I meant to say something profound and meaningful about the relationship between a man and his workshop, but nothing's coming. So here's a few pictures of my shop and my main tools.

This photo is a picture of my shop from the door. As you can see, it is small, and rather messy. The mess is deceptive, though. I have no trouble finding what I need in here. It is also something of a defense mechanism, as the fact that I have packed the garage fairly tightly with my stuff ensures that no one (i.e. my wife) will be tempted to use it for storage.

I don't often use power tools, and I think one look at the shop can give a fair explanation as to why: I don't have room for the big power tools. I would love to have a bandsaw, for instance, but I have nowhere to put it. When you go the big, floor model, power tool route, you need a fairly large workshop for that. Mine is much too small for that, but it works for me.

This is the workhorse of my shop, the work bench. For a handtool user such as myself, the bench is the most important tool in the entire shop. The hardware for the bench was a gift from my wife for one of our early anniveraries. It sat in a closet for years until I had a space to put it and time to build it.

The bench is made from obtained by ripping up old skids. I took the wood out, cleaned it up, and began gluing pieces together. After the hardware, the most expensive part of this bench was glue.

I call this a "workshop" because what I do in here is technically work, but really I do it for relaxation and enjoyment, and one of the most fun things in the shop is my treadle lathe, pictured below.

I got the plans from an old Popular Woodworking magazine. The article was written by Roy Underhill, host of my favourite woodworking show, The Woodwright's Shop.

Here's where I keep some of the most important tools of my shop, within easy reach of my bench. My two main panel saws belonged to my grandfather. One of them is a Disston. Not one of their top of the line saws, but worth having none the less. I found them in my in my mom's basement, lost and forgotten years ago. I took them with me, cleaned them up and sharpened them. They serve me well. A few of the saws I made myself.

I will stop here for the moment, and publish a few more pictures of the shop next time.