Show us your shop!

[Tyler]

I started a thread on another forum that seems a natural to start here as well: a show-us-your-shop thread. I am always intrigued by pipe makers' shops. When I see photos of them I scour the background and edges of the photo to find tools and ideas that might help with my pipe making pursuits. So lets all have a show and tell!

I'll start:

Let me mention that I make bamboo fly rods in addition to pipes, so some of the tools are for rod making.

Here's the "dirty work" area. This is the third bay of my garage.



This is the "clean room." Obviously, the term is a relative one. This is the man cave. I LOVE this room. It is off of the third bay of the garage (seen in the above photo). This room is insulated, and easy to climate control. One day soon I will duct it in to the HVAC of the house.



And here is my desk. You can see the corner of it in the above photo. Currently it is pipe-making/handyman mode. More often than not it is in sermon-writing mode. I like it in both modes.



If this thread generates some interest, I'm thinking I'll take some better and more thorough pics.

SO SHOW 'EM OFF!

[baweaverpipes]

Everything in my shop is proprietary! I'll show you not one thing, Tyler!

[Tyler]

Everything in my shop is proprietary! I'll show you not one thing, Tyler!

C'mon! Not even the shop dog?

[NathanA]

I would love to show off my shop except I don't have one. I have a small bench in the corner of my garage for my drill press and all the other tools I use I take outside to a rain-swollen, sun-warped table so I don't get briar dust on my wife's car. Man I wish I had gotten that third car garage.

From looking at websites, I am most jealous of TJ's shop. It looks to be only half workshop and the other half seems to be a hobbit-hole. It seems like you couldn't help but be inspired to make pipes in that environment.

Good thread, Tyler. I was hoping it would get more responses.

[Jos]

Ok, here's my shop - or the corner of my basement that serves as such. It's mostly dedicated to the rough works, the finer jobs I do up in my study ...




Please excuse the poor photography, my cell phone was the only camera at hand ...

Regards, Jens

[Tyler]

I would love to show off my shop except I don't have one. I have a small bench in the corner of my garage for my drill press and all the other tools I use I take outside to a rain-swollen, sun-warped table so I don't get briar dust on my wife's car. Man I wish I had gotten that third car garage.

From looking at websites, I am most jealous of TJ's shop. It looks to be only half workshop and the other half seems to be a hobbit-hole. It seems like you couldn't help but be inspired to make pipes in that environment.

Good thread, Tyler. I was hoping it would get more responses.

So where's the pic?

I bet there will eventually be a decent amount of participation. I started a thread like this in a bamboo rod making forum a few years ago, and it took awhile for guys to clean up the shop a little and take pics. A shop photo is not one most already have, so this thread will probably have a slow burning fuse for awhile. (I hope! C'mon guys!)

[KurtHuhn]

it took awhile for guys to clean up the shop a little and take pics.

Exactly.

My shop is a disaster, mostly because I can't be arsed to clean it on a regular basis when I have something to make or create. That said, it's been on my list of stuff to do for a couple weeks now.

[Philthy]

These are old, actually pre-pipemangling err.. I mean making (I think) so its primarily set up for knife making. Since then I have added a second buffer, a 12 inch sanding disc, a Jet wood lathe, and a beat up very old Jet milling machine. Oh yeah and maybe most importantly I actually ran wiring and installed fluorescent lighting every 4-5 feet-big difference.

The KMG belt grinder is used to rough shape, 12 inch disc to square blocks and peek at the grain. The bandsaw is barely adequate and will probably get replaced at some point. I had a 3' x 2' granite balance table that was wonderful for layout but it was a crap collector so I gave it to a friend.

If there is interest I can take pictures of the new layout.

http://www.philsmithknives.com/popups/shop1.htm
http://www.philsmithknives.com/popups/shop2.htm
http://www.philsmithknives.com/popups/shop3.htm
http://www.philsmithknives.com/popups/shop4.htm
http://www.philsmithknives.com/popups/shop7.htm
http://www.philsmithknives.com/popups/shop8.htm

[JMG]

This is my dad's shop. It's set up almost entirely for automotive and welding work, but this is where I do the bulk of my work when making a pipe.







Other than the drill press and a vice, this is the majority of what I use...don't laugh! A couple cheap rasp, square, level, handsaw (one day I'll have a bandsaw...one day) and a butt load of sand paper.

[sethile]

Great thread, Tyler, I love shop shots! First thing I look for when I visit a pipe maker's website. Here are a few photos from my workshop, with lots more here for die hards like me

I have a small bench in the corner of my garage for my drill press and all the other tools I use I take outside to a rain-swollen, sun-warped table so I don't get briar dust on my wife's car. Man I wish I had gotten that third car garage.

You let your wife park her car in your pipe shop? I think we've had a car in the garage for about 2 weeks in 32 years of marriage. Way too many fun things to do with garages to waist them on cars... Of course I do scrape a lot of snow and ice....

[mredmond]

This is a fun thread. I'll have to take some pictures this week. My space is very small...I share an 8 x 12 with my wife, who is a potter. It's nice working right next to her.

Scott, is that a piano turned into a workbench I see? Your shop has a very cozy, almost cottage like feel to it. Very nice.

Micah

[sethile]

...I share an 8 x 12 with my wife, who is a potter. It's nice working right next to her.

That does sound nice, Micah! My wife paints--I'm afraid all my dust would make a mess of her work! Sometimes she does come out and reads to me while I'm doing hand work, though. I love that!

