Where ya been?

Checking the date on the previous post made me realize just how delinquent I've been.
Update time!
We are in our new shop, and are as pleased as can be.
Totally finished? No...but we are enjoying the extra space as well as more logical layout.
I wish the exterior was a post card, but it's not too shabby either.
External view:

It utilizes cedar posts, with windows between and "stucco" above and beneath.
This was our inspiration:

Which is the studio of the artist who sculpted Mt. Rushmore.
Billie is just glad I was inspired by his building, and not by this one:

Or by this:

Thanks for looking,

Steve

View to the South

And here we turn back away from those north-facing windows and see  how the south part of the assembly area is shaping up. This area will be plate joining, inlay, bracing and brace carving. The open box facing north will hold our binding selection and double as a go-bar deck for gluing braces to top and back plates.

And the other corner of this room, where the rim assembly takes place. You can just see our molds and forms being housed in their new home:

And a few weeks later, we've moved in wood, more tools, and we're really starting to enjoy the new work environment. Drop by some time and get a tour!

More on the Shop

Apologies for the long absence. My PC quit talking to Blogspot, so I'm trying to learn how to do all this on an iPad. We'll see if old dogs can learn a new trick or two. I would like to show the progress we have made on our new shop. Here is the north east corner, and the first work bench for this area. Ryan is crouched in full work mode off to the right:

And with the second bench for this area, the space is nearly finished.  We are discovering that it is one thing to build a new building. It is quite another to make it fully functional.  But we're getting there, and with each step comes more encouragement!

And a view of the north west corner, or our "clean room". It gets carpet on the floor, because no dust will be made here. This room is for final setup, and such repairs as come in. Not long after this photo, we carpeted the benches to protect the guitar's finish. It is beginning to be usable!

New Sander...

...Or how to handle a crate weighing over 500 pounds
Here's the box sitting in our truck bed. This is as far as the carrier would deliver:

How to get this inside? Disassemble the crate...maybe the tool can be taken out in pieces?

Afraid not, it's all in one piece. Could we levitate?

In the end, decided to build a ramp:

And now we know how the Pyramid Builders felt:

In position! In the background our old Performax is blushing, now being upstaged by this Delta double-drum wonder. Now all we need is some duct work to the dust collector, and we're good to go!

Trim Work

Shop work has been fun lately, due to the completed appearance of things.
It's a bit like applying bindings on a guitar. Finishing touches are always rewarding.
For instance, just look at this trim carpenter...doesn't he look happy?

And here is some of his work:

This is the front door area, and the French door to the left opens to our "clean room".
Clean--as in only finished instruments allowed.

And the north bank of our assembly area:

Now for benches, work tables, tools, jigs and fixtures.
I almost hate to mess this up. It probably will never be this clean again...

Power!

Recently, Reece and his crew finished our wiring.
Here's Elmo, whose background is industrial wiring, demonstrating his skill with a conduit bender:

It wasn't long before the nerve center looked like this:

So with power running all over the place, the rest of the crew  could start installing lights:

And this view of the north wall, where assembly benches will run--each bank of windows will have these mini spots to throw light down on the benches:

Thanks for watching along!

Where were we?

It has been far too long since an update! And now my Texas lutherie buddies are starting to ask, "Did you ever finish that shop?" Short answer is: "no". Turns out that's also the long answer.
But I can elaborate a bit. There has been a great deal of interior work going on.
Like this shot of Jonathan working on the middle wall. To the right will be the Big Hall Of Tools.
To the left, where Jonathan is working, will be our assembly area.

 

 

Let these guys loose, and after a while there is this--a building within a building:

 

 

 

 

 

That two foot overhang is the walk way for our upstairs wood storage.

Now meet Daniel, son of Melvyn. He and his Dad are installing our HVAC system.

His burden is to keep us cool in the Summer and warm all winter. He looks optimistic, doesn't he? 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward through installation of wiring (failed to photograph that stage) and we are ready for insulation. Here is a view of the east wall, and the north east corner. Our drywall crew did a great job taping off exposed wood, not to mention protecting the floor:

 

 

 

 

And here is our drywall crew, seen from inside the "Clean Room":

 

 

 

 

Let these guys loose, and it wasn't long before we had real, enclosed spaces.

Here's a view of the front door area, and past my Dad's shoulder is our "Clean Room".

 

 

 

 

Only, it's not too clean just yet. Hopefully that will be soon.

So this is where we are, 29 September, 2013.

Thanks for watching along!