Making My Dream Woodshop - First Look
I am still in shock with how my life has transformed the last few years. Especially since this March. Even more so in the last two weeks (more on that in a minute). Some of you know I had spent the last 10 years as a helicopter pilot. I spent years acquiring the experience necessary to fly for a Pacific Northwest air ambulance company, my dream job. Or so I thought. During the last five years as an helicopter EMS pilot I had a lot of scheduled time off. So to fill my time I started woodworking. I’ll spare you the entire story (check out my backstory here if you are interested), but the side hustle that I started in order to buy a few more tools, slowly turned into a real company. And as it turns out, my real dream job.
This March I quit my job as a pilot and went full time with Blacktail Studio. It has been a crazy transition, I’ve never worked longer hours in my life, and I’ve never been happier. My wife and I decided that me quitting my career wasn’t enough excitement in the uncertainty of 2020, so we decided to add a new (to us, it was built in 1975) house to the mix too. Not just a house, but a house with a detached shop. Something I have always wanted. But since going full time, something I genuinely need. The shop is great, but will take a lot of work to make it right for me. I plan on making a series of Youtube videos, as well as this blog, sharing the process of what I am doing, what I plan to do, and probably questions for you people who may already have the solution to my problem!
First Look
Basically an RV garage for now.
So what I am I working with? It is essentially an RV garage with a small work station. It has a total of 1300 sq/ft on the main floor, with a nice upstairs storage area that could potentially be a (low ceiling) office. Standard concrete slab foundation/floors. Fairly small 70 amp electrical panel with a few 220 circuits already in. Wood stove for the winter months. Two large doors, one 12' and one 14’. In addition to a standard door. There is also a decent amount of windows that add some natural light.
We are thrilled with the property the house and shop sit on. We are essentially in the middle of a Portland suburb, but the lot is over two acres. Which is extraordinarily rare this close to the city. For those of you reading this in eastern Idaho where can buy an acre for $10,000, you would not be impressed. However, if you are shopping downtown San Francisco, you would hate us.
The land has a ton of trees. Several Doug Fir over 100’ tall, one large Sequoia out front, and a few dozen deciduous trees I’ll probably be threatening to cut down as soon as they dump their leaves on my lawn/walkway/driveway/everywhere this fall. The property in itself will be daunting to maintain. But I am excited for all of it.
Potential expansion?
My wife of all people first pointed out that there is even room for expanding the shop (someday). The back wall could potentially be taken back another 20-25’. Which would get me to 2000-2300 sq/ft. Which should be good enough to last a one man shop for a while. This won’t happen for a year or more anyway, if it happens at all. I need to first show my wife that I can fill 1300 sq/ft. Which definitely won’t be a problem.
I will be doing a mini expansion pretty soon though. I fell in love with having my dust collector and air compressor in the attached shed at my old house. So I will be mimicking that addition on my new shop. Hopefully in the next month even.
so whats next/first?
Stuff is now piled in the middle of the new workshop. The work begins.
I need to get all my tools, wood, and junk to the new shop first. That will be a process in itself. Then just the slow process of unpacking, organizing, painting, and everything I haven’t even considered yet.