Episode 8 SHOW NOTES What Are You Doing!?

Everyday Woodworking Podcast Ep 8 

SHOW NOTES 

Setting Up A Small Shop – What Are You Doing? 

Welcome!

Hey everyone. I’m Ricky Fitzpatrick with Everyday Woodworking, your Podcast Home for tips, tricks and information on how to make the most of your woodworking time and money, every day. 

 

Well welcome back to the show. We are drilling down today, into  our new series on Setting Up A Small Shop. And today we look at What Are You Doing. Meaning…deciding what you’re going to be doing with your shop. 

And you may be thinking “I already know that” or “Why do you need to tell us that?” And if that’s you then I just want to remind you that you may be further along in your craft or your woodworking journey than someone else. 

We have listeners that range from seasoned pros to truly beginning hobbyist. So if you’re a little ways on down the road, just hang in there, and we’ll catch up shortly. 

 

A quick latest update on my Harbor Freight thickness planer…I got it! 

We picked it up at the end of last week and we’re already breaking it in. Man, I am stoked and I love it. 

We’ve already shot a “opening the box” video for our YouTube channel, so if you aren’t already subscribed to us, definitely head on over there and give it a look. 

 

Also, with Spring coming in like a freight train, our own woodworking business is shifting gears. The Spring always brings a whole new set of products that people are looking for. 

One of our biggest Spring items is our handmade Carpenter Bee Traps. You’ve probably seen a lot of variations on these in stores and online, and Apple Valley Farm has a version of our own. 

One sure sign that Spring has sprung here in the South is the appearance of the Carpenter Bee. Unfortunately, the Carpenter Bee can wreak havoc on your wood exterior around your home or shop, boring holes like there's no tomorrow! 

Our simple and affordable Carpenter Bee Trap will help you curb your carpenter bee population. And all without power, chemicals or dangerous side effects. Just hang it up and let it do the work. 

So, make sure you head over to our online store and grab a few for around the house. When you do, our listeners can use the code EVERYDAY to get 25% OFF our regular price. 

That’s discount code EVERYDAY for 25% OFF our regular retail price. 

 

Also, if you’ve watched or listened to us before, you know that I never record a show without having a cup of coffee in my hand. 

I try to give a shout out to some our favorite people by using a coffee mug with their company logo or favorite saying on it. 

Today, I’m using one of my favorite coffee cups, and this happens to be my Trump Cup that my wife and kids got for me! It’s truly amazing. One of the most amazing coffee cups I’ve ever seen…and I know a lot about great things. Because I’m very, very rich. 

But seriously, I’m using the Donald Trump mug not just because I like it, but also because I don’t have one from any other businesses for this week. 

Hey, if you have a business and you like what we do here, send us one of your branded coffee cups and we’ll use it here and tell everyone a little about what you do and how to find you. 

Our address is I the show notes, so check that out and send us your awesome coffee mug, today. 

 

Alright…Setting Up A Small Shop. What Are You Doing? 

As I said, this may be something you decided on, years earlier. But a lot of woodworkers are still finding their way. Still figuring out where to “set up shop”…pun totally intended. 

So before we start buying tools and pricing buildings, you need to know what you want to do. 

Now that can be a very easy question, or it could get really ugly. If you’re like me, you’re going to be tempted to go with the “rough” answer, which is going to sound something like: 

  • “I don’t know.” 
  • “This and that.” 
  • “Just piddling.” 
  • "A little bit of everything.” 

And hey, I get it. Unless you’re running a business, you might want your shop to be you place to letting your hair down and not really having a plan. And that’s cool. 

But narrowing down a general idea of what you’ll be dong with your shop, will help make it more productive, easier to use and much more of an enjoyment rather than a frustration. 

Now if you’re going to run a business, you obviously need to have a very specific idea of what you’ll be making. 

  • Cabinets 
  • Rustic Furniture 
  • Wooden Signs 
  • Children’s Toys 
  • Cutting Boards 
  • Turned Bowls or Pens 

The more narrow your focus, the better you can lay your shop out. 

If you’re doing this as a hobby, then you’ll still want to try to define what you’ll want to do. Generally speaking. 

  • Things for the house 
  • Handmade gifts for the Holidays 
  • Toys and Gifts for the grandkids 
  • Cigar Boxes 
  • Yard Art 

Again, the list could go on and on. And you can see, you don’t have to be specific. Just get the ball rolling. 

 

“Why does it matter?” 

Well let’s say you just start clearing a space or building a building that’s about the size most guys have for a shop. And you buy the tools that most of your friends have. And you set it up, like some magazine said you should. 

When you’re done, you’ll probably have a really cool space, that’s most likely going to prove that it need to at least be rearranged after the first week, because it just doesn’t fit your workflow. Or you’ll be cramped because you don’t have the room to add that planer in you’re going to need for your first project. 

It just pays to think ahead and have a rough idea of where you’re going. That way, you’ll greatly increase your chances of being happy, efficient and organized. 

If you know you’re really interested in turning some bowls, then a table saw might not be the most obvious choice for your main tool. You’ll want to dedicate space and planning to your lathe. 

If you want to make those scroll work door signs that everyone loves, then your CNC or scroll saw needs to get the bulk of your attention. 

If cutting boards are your thing, then you’ll want to ensure you plan for a lot of real estate for your glue up and finishing station. 

Again, not to beat a dead horse, but the more closely you  can narrow your focus, the happier you’ll be in your new favorite space. 

Don’t get me wrong, there will always be changes and evolutions and reasons to redo, rethink or rearrange. But knowing your direction will also help you be better prepared to handle those things when they come up. 

 

Alright. That’s it for “What Are You Doing”. I hope this helps get you started on our path to setting up your small shop. 

Be sure to come back next week where we’ll take a look at Knowing and Making the Most of Your Budget. Because unless you’re Elon Musk, you’ve probably got a budget for your small shop, and if you don’t manage it well, you’ll wind up half done and out of money. 

Hey, if you have questions or comments about anything you’ve heard today, then definitely let me know what you think. I’m always looking for great questions! 

One last thing…if you enjoyed this episode, please take a second and leave us a great review. And, wherever you’re listening, we would love it if you subscribed to our podcast and became a regular listener. 

Also, if you’re watching us on YouTube, then obviously we post a video of each Podcast Episode on our Apple Valley Farm (our woodworking business) YouTube Channel. Definitely like, comment and subscribe to us there as well. 

And finally, if you’d like to learn even more about us, you can check out the show notes and head over to www.applevalleyfarmga.com for things like our store, our woodworking projects and lots, lots more. 

That’s it. Have a great day. Thanks again. And I’ll see you next time…on Everyday Woodworking. 

Apple Valley Farm – http://applevalleyfarmga.com/ 

Apple Valley Farm Carpenter Bee Traps - http://applevalleyfarmga.com/product/556860 

Apple Valley Farm YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/AppleValleyFarmGA 

Everyday Woodworking on Anchor.com - https://anchor.fm/everydaywoodworking 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AppleValleyFarmGA 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/applevalleyfarmga 

We also couldn’t make the Everyday Woodworking podcast happen without a LOT of help from our friends behind the scenes. 

Thanks to the folks at https://www.online-convert.com/ for helping us convert our files into the formats we need. 

And Infinite thanks to the Audacity family. For helping us put it all together in the greatest audio production software on the planet. - https://www.audacityteam.org/ 

(The music we use here on EW comes to us courtesy of our friends at Purple Planet Music. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com )

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