Archive of 'Getting Started Archives - The Art of Woodshop Design'

• The Top Ten Things You Can Do To Whip Your Shop into Shape

  Written By Bobby.
  In Starting? Go here!

  

  You’ll need a functional shop to create the things you want for a Dream Shop.

  To build your dream shop, you kind of need a functional shop first. That’s what trips a lot of people up; they don’t know where to start with their existing shop. I solved that problem by creating a highly functional “temporary” shop that many would consider their permanent shop. That’s what I’m using now to create all the things I need to realize my design

  
  

• See How Easily You Can Draw Your Dream Shop

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!

  

  Conveying and Recording Your Design to Yourself Using Your Current Abilities
  I get it. Your shop evolved randomly, and is now an accumulation of stuff you bought or made as you needed them. You’ve been so busy making stuff that things are the way they were.

  You’ve even made whole projects on the fly, with few drawings, or maybe just a rough sketch on a post-it note you put in your pocket for later.

  However, to really optimize your shop for yourself, it’s got to be built over time in design…

  
  

• Saving Money on Tools Will Cost You

  Written By Bobby.
  In Starting? Go here!,Tool Reviews/ Events

  

  Do you walk into a woodworking store with one hand on your wallet?

  When I’m in the shop, and something doesn’t work, I’m somehow willing to pay all kinds of money to make everything right again. But when I’m shopping, I get cheap. I think it’s because I’m not experiencing the frustrated feelings while shopping.

  There are times when buying a cheap tool is ok, but when can you get away with it and not wind up costing yourself more money?

  
  

• 2-Day Shop Renewal

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Shop Systems

  

  When driving a long distance, you know that if you stop somewhere even to just get gas or buy a snack how much better you feel when you get back in the car. You could go for another 100 miles. But just 7 minutes ago, you felt like falling asleep.

  Giving yourself a boost like this is important when you notice you’re in a routine and things aren’t quite right.

  Every so often, …

  
  

• How to Draw Your Shop to Scale the Easy Way

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!

  

  The Lazy Woodworker’s Guide to Drawing

  Will chicken scratch drawings be good enough to design your woodshop? How will you know if stuff fits?

  When you get a new tool, do you put it into the nearest clean area? What if you could re-do your shop’s layout from scratch, knowing that it’s well thought out?

  If you draw your shop and all its contents true to scale, then you can plan most things on paper first without having to drag your tools across the shop. Of course, try it out in real life after you’ve worked out your basic design, but you can immediately see if you have room for a particular tool if everything is drawn proportional to each other…

  
  

• Wake Up, Brush Teeth, Shower, Drink Coffee, Design Session, Lunch

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!

  

  Design Time as a Routine

  How many ideas have you collected? How many magazine pages have you flagged? “I better bust out the notepad and sketch this so I don’t forget about it.” Are you using these ideas? Have you noticed that when you sit down to design a project your ideas just flow?

  This design time is something that you should make routine. This way you can focus all the ideas in your brain archives onto something specific.

  You know what works for you, so just do more of it! I like to go to a place where I know I can’t watch TV or have my attention subdivided such as a coffee shop…

  
  

• Shop Space Where You Are – Part I

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout

  

  Being creative means you’re able to make a shop anywhere. Plus 1-Car Garage Shops, and even an Apartment Shop!

  
  

• Revolutionize Your Woodworking Enjoyment, Part I

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout

  

  Critical criteria you need to know for designing your dream woodshop.

  
  

• Before You Build Your Dream Woodshop

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Shop Systems,Starting? Go here!

  

  Avoid the common mistake of making random shop improvements.

  
  

• Discover the Process of Designing Your Ultimate Woodshop

  Written By Bobby.
  In Design Process,Starting? Go here!

  

  Do your thinking first, build it at your leisure in the right order and get a lifetime of results!