Workshop Tour

Writed real good byJoseph Sellers ///

Did you think we were done celebrating? We want to show you a little bit more of the workshop where the videos are filmed. Enjoy!

 

Feel free to ask questions and we will try to answer them.

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74 Comments

  1. thanks so much for this Paul it great to make sense of the space we are so used to seeing from just one angle although i have to laugh when you call it a small space, i know what a small space is ie 9×14 shed filled with overspill from the house i think its time for a clearout so i can fill it with timber for future projects thanks for all you do for woodworking .

  2. Great job guys, I realy enjoyed that. 🙂 Interesting comment Paul made, when he said he allows no one to work at his bench. HaHa I agree, if anyone comes into my work place and starts tinkering about on my bench they get chased. Its mine let them go build there own.

    Thanks for this one 😉

    1. Nothing right now. I work within the film space that you see in the videos everyday. Sometimes, for continuity, I cannot work at the bench in the film space and so I must work at my bigger bench or one of the student benches. I have ten to choose from.

  6. Thank you Paul enjoyed your tour very much.
    I can tell you have a passion for hand tools 😉
    Eddy I’am in the same boat as you. my shed 19′ x 8′ but half of it full of her indoors stuff so no chance of chucking that out . 🙁

  7. Thanks for the delightful 360 degree tour! Absolutely wonderful, cozy & creative space.

    In the DVD series and elsewhere, there appears to be a door/door frame to the right of the tall cabinet behind your bench. Later it appears in some videos/images and not in others. Was that just a prop, or something that was made for the castle?

    https://paulsellers.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2012/03/PICT00481.jpg

    There were a lot less hanging tools back then. This is the same room, correct?

    PS: I love the clutter shelving. I need about a half-dozen of those…

  8. Great to see that it truly is a proper working space! Too often the workshops shown are pristine and what I would call over organised (more time spent on making sure the workspace is neat and tidy than working on projects, imo).

    Interesting video…thanks.

  9. THANKS!!!

    I’ve been wondering for weeks what the “contraption” was on the front of the cabinet directly behind your bench. Ahhhhh, an easel for holding whiteboards or signboards. Puzzle solved.

    Now…. if I had someplace else to store my boats, I could make room for more tools (and clamps).

    Thanks for the very enjoyable tour.

  10. Absolutely wonderful workspace.

    Do you see that? He uses his tail vice for anchored a shelf for his tooolbox. Simply extraordinary!

    Hilarious moment remembering when his master was yelling him: Push!

    I love so much his fine sense of humor. It’s really so convenient for me at this point in my life.

    Paul, your generosity and humility exceeds any of my expectations.

    –Óscar

  12. Paul thank you for the tour of your Workspace, I enjoyed that imensely. You may recall I just finished my Bench which is a redention of yours and I must say WOW, I can not say enough good things about it. I love it, I wish it could have been a little bigger but this will work, I added a clamp rack to one end this past weekend which houses 9 HF clamps. I did the modifications that you did as well. I want to add a drawer or two on the other end and maybe add a self on the back apron like yours. makes a lot of sence.

    I am also in your camp I do not like anyone messing with or using my bench, I have a little space I made for my Grandson where I can keep an eye on him.

    Looking forward to your teaching’s in the future.

    Steve

    PS: Would it be possible to show how you installed and the making of the drawers on your bench? I think the drawers are similar to your tool chest as far as construction but not sure on the runner / guide application.

    1. Yes, a little different here. I ran a 5/16″ x 1/2″ channel down the centre of the drawer sides and screwed runners of the same size onto the insides of the aprons to carry each drawer. This meant no gaps and wasted space.

  13. Once again, I’ve enjoy the way in which you introduce your way of working and how it all merges together. It’s very savvy, grounded and a great insight. I have now started my own wee projects. You offer clarity, which I greatly appreciate!

  14. I wanna workshop in a castle! Of course, castles are a little rare on the ground here in Colorado, USA.

    I still want to know if you have any ghosts 😉 Ever find the odd project that nobody remembers doing?

    Thanks for the tour. Hope to visit in real life some day.

    Randy

  15. Thank you very much for taking the time to show us around your creative space. I truly enjoyed it. Its good to be reminded that yours is a working woodshop.
    Again, thank you Paul and others for giving us this bonus peak behind the curtain.

  16. I’m a bit late but I want to add my hearty congratulations to Paul and his whole team for a wonderful year. This tour is a fitting gift ….especially to some of you who make these forums a rich menu of ideas and support for those us without your talent or experience.

    Thank you.

    John

  19. Thanks so much for the tour, Paul. It’s always interesting to me to see how people have their spaces organized. I think it’s safe to say we are all a bit envious of your workshop in the castle!

  21. Thanks guys. A pleasure seeing a masters workspace. I take it you don’t let the Mrs. use the workbench then? Must be nice…

    Enjoyed the tour and would love to see the castle. Not something we have a lot of over in Northern Canada:-)

  24. Paul,
    Thanks for the tour. It seems to be a great place to teach, work and be creative. It is a lot smaller than I thought. You taught a few classes that I attended when you were in Texas, I had a wonderful time.
    Greg

  25. Thank you, Paul, for permitting us this behind the scenes insights. It is extraordinarily useful to understand the little things of how and why you do things the way you do and how you organize your shop. This masterclasses series is vast experience, condensed.
    David

    1. “The most important thing for me is that this is a creative workspace and this is where we saw the seeds that get planted in the hearts of other woodworkers and then they go back to their creative workspace and develop what works for them.”

