Shop Tours...
Bill Ghio and His Shop
I still claim to be only a user, notwithstanding that I have
tools all over the house and shop and all the K-series stealth
Bedrocks in the #3 to #7 range… and I do use all those hand forged
calipers and dividers, so I need a wide range of sizes and styles.
Sheesh.
I've built some case goods and tables, even built the balustrade in
my last house, but my favorite projects are Windsor chairs and among
those, my favorites are the two Windsor rocking chairs that I
delivered to each of my granddaughters on their respective first
birthdays. They were a challenge because, while I had taken a couple
of Mike Dunbar's classes and had the necessary templates for adult
chairs, for the child's chairs I had to do the scaling and design
work, including making the bending forms. I found these chairs more
difficult than full size chairs.
I retired in October of 2003 and made a hasty retreat from Southern
California, where I had lived all my life. I am now a resident of
Maryland.
Before I retired, I had long been saving for the day I could move
and build a dream shop. We found a house that met my wife's
requirements and had a large, unfinished basement. She got the
upstairs, I got the basement. I had planned on posting photos of the
new workshop after I got it "fixed-up & cleaned-up" but I finally
realized that ain't ever gonna happen. It occasionally gets clean,
but it will be years
before I get all the "fixin' up" done.
The area w/ the blue tarp down is primarily used for finishing.
When it was just concrete, I slopped paint or stains around freely
but now, w/ the floor down, I find myself compelled to be careful.
Sometimes it doesn't pay to make your space nice. The flooring is
individual vinyl tiles, 12 x 12 inch squares and 1/4 inch thick.
They give just enough padding to make tools bounce and be comfy to
stand on all day. The low assembly table is the same height as the
sawhorses and provides good support for sawing (especially if I have
to work w/ sheet goods).
There are holes in the table top and a holdfast lives in one leg (on
left). I
chose a fixed clamp rack and the lumber rack has "cubbies" behind it
where the six and eight foot clamps live.
Everything is painted bright white to reflect light and help
these old eyes. Lighting is 14 florescent fixtures and six spots.
They are on five separate circuits so I can focus lighting where
ever I am working.
In addition, for natural lighting there are six windows and a
pair of French doors (w/ both doors open I have almost six feet of
clearance for moving large objects in/out).
The door to the right of the post is a closet, 26 x 42 inches,
with a steel clad door on it. It is used for storage of paints and
solvents.
There is a large sink for clean-up and I use this area for
sharpening. Stones and sandpapers are in the drawers and the
cabinets have trays on slides for easy access. While it can't be
seen form this angle, there is a dehumidifier plumbed directly to
the drain to insure rust-free tools. The only downside is that since
it is a basement shop, the
ceiling is only 7' 10" so I do have to be careful how I handle my
lumber. So far, I have managed to avoid taking out any of my
lighting, but I know that day will come. Because of the low height I
used 5/16ths breadboard paneling for the ceiling. You can see I also
had to work the design around even lower areas where heating ducts
run.
As should be obvious from many of the pictures, there is still a
lot of temporary placement of items while I sort out best uses of
spaces. My old Workmate has become a desk.
Smaller clamps are stored closer to the workbench.
The tool cabinet hangs on a French cleat and gives me ready
access to the planes, chisels, spokeshaves, marking gauges and
measuring tools.
Eventually there will be face-frames and doors on the built-in
cabinet that holds the compound miter saw.
This is the first bench I built used for over ten years. A new one
is planned to better accommodate the Oliver patternmaker's vise.
The two rooms are 19' x 20' and 21' x 16' w/ a short space
connecting them which is 6' x 7'. That means the combined clear
space in front/behind the band saw and planer is 46 feet. Long stuff
is, obviously, not a problem. It is really nice to have all the
room,
but at times I miss my old one car garage where every tool I owned
could be reached from one spot.
The lathe and drill press are both almost as old as me and since
they have to have their speed changed by moving the belts, I count
them as hand tools. 8>)
The rocking chair is for contemplation, especially after making a
mistake. It sees a lot of use.
Bill Ghio
February, 2006
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