When I lived in Texas, I had a Two Car Shop. My wife had an annoying habit of calling it the Garage.

Two Car Shop

My Two Car Shop

I made a lot of sawdust here, wrecked a lot of good wood, and had an ongoing racket that just made me happy. Occasionally I actually made furniture here, too.

Somewhere in the middle of a bajillion projects, I moved to New Hampshire.

Some of the tools have changed since I lived in Texas, and others are going to be. I've picked up an old ARN habit, and that makes things interesting.

I have a few tools messing up the place, and otherwise generally scattered about. The pawn shops in Texas were good to me, and craigslist has been as well.

So, that begs the question: What have I got? Well... Lots of stuff.

In service at the moment, I've got:

  • DeWalt MBF radial arm saw
  • Delta 6" jointer from the late 40s.
  • Walker Turner DP900 15" drill press
  • Late model Delta Lunchbox Screamer 12 1/2" planer
  • Craftsman 40's era shaper
  • Ho'made router table for PC 690 routers
  • Craftsman King Seeley 12" bandsaw

In the pipeline, I've got several other interesting bits of machinery:

  • Walker Turner 16" bandsaw
  • Parks 12" planer from the late 50s
  • DeWalt GWI radial arm saw
  • Craftsman 6" planer/molder
  • Craftsman/Atlas 9" wood lathe

Also on the project list are a few machines I don't plan to use as part of the main shop:

  • Delta 10" bandsaw from the early 50s
  • Walker Turner 14" bandsaw
  • A 5" swing lathe of unknown manufacture
  • DeWalt 925 radial arm saw

I've also got a Goodell Pratt #494 lathe, which I plan to have operational, but set up for very occasional use, as it's a nifty but very old lathe.

A LegSome More Texas Pics

The lumber rack was built it to accomodate a nice one time purchase of about 600 board feet of lumber. I've been using the lumber, but only parts of the lumber rack in the current shop.

Again, you get a nice shot of the coolest tool I own, the DeWalt MBF radial arm saw. Please note the hearing protection hanging right there on the saw... I've since upgraded the table to a Mr. Sawdust table, and it's really made for a better sawing experience.

I don't own that table saw any more. I just didn't use it, so I chose to sell it rather than move it.

Getting back to the lumber racks, the beams are 2x4s glued and nailed together with mortises built rather than chopped into the beams. The shelves are 2x6s with the cleats glued and nailed to the sides. I've used 6 5/16x6 lag bolts on each beam to hold it to the stud wall. I predrilled all the holes. The shelves are held in with a single 5/16 carriage bolt. It held up pretty well.

Dovetail JoyHere'sa shot of a little pegboard full of other tools. I've graduated to a bigger pegboard that's a little more crowded. The plan is to go to cabinets with dessicant packs in them. So far I've built a saw till. Next will be a cabinet for the hand planes, followed by a cabinet for all the measurement and layout tools. After that, well... Everything wants a box or cabinet...

The little jointer is a late sixties model Delta-Rockwell 4" jointer that I found on eBay. I polished and waxed the surfaces, and was very happy with it for some time. That jointer is now living happily with another friend who lives in southeastern Massachusetts.

Here's another shot of the DeWalt. I know a lot of people aren't fans of the radial arm saw. I am. I think the big reason that most people aren't fans of this tool is because they've used a crappy one, they've had no instruction using a radial arm saw, or both. On the other hand, using a good radial arm saw after a little instruction is (or a lot, in my case) a pseudoreligious experience in woodworking.

I could (and actually do) rant and rave about my little MBF, which the late Wally Kunkel says is one of the best power tools ever made, for hours, if not days. If you go to the Mr. Sawdust website, you'll find a teaser chapter for his book. It's pretty cool, if for nothing other than the history that he presents...

Copyright 2001 Sean Slattery All rights reserved. If you steal this stuff you must be in serious need of a life. Go get one. Compliments accepted gracefully, suggestions tolerated, complainers should just be quiet.