Ross Tieken’s workshop was featured in the Winter 2007 issue of Fine Woodworking, #195.

Tieken designed and built this shop to blend with the surrounding prairie.

He decided to use the footprint of his grandfather’s old cement works business. This locked him into a 2,500-sq.-ft. shop, so he had to be very cost conscious. To reduce costs, Tieken did the construction himself with help from family and friends, a process that took three years.

To keep ties to the history of the site, he salvaged as much lumber as possible from the original building. The rest (10-in.-wide cypress) was purchased rough and shiplapped by Tieken. All the windows were rescued from a scrap pile, and most of the machinery was purchased secondhand. Without heat, it’s too cold to work here for about three weeks each winter. In the summer, Tieken cools the shop with a large fan that used to cool a chicken house down the road.

Read more in Dream Shops.

Launch Gallery