I’ve been stacking wood and hoarding scraps for projects since I was five, back in 1970.
That’s when my dad was flying USAF special ops over Southeast Asia and we’d returned to my grandparents’ place in northern Indiana.
It was there that Grandpa Sheptak — an artist through and through — lit the creative spark that now fuels everything I do with wood, photography, and design.
In late September 2023, after a summer of tent camping on our family’s 40 acres in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Maycee (my Great Pyrenees) and I came to Montgomery.
Dad, now battling multiple myeloma from Agent Orange exposure, is slowly fading.
And somehow, in the middle of all that… Wood Shoppe 2.0 was born.
Creation of Wood Shoppe 2.0
When we got back, a man unloading his shop sold me $3K worth of woodworking tools for about $1,200.
That kicked off the serious rebuild — and a serious case of pallet wood hoarding.
(Truth be told, the thought of making anything out of pallet wood now makes me cringe.)
At one point, I’d gathered so much of it, I couldn’t even reach the CNC.
The chaos was real.
The Fix?
In the past two weeks, I’ve built four 18” x 31” x 8’ towers along the back wall of the carport.
Garages are rare in Montgomery.
I’m working out of a carport in the heat and humidity of the Deep South — not ideal, but for now, it’s what I’ve got.
And I’m learning to solve for it instead of making excuses.
Last night, I hauled the old racks out.
Then, sometime around midnight, I mapped the new, efficient workflow seen in the main image above.
An organized workshop workflow, finally.
Around midnight last night, I mapped out the new and “efficient” shop layout (See diagram below):
- (1) Wood enters via a 5’ x 18’ x 9’ protected shed
- (2) Cuts begin at the table saw
- (3) Miter saw staging area with offshoots:
- (4) CNC = 4’ x 4’ Shapeoko 5 Pro
- (5) Sanding/glue-up = 24’ x 5’ x 34-1/2” Rex Krueger-style bench
- (6) Assembly = 4’ x 10’ x 34-1/2” island with silicone drop zone
- (7) Finishing = 6’ table + platform (still needs fans, cover, and airflow setup)
Still a mess, but it’s working.
Yes, parts of it still look like a wreck. I know.
I still need to:
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Add the shaker-style doors to the lower cabinets
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Move wood from open shelves into the shed
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Shift what’s in the shed to enclosed tower spaces
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Install tower shelves
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Possibly close in some bays for lockable storage
But finally — the workflow flows.
I still feel like I’m in INTJ/ADHD prison.
This setup has taken months.
Every inch is earned through grit, sweat, and the occasional back spasm.
My INTJ/ADHD wiring doesn’t help — every upgrade seems to generate three new ideas and two new doubts.
But I’m close. (-r).
The shop’s almost ready.
It’s time to begin mass producing Five Star Puzzles ™ and keepsakes including The Ameriquins™ for next year’s 250th national celebration.
My greatest fear?
That my brain and my back will find excuses to keep me inside writing long posts like this one… instead of outside building what I know I’m meant to build.