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I dread it, but it feels so nice when it’s done!!!

I usually sand down and re shellac my humble bench as well:) it’s not perfectly flat and all, but that’s what marble slabs are for:)



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Wow great work!

I'm impressed not only with how clean, but how uncluttered and spacious your shop is!

Thanks… it’s a great space. The other side has a big couch in the corner
I find I do much better work in a cleaner more organized space


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I’m more the bi-monthly OCD type. I actually like cleaning and maintenance, and I DO think one turns out better work.

Nice space BTW

ENVY!

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Peter Havriluk

I do try and clean up, but I suppose I’m not quite as motivated all the time:) you also probably make a lot more sawdust than my occasional build does:)


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Used to before covid when we’d have a massive party with a PA and bands and such that required partially dismantling the shop to make room for the guests, but without that motivation my shop is pretty shabby tbh…

Great space. How helpful is that Roomba (I think that’s a Roomba, anyway)?

I'm at least monthly. Not from OCD, I don't worry anything. I just don't put things away. Seems like a simple solution doesn't it? Everything has a place too.

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Why be normal?

I did the same thing at my old shop. We had a huge music party on New Years Day, and the shop was needed for extra jamming space. I'd get it cleaned out, and that's the best it would look for another year.

My new shop is half the size of my old one, and quite full, but as long as I keep it at least reasonably tidy, it is very functional. I try to get it cleaned up after every day's work, but there are times (like right now) where projects are in such a state that it's not very practical for me to put everything away. I'll do it every few days instead. I've never had a super neat shop, but I'm still trying to improve.

But I'm envious of spaces like Snow's...

Dave

I have to admit I have to have a clean shop. Even back when I worked in body shops I was always getting ribbed about how clean I was. The only time I leave tools out or a messy shop is when I am in the middle of a project and leave my shop for the night. Otherwise when I finish a procedure I clean everything up for the next step. Its just how I learned to work, it keeps my mind on the job at hand and I don't have to search for missing tools.

Now... my personal life is pretty much the opposite. My office is usually a mess by my standards and about once a month I can't stand it anymore so I stop what I am doing a clean things up. Usually it is when I have no more room on my desk...

But I like a clean organized shop.

Cheers,
Bob

Honestly it does pretty dang good ha
I pick up the big stuff and send it out:)


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I’ve been in the process of some major upgrades. To the untrained eye, the garage looks like a cacophony of new bench base, lumber stacked against the wall for new bench top, partially assembled SawStop, boxes full of SawStop and Rockler goodies, etc. I CANNOT wait to get it all setup and the old cleared out.


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I emptied my dust collector.
Stopped pulling, it was full full to the intake.
Does that count?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I can’t get much done unless my bench is bare and anything just hanging out on the other surfaces has been put away, so I straighten up frequently. I vac up as much dust and chips as I can after I straighten up. So, my shop is rarely a huge mess. But I do a major reorganization (to de-clutter and store things better) in the spring, usually. That’s when I can hire someone to haul away the pile of refuse from my driveway, take donations places, etc., without being too cold. I need the outside as a staging and sorting area. I envy the ability to deep clean in the winter.

I tend to operate in a degree of organized chaos. Stationary tool surfaces, my setup bench, downdraft table and main building bench are all kept clean and vacuumed off. Tools have homes and I keep them there even if it is just a location on the bench. I hate looking for tools. Other surfaces usually have items on them that I use for working. No trash, I have multiple trash receptacles around the shop. I also like to keep the floor relatively clean, I sweep and vacuum quite a bit. Only thing I do annually is clean the dehumidifier and dump the dust collector.


Steve

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I don't do year end maintenance. I manage the shop the same way I cook. I've observed two types of cooks in the kitchen. Those who leave all the pots, pans, utensils, ingredients, etc. out until they are done cooking and are left with a big mess to clean up, and those who put things away and clean up as they go while cooking. I'm the second type and that carries over to the shop. The downside of that is sometimes I put something away before I'm actually done needing it. Pisses me off when I do that.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

It’s interesting. I have never been a particularly tidy person. But first furniture making, then guitar building led to a completely different discipline.

A, searching for a tool got really tedious, and B, having stuff lying around was very likely to damage the softwoods that we work with. So building guitars has really improved my style of working. One thinks ahead a bit more. And although you might think so to look at it my shop is really quite organised.

And yes Jay i’m Better in the kitchen as well!

But emptying the dust collector is still a pain!

May you build well over the winter break.

Dave

Yeah, I’m in the clean-as-you-go camp, but I’m guessing you knew that already! When home improvement projects are underway, Karen often puts tools away before we are finished with them… There are way worse marital issues….

I also clean as I go but it’s more because I’m packed in tight all around. If I had more space I would use it …. poorly.




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Mine is not looking so good at the moment. But I have made a New Year resolution.

Year-end is more of a work-in-the-shop time for me since I get a week or so off, usually.
This year, we’re removing old kitchen cabinets and installing new ones as well during the downtime.
So between the remodel work, general farm maintenance, a piece or three of furniture, and a couple of guitar projects, my shop is cluttered. I do try to put things up/back as I go, but have to pause progress for a more thorough cleaning every so often.

After finishing two wooden dory builds, where the shop was a continued disaster, and then building two assembly/shop tables im slowly getting back into shape to build some instruments. But first I had to organize my luthier corner, install the panel TV we took out of the family room, finish my dust collection hook ups to belt sand and router table, build dividers for most shop drawers, add labels with label machine given as a birthday gift 3 years ago, build storage shelves to hold luthier equipment and wood brought up from house basement, plus about a week of general cleaning…... Lots of chicken scratching.

Complete Cleaning and Hanging 4' LED strip tube lights ... Amazing how much brighter LED'S are

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The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Now if it would suck up the saw dust and poop bridge blanks , we would have a business

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The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/