Introduction

[WildcatsPhan]

I didn't see a forum to introduce myself so I thought I would provide a quick intro and say hi.  I am Glenn and I live in Lexington, KY.  I have loved DIY projects as long as I can remember.  From sheds to ceramic tile work to house wiring and plumbing and on to all sorts of wood working projects.  When we remodeled our house I put in a wall of floor to ceiling shelving that's 23' long.

But I've never had anything more than a rough built project workbench and tabletop tools.  I'm thinking about retirement and will need to do something to augment a meager income or forget about retiring until I am in my 70s.  They say retirement is more satisfying if you do something you love.  So I've decided to turn my garage into the workshop I've always wanted and start doing what I enjoy.  (Unless I can make golf turn a profit...  naaaaa)

My first task is to empty out my very messy garage then spend some time planning and building a shop.  I have set back enough money for essential tools.  As long as I am economical and take my time I think I can manage.  Of course my first goal is to build all of the cabinets, tables and racks I need for storage and project work.  It is a large 2-car garage.  My only limitation is to give my wife room to park her jeep in the garage when I'm not working.  So I need to be able to have a plan that allows me to store the cabinets and tools out of the way when I'm not using them and easily spread it out when I am.  I have about 8 feet at the end of the garage to use and still get her jeep wrangler in.  But I wouldn't want to have more than 5' used that is permanent.

I am very open to suggestions for plans for mobile tool cabinets and work tables and the tools to acquire.  The big thing is to get quality equipment at a decent price.  I'm not opposed to purchasing good used or more "value" tools and upgrade as I learn.  I currently have a small bench-top table saw and and some hand power tools.  They definitely not of the quality needed for serious woodworking.  I'll be browsing all the forums and asking questions about tools and shop setups.

So I'm glad to be here and am looking forward to meeting the good people of Woodnet and other forums.

[Arlin Eastman]

Glenn

Well I am glad to be the first one to say "Welcome"  I am not much on flat woodworking but me and the other vets do the best we can, however, I mostly do woodturning which I enjoy a lot.   If you wish to learn woodturning as well please go to the turning forum.

[Hank Knight]

Hello and welcome Cats Fan. I hope you enjoy retirement as much was I have. I tell people I wish I'd retired 20 years earlier! You live in a great city. My whole family are (is?) Centre College grads and my son-in-law is from Frankfort, so we know Lexington well. You have an interesting and fun task ahead of you: building a workshop virtually from scratch. My basement shop is the result of 50+ years of evolution and there are still things I'd like to change about it. Here are several pieces of advice:

1. Start and "idea collection." A lot of smart woodworkers have figured out and published clever ways to do things. You can take advantage of this and save yourself a lot of time, money and frustration. Read everything you can get your hands on about workshops and save ideas that appeal to you. Woodworking magazines are always a good source of workshop ideas, and there are a number of good workshop books out there. The Internet is a great source of ideas. A good one is Pinterest, a photo web site that catalogs photographs by subject matter. It has several workshop and woodworking categories with thousands of photos. Most of the photos have a link that takes you to the article in which the photo originally appeared. When you sign up for Pinterest (it's free) you get your own "home page" and the ability to save photos that interest you. Lots of ideas there. You can literally spend hours browsing and reading articles. If you're not already familiar with Pinterest, I recommend it. When you get around to putting your shop together, go through your idea collection and use the ones that work for you and your space.

2. Be flexible. As I mentioned above, my workshop has undergone many reorganizations and iterations. Acquisition of new tools and machines usually forces a reorganization, and working in the shop often brings about the realization that a different configuration would be more efficient and user friendly. When you nail stuff down permanently, reorganization is difficult.

3. Build yourself a decent workbench. My workbench is the center of my shop. I worked for many years on a make-do bench. I finally bit the bullet and built myself a serious woodworking bench with good vises. It is the best investment of time and money I've ever made for my woodworking hobby.

4. Have fun. Both your retirement and your woodworking will be adventures to enjoy.

Hank

[Admiral]

Welcome to the forum, you'll find some good advice here from folks that have garage shops (mine is basement).  You sound power tool oriented, but don't forget about hand tools!! 

[Cecil]

I didn't see a forum to introduce myself so I thought I would provide a quick intro and say hi.  I am Glenn and I live in Lexington, KY.  I have loved DIY projects as long as I can remember.  From sheds to ceramic tile work to house wiring and plumbing and on to all sorts of wood working projects.  When we remodeled our house I put in a wall of floor to ceiling shelving that's 23' long.

