Non-shop essentials?

[dhammis]

Greetings all,

I'm just getting into this hobby/vortex of woodturning and specifically penmaking and even though I'm pretty new with less than a dozen finished pens under my belt I'm noticing that I'm accumulating a lot of stuff.

Each time I make a pen it seems like I find a new thing that I want or can find useful to have for the shop.

My question to the more experienced members of the group is this though:

What non-shop items have you found essential to have in your shop?

I've found that a simple pair of scissors for cutting paper towel and sandpaper strips was incredibly handy, as is a sharpie for marking the blanks before cutting them. I also got an organizer to hold tools, pen/pencil kits, glue, finishing supplies, blanks, etc.

Looking forward to everyone's input. I have learned a lot from these forums so I appreciate everyone's advice.

 

[Fred]

A large counter-top arrangement. Electrical outlets every three feet or so and each on a separate circuit. A pencil sharpener. Pencils and lots of them. Paper and pads. Unbreakable storage jars. A small refrigerator. Shelves, shelves, and more shelves. Mobile tool carriers. BRIGHT lighting all over the place. Tall ceilings. Heater. Fans. A tool cabinet within reach of the most used device (lathe??) Rags, dust drags. A metal can with lid to dispose of used oily rags (Metal to prevent a possible fire). A broom. A vacuum cleaner to use with the broom ... gads the list goes on and on and on

 

[rherrell]

Toothpicks and Q-tips. I use toothpicks for applying small amounts of glue or epoxy or ANYTHING for that matter. Q-tips are great for cleaning the inside of tubes before final assembly.:wink:

Oh yeah, wax paper. I use it under anything that I glue up.

 

[robutacion]

A roll of good paper towels fixed to a wall on hung from the ceiling somewhere...!'
A box of later gloves for those messy jobs.
A good magnifier glass near the lathe.
A good fire extinguisher at the shed/ garage main entrance.
A small metal detector to find nails and screws in timbers you bring home (salvaged ones) and find those little metal "things" that tent to follow down into the floor, when it is full of shavings, etc., etc...!:biggrin:

Cheers
George

 

[LEAP]

a label maker that thing seems to get about as much use as the lathe tools sometimes and makes it a whole lot easier to remember which drawer you put everything else in.

 

[tim self]

A radio! It can get very lonely down there.

 

[JimB]

a phone is case you get hurt... and a first aid kit. A clock so I know when to stop and go eat something. An extendable magnet picker-upper so i can retrieve bushings I drop on the floor under the bench, rubber gloves (the kind used to wash dishes) to get a good grip on a pen when you need to dis-assemble it, a few very small jars I can put acetone in to soak bushings or dead/live centers in.

 

[Nate Davey]

I bought a sheet of white masonite from Lowes or the Depot. Cut it up and now have white boards all over the garage. I have one above the lathe I keep track of how many CA coats I'm currently on.

 

[bobjackson]

A place to store and organize sandpaper for easy access by grit.

 

[krc0604]

Clear boxes for your blanks. Storage boxes for you kits. Clip board for you instruction sheets.

 

[mredburn]

A computor with excell or any spread sheet software, autocad or other vector drawing software, solitare, and web access. Fully stocked wet bar.:biggrin:

 

[Pioneerpens]

wax paper, good for glueing over since it doesn't stick to it. rubber bands to keep your cut blanks together(mark them so you can realign your grain). cup for your pencils,markers,etc.

 

[bitshird]

A 30x40 ft shop to accommodate all the stuff you'll collect over a few years.

 

[jeffnreno]

A fridge full of Coors Light for when you have guests drop by and also to relax at the end of the day.

 

[randyrls]

A good magnifier glass near the lathe.

George; I have a cheap desk light with a magnifier built in. It is hinged and mounted behind the lathe. Good light and a magnifier to boot!

 

[shull]

xacto knives and coffee pot. I also have a block of wood that started out as an attempt at a bowl untill it blew off the lathe. Now it serves a an anvil when I need to convince a sticking part to behave.

 

[gaeast54]

a 1½" binder to hold your pictures of projects you have done and plans also.
a magazine rack would be nice.
about 2'ft of solid copper wire to place my call blanks on as they cure over night.

 

[Mac]

(Toaster oven)for clay.
(micowave) to dry wood and loosen hot glue.

 

[Gary Max]

If I had the space----a forklift would be great.

 

[mick]

Sharpies to mark blanks for cutting, Hole punch(I hang all my kits on a pegboard over my desk and most don't come with holes)and various other office supplies. I've even got a cheap dvd player hooked to the TV....I'll put an old movie in sometimes for background noise. Cell phone charger is a must, seems every time I get or have to make a call in the shop it starts going dead! I use a lot of the small plastic tray type bins for different things. They're especially helpful for things like transferring cut blanks from the saw to the lathe for drilling. Nothing like trying to carry a couple of dozen 2 inch pieces of wood across the shop and then dropping half of them :biggrin: