Apartment & 'Spare room' Woodworking

[JayZeus]

There are more and more folks living in apartments these days than ever before. Many of us are woodworkers also, mixing a bit of work at home with another workplace when it's available or there's time to get to it for a few hours, so I was wondering if any here are doing the same? I keep all the 'valuable' and easily moved (read, steal-able) tools at home, bringing them to the workspace on an as needed basis, but manage to get bits and pieces done at home also whenever nobody is around to tell me to stop making a mess.

So who's doing the same? There must be some doing a bit in the utility room, the spare bedroom or in the conservatory and the like. How do you keep the mess and the complaints to a minimum? How do you go about storing stuff? What sorts of projects do you make and where do you keep parts and tools when you've to return the room to other use? What sort of creative ideas have you had for work surfaces, workpiece holding and how do you push the limits of what you can do in a small space?

[CelticRambler]

Sorry, JZ - no point asking me. I have loads of space and still end up making a mess in my living-and-using area.

But I'm getting better. A side-effect of a work-related "productivity" course I did a few years ago was to realise that I need to make a much greater effort to finish what I start within a defined timeframe, which means being clear about what it is I'm trying to do, making sure I have all the tools and materials needed before I start, and taking the time to prepare/protect the space in which I'll be working so that I don't end up making more work for myself.

For more complex projects, I'll break them down into self-contained elements, so - for example - do the cutting/shaping/fixing stage in one session, because that requires one set of tools, space and mental attitude; then the painting/staining session which is quite different.

And having as much equipment as possible organised into modular, portable groups means it's easier to take everything but only what I need to the work zone, and to tidy it up again afterwards. For the most part, I use those stackable carboard fruit containers, so I can literally build a pillar in the centre/corner of the room and know that e.g. the tape measure will be in the "marking and measuring" layer, or the stanley knife will be in the "cutting" box.

[JayZeus]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of modular storage options. I'll be moving into a new workshop much closer to home in September or maybe October, so in the meantime I've been relying on Systainers and Ikea Kallax grid bookcases. Keeps everything very neat and easy to grab what I want, load a cart and take it away.

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[kadman]

I remember back when I first got married back in the very early 80's we moved into a small attic flat.
And small is an understatement. I did a lot of furniture restoration in the little sitting room, window was only 1foot square.

It was all handwork, no powertools. But lots of shavings, lots of dust, and lots of mess. I dont know how hereelf stood for it,
but I was making money.

No problem now as I have a large workshop, but that means more mess. And her self has really learned what a messy bugger I still am

[CelticRambler]

Jayz, that's fierce posh! I might get to that stage in another twenty or thirty years.

[490808]

If you put fancy boxes in a more ramshackle environment then thats how a lot of my tools are stored.

The big problem is I can spend more time finding a tool, getting it out and cleaning it after using it than I spend working

[JayZeus]

Yeah, it's only looking as clean as that because it has to be, to keep the wife on side. When I'm making something, it quickly turns into a heap of stuff all over the place. I'll be glad to have my own workshop again soon so I don't always have to clean and tidy at the end of a few hours making dust.

[490808]

Don't I see a very expensive vacuum cleaner in with that kit?

[JayZeus]

As just a vacuum cleaner, it's very expensive. As a compact dust extractor with superb filtration, it's invaluable.

I mean more the inevitable clutter, tools and crap everywhere while I'm busy making something and not thinking about how much of a mess I'll have to clean up, stuff to sort and pack away etc.

[CelticRambler]

... and not thinking about how much of a mess I'll have to clean up, stuff to sort and pack away etc.

Again with the caveat "do what I say, not what I do!" that seems to be the key - to get in the habit of thinking about what comes next/after. It's been an awful struggle for me, but I'm slowly (very slowly) training myself to think of that end of the job before I start and all the way through. So even if I don't always bring an actual box for the "might come in useful" offcuts into the work zone, I'll at least nominate a corner where they get thrown as and when they're off-cut. Ditto for the packing away - maybe not actually packing away but at least putting things in a packing-away line, even when I know I'll be using them again in ten minutes.

It sounds inefficient, but I have had to accept (reluctantly, because it's not at all in my nature) that the half a minute spent putting the sander/square/drill-bit/pencil back in its temporary proper place and another half-minute getting it out again is more than made up for by not spending ten minutes looking for it under the off-cuts (when it is, in fact beside the computer in the other room ... ) and time saved again when it comes to clearing up. Also, if there are any mumblings from the co-habitants, it's a lot easier to point at a pile of won't-ever-come-in-useful off-cuts and say "that's all for the fire, would you mind bringing me the basket ..."

[kadman]

Again with the caveat "do what I say, not what I do!" that seems to be the key - to get in the habit of thinking about what comes next/after. It's been an awful struggle for me, but I'm slowly (very slowly) training myself to think of that end of the job before I start and all the way through. So even if I don't always bring an actual box for the "might come in useful" offcuts into the work zone, I'll at least nominate a corner where they get thrown as and when they're off-cut. Ditto for the packing away - maybe not actually packing away but at least putting things in a packing-away line, even when I know I'll be using them again in ten minutes.

It sounds inefficient, but I have had to accept (reluctantly, because it's not at all in my nature) that the half a minute spent putting the sander/square/drill-bit/pencil back in its temporary proper place and another half-minute getting it out again is more than made up for by not spending ten minutes looking for it under the off-cuts (when it is, in fact beside the computer in the other room ... ) and time saved again when it comes to clearing up. Also, if there are any mumblings from the co-habitants, it's a lot easier to point at a pile of won't-ever-come-in-useful off-cuts and say "that's all for the fire, would you mind bringing me the basket ..."

Sounds like bribery to me. Step up man and tell her who the boss is............then run

[kadman]

I think the fervor of starting a new project, sometimes makes us lose focus of the monotonous jobs that need to be done on the journey. And then the ongoing challenges and triumphs completely obliterate our good intentions of keeping the place tidy, which soon turns into....who put that there,was it me.
And i don't think workshop space changes any of that, it doesn't in my case. It just gives me an opportunity to build bigger piles of rubbish, that I occasionally look at from an ever increasing distance from it, as it expands, and think....I must deal with that, and then immediately think, right whats next to do here.

[JayZeus]

All agreed.

The only difference is, sometimes it's nice to be able to finish what you're doing, leave the mess for the night, turn off the light and close the door.

Without any damned nagging for doing so.

[kadman]

All agreed.

The only difference is, sometimes it's nice to be able to finish what you're doing, leave the mess for the night, turn off the light and close the door.

Without any damned nagging for doing so.

I cant argue with that.....but she could

[kadman]

One of the best timbers for visual effect has to be yew.

Its difficult enough to get in large dimensions, but any shaped piece can be made into a thing of beauty.
Here is a piece that I made for my sons new apartment. Now he wants more

Pattern is magical.