Hey Mark, if this thread takes off, can we get it made a sticky? Maybe sticky the "online router stuff" thread as well. Might be two very useful threads for new members. And for the rest of us too.

 

Yeah this would be a good idea to see what products could help us out with the routering and shop perspective I think it would be very useful.

 

Mmm sure, lets just see how it goes.

 

Right now on the top of my wish list is a One Way 1224 lathe

 

Too bad I just answered the "best/favorite" router question in another topic. Oh, well, short and sweet, my favorite router right now is the PC 890 series.

my favorite "jig", believe it or not, is the set of brass setup bars I picked up loooong ago at a woodworking show (the next year, I went back and bought the spacer fence system, but that's a different story). The simplicity of not having to measure, especially with my eyes, is a tremendous time saver in the shop. I use them to set up everything, from the router table to the table saw.

sometimes simplest is best.

 

Dega, thread is successfuly STUCK! lol ( I made the thread a sticky )

 

Too bad I just answered the "best/favorite" router question in another topic. Oh, well, short and sweet, my favorite router right now is the PC 890 series.

my favorite "jig", believe it or not, is the set of brass setup bars I picked up loooong ago at a woodworking show (the next year, I went back and bought the spacer fence system, but that's a different story). The simplicity of not having to measure, especially with my eyes, is a tremendous time saver in the shop. I use them to set up everything, from the router table to the table saw.

sometimes simplest is best.

I agree with Doug on the brass setup bars. My set stays in my shop apron, ready to use. Thanks to The Router Workshop, I had not seen them before I saw Bob and Rick use them.
As for the favorite jig, it has to be the mortise jig I built from Shopnotes:

 

My dream for a dream shop would be the shop itself. Got to be big enough and have several thousand power outlets!

 

My dream shop would be one like Norms, only better.

 

My dream shop would be one like Norms, only better.

Mine's just like Norms only half the length, a quarter the width and half the height.
With a flat roof sloping slightly from front to back I can almost get to the back without bending to stop hitting my head on the steel roof joists.
With carful planning it's surprising what can be fitted in a small workshop.
In my 20'x10' workshop (garage) I have most machines I want apart from a lathe and thicknesser yet am in the planning stage for a complete refitting with all the gardening tools relegated to a shed I will be making for them.

One of the foremost router experts in UK, Ron Fox, has a workshop so well laid out that he can work with no problems in the 16'x8' side extension on his house.
He has cupboards full of routers and makes most of his own templates.
He still has, and uses the first router he bought about 40 years ago when they were prohibitavely expensive for home use.
He has a scroll saw by a low window.
If he has a long moulding to do he moves the saw to one side and can feed the wood from his router table through the window which was purposely put there for that reason.

My choice for best router would have to be the Festool which has been designed to be able to use it with one hand safely.
The price is likely to keep that beauty out of my shop unless I win a fortune on the lottery. lol

 

I did a little story about a dream shop

A little attempt a humor on my part, check out:More like the tall tails but with a different twist…….
See:
www.routerforums.com/showpost.php?p=3552&postcount=9

Ed

 

My dream shop would be one like Norms, only better.

And if you have the winning lottery numbers.... :sold:

 

Maybe if I had Bill Gates money, I could afford one better than Norms.

 

I have my dream shop. And later this week when my Grizzly G1023ZX with the additional sliding table arrives to replace the current Ryobi table saw it will be complete. 24" x 31" with 3 tons of central a/c and heat, satelite TV, full attic for storage. There is at least one of every power tool known to man (e.g. 4 routers) except a lathe (not interested). I suppose at some point I will have to fiqure out how to use this stuff as my wife is asking when I will begin to build something other than shelves in the wood shop to hold all of the power tools that I bought to build the shelves in the wood shop to hold all of the power tools I bought to build the shelves in the wood shop to hold the power tools that............I better put a cap on that drum of lacquer thinner...........soon..........latter........eventually..........Wher'd I put that new ToolCrib catalog......

 

Nice toy room pmspirito! I like mine (22x26x10 with 8'9"x16' AC) but I'll trade if you insist?

 

Thanks. I have to thank my wife Judy for all of her support and encouragement. In the past when i was an electrical contractor i never had the time or the place and therefore never bought the equipment. Now as a building inspector i have the time and the place and the equipment. Also I am around a lot of high end cabinetry and woodwork and get to watch and ask questions. I may go into a house for a plumbing inspection and i'll ask the cabinet guy "what's the #1 tip for today".

I have been working on 6 replacement wooden columns for the front porch for a 100 year old family homestead in North Carolina that my wife inherited. I'm not sure if this house is a blessing or a curse. This weekend i created a spray booth in 1/3 of the shop with vis-queen so i could spray paint them. Its fun and every task is a skill builder towards future projects.

 

Nice toy room pmspirito! I like mine (22x26x10 with 8'9"x16' AC) but I'll trade if you insist?

Yo, I had the same problem until I turned the paper over...No problems since. You may want to watch out for a little more dust than before.

 

Dream Shop??

Several thousand square feet, plenty of power, and "one of everything"

 

THE DREAM SHOP GROWS March 1st was my birthday and my lovely wife Judy bought me the Rigid oscilating spindle and belt sander from Home Depot. A very sweet machine. It comes completely assembled and the change over from spindle to belt requires removing only one knob. The dust collection is excellent and I am very particular about dust in my shop.

 

I have my dream shop. And later this week when my Grizzly G1023ZX with the additional sliding table arrives to replace the current Ryobi table saw it will be complete. 24" x 31" with 3 tons of central a/c and heat, satelite TV, full attic for storage. There is at least one of every power tool known to man (e.g. 4 routers) except a lathe (not interested). I suppose at some point I will have to fiqure out how to use this stuff as my wife is asking when I will begin to build something other than shelves in the wood shop to hold all of the power tools that I bought to build the shelves in the wood shop to hold all of the power tools I bought to build the shelves in the wood shop to hold the power tools that............I better put a cap on that drum of lacquer thinner...........soon..........latter........eventually..........Wher'd I put that new ToolCrib catalog......

You'll love the Grizzley cabinet saw!

 

Nice question.

For a dream shop, I would want something on grade, instead of B1

Big is nice, but too big (yes there would be such a thing) then you would need a bicycle to get around

If money was not object (the real definition of a dream shop) I'd move back to Canada, and buy some land just outside of my hometown, say 200 acres. I'd build a nice house for my wife and kids, all one floor, no stairs to fall down when I get old. I'd build a HUGE garage to house all of my two and four wheeled toys, and work on them too. For a wood working shop, I'd build a nice big building, I think a rectangle is better than a square, something like 60' x 120'. There would be a division of space, certainly at least a machine tool room (read NOISY) and a hand tool area, plus an office area, with computers, Big screen TV DVD etc, and a desk and draughting table etc, reference library too, as well as a nice big soft sofa for the power naps I like to take. A full bathroom with a shower, and a small kitchen space too.

The finishing room would be a separate building, it would be not far away, connected to the main shop by a closed in walkway, with a concrete floor (easier to roll the carts the work it on) the finishing room would be a full on pro type, with the stainless steel walls, the full filtration and the water under the floors thing too. Big, big enough to also paint a car or truck in.

Next to the main wood shop would be a welding shop, full on welding stuff, Tig, MIG and sticks, plus hot wrenches too. Not to mention big steel cutting band saws. Next to the welding room, in the same building would be a machine shop, lathes, mills, CNC machines.

Behind the main wood shop would be a large bandsaw mill in it's own building, so I could mill trees in any weather, and beside that would be a VERY large barn like structure with tall ceilings and good ventilation that would be my storage area for wood, and in there somewhere I'd put a commercial kiln.

I'd have power from the city etc, but I'd also have a generator or three (five?) that could run everything if needed. I've have my very own underground gasoline tank for my various two and four wheeled toys too.

I'd need a second garage for work toys, stuff like front end loaders, tractors, snow plows, fork lifts etc.

While everything was being built, I'd take a year or two and go to the US and enroll in some really good school so I could learn the basics of making fine furniture from the best teachers.

Once I was up and running, I'd start a business building fine furniture, and I'd try to hire the best and the brightest up and coming wood workers to come work for me, so I could have the chance to learn from them for a while. I'd pay them well, and treat them the best I could, giving them the freedom to do what their talent pushes them to do.............

I'd have guest house for cabins on the compound, and I'd build a large workspace with some of the basic tools needed to teach, I'd get someone in to teach classes to kids and to others that are interested in woodworking. I'd try to have seminars too, get some of the best and the most talented wood workers to come and teach and hold classes in the summer.

For fun, I'd put in a full on dirt bike area, MX and enduro, and I'd build a smaller scale race track for shifter carts and supermotard bikes. The land would have to have a small lake of some sort for fishing in as well.

Helipad would be nice too....

Well that was sure a nice little ramble

Now back to reality....

For things that I use the most in my shop, well I'd say my whole shop is the best tool/jig I've built, but really, it is all a whole, very little work would get done without all of it working together, so it is hard to pick out one or two things.

I guess my cyclone & duct work, would have to count, and the setup for my SCMS too.

Cheers!

 

It's Christmas Time at the Dream Shop

The Orlando Florida woodworking show is next week, the 8th and 9th of December. I just know Santa has some goodies there for the Dream Shop just waiting to be picked up. There is an 18 inch dovetail jig from Hartville Tool on the way via UPS right now. I also picked up a Starrett dial caliper that reads in fractions and decimals. WOW is it cool. It raises your level of accuracy 10 fold. I ordered it from McFeely's the square drive screw people.

 

My dream shop would be the one I have now but with me a few more years experianced and knowing all. Yet I plan on having sooo much fun learning all there is to woodworking and doing as much as I can. I just finished my first set of drawers using dovetails and even rabbeted dovetails that came out almost perfect. I have not often felt such an overwhelming sense of accomplishment (barring the births of my 3 kids...have to include that of course) I have been sharing my time in the shop with my kids and we all danced around when I finsihed the last drawer.

There are just a few "dream" tools and jigs but never enough "dream" experiance or knowledge.

Right now I am working on a dust collector system for my shop using the plans of Bill Pentz ( http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/Index.cfm ) this will make life so easy. This would be my dream tool right now.

 

I have my dream shop, with all the name brand power tools one could want with the exception of a lathe..........down the road. For those who envy me.............I envyed everybody else for 40 plus years...........been reinvesting monies from products and given my sons all the junk tools that I had for so many generations.

The one dream I have is someone to clean up after me,,,,,,,,,when I get going on a project I dont look back until it is done. Then when I look back.......Oh My Gawd
did I make this mess

 

I'm in process of building mine now. I put up a 40 by 80 foot building. Half of it is a shop with under the concrecte wiring and dust collection. I'm hanging the tin (liner) inside now and will began wiring before long.