Official Luthiers Forum!

I have been aquiring luthiery stuff and have been trying to shove aside
space in my small apt for a place to work..well I finally have a small (think
Hesh mini flushtone) and need some advice. I live in a 2 bdrm apt with my
wife and 2 kids my worksop is one of only 2 doors that lock. My work space
is bascally 5' x 5' with the work bench planned to be 5 x 2 ( covering two
stationary non movable objects) here is my dilemma in a shop this small
with WAF in mind should I stick to hand tools only (ie non powered and hand
sized power tools and if so what is the most useful for its size? I was
thinking along the lines non powered tools and a palm router would be
enough?

Zac in the mini shop REALLY wanting to START his 1st!

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Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here

As "they" say, Where there's a will,there's a way. 5x5 seems awful small but like you said Zac,hand tools seems like the way to go until you can find some more space somehow for a small drill press and small band saw and other mini-stuff.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

it can all be done with hand tools, albeit with greater demands on your physical effort, patience, determination, organizational skills and imagination, not to mention the patience and understanding of your family.

now i don't think i couldn't even physically fit into your 5x5 space with a 2x5 bench at the same time, much less work there, but if you can, you can do it.

and i commend your having the courage and belief to try!!!

Part of my thought on using primarily hand tools(non powered) was thta I
would have less sawdust and also less noise. The bench Ive planned out has
a folding go bar deck that I saw hoosiermadeuke had in a folding
workbench. I was thinking of splitting the bench into two peices one for
work area and the other for a tools stand for any mini power tools ( i have a
9" bandsaw in storage) how good are the mini tools I can see a table top drill
press as a possibility also that I could swap out with the bandsaw when I
need it.


Zac in the mini shop REALLY wanting to START his 1st!

_________________
Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here

[QUOTE=crazymanmichael] it can all be done with hand tools, albeit with greater demands on your physical effort, patience, determination, organizational skills and imagination, not to mention the patience and understanding of your family.

now i don't think i couldn't even physically fit into your 5x5 space with a 2x5 bench at the same time, much less work there, but if you can, you can do it.

and i commend your having the courage and belief to try!!![/QUOTE]

Amen to that.


That's how I am making my guitars, with hand tools. My elderly woodworking pal has a shed full of bandsaws and table saws, but he won't let me use them, because I am a lady ...

I have another advantage that I am only 5 ft 1" tall, so working in a small space (my shop is 5ft by 7ft) is not a problem for me.

it can be done, although the "proffesional" quality takes a little longer to achieve with hand tools but the main issue here is patience, absorbing information and making sure your tools are so sharp you hear Viking choral music when you use them...

Hand tools rule! I started woodworking with hand tools because I only had evenings to work after the kids went to bed. You can do a lot with planes, chisels, sandpaper, files and so on. I did buy a laminate router which made binding channels a breeze. Also, hand tools tend to disperse less dust which address your WAF. Go for it.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Good for you ! Not letting the lack of space hold you back.! Lots of fine instruments- violins commonly- are built in small shops.
If you are going to be doing a lot of hand work (which is a good idea- a router in an apartment is probably too noisy) you will want to organize a sturdy bench and vise for planing. It doesn't have to be large, but there are few things as frustrating as trying to plane on a shaky bench.
Another possibility is to pick up one or more WorkMate-type benches- you can put your foot on these to add some stability, and they fold up when not in use.

Cheers

John

I use a 4 foot slab of marble I found in a stonemason's yard to weight down my bench. Also comes in handy for planing the wood plated prior to joining, because it's the flattest thing I have in the house.....

Well Zack, humidity control is gonna be easy in that small space.
5'X 5' would drive me nuts, but I built my first guitars (& a dulcimer) on the kitchen table so... It can be done but boy, you gotta be organized.
Best of luck to ya. And... send us some pics when it's together.

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Sam at 5' 1" you could make your shop a two story shop...
[/QUOTE]

    Nah, I've got to let all the hot air I produce find a ventilation outlet, I need the extra headroom!!

Thanks for all the advice! I have been leaning toward non powered tools only because of the WAF and the smaller amount of dust generated compared to power tools. I have a couple of pics of the piled full of junk but no bench pics that I will post when I get home I am 6' 260lbs so I have enough room for the bench the instrument and me thats it!

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Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here