Show Us Your Shop!

by Tom Skarda
Wadley, Georgia

Building a new shop was a dream come true for me. I had just moved to the country after years and years in Atlanta. In fact, having a shop was a prime reason for the move — that along with a divorce. I started by shopping around truss manufacturers to see what they had for excess stock. What I found would determine the size of my new shop. I found 25 "room trusses," used for bonus rooms over garages, etc. Mine were 40 feet wide, perfect for my shop with the bonus of an attic upstairs. I used posts and beams to rest the trusses on, then leveled the ground and poured a slab between the posts. I found a good source for cypress nearby.

We had it sheathed in cypress, and I then added plenty of outlets and lights, although lights are rarely used in the daytime because of the acrylic skylights in the steel roof. I put 4 six foot by nine foot doors and a band of clear acrylic to add even more light. The workbench is 30 feet long and I use a rolling table for a lot of glue-ups. I have done construction all during my life but never had a shop or done much furniture making until after my divorce, and then mostly to keep what little sanity I had left. I'm mostly self taught but never shy away from a class. I make all types of projects and like to use heart pine. I'm starting to turn a lot of bowls from green wood.

I forgot to add that I got tired of emptying bags of sawdust and chips so I followed the advice of an old friend and started shooting the sawdust outside the shop wall. I give the sawdust to neighbors for mulch and dog pens.

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Tom can be reached via email at skarda@mindspring.com .


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