Welcome to the first Shop Diary. This is where I’ll show you the workshop as it really is, mess and all, and how it slowly turns into a space where I can actually build things. No polished before-and-after magic here. Just honest progress from my shop.
Where it started
Let me be straight with you. This is what my workshop looked like. Tools, cords, sawdust and offcuts everywhere. The table saw parked in the middle of the floor, and my Ryobi mitre saw and vice on the bench under a thick layer of dust. You can just see the black and white checkered floor and the orange drawer cabinet, if you look past the chaos.
In the video I asked a simple question:
Have you ever had your workshop looking in a big mess and as terrible and disastrous as this? Yes, that’s what you call a disaster.
And I meant it. There’s no ways you can work or build a thing in that type of environment. You spend more time looking for a pencil than cutting wood. But that’s also how far it’s come, and I want to take it to the next level.
Where it’s going
Here’s a look at the shop now. It’s not finished. To be honest, it’s still a mess in places, and I’m busy rebuilding and organising as I go. But you can see the direction it’s heading.
New shelving is going up, so things finally have a place off the floor and off the bench.
The power tool cases are lined up on white shelves, so I can see what I’ve got and grab it without digging.
And the orange numbered drawer cabinet is still the heart of the small stuff: screws, bits and all those little things that disappear the moment you need them.
What’s next
This is a work in progress, and I’ll keep sharing it as it happens. In the next Shop Diary posts I’ll show more of the rebuild, what works, what doesn’t, and what I’d do differently. Watch out.
While you wait, have a look at the Tools Series. It’s the other series running here on Everything Wood, and the place to start if you’re kitting out your own shop.
Thanks for following along. See you in the shop.