But I've never had anything more than a rough built project workbench and tabletop tools.  I'm thinking about retirement and will need to do something to augment a meager income or forget about retiring until I am in my 70s.  They say retirement is more satisfying if you do something you love.  So I've decided to turn my garage into the workshop I've always wanted and start doing what I enjoy.  (Unless I can make golf turn a profit...  naaaaa)

My first task is to empty out my very messy garage then spend some time planning and building a shop.  I have set back enough money for essential tools.  As long as I am economical and take my time I think I can manage.  Of course my first goal is to build all of the cabinets, tables and racks I need for storage and project work.  It is a large 2-car garage.  My only limitation is to give my wife room to park her jeep in the garage when I'm not working.  So I need to be able to have a plan that allows me to store the cabinets and tools out of the way when I'm not using them and easily spread it out when I am.  I have about 8 feet at the end of the garage to use and still get her jeep wrangler in.  But I wouldn't want to have more than 5' used that is permanent.

I am very open to suggestions for plans for mobile tool cabinets and work tables and the tools to acquire.  The big thing is to get quality equipment at a decent price.  I'm not opposed to purchasing good used or more "value" tools and upgrade as I learn.  I currently have a small bench-top table saw and and some hand power tools.  They definitely not of the quality needed for serious woodworking.  I'll be browsing all the forums and asking questions about tools and shop setups.

So I'm glad to be here and am looking forward to meeting the good people of Woodnet and other forums.

My Neighbor did that.  He is far from retired.  He found a niche which needed filled and the orders are piling in.  I have heard of others who went broke trying.  If something is not working, make a switch.  

Welcome to the forum and I wish you the best.

[fredhargis]

Welcome to the club. There is no end to people trying to help you spend money around here so don't be shy asking questions. I've been retired 15 years (got early out at age 54) and now I don't know how I had time to work.

[Bill Holt]

Welcome aboard.

Sounds like you have a reasonable plan.  You will learn a lot by building your cabinets and workbench.  Buying good used tools is smart, I think.  All of my major tools are Jet brand and came through Craig's List.  Learn to work with what you have then add and replace as the need presents itself.

[dg152]

Allow me to add my welcome to this forum and your eventual retirement - something I highly recommend!

As others have suggested, craigslist could become your best friend. I can't speak for the Lexington craigslist, but the Nashville craigslist is usually full of some pretty good tools. I've purchased a fair number of things used. It's a good way to save money for the things you need and things you might need.

I'm lucky to have a dedicated shop. My favorite wife suggested that our contractor build one before we moved here 9 years ago. At that time the house building business was in the dumps so he told us if we bought the house he'd build a 2-car detached garage with a walk up attic. So, for an extra $15 grand I got a 24 x 24 shop.

Wood Magazine did a series of articles a few months ago detailing how to get into woodworking on a budget. Over a period of a year they started at ground zero suggesting which tools to buy and what things to build to equip your shop. You may want to go to your local library or simply order Wood's thumb drive loaded with all the issues they've ever published.

Speaking of magazines, there's 2 I regularly subscribe to: Wood Magazine and Woodsmith. As you explore the wood forums you'll see there's a wide variety of opinions when it comes to magazines. Wood and Woodsmith are geared directly at beginners and mid-level woodworkers. I always find good stuff in every issue.

As others have said, there are lots of things to spend your money on. The real skill is determining exactly the tools you need then finding it at a good price. Over the years I've bought stuff that I wish I'd bought years before (my chop saw, for example) and things I thought I'd need but have yet to use. In every case I've tried to buy the best tool for the money. Someone once said "Buy a good tool, you cry once. Buy a cheap tool, you cry every time you use it."

Have fun. It's a terrific hobby which can be addicting!

[BloomingtonMike]

Welcome to the group!

I always like looking at the woodsmith and (now out of circulation shopnotes) small shop publications for some cool ideas.  They tend to have several smaller portable ideas many times.

I am also a fan of buying quality equipment. That quality bar is all over the place for many folks here. If it is made and for woodworking someone here prob has a few of them.

[AHill]

Welcome to the forum!  My dad's side of the family is from South Central KY.  My aunt and uncle retired to Lexington.  Beautiful country.  My dad had an uncle - a hillbilly - who would make furniture by hand without nails or glue.  Just wedges.  He used to have a children's rocking chair he made, but he sold or gave it away years ago.  When you lived out in the sticks, you pretty much made everything yourself.  My great aunts and uncles tell me that when my great grandfather died, the men made his casket with wood found right there on the farm.  There's a family burial plot on the farm.