Have you ever wondered just what the heck my shop looks like? Sometimes, with my work schedule this time of the year, I wonder too…

Well, my old digital camera died, and I got a new one. Rather than snap pictures of the kids, I took the opportunity (or used it as a good enough excuse) to finally get out into the shop and take a few pictures.

This was a gift from my wife – sort of a little bit of a welcome to the shop sign. I kinda like it – and I remind everyone about its status when they arrive.

This is the shop overview shot – what you might see on a typical weekend day if you stroll past the front of my house. Yes, I have converted the two car garage into my shop. It’s a comfortably sized space that I share with some kids toys, some mechanical systems and the laundry equipment.

This is what you see at first when you look to the right as you walk into the shop. Here’s where the rolling clamp rack, 14″ band saw and dust collector are parked here. This is also where I keep the scrap buckets for offcuts.

This entirely unattractive piece (which doesn’t lean nearly as badly as the camera is making it appear to – guess I have to learn how to take better pictures) of shop storage I threw together from two pieces of 3/4″ CDX plywood. I needed a way to stack up some of the tools I had acquired, and this fills the bill. Compressor at the bottom, router equipment up from there, pocket screw jig and sharpening equipment above that, and tool rehab projects in the plastic bins on top.

This is my side bench. The cabinets came from a friend’s kitchen remodel, and serve me well in the shop. The uppers store my finishing supplies, the lowers store hardware, finishing rags and other goodies. This is also the location of the plane shrine. The top is an excellent place for me to stage project parts when I’m working on other components on the main bench.

Also, you’ll notice my rolling tool cart I got last Christmas. It holds most of my hand tools, keeping them dust free and easy to grab.

This piece is my front bench. The lowers store power hand tools, while the uppers hold fasteners, glue, tape and other goodies. I will do some work on smaller projects and parts of larger ones, and I do most of my sharpening here. Unfortunately, this is also the surface closest to the door, so my wife will leave things that have to go back out to the garage here as well. It can get cluttered!

Of course, this is my Ridgid table saw. Since it’s right at the garage door entrance, I can rip longer pieces easily by opening the door. You can see I also built a router table top into the right wing. I have a Freud FT2000 mounted under there, which does a great job. I spend a good deal of time in this area.

Here’s my big ugly bench. Work on the top, and storage for the spindle sander and planer below (which also happens to add a great deal of mass to the bench – a big plus). The bench serves as and outfeed table. Normally, I can work up near the vise and rip off the table saw and not have issues… I just have to make sure I can clear the stuff on the bench top.

Shhhh… I don’t want anyone to know about this area… but most of my wood stash was given to me by some friends and other ‘people’ who don’t want to be named. It’s a decent pile of cherry, walnut, maple, poplar and oak. I could tell you where I got it, but I’d have to kill you after. Ultimately, I need to find a better place for this stack somewhere else in the shop (perhaps overhead). But, for right now, it’s an OK set up.

Now, for a quick matter of blog housekeeping – my wife and I are celebrating our 15th anniversary this week – so, don’t look for a link of the week this week. I’ll be back on Sunday, however, with a brand new quick poll.

Thanks for visiting!

So many things in life are subjective, aren’t they?

Do you think that was a good movie? Wasn’t that the best wine you ever tasted? Hot enough for ya?

As a hundred people the same question, and you will no doubt get 100 different answers. “That movie has plot holes so large, you could drive a truck through them.” “The wine reminded me of a subtle mix of mouthwash and pine tar.” “If you say another word about how hot it is, I’ll kick you in the shins.”

There are no right or wrong answers, just opinions.

Then, why is it that when it comes to woodwork, there are so many ‘experts’ out there who claim to know exactly where the line between craft and art is drawn?

Sure, I can appreciate that the oak pantry I built for my kitchen is 100% utilitarian with just a little bit of decoration so it could pass as ‘furniture’. And, a famous painting, like the one of the dogs playing poker (I love that one) is art that you hang on the wall.

The line does get blurry when considering other forms. Last year, I was taking a family trip to Washington D.C., and had a chance to walk through the National Art Museum’s Sculpture Garden. Some of these large-scale pieces were really eye-catching, showing a lot of originality and creativity.

Then, I came across this piece. It was ‘sculpted’ by Ellsworth Kelly in 1973, and it’s called Stele II. It is exactly what you would think it is… a one-inch thick piece of steel cut with rounded corners and allowed to weather naturally, thereby losing its shiny nature through the past three and a half decades.

No doubt, the artist did put a great deal of time, energy and thought into crafting this dramatic piece… about the same amount of time, effort and care you might find that a steel worker at a shipyard put into cutting an identical piece out of a larger plate. Yet, this qualifies as high art, and is ensconced in one of the nation’s premiere sculpture venues.

Now, take a look at a gorgeous piece of furniture, and there will be a different classification. Here’s a chair built by a Shaker brother sometime around 1850. Knowing about the Shakers and their practices, there’s a very good chance the wood was carefully selected for its strength and joint holding abilities. It was precisely split – not sawn – from the blank to provide even more ruggedness. Turnings were done by either a treadle or hand-cranked lathe. The joints were cut by an expert hand using keenly sharpened hand tools. Except for the turned finials at the top of the seat back, it is devoid of all ornamentation.

Yet, the chair is a work of sculpture in its own right. It looks like there is an impossibly small amount of wood to support a person’s weight, yet these antique chairs can support 250 pounds or more.

But, don’t expect to find piece like this in an art museum. No, you’ll find those pieces in a craft gallery. Not quite fully recognized as art, a piece like this is viewed in a completely different light.

Why would I bring up such an esoteric point? I’m glad you asked.

At my job, this is the third year that the National Arts Program is holding an art contest for current and retired employees and their family members. As I have for the past two contests, I’m entering this year’s with a project that will spotlight my woodworking talents.

The past two years have been very successful for me. I took first place in the Intermediate Adult class for my Contemplation Bench and Pagoda Box. Both brought pretty hefty prize money, which I immediately put toward the purchase of new tools.

While I was enjoying my accolades last year, one of the artists who didn’t win came up to me and told me that I shouldn’t enter an art contest with a craft project. “It’s not fair to the true artists in the field.”

I chalked that comment up to being her opinion.

And, of course, it’s my opinion that I might have another winning project in the works.