The Shop. How it came to be.

The shop.

A simple name...and that's what I call it. I don't know when it began life, but the Shop existed for many years as a 12-foot by 14-foot garden shed. It was used to store the various bits and pieces of yard maintenance items and simply existed.

I decided in the summer of 1998 to tear the shed down -- the siding was in disrepair, the roof leaked and the wooden footings were rotten. My plan was to purchase a pre-built 'barn' and sit it where the shed used to stand. After tearing the siding off, my neighbor, Joe (an unknown quantity at the time) poked his head over the fence and suggested simply remodeling using the existing 2x4 frame.

At the time, Joe was in bad health and offered to lend his knowledge as long as I did the work. So he sat (mostly) beneath the prune tree and told me what needed to be done. We added an 8-foot x 10-foot "ell" off of the main building, wired the electricity, added insulation, windows and sheetrock. At the time, I thought I'd use it only for woodcarving and was quite happy with the size of the shop (as I'd come to think of it). Using the new 'ell' for garden storage freed up the 12x14 area for plenty of space.

Then....of course, I had to buy a bandsaw for roughing out carving. And I already had a drill press and various other shop machines I moved in. Over the years I've added a full-sized Jet table saw, joiner, jig saw, radial arm saw, sander, et cetera...et cetera. And the shop has shrunk from the glorious vastness....to a labyrinth of wood and machines.

But....I built it. And in that I have pride. And I gained a new friend in my neighbor that was a good friendship until he passed away in 2003. So, the Shop is more than just a building - it has become a symbol of what one can do with hard work, friendship and a few thousand dollars. And I made my livelihood from the shop for a few interesting years -- building everything from beds to benches to adirondack chairs. All things I had never even considered I might ever create.

One never knows the future...and the Shop has taught me this. And in that magical nexus of the Shop....all things are possible.