Do Naked Redhead Dolls Tell Lies?

I was reading a post the other night on one of the many woodworking forums about the oddball stuff we all keep in our shops. A lot of the items mentioned I had either heard about or used. The list was quite diverse, ranging from toothpicks to panty hose and alcohol to toilet rings. But it got me thinking about something I've said to several folks when talking “shop”, every shop has a story.

Everyone has his or her own idea of the perfect shop. It varies like fingerprints and snowflakes, with no two being alike. We all see what others have done to solve a problem or make a task easier, and almost immediately we begin to think whether, or not, we can use their idea in our own shop. (Do we need to make it “better”? Will it fit? And where?) Our shops are what they are because of a process that begins as soon as we decide we can “do it ourselves”. Each project forces a new direction, as well as each new tool.

As for me, my “shop” began twelve or thirteen years ago in a 2-car garage in Colorado . My sister and her husband had finally managed to get pregnant after several years of trying, so I thought it would be a nice gesture to build them a cradle. Now, I hadn't done any real woodworking for 10 years, due to a few years in the service and apartment living. A couple projects here & there for work or a community theater group, but nothing major. I had the basics; a router, a circular saw, a jigsaw, a drill, a decent assortment of handtools and my trusty WorkMate. I was able to use my girlfriends boss's tablesaw & jointer, but the rest was done with “the basics”. The cradle was a great success, and surprise. I was reasonably pleased with it and it has since been used by their second child. There was even an added bonus in that the crate I built to ship it to Seattle is also still in use as a paint locker in my brother-in-law's garage…

Like just about every woodworker, I have a goal to build a new, dedicated shop. As things stand now, that should only be, maybe, three years away. When the time comes I will add all those things I've always wanted, and all the ideas I've stolen from others. At least all those I can afford…But until then, all I can really do is ponder. That is, except for those golden opportunities to help others with their shops.

Case in point, I have been lending the proverbial hand to a friend of mine who is building his shop. He is quite capable of doing enough pondering for several people, but he occasionally misses something, which I feel an overwhelming obligation to point out. He is polite enough to take most of my suggestions at face value, until he either disregards them as insanely stupid or dissects them until he has found a way to make them his own. He may even incorporate some of these suggestions, but not without some good-natured (I think….) harassment. Then there others that draw a quick rebuke, using terms not acceptable in this forum. He tolerates my help with honest appreciation, even with my occasional screw-up (something I think I have rectified with the purchase of a new tape measure to replace the, obviously, defective one I had been using…). But there are also times when he looks at me and wonders just how it is that I can even remember to breathe…. His shop is nearly finished, but there is still a lifetime of things yet to do to it.

From those days with nothing but “the basics”, totaling, maybe, $800, my “shop” has grown to exceed a monetary value that might be shocking at first glance (well into 5-digits to the left of the decimal point…), but short of being “perfect”, though not by much. It is still contained in a 2-car garage, although the garage now resides in Idaho , and is slightly larger. It has evolved into what it is through countless hours of pondering, visualizing, attempting, re-doing, shifting and buying. With each new project, and even a few old ones, I look for an excuse to buy a new tool. I also look for projects that will challenge me to learn a new skill, or at least overcome a certain obstacle. All of which is certain to leave something behind.