a hobby why would you want to put pressure on yourself to the extent you won't enjoy it?

 

[Amateur]

I try to stay off you tube.
They never vacuum up, Mark out. Run out of wood. Take a lunch break, have machines break down always get things right, never make prototypes, don't need drawings or dimensions, all their tools are spotless in the right place. They never put anything down then can't find it, have to go and pee, always have the correct size screws, never sharpen their chisels, or drill bits. Always look clean and well presented with sparkling white capped teeth and a cheesy smile.

My next video, "How to spot wood worm" will be out on Saturday.

 

[gregmcateer]

Sums it up for me

 

[The_Haxby_Hermit]

Although making things is what my workshop was originally designed for (I took up Bodging and carving in my retirement) I get as much pleasure out of fannying about for hours on end planning, measuring, researching, designing and eventually knocking up things like this. I do create at least a couple of carved pieces a year but workshop improvements are almost as satisfying

 

[Lonsdale73]

Never usually notice the cold when I'm doing something in the workshop. However, Saturday just gone, I spent four hours pretty much in the same spot working on a (workshop) project till my hands were so cold I could no longer hold anything properly!

Originally, my workshop was set up to meet a demand related to my regular job which had nothing whatsoever to do with woodworking. That demand - along with that for the actual job - dropped off dramatically so now the workshop is a hobbyshop. From the beginning, I found I was either making things to make the tools I'd bought perform the task they were bought for and to store them in after use. I built an awful lot of cabinets, some of which are still in use while others have been recycled. I half about half a dozen projects on the go atm, almost all of which are related to improving shop efficiency, maximise limited work space and improve workflow. And sometimes I get to make things too.

 

[Robbo60]

Dust extract system 75% done. just got to attached hoses to blast gates. Thanks again Robgul for design help. Lidl shop vac is bloody noisy though. Might have to build housing for it outside. If it ever stops raining.