Last year we visited the Butler Street Foundry, a metal shop located on the Southside of Chicago in the shadow of Comiskey Park. We met the owner, John Lamonica, at a Craftsman event and besides being an artisan metalworker he also works closely with kids and inspires them to learn how to weld and shape metal. At his shop he gave me a crash course with the plasma cutter which is an amazing tool.
John was gracious enough to give me a tour of his metal shop which was an ode to how metal working has been done for centuries. The shop served as one of the key rebuilding centers after the Great Fire in 1871. There were no computers or digital machines in sight and the heavy machinery was all operated on hydraulic systems.
The highlight of this tour was getting a peek into the wood shop which functioned as a small addition to the metal work but had ceased production in 1947. Fortunately for me the wood shop had never been cleared and according to John, almost everything was left as is.
These photos don't do this place justice and I can still smell the musky scent of a variety of wood and years of dust and dirt. One of my favorite photos is of a 48-star US flag that still hangs from the wall near some front doors which had been replaced but still bear a Chicago tax stamp from 1930.
Here are some photos from the metal shop.
Last month while enjoying the exploits of the Tool Race we also had a chance to tour through the Columbus Idea Foundry, the host of not only the race, but the birthplace of many of the modified tools that careened towards victory.
On display were a bevy of awesome artworks, from paintings and photography to sculptures and interactive displays made by the resident artists. The space was also open to tour the gallery spaces (which were VERY industrial chic) to expereince more forms of creative expression and to watch some of the masters at work.
We guarantee this Winning Workshop would make Norm Abram jealous! From John Lewis' old-time woodshop in Brighton, CO, he teaches hand-made chair making and builds furniture in the primitive style from reclaimed materials.
The shop is located in a partially renovated 1800's barn. Renovations consisted mainly of the addition of an 1890's base burner stove, some insulation, and patching enough holes to keep the sparrows out.
John uses authentic tools whenever practical. He has a great collection of 1800s to early 1900s spoke shaves, hand drills, block planes, lathe tools, etc. When it isn't appropriate to use an authentic tool (because of it's fragility, value or rarity) he tries to use tools made by craftspeople like himself who make hand-made wood working tools in the traditional style. The only power tools in the shop are his lathe and the table saw, which is only used for breaking down large pieces of material so they can be managed.
While there is no internet available at the shop, there are a lot of books about classic Windsor chair making, primitive woodworking, etc. to browse through. The shop is designed not only as a functional woodshop, but also as a relaxing place to be. It is funny how going out to the shop and working on a cradle for a friend's new child for 10 hours can be more relaxing to the soul than any fancy spa or entertainment system.
We often romanticize the "good old days" more than is warranted, and shops like this make it easy. While life in the late 1800s was far from paradise, we can at least look to the parts that maybe we shouldn't have forgotten, the parts that our culture misses without realizing why.
His friend Sam Ley who took these photos calls his workshop "A very calming place, especially in the winter with the old 1800's stove burning". Visit John's website for more details.
We're launching a new series profiling the workshops of our friends, families, readers and other home improvement and tool bloggers. We're hoping these profiles of Winning Workshops inspire some ideas for you to apply to your own workspace as well as show some innovative ways to store and use tools that are beneficial to your project process.
Our first Winning Workshop is from Stuart Deutsch who is the man behind the tool blog, ToolGuyd. We first met Stuart at the DeWALT event last year and we knew he took his tools seriously.
We've asked him to share some photos of his workshop as well as in is own words how he setup the shop and what inspires him. He works from his apartment so space is an issue but we think he's done a great job with the resources and room available to him.
More from Stuart:
I have never really considered myself a DIYer until somewhat recently. Before that, I only thought of myself as a hobbyist. A few years ago, if you wanted a small wheeled robotics platform to experiment with, you built it yourself. If you wanted to improve the cooling performance or noise levels of a computer, you drilled blowholes and soldered together fan speed control circuits yourself.
Most of my DIY inspiration comes from these hobbies, from the occasional need to create a custom solution that cannot be store bought. There's also the thril and and satisfaction of producing something unique, creative or useful. Of course some of my DIY activities come out of necessity or the need to save a few bucks as well - minor installations here, small repairs there.
