Floored!

There is finally a floor to stand on!  I amazed myself at calculating the number of T&G sheets needed fairly accurately, although I did have a handful of awkward scraps leftover.  In trying to figure out what to do with them, it occurred to me that I needed a place to put scraps, so slapped together a rolling cutoff bin.  I believe looking at Jim Tolpin's book before bed last night was the inspiration, so please divert your lavish praise in his direction.

Here's the bin:

And here's the floor:

I was initially looking into some "mill-outs" (boards with too many knotholes to be sold for homes) of Douglas Fir flooring for the shop.  We live (literally) in a Douglas Fir forest, so that seemed appropriate. However, I am not unhappy with how the plywood looks and feels.  I think with a coat of sealer, it will do just fine.  If anything, I will put "flooring" on the ceiling.  I was leaning heavily in favor of real flooring, but after seeing that plywood, nasty as it is, is good enough for not only Jim Tolpin's shop but also the teaching center at Lie-Nielsen, I decided to stay reasonable and save my materials budget for tools and wood.  Thats what this room is all about, right?

I also cobbled together some Schwarzian window racks for tool storage while working.  This is the corner where the workbench will ultimately live.  I plan to build and store the tools in a chest, but these racks will be used during a work session to keep everything within quick reach.

And if you are still with me at this point, you're an interested enough reader for this announcement:  Soon, I will be posting some very basic woodworking information.  Unlike many woodworking blogs, this one has a readership of non-woodworking folks.  People have been asking me questions like "What is a rabbet?" and "What's the difference between a brace and a drill?".  If you're an advanced woodworker, you may find it a bit dull around here, although I certainly welcome you to stick around, and comment on the posts if I lack lucid exposition or have some facts wrong.

For those of you who are not woodworkers, but are interested in the project, I welcome you warmly and ask that you keep the great questions coming.  I'd really like to turn this project into a community which will help in some small way to keep traditional woodworking alive.

More soon...