Q & A

What Type of Building Makes the Best Shop?

My wife and I have just bought a block and will be building a new house – as part of this will be the building of the “shed” – which is really a workshop as I am a very keen Woodworker (I have most of the toys!!). My question is – Leaving money aside “Is a brick or metal shed better – especially in regards to moisture, inside temperature (heating and cooling), noise etc”? Any other suggestions would also be appreciated – eg lining the structure, power needs, lighting, etc. I appreciate your expert opinion. - Ivan Banks

Chris Marshall: You're asking a question that would take many magazine articles or a whole chapter of a good shop-design book to answer adequately. If you haven't already done so, you might also want to ask this question to the good folks that frequent our forum on woodworking.com. Every woodworker with a shop will have a slightly different answer, so here's mine. I've never had a brick shop, but my last one was a metal pole barn (30 ft. x 40 ft.). I outfitted the interior with 2x6-framed walls and plenty of insulation. It stayed reasonably cool in the summer and warm in the winter, using a wall air conditioner and a 60,000 BTU furnace. Currently, I have a 24 ft. x 42 ft. garage space for my shop. It is framed conventionally with 2x6 walls and stick-built 2x10 rafters. I've only been in my new shop for about a year, but it is working just as well or better than my pole barn did, because the new shop has many large windows that let in lots more natural light. I've used 8-ft. fluorescent T8 light fixtures in both buildings with good success, and I ran both 110- and 220-volt outlets all around the room. The last shop had a plywood floor; the current one, a concrete slab. I thought I would notice a bigger difference between the two flooring types, in terms of how tired it makes my legs by the end of the day. But in all honesty, a good pair of supportive shoes seems to make the difference moot for me. Both types of buildings benefit from a dehumidifier during humid months (when I'm not running the A/C, that is) to keep the relative humidity low and my tools rust-free. If all things were equal, and money were no object, I would probably go with a conventionally framed wood building over the pole barn. It was easier to build that from scratch as opposed to retrofitting the pole barn framing with walls afterward. But, as I say, the next woodworker will probably offer you a completely different answer from mine. Good luck in your decision!<

Tim Inman: You don't say where you will be located, but if you are anywhere that gets cold I definitely have a suggestion. I've built three shop buildings over my years. In each one, I've put down 2-inch closed cell foam board underneath six inches of concrete for the floor. I would never build a shop -- or anything else, for that matter -- without this. The foam lets the concrete become a huge heat sink and warming stone. My feet are never ever cold when I work on this combination. The shop stays reasonably warm without spikes in the heat and cooling. The tools are more rust-free, and I like it.

Other than that, you can't have too much light -- especially north light! -- and you want accommodations for all the electricity you can imagine. Ceiling fans are a must. A good dust collection system is good, too. Don't forget to plumb in for compressed air. Do NOT use hard PVC water pipe for compressed air -- ever. If/when it breaks or ruptures, it explodes into tiny sharp glass-like shards. I know firsthand. I'll tell you about it some other time. Think balloon popping!

Best Paint for Birdhouses?

I've been asked by the family woodworker to paint & decorate his bird and butterfly houses. These projects are for outdoor use & obviously need a protective finish. What do you recommend to prevent the paint from peeling and the wood from rotting & cracking? Since I am a novice in this area, I'm looking for an easy and fast solution. Thank you. - Marilee Gilliland

Tim Inman: Well, they are birdhouses... Any good exterior paint should do the trick. Exterior floor paint is a great source of durable colors. I'd paint the outside only. Hang them for a few days to let the "new" smell go away before use.

Chris Marshall: I would go with a durable exterior latex primer, and topcoat that with latex enamel paint for your embellishments. A film-forming finish such as paint serves as a barrier against water and prevents UV sunlight from breaking down the wood fibers prematurely. Proper surface preparation with primer and paint should be all the projection the wood needs. If the paint is of good quality and is compatible with the primer, it shouldn't peel for many years to come.

How Do I Rout Arcs on a Wooden Ball?

I have turned an 8” diameter ball. I would like to router arc intersecting grooves on the surface using a 3/8” ball end router bit. I want the arcs to be about 5” to 6” long and intersect at the end of an arc going off in another direction. Here's a sketch illustrating the style of router lines that I would like to apply to the surface of the wooden ball with a router. I cannot "freehand" them, as I want the arcs nice and true as opposed to a wiggly line.

HOW CAN THIS BE DONE ACCURATELY ON THE SURFACE OF THE WOODEN BALL? - Howard Schroeder

Ernie Conover: Howard, I know of no way that this can be done in the average woodworking shop. I surmise that you may actually want the arcs to engage a follower and that they are cam faces? (i.e. this is a prototype.) If that is the kind of precision you need, then you need to take the ball to a machine shop with a multi-axis CNC machine. Even then, it may take a very sophisticated fixture. The curvature of the surface is the problem here, for you have to keep the router square to that -- no small problem. If it is strictly a design, I would probably carve the design with mallet driven V gouges, as I could fair a reasonably accurate curve. Layout then becomes the biggest problem. Again, the fixture to hold the ball would be the most problematic part of this operation.

Tim Inman: I'll make some assumptions to give you my answers. Is this a one-off project, or are you wanting to mass produce these? To cut really nice router-formed grooves or arches, you must make a template. The template must conform to the arch of the surface somehow. One way would be to cut the arches for the template on a flexible piece of material, then cut the template with relief cuts to allow it to form over the surface of a sphere. THEN, you have to figure out a "long-necked" template guide for your router -- or a router pendulum jig. Obviously, cutting inside the sphere is much more difficult than cutting on the outside.

If this is not a mass produced project, here's a better suggestion -- at least from my viewpoint. Draw the arches directly on the wood, or transfer them with heat from a photocopied piece of paper. Once the wood is clearly and accurately marked out, get a really good, sharp carving chisel and mallet. Cut the grooves by hand. I know, I know... But really, there are often times when a job can be done the old-fashioned way with good tools and a little skill, and the job can be done quicker than the time it takes to set up the power tools.

If it is a mass-produced project, then you're going to become an expert jig and fixture man -- and learn the trial and success process firsthand. Send us a picture when you get this done!