 |
|
Shortly after moving into the old farm house at the Rolling "M" Ranch North, Shari and I starting making plans for remodeling the place. I recognized immediately that I would either need to hire a whole team of contractors or learn how to do the work myself. Being catagorically opposed to allowing contractors on my property, I began learning everything I could about carpentry, plumbing, wiring, plastering, painting, and refinishing. Along the way, I discovered that I really enjoy working with wood.
So, I did what any self-respecting do-it-yourselfer would do... I set up shop out in the garage. I starting buying the usual array of power tools and promptly ran out of money. About that time, I switched jobs and began working with an old friend of mine, Paul. One day, Paul and I were talking about tools and woodworking and we struck a deal. Since he was an apartment dweller with no space for a workshop and neither one of us could afford to build a shop all on our own, it seemed like a natural partnership. We split the cost of the woodworking tools and we helped each other out on the "project of the day". The Rolling "M" Workshop was born...
Well, since then, a few things have changed. Paul bought a house and setup his own workshop in his garage and I've moved my workshop from the garage to a pole barn that we built on our property (see About the Barn below). My tool collection has grown and I've made a little sawdust. The workshop keeps me off of the streets and out of trouble, well most of the time anyway...
I've always lived by the motto:
"If you can't buy it, BUILD IT and if you CAN buy it, BUILD IT ANYWAY!"
This goes hand-in-hand with another motto taught to me by my Grandfather:
"If you want something done right, you should do it yourself."
Take a look at some of the projects that we've taken on and you'll see what I mean.
Then, Take a look at our list of references to see where we come up with this stuff.
In addition to my collection on modern woodworking tools, the Rolling "M" Workshop is also home to my collection of antique Stanley-Bailey Bench planes. If old woodworking tools are one of your vises, you'll enjoy taking a look at my collection.
As I said earlier, the Rolling "M" Workshop started out in one bay of our two car garage. It didn't take long to outgrow this small space, so during the spring of 2001, we were faced with a decision. We really only had two options. We could either expand the garage or build a seperate shop from scratch. Since Shari wasn't a big fan of all of that noise and dust so close to the house, I got what every guy dreams about, a dedicated workshop. We broke ground on a 24'x24' pole barn in the middle of the old horse lot in June of 2001 and moved the shop in October of that same year. But, like most workshops, it will never really be finished. To see more of the exterrior of the shop, take a look at the contstruction photos. To see inside of the shop, take a look at the Shop Tour. Special thanks go out to everyone who helped in the construction of the new shop.
After reading a book called Early American Furniture Makers, by Thomas H. Ormsbee (1935), in which Ormsbee lamented the tragedy that very few early American furniture and cabinet makers marked their pieces, I decided that the pieces that I build will never be lost to history. So, I designed my own "Maker's Mark". This label is based on the labels of several cabinet makers of America's early history as published in Ormsbee's book. The label features the Rolling "M" Ranch brand (or logo), the date when the workshop was founded, the workshop's location, and a box for the maker to sign and date. On the left you'll see the prototype for the label. On the right, you'll see how the label actually looks. This particular label is on the inside of the Tool Cabinet on the North wall of the workshop.
| 
|