      I wanted to add that this final sentence is very appealing to me. It sums up your vision and your philosophy very nicely. Sharing freely and not being dogmatic about methods and tools. Golden.
      David

    1. We may well do a tour of the castle in a series. It is so huge, 350 rooms, and the interiors are just stunning. let’s see what we can do. You cannot believe the doors inside the castle between the rooms are sometimes 18 feet high and four feet wide made from solid oak.

  29. Thanks for the shop tour Paul!

    Having sufficient space to work in is one of the biggest problems for the average home woodworker who utilizes a shed, a garage or basement. Being organised is one small cure, but enough space (and in the winter here in North America) ample heat and decent lighting are a must.
    I would suggest to some who have this problem that they part if possible with the extraneous items cluttering their work spaces. Discard them or sell them off and use the found money to purchase better and needed tools and equipment to work wood. We all have way too many items in our homes and lives. It’s time to pare down and you’ll be much happier when you do.

  30. Thanks so much for the tour, it is great getting to see the space in which a master craftsman works.

    I too would be interested in seeing how you installed the drawers in your bench, maybe on a blog post with some pictures would be great.

    Thanks

  31. Thanks for this, everyone. Great fun and an interesting and informative little interlude for us. Some bits of useful information as well as entertaining. Paul, as always, genuine, unassuming and friendly.

    I had to chuckle a bit at your story about your master hitting you with a rod…not at your travails, of course, but that somehow I couldn’t see you doing such a thing to one of your students; the idea of such a thing is patently silly.

    Your manner and method are, as I have said before, the epitome of what I imagine as an ideal teacher. Hope to get the chance to meet you one day if for nothing else than to shake your hand and thank you in person.

  32. Everyone else has said things so eloquently that all I can add is my own “Thanks”. Thank you Paul, Joseph, Phil and everyone else behind the scenes. Love it and keep up the great work.

  33. Thank you kind Sir for letting us look into your world on a deeper level. For the longest time I thought you filmed from your home. I had no idea that you worked and filmed from a castle. What a wonderful privilege.

  34. Thank you for this nice tour. Although I was enjoying using my imagination, I have to say
    it was instructive and interesting. Something to strive for and the value of persistence. I especially liked having to do with the importance of one’s Creative Workspace, workshop layout, workbenches and work areas.

  35. Thanks very much for the tour Paul. Having had the privilege of being taught by your good self in the very same workshop last Autumn it was really lovely to see it all again. It vividly brought back all those feelings of excitement at being there and those wonderful hours spent in concentration while making our boxes. I’m pretty sure I could even smell the wood while I was watching! Thanks again for being such an inspiration to me. I have to pinch myself when I realise how my own skills have developed under your direction over the last year.

  37. You have all been so kind and supportive toward our endeavour. Thank you, thank you and thank you. You give meaning to what we do so please send in your images so others can be inspired by what YOU are now doing.

  38. Thanks Paul, I really enjoyed the tour. I’m about to redo my workspace, it is getting cramped and doesn’t flow very well. I find the work much more enjoyable when I am better organized. You have given me lots of ideas, and a bit of motivation to get moving on it.

  40. Paul & Team,

    Thanks for the tour, and congratulations for providing such a compelling and information packed first year. After viewing this tour, I began to wonder if members of this class would like to share images of their creative spaces. I would love to see them.

        1. Ken and Eddy,
          I know where you are both coming from as your posts describe my workspace to a T. Maybe the “just get on with it” and “making do with what you have” attitudes illustrated by working in such places shows something else about people who want to experience real woodworking. That being passion. At least in my case the desire to have a go and start making things has been overcoming the easy cop out of putting things off just because the workspace was not exactly the way I wanted it.

          That being said, it does not stop me wanting the only space I have available to be more inspiring and efficient to work in. Hence the thought that I might learn something from others who may want to show what is working for them. Perhaps, it might be more informative to show what does not work in which case my space would probably be the poster child. Really though, it is just honest curiosity to see how others set about making their space more creative. Eventually I will try and bring my area more towards my version of an ideal creative space. The end result will not make any magazine shoots and the OH&S crowd will probably still frown, but it will be the way I want it. In the meantime I having too much fun making do with the way things are.

          Martin.

  41. A mere ‘thank you’ is not in any way sufficient but all I have to offer for the video. Thank you and the team for doing what you do. Your on screen presence is just fantastic. I consider myself very fortunate to have found your site and be part able to of the working wood movement. Looking forward to more each day.
    Brian

  42. Thank you Paul, for allowing us a glimpse into you personal world! I have been following your classes for a while now and I must say how much I enjoy them. Along with countless others, I think you are a fantastic teacher and mentor. I truly believe that the reason so many of us feel that way is very simple and only a true “Teacher” is confident enough to do this…You give us the facility to work in wood and then say “You do not have to copy me. See what I do and here are several ways to do it that work for me. Now go out and use your imagination and vision to create your own masterpiece”. That kind of encouragement is very rare and very welcome. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!!
    Ken

  46. Great video of your personal/creative space and the workshop, Paul. The way you speak of your tools, bench, projects and students shows a genuine love of your craft and life. Thank you so much for sharing!

  47. I have just had the privelege of working in this workshop for 2 days ( 2 day woodworking course with Paul and Phil ) on 22nd and 23rd May and this video tour shows it just the way it is. A fantastic experience which I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in working with wood.

  48. Thank You for the grand tour! After 45 years in the boiler trade i can appreciate your shop as a whole. In all my years, I always had a penchant for woodworking as a release from my trade. Now that i have retired, I found you on Utube and you have rekindled my love of woodworking. I may be a bit onward in years but I guess its never to late to take a 2nd love. Once again thank you for the tour and my new inspiration. Sincerely, John

    1. NEVER too late. I had a man of 98 in my foundational course in the USA. He came with his son and his son worked right alongside him the whole time making and working on the same project. it was one of the loveliest things I ever saw.

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