Small home woodworking shop – A leaner & keener approach to woodworking

Here’s the journey I took to finally getting a single car garage workshop set up how I like it.

Workshop 1

woodworking machines — *Table saw, Morticer, Planer thicknesser, Bandsaw*

Running before I can walk. In my first garage workshop. I went rushing ahead buying, Table saws, planner thicknessers, band saws, router tables. I was so excited about moving away from trestles in the garden.

I had the workshop all set up. I had all the floor machinery, power tools, I was swimming in tools. Here’s the kicker, I soon ran out of room. The blessing in disguise, was when my landlord but the rent up 15% forcing me out. Time to rethink.

Workshop 2

Sell all the machines.

“what” Here are the problems with a workshop in a single car urban garage.

Noise
Dust
Space
Security.

What’s the noisiest and dustiest machines a workshop has? it’s the table saw and router table.

Table saw: used for ripping, cross cutting, making tenons, grooving and dadoes etc.

Router table: making tenons, rebates, mouldings, dovetails etc.

Table saws — *My table saws over the years*

Replacing the table saw with?

The main problem with not having a table saw is how to dimension timber. A good MFT & track saw will crosscut, rip cut, & rebate within reason. Has the added advantage of using a router on the track.

Does this mean I can eliminate the router table?

Advantages of using an MFT Table and Track saw compared to a table saw. Quieter, less dust, less space taken up. The multi-functional table is its own workbench system. Before I had the MFT I was using the track saw on its own and this worked fine. Once I put the track saw and MFT together it didn’t take long to realise just how well thought out this system is. Feels allot safer than table saws.

Replacing the router table with?

A router used free hand or on a track takes up a lot less room than the router table. Admittedly the router table is a brilliant bit of kit, but is it really needed?

electric and hand planes. woodworking — *Different ways to plane wood*

Planing by hand or power?

One option is to go to the timber yard select the timber for each project and have it milled to dimension. You can by timber blind online. The wood for the Ash carpenters tool box. Was bought online. Ash carpenters wooden toolchest project.

Advantages to not having the machines,

More Space,
No noise
No dust
No large initial financial outlay

The band saw and the mortiser don’t take up much room, nor do they create much noise or dust. They can stay for now.

Having sold most of the machines it’s time to ?

Rethink my approach to woodworking

What do I like to make?
What can I make in the space I have?
How do I want to make it?

What joinery method to use with limited machinery and power tools?

Dowling jig on workbench — *Dowel joinery set up*

Glue and screw “No”
Biscuits joinery “No”
Domino machine “umm? “maybe?
Pocket holes “No”
Traditional joinery: Yes
Dowel joinery: Yes

Dowels “YES”. Dowels only work if you’re accurate with the joinery layout and that’s a good thing, “we like accuracy”. Dowel joinery has been used in traditional furniture making for over a century. Time tested. Clamps, drill & a Dowling jig that’s it. A jig, & 12v drill occupy a small space in a workshop draw. This ticks all the boxes.

Traditional furniture making techniques, good old mortice and tenon joinery & hand cut dovetails.

Workshop 3

Workshop 3 is all about creating space, a less is more approach, lean and keen woodworking.

One floor machine, the bandsaw
two power tools, An 18v battery drill & palm router
hand tools.

woodworking hand tool kit — *My tool kit*

I designed workshop 3 for a Lean and keen hand tool approach. All the constraints from workshop two. Noise, dust, lack of space has been eliminated. With a more focused hand tool approach to woodworking. The irony is. When I had all the machines and power tools, I could only make small items anyway, because the machines took up all the space.

Do not overlook hand tools.

Hand tools are the best. You go into your workshop, plane piece of timber, layout some lines. start sawing & chiselling. You’re making within seconds, no noise, no dust. After all isn’t that why we got into this game, to make stuff. Embrace the hand tools and enjoy the peace & quiet.

workbench project — *New workbench under construction*

The first job. Design a new workbench to go in the centre of the garage away from the walls, giving me access to all four sides. full details including plans here:

Don’t expect to set your workshop up right first or even 2^nd time, workshops evolve. The joiner who machines my timber needs all the big industrial machines to earn his living. I make small items of furniture in my garage I don’t need all the machines.

Once you start using hand tools it soon becomes apparent that it didn’t take that long to make the item of furniture. Your neighbours are not annoyed with you, the workshop isn’t full of dust or extractors.

My motto now is to go lean and keen, as soon as I start to over think how I can do something or I must have that tool to be able to do that. I stop and think go lean go keen. This forces me to think of alternative ways to make the items. This 90 % of the time this equates to simplifying the process.

Thanks for reading best Matt North

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