Hello Fellow Woodworkers!
I have been doing woodworking as a hobby for almost 25 years (since I was 14). I subscribe to FWW magazine and enjoy it. I am curious as to whether any of you out there live in one place and have a woodshop in a location apart from your home.
Since I do not own my home here in Florida (can’t afford it) I maintain a woodworking shop in an old 1930s Southern Railway combination baggage and Railway Post Office car. The current shop measures about 30′ x 10′ and is located in an active railroad yard. I use the shop as I am responsible for constructing all the cab windows, doors, and interior panaleing for the restoration of steam locomotive #253. This locomotive was bulit in 1924 for the Florida East Coast Railway. If I owned property here in South Florida, I probably would have no money avaiable to do woodworking at all. The president of our railroad restoration crew has been very generous in providing me the space for the woodshop. In the future, I plan to improve the shop by moving it into a 50′ boxcar. This boxcar will have wood planking on the interior so I can hang all sorts of toolboards and cabinets. Looking forward to that. Next project will be the custom woodwork for our caboose. Railroads and Woodworking together – is that great!
Tell me, do you have shops in trailers, converted school buses, railroad cars, apartments? I’d like to hear what creative ideas some of you have.
Replies
Hi,
This sounds like a great place to work; very creative use of space. I used to do custom painting on bicycle frames for customers, shows and magazine spreads. We built a spray booth first in my back room, then my basement, then in the back of the bicycle shop. However, I always thought the ideal place would be in an old trailer or large moving van. The space is long and narrow, ideal for the flow of fumes. The box is already done, just line the inside with sanding and prep stations, benches, shelving, the booth and the exhaust fans. If I had to relocate, bring the shop along too.
Enjoy. I would love to see photos of the shop and the steam locomotive.
Regards,
Lawrie
Hi Steam Train .... A group of us are restoring a small lighthouse and we are almost up to the wood moldings and trim for the windows and doors. We will set up a temporary shop in the lighthouse main room as the bedroom is too small. The baseboard is about 10" in height and consists of three pieces. 6 doors, 6 windows, beadboard wainscott molding and finally picture molding around the two main rooms. The fun part is there is no electricity or running water. We bring a generator out with us and water comes in five gallon bottles filled at the nearest dock. Last year we finally installed a chemical toilet so that problem is taken care of.
Visit us at www. huntingtonlighthouse.org. I'm the guy wearing suspenders. One of the OLD pictures show the outhouse hanging over the edge of the island. Yes, we have the original plans but we won't be (re)building the 'two-holer' as both the EPA and the harbor patrol takes a dim view of its use.
SawdustSteve
Steve, Cool project. Thanks for being one of those great citizens that keeps such a fine part of our history from fading into nonexistence. Keep up the good work.Next time you get together out there to work. Shake all or the guys hand and pat them on the back for me. You can give all of those women a hug though. Tell them that it is vicariously from me, however you will be the one getting the hug, so that will be your reward. You should all feel good about the work you are doing out there. Thanks again, Keith
old 1930s Southern Railway combination baggage and Railway Post Office car..
That's about as 'cool' as it gets... Sounds nice...
Railway Post Office car.. Then do you have your 'good' planes in the postal safe?
I used to work with an older carpenter that was from Jamaica. He was ready to retire and move back home.He bought two used shipping containers for his shop,I have no idea what they cost him. We corresponded for several years after he moved, the containers were set on a pier foundation with a crane. It took him 10 days to cut in doors,windows ,electric etc.His shop was ready in quick order.Must be a hell of a racket when it rained.
mike
older carpenter that was from Jamaica..
I knew one here in Chicago...
He was somethin'! I could listen to him talk for hours!
How did he use a handsaw, the fellow I worked with held the saw with the teeth away from him and almost vertically. He could saw faster than I could even though I was 25 years younger. He ripped or crosscut the same way, we were the only carpenters to carry a rip saw in our tool boxes.
mike
rip saw ?? What is that? LOL
A woodshop in a railroad car? That'll be handy if you ever have to move (assuming you find a disused siding or something to park it on). Or, if you want to order some large piece of machinery, you could send them your entire shop and have them install it and send it back. :-)
Put all your PTs on roller stands. For assembly, buy a bunch of 3/0 hollow-core Luan doors, hit'em with some poly or lacquer, set'em on folding saw-horses. When you're through, pop the glue off, lean'em up a corner with the folding horses. Have a roll-away run-out table for your saw. I use all these 5 days a week.
HAY! 2 inch ridig Foam insulation MUCH cheaper! Last forever!
How big are the sheets? Can it support as much weight as the HC doors? Might want to try it, as long as it doesn't blow out of the truck.
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