In 1982 I built this workshop with some help from my father-in-law.  This was my first building project and I lacked the self confidence to pour a slab so I built this up on creosote pilings.  This would be a good time to mention that the southeast corner has sunk at least six inches.

Originally the shop had a shingle roof with three custom skylights on the south side.  Of course, after a time, they began to leak but surprisingly, one never broke.  Later, when we replaced the roof on our house, I had the roofers tear off the shingles and decking from the shop and replace all that with a Beautilite type roof (which now leaks somewhat).

At first, the shop was used for storage and as a garage for a 16 HP diesel farm tractor (which fell through the floor when I first backed it in).  Within a year I built a two storied barn on a slab behind the shop and was able to move all the storage items into the attic upstairs and convert the shop to a full-fledged workshop.

I put up insulation and drywall to help keep me warm when I worked out there during the winter days.  I built a workbench that wrapped around three sides complete with drawers and storage shelves underneath.

While I was building, constructing and designing furniture I kept the shop quite neat and functional.  When I quit smoking tobacco in 1992 I totally gave up woodworking, having lost all interest in it without having the joy of sitting back with a smoke to admire my work or consider the next cut.

Things then got messy and stayed that way for quite a few years until this year, when I decided to clean the place up and make it functional again, not so much as a woodworking shop, but just a workshop.  It took several days but just yesterday I called the job complete.

Now I have to go clean out the barn…and the tractor shed… and my desk…the list goes on.

Nevertheless, I’m very glad to get that done.