Jan 042011
This month in the January Wood News I wrote about a few of “My Favorite Things” in the Down to Earth Workshop.
Some of these things are not necessarily the things you might imagine – my band saw and my No. 4 smoothing plane are critical components to the shop, but my electric cup warmer and my old wooden stool are main stays as well, and I use them every day to keep my ever-present coffee hot and my posterior dutifully accommodated.
So what are your favorite things? No rules, but let’s see how many non-traditional woodworking things show up…things you would not normally find in a woodworking store. Leave a list of your favorite things in the comments, and let’s compare!
1. Chipmunk – Entertains me and cleans up crumbs, apple cores, etc.
2. DeWalt radio i got for Christmas.
3. Bulletin board where i tack up favorite poems for inspiration
1) A dog bed for my faithful shop companion Cooper.
2) An antique “butcher wrap” cast iron stand and a 30″ wide roll of white kitchen wrap paper which easily dispenses and cuts off protective lengths of paper to protect work bench, saw table, etc. surfaces from glue, overspray, etc.
3) a home made 6 foot tall A-line wooden rack on wheels that holds a myriad of clamps which can be rolled around to optimize space.
4) an old cast iron shop fan base and adjustable height column to which I have affixed an old typewriter roller and wooden support “bearings” which makes a very stable platform for long and or wide pieces exiting my table saw.
1. The diary for notations and design while working with my tools.
2. The cabinet for storing these tools divided into functionality and easy access.
3. The ergonomic chair on which I do my work.
Wow, keep ’em coming! So, Larry, does that chipmunk enjoy the same music? And Greg, I really like the butcher paper idea. Where do you find those wide rolls of paper? I would much rather use that to protect my bench instead of the red rosin paper I use now. It works okay, but it’s a little dark and makes things hard to see. Sanders, a diary is a great idea! We should all be so organized. I use scraps and bit and pieces of whatever I find laying around at the time. I once designed a cabinet on an old paper towel. Didn’t really lend itself to long-term storage, but I did use it to clean up some glue squeeze out. Thanks for the great posts!
The wide roll of butcher paper was ordered via a catering firm where my son was a chef. I am pretty sure any restaurant supply store could get them.