Official Luthiers Forum!

Hesh -- Delta has a shop planner as well you might want to check out.

One work surface space saver I use in my tiny shop is the Craftsman version of the Shop Mate. It folds up and stores easily and can be readily height adjusted.

Hesh, Don makes a good point on the lighting, i have fluorescent lights in my shop and it's really hot in there!

Thanks for the track light tip Don!

Hesh, my friend, that's great news! Hope you have lots of fun building and renovating.

If you're as quick with the remodeling as you are at building geetars, we should see pics of that completed shop sometime early next week...

_________________
I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Oh, I almost forgot... When I read your first line, I half imagined that you were coming out of the 'closet' and you wanted to admit that you were really into banjo's!!! Whew... close call!   

_________________
I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Hesh, My Brother:

As for counter top, I made my sister an endgrain butcher block out of 4X4 doug fir. I can't recommend it more. It's cheap, but somewhat labor intensive. After layup, I ground it flat with a 8" body grinder. It's very tough, repairs well and looks cool!

   Glue doesn't stick to endgrain very well either. I just soaked it with mineral oil, but you may want to look into something else if this is a possible problem with finishing.

Billy Dean Thomas

P.S. Your always signing off about this Ann Arbor chick! Does Lacey know about this?

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

[QUOTE=Serge Poirier] Hesh, Don makes a good point on the lighting, i have fluorescent lights in my shop and it's really hot in there!
Thanks for the track light tip Don! [/QUOTE]

Serge, the low-voltage halogens are much more expensive than the el-cheapo Home Depot flourescent fixtures, but the light is infinitely better.
They will give off more heat than a flourescent will I think.
But...for the type of work involved in building guitars, having the brighter, more focused light of the halogens is a boon to any builder.
When I made the switch to the halogens over my bench, it made life WAY better.
Good lighting is your friend.
That's a place where you shouldn't skimp on the budget.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Thanks Don, i will do just that, i just wish i could install it in a new shop like Hesh's though!

I need windows and air conditionning Man! oh and a lakefront view like Mario has and...

Yeah dream on Bear!

[QUOTE=RichB] Hesh,
    A solid core door would work as well. I used one for years, for other needs. I just hung a door on hinges that were screwed to a wall, & swung it up or down as needed. Of course, it had some sort of support.



[/QUOTE]

Rich - Great minds think alike - I've used this technique of temporary bench space for years.

It's a life saver too isn't it Rich!

[QUOTE=Alain Desforges] Oh, I almost forgot... When I read your first line, I half imagined that you were coming out of the 'closet' and you wanted to admit that you were really into banjo's!!! Whew... close call!    [/QUOTE]

Yep - Hesh has been "flushed" out.

Too bad we never got him into The Guiness Book

Sad when you know the quality of his work, let's say that you are welcome in my shop anytime bro. i'll try to find you a comfie sofa!

As far as bench tops are concerned, Grizzy sells some great slabs of
butcher block in 24 and 30 inch widths by 1-1/2" thick in several
different lengths. There's nothing like a solid wood bench top. These are
very inexpensive for what you get. I bought a 10' one for the office here
and it's been an excellent work surface. They look nice too. Just MHO.

As everyone has said, lighting, lighting, lighting! Originally I had 4'
flourescent fixtures each located at a specific work area. When I did my
shop over I located them in 3 rows across the shop and spaced them in a
grid so the light is evenly distributed across the entire shop, which works
out much better. I split them up so that 4 switches need to be thrown to
turn them all on. I can turn on only the section I want, should I chose.

Like everyone, I could use another shop the same size just for storage!
Craig S.

Todd, how thick is the sub flooring, i am also making a 10x12 carpeted room into a shop and need to protect the carpet. But since the doors open in i must be caefull about any added height, yep they can be trimmed, but i don't want to take 3/4" off them.. the floor was this weekends project..
Mike

I just built a workbench today ....
I found this and made a few changes ....don't know if you've built yours yet but this was very cheap to do and only took a couple of hours


http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/workshop/bench/below20xl. html