...ok, so I haven't moved again or anything, but the shop's finally more-or-less presentable. Still needs plenty of work, mind, but I think I should get most of it done within the next week (namely: binding routing jig, table mount for router. Other improvements as time goes on, including thickness sander). Also, I got myself a pair of new old planes from a local vintage tools seller. Paid 55 euros each, which seemed fair for circa-WW II era planes, one possibly older. Let's start with the tools:
Union #6:
Record # 5 1/2:
On to the shop! Let's start upstairs, indoors, climate-controlled-ish place (as in, I monitor temp and humidity, and so far, last 6 months, it's been within acceptable norms, and for the last few it's been dead-on perfect for building, at a nice temp and 45-50% humidity). Top of the stairs, small homebrew 'bench' made of an old cabinet, some pine, and rejected planks from the kitchen we tore out. First the 'cheater' shot from when I'd just completed it and put various under construction instruments in place:
Current state of affairs, showing the other projects on the go (baritone acoustic, strat and tele on the right, woods for next few builds up top):
Then, opposite the 'clean shop' area, there's wood storage, specifically pre-cut acoustic sets, billeted sets for resaw, tops, and maple billets for electric tops, as well as a few assorted body blanks (black limba) that are pre-cut, not in large board form. Up top are the fingerboards, headplates and bridge blanks, mostly madrose, some EIR, some ebony:
Other room, just past the wall, lives some honduran
mahogany (neck blank stock), some limba, some binding and purfling, all mostly buried under a large supply of bracewood:
...and from there, we move outdoors, where most of the work is actually done in this weather:
Actually outdoors-outdoors, under a roof but no lock and key, are several large boards of quartered white limba in the rough. 7', six of 'em.
A sneek peek through the door shows the bandsaw (still not operating, phase converter I got is giving me headaches, so I'm going to simply go buy myself an idiot-proof one instead of trying to work out this second-hand one), the bench covered in bending forms under construction (3x), and lots of wood below and above, well, everywhere. Lots of African Mahogany, some honduran, cedrella, quite a bit of bubinga, plus a board of swamp ash:
The Saw. Blades on the way from Lou Iturra now, so I'm really hoping I get the phase converter sorted this coming week:
Artsy from-the-floor shot showing the large piles of 8/4 lumber under the bench:
...and the oh so cluttered bench proper, which will feature the press in the middle, router table insert on the right, and a combined router/thicknessing/electric guitar neck jig/go-bar deck setup in the left corner. Eventually. Thickness sander to go where the compressor's standing right now:
Well, that was it! It's compact, bit cramped even, but it's mine, and it's a hell of a lot more space than I've ever had to dedicate to this endeavour before, so I'm happy!
