The Man Cave

Greetings,
I've been thinking that it would be so cool to publish a coffee table photo book about work shops: places where everything is just the way a man decides it should be. My Dad has a shop, his best friend has a shop and both are so fun to explore. I hope that someday Larry gets his shop built and he can have everything in its place just where he wants it. If I published a book, here are ideas of some of the photos I would have in it. (Well, I would use professional photo equipment and lighting as some photos are blurry, without a tripod and in the harsh lighting - that happens...)
These are photos of my Dad's shop. His trade for probably 40+ years was as a painting contractor. He built furniture as a hobby but sold some too. He's always had a shop. I remember as kids we had a rock tumbler in his shop, but for the most part is was just a place for Dad and his tools. We've received a lot of great pieces of furniture from Dad over the years....


There are a lot of sticks in a wood shop... even Cherry tree logs!


So Dad painted the handle of his push broom so that he didn't have to search for it as hard!







Yikes, Canned ham! This is an old can! I thought maybe it was from a dinner we had as kids, but Dad said, "No, I found it and it worked well to hold nails."


Sometimes Dad will just hand make something he needs instead of buying it, like this dustpan.


Or this small square made out of walnut.

Or a wooden surround for this magnifying glass.

A way to hang a clock.

A little piece of our February trip from Colorado to Oregon on the train. Dad took the same train route when he came home from Korea in the 50's, and remembered taking photos of this canyon so I took a photo of it too.



His unique way of knowing what size nail is in each bag.



Paint clothes

Souvenir from where Dad bought his paint when we lived in California.

Alongside his bulletin board, Dad keeps track of each state he's visited since the year 1999.




When I asked him why he had glued a stack of pennies together he replied, "That's what old men do when they are bored." He also polished them after he glued them together.





Tools of a trade.


Everything is covered with a layer of sawdust.

Personalized Belt Sander.






This sign was on a building in Meadow Grove, Nebraska. The building was being torn down and Dad asked if he could have the sign. The word Aksarben is Nebraska spelled backwards. My Dad grew up in Nebraska....


Dad the jokester.....

Larry, Dad and I worked on the doors and shelves Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We got everything done that we needed to and the rest can be finished here at our house. I'll post about our woodworking weekend next....

Thanks,
Florence