Scott, is that a piano turned into a workbench I see? Your shop has a very cozy, almost cottage like feel to it. Very nice....

Thanks! I really enjoy spending time in my shop. Yes, that's an old torn apart upright... I'm a piano technician. This old piano has been in my shop for a while (long story). I was running out of space and decided to reclaim the space by using it for a workbench. It could still be put back into service as a piano, but it makes a much better work bench than it will ever make as a piano

[mredmond]

I think the repurposed piano is really great. The workbench itself inspires creativity, and reflects another passion...fantastic. Luckily, pottery is a little dusty at times, so she tolerates my mess as long as I don't get too out of hand. I make sure not to do any disc sanding when she is in the shop...

Micah

[Sasquatch]

Filth and darkness: my shop is all kinds of things, including the place we store camping gear, the place I store all the tools I use as a carpenter, the place I do cabinets and countertops and refinish furniture... etc. So pipes get this crappy little corner. To the right of this pic sits the sandblast cabinet, to the left, a larger drill press. I have a 1/30 belt sander on a counter somewhere too. The bandsaw has a nice little light on it which I can tilt down right over the lathe.

[jogilli]

Here is my shop.. it used to be a mother-in-law apartment in our basement.. needless to say it's temporary so mobility is key as when we move again the machinery has to be able to be fit into where I get some "james" space later.

Here is where I do all the fine work


Part of the shop.. the taken about metal on the side of the bench is an old singer sewing machine I'm working on to turn into a sanding machine. Not really wanting to invest is a variable speed motor I figured I could power it myself.. if it works I'm sure I could sell it as a new "core turning" device on one of those Infomercials in the states


where all the major work is done... I'm using two butcher blocks from Ikea as the work bench... works like a charm and takes up less space


This corner no longer looks like this..... as the vice is now on the right side and I have made a few blocks from leftover wood for filing mouthpieces. The block goes in the vice and I no longer have to bend over to file.. easier on the back.

[Charl]

Just love that chair of your's, Scott!

[TimGeorge]

Man, I love this thread, although it is quickly leading to shop envy. Mine is a converted storage outbuilding with, so far, no insulation. A little cold in the winter ... The first picture shows my chief assistant. His job is to get me out of the house, and he is really good at that.

[jogilli]

Just love that chair of your's, Scott!

Thanks... believe it or not the Chair and the Desk we headed to the dump, so I snagged them... hard to believe what some people just throw away..

[smokindawg]

This is the pictures I have of the shop I've been using. It finally got so crowded that if I wanted to do any work I had to move half the stuff in there. I used it for my pipe work, wood working and also my welding and mechanics tooling. It is a 10x16 with no insulation, but wired for 100amp and 220volts.
The building and addition for my air compressor and dust collector


Where the dust collector enters the building.


Here is my lathe and bandsaw, I've since added a Jet 9x20.


Buffing/sanding station. I set it up to be quick change.


Here it is crowded.


The new sanding disc.


The new to me Jet.



I've since moved into a new place in the country. I have a 20x30 shop with a 14' roll up door. I'm framing a section that will be 10x20 and will be insulated with heat and air. It will be dedicated to just pipe tools. The rest of the shop will be set up for my welding, mechanics and wood working tools such as table saw and such.
I'll be posting pictures of it as I progress thru the building of the room.

I'm looking forward to getting it finished and getting back to work on pipes.

[Sorringowl]

I would love to show off my shop except I don't have one. I have a small bench in the corner of my garage for my drill press and all the other tools I use I take outside to a rain-swollen, sun-warped table so I don't get briar dust on my wife's car. Man I wish I had gotten that third car garage.

Nathan, I have built many a fine piece of furniture (is that a sentence now?) on a rain-swollen, sun-warped table so don't be afraid to call it your "workbench."

Also, when in doubt, always get the third car garage. Always.

JMG, the outside of your workshop reminds me of a place that Dexter Morgan would use as a kill room. But I like what's on the inside!

Sethile, I think the award for "coolest workbench ever!" has to go to you for having the foresight to gut an upright piano and make it into a pipe making bench! Kudos, man. How can you not be creative working inside of a piano?

Smokindawg, your place is totally inadequate for making pipes. Why did you separate the air compressor and dust collection system? Are you under the impression (falsely, I might add) that pipe making is a quiet, contemplative pursuit? And, I'm not sure you're gonna' make any pipes of any kind of value or functionality with those two gigantic metal lathes. Good God, man, that Jet lathe looks brand new! Are you sure it even works??? (maybe I should check it out for you--I will pay for shipping and freight just to make sure it runs right for you, because, hey, that's the kind of guy I am). Also, the size of your shop is a ridiculous size for pipe making. There are families in other, poorer parts of the world (like where I live, literally) that can live comfortably in your shop and make pipes and there would even be room for a hobbit style lounge, ala Tim Johnson's place (Sorry Todd, ever since I found out Sas is really Todd and you are really Sas, I had to reinvent a name for you).
Also, your so called, separate, fancy "air compressor/dust collection" salon could double as a kill room, ala Dexter Morgan, in a pinch. But if you wanna' try and make pipes in there, well...go ahead and play your little games but you'll only end up like this guy.
P.S. there's a lot of clutter in there too, you might want to send it to me to sort through (along with that Jet lathe of course)

Very cool guys. Ok, I will have to clean up a little and post some pics. dammit....