Comments on: European Dreaming: A Visit to Kent Adkins’s Shop

By: thernly

thernly — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:02:13 +0000

Since Kent went to the trouble of researching alternatives in great detail before building his shop, I for one would love to know more about the choices he made and why: Design and layout, size, lumber and tools and supplies storage, dust collection, hvac, insulation, floor materials, doors and windows, access, electric service, compressed air service, smaller tools he chose, where and how he does finishing work, bench and vise choices, assembly tables, veneering setup, what would he do differently if he were starting today, etc. Most of us can’t afford Martin equipment but I’m sure there are many lessons we CAN learn from Kent’s painstaking research and experience.

Sorry about the folks who resent Kent’s success. They either can’t comprehend or don’t care how hard he has had to work. The process of becoming a surgeon requires more years of torturous, grueling apprentice (slave) work than I could endure. And I wouldn’t wish it on my own children. There are certainly easier routes to earning a good living. But since Kent is one of that rare breed who can focus like a hawk on a subject for eons, and he has applied his talent to the study of woodworking shops, please tell us much more about what he has learned!

Could you ask the good doctor himself to contribute an article or blog entry about this? He can rest assured the vast, silent majority among us will be most grateful for his contribution to our hobby.

By: www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawn9-CeRjJtj0_S9zBVJYbO4jCoNRxBlAWQ

www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawn9-CeRjJtj0_S9zBVJYbO4jCoNRxBlAWQ — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:31:35 +0000

I’ve been subscribing to Popular Woodworking for about a year now, having purchased an issue here-and-there for the past several. I attempted a career in woodworking starting with the academic end after high school, but I just never made it to the destination. So, for me, my interest of late in the craft is resurgent, having spent the last 30-some years in the real estate business, and next-to-none on woodworking (although reading is a beautiful thing – it allows many to experience the craft vicariously). I thoroughly enjoy each issue of Popular Woodworking, the works of Lost Arts Press, and the sincere efforts the editors, writers and staff put into preserving hand and machine work. It’s obvious they have a passion for both the subject and the craft. I’ve never paid much heed to blogs – actually this is my first post to any blog. Chris Schwarz makes an excellent point about knowing the person; others about spending the fruits of one’s labor as they see fit. But here is what I see as the crucial flaw of blogging (forgive me if that’s a misnomer): The detail provided gives only a foretaste of what is to come in the full article, which can lead to misconceptions, "jading" one’s opinion if you will. So perhaps we are better off just sitting tight and waiting for the next issue to arrive. I’ll bet that most of the audience to this blog, are already fine woodworkers, and subscribers to Popular Woodworking. So, is the crux of blogging to increase interest in the next issue, or to open intelligent dialogue on the subject matter, or both? I would likely never set up my shop like Kent Adkins, but I sure do like the equipment, and would love the opportunity to visit, and to actually meet the man responsible for this fine wood shop. And, please forgive my jading – but anyone who fails to author their work, shouldn’t be posting. Anonymous content is watery gruel at best, and often childish diatribe. ~ Don Mueller

By: mvflaim

mvflaim — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 04:11:19 +0000

Man o man people can get jealous can’t they? Being a surgeon I’m sure he has helped hundreds, if not thousands of people to live better lives. He’s probably even saved a life or two. His nice shop is a small token of reward for his profession.

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 02:59:28 +0000

Hey Anonymous,

How’s that Klan hood fit? A little itchy?

By: www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawkB9y9NKNcf6WTCGgb6J5n8yfvAKvI5gEk

www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawkB9y9NKNcf6WTCGgb6J5n8yfvAKvI5gEk — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 02:08:13 +0000

Hey Chris, it’s a blog. Just because some common folk might think it’s a bit overkill doesn’t mean you should get your little pink panties in a wad.

By: www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawlcp5rijo0qv57zIGUQvXxZf0iqyJNQSSM

www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawlcp5rijo0qv57zIGUQvXxZf0iqyJNQSSM — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 01:21:56 +0000

I don’t really relate at all to these type of shops. I think if money were not an issue , I still would go for something more everyday. These type of shops always focus on the machines and not enough on the projects that are made. Thats what really interests me.

Also it baffles me how a senior-editor of a woodworking magazine can be so unsafe with the jointer. Was the jointer actually running ? No eye-safety, no push blocks ?Leaning over the cutting blades . Really ?

Ron

By: Rich Huhn

Rich Huhn — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 21:46:25 +0000

Beautiful but it reminds me of a hospital operating room. What a coincidence!

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:28:52 +0000

Whoa…hold on now. I hope my comment above didn’t instigate some of the negative comments posted since. I was only putting forth my opinion that it seemed a bit out of place in Popular Woodworking and that it probably doesn’t reflect anything near reality to most of us. I checked some of the prices on some of those machines and several of them cost more than all of the tools and machinery in my own shop put together; and I have a decent shop. Having said that, we need to remember that Dr. Adkins is free to spend his money any way he likes and his choice in machinery and shop setting have only a peripheral bearing on whatever his talent and skills can produce…and that chest of drawers looks pretty good to me. I think Chris is right in that we need to see the whole story in February to see what this shop and its master have to teach and then take what we can from that. I can continue to hold fellow woodworkers in high esteem who can make their own tools, fashion finished pieces from a log and bring 18th and 19th century techniques into the 21rst century and still learn what a well made, high end piece of machinery can do for me. Glen Huey is a machine guy and I had the good fortune to be able to sit in on some of his talks at WWIA. It’s all different approaches to the same goals and it’s nice to have some choices.

By: Harold Pomeroy

Harold Pomeroy — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 19:18:59 +0000

The machinery looks industrial, the shop looks like a waiting room in a bank. The place has no soul. The neighbor’s kid in his Mom’s basement making mandolins could teach the doctor some life lessons.

By: Lawrence Richards

Lawrence Richards — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:45:22 +0000

What a wonderful looking shop which appears to be filled with not just an amazing range of tools but also a craftsman that is obviously skilled at both his trade and his hobby. From the posts of the people that have actually met the man it also appears that he creates friendships that make those that know him rush to his defense. The fact that they have had to do so embarrasses me somewhat as I like to think of woodworkers as the type of men and women that scorn jealousy, defend skill, praise earned success, and only say on a keyboard that which they would say face to face. It saddens me to think how many craftsmen we do not get to know in our online communities because comments like some of those displayed here compel them to remain private.

Thank you Dr Adkins for opening your shop so that we can drool, examine, and admire your place of solace and justifiable pride– I hope it serves you as well as it appears it should.
Lawrence Richards