Setting up shop

The most immediate challenge in doing lutherie (or any woodwork) at my place, is the lack of workshop space. The only space with day light, and non-carpeted floors, is my dining room. It's a great space to be, since I can look out over the water and watch the boats as I work. Of course, since this is not a dedicated shop, I can't have a permanent setup. I will have to work on the dining table, and break down and clean up after most work sessions. I also don't have room for any machines, other than some hand-held ones. On the other hand, this is an interesting opportunity to see what can be done with hand tools. I am in the process of buying a few, and learning how to work with wood. It's been a very long time since I've done true wood craft and I'm eager to learn again.



Today I cut up a sheet of MDF board to be a work surface and protect my dining table. I can clamp it to my table and then remove it afterwards. I also set up the parrot vise for work. The first thing I did was mount the vise on a piece of MDF so that I can clamp it to my table when I need it. The second thing was to make some protective jaws for the vise so that it doesn't mar the wood. I made a cardboard template of the jaws and then transferred the shape to some 1/4" aspen that I had. After cutting it, I covered one side with some 1/8" neoprene that I had left over from kayak outfitting. I used contact cement to bond it to the wood piece. On the back side of the protective jaws, I put a business-size magnetic card that comes with a peel-off side for attaching it. The magnet will help keep the protective pads attached to the jaws.