Recently, it’s become apparent to me that this woodworking thing is turning into a genuine hobby. And with that comes the realization that I need to get serious about my shop space. What I have now is a haphazard mess that was piled together to build some bathroom cabinets; what I need is something far more orderly and functional.


Pardon the mess, I’m “rearranging”

My tool collection is centered around Festool handheld power tools, which works for me (though not always for my wallet). There are some stationary tools I’d like to add, but nothing pressing (more on those in a bit). I don’t currently have many hand tools, but I would like to change that as I build my skills. I’m starting to become comfortable with chisels, and I really enjoy using the one hand plane I have. So while I will definitely need a good bench, I’m planning to center my workspace around the Festool MFT/3.

As I’m still in the early stages of putting together a plan, I don’t yet have an equipment layout in mind, or even a full list of equipment. A few of the items that I do know I want:

  • router table or shaper
  • combination jointer/planer
  • oscillating spindle sander
  • sliding table saw

Setting up shop in the basement of a century-old home also poses some challenges. For starters, the breaker box is full, so adding circuits is a bit of a difficulty. Add in low ceilings and extremely unlevel floors, and I have my work cut out for me.

My intent is to document at least some of the process, as well as the decision-making leading up to it. Even with all of the decisions yet to be made, I’m already working on a couple of shop projects, and I’ll be posting soon about each. I also have a number of non-shop projects in the pipeline, which is a big part of the motivation to improve my setup, so I’ll be posting what I can of those as well.