Archive of 'Design Process Archives - The Art of Woodshop Design'
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There’s Nothing Wrong with What You Bought 5 Years Ago
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process
If you have something that already works for you, think carefully before buying the next big thing.
If you have something that works well for you, but you see they have a new gizmo out, what do you do with the old one? Could you have spent the money to gain a new capability you didn’t have before?
I like to stay with what’s already working for me, unless it will revolutionize the way I do things. Now, there are things that need an upgrade that aren’t working well for me, but if I’m fine with what I have, then I can allocate those resources elsewhere.
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Time Focus for Woodworkers: How to Allocate Your Energy
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process,Starting? Go here!
I have time. You have time. 24 hours a day. We all do (if we’re alive). We all have the same 24 hours available. So why are some people happier and able to do more than others? Largely it’s due to how they’re using their available time, and when during their mental and physical energy cycles they’re doing specific types of things. Huh?
Ok, it’s pretty simple really, but it’s all in how you think about it. Let me comb your mind in the right direction and you’ll make much better use of your day by matching what you do with what you’re better able to do at the moment…
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Woodshop Order of Construction: The Ultimate Guide to Prioritizing Your Shop Build
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process,Starting? Go here!
How to prioritize and decide what to build first for your workshop improvements or your new shop from scratch.
You’ve got page after page listing all the things you want for your shop redesign. But do you know exactly what you’ll work on first? Do you buy that router table fence first? Nope, it probably won’t be used until you build your router table. Insulate your walls since it’s hot out today? Nope, you probably should run your electrical wire beforehand. I didn’t find it too hard, but it does take a session of thinking and writing, just like how you’d approach any creative project.
Below is my strategy for prioritizing and organizing your Order of Construction for the woodshop…
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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…
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Where Do I Begin?
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process,Starting? Go here!
I don’t even know where to begin in this article…there’s just so much to write about. And what if I write about something when I should have written something else before that? Maybe I should just go watch TV. Oooh…176 channels. What if I’m missing a show while I’m watching another one? Maybe a DVD would be nice. But which one?
Having an image in your head of your workspace isn’t too hard; but when you get into the details and realize how many decisions can be made and how many options there are, it begins to feel like cleaning before your mother comes over. Where the hell do you start?
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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, …
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Workshop Layout: What’s the Objective for Your Shop?
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout
3 Questions You Should Ask Before You Even Start
• Do you think of your whole shop as a tool?
• What do you want your shop to do for you?
• What do you need to do in your shop, both for now and the future?If you can answer these questions you have the basic strategic direction you need to move forward in designing your dream shop.
The planes you use are shaped the way they are because someone asked what they want the tool to do, how people are going to use it, and how will they be able to maintain it. If you think to yourself how you are going to use your shop in the next few weeks and how you imagine it’ll serve you in 5 years, you can design a shop with the layout, comfort features, and infrastructure that will do all those things in a convenient way.
In this article, I’ll walk you through my thought process of how I arrived at my current layout.
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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…
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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…
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Is the Last 5% Taking 95% of Your Time?
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process
A Time-Hack for Woodworkers.
This question could be asked about a lot of things in life, but I’m asking this about your workshop design. If you’re suffering from paralysis in analysis, you may know the feeling. I’ve spent a lot of time developing my ideal woodshop on paper, doing tons of research, diligently taking notes while in my various shops, and I still feel like it’s not done or exactly the way I want it. Is there a way to just get started and actually implement it?
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Organize Your Design Drawings Like an Architect
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process,Starting? Go here!
Drawing your workshop design on scratch paper might seem like it’ll save you time, but it will cost you. Organizing your drawings will ensure you’re thinking of all the things you need to build an effective shop. Plus, it doesn’t really take that long to set up your drawing sheets. It’s mostly copy and paste. Really.
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The Value of Temporary Solutions
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process,Starting? Go here!
Get your Shop Functional First, Even if it’s Not Perfect. Then Use it to Optimize Your Shop!
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Shop Space Where You Are – Part II
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout
2-Car and 3-Car Garage Woodshops
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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!
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Revolutionize Your Woodworking Enjoyment, Part III
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout
Forgotten design considerations woodworkers need to know.
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Revolutionize Your Woodworking Enjoyment, Part II
Written By Bobby.
In Design Process,Starting? Go here!,Workshop Layout
Streamline all of your workstations to optimize your shop.
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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.
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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.
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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!
How I went from a cluttered and disorganized shop to a super-productive layout with a convenient dust collection and electrical set-up. 
