Set Up Your Small Shop Review
Are you interested in starting a woodworking workshop? A woodworking business running at a profit is everybody’s dream! What most of us look for is an option to do so with minimum investments to minimize risks. But such ventures are not always successful, and you need somebody who has experience in this field to guide you with much-needed information about market procedures. You must have complete knowledge about things such as tools and their real value. You must know where to get such tools and if they fall within your estimated expenditure.
As a woodworker who wanted to start my own shop post my retirement, I initially thought it was a cakewalk to buy tools, get sufficient space, and start the work with the limited means that I had. But when I actually plunged into it, I realized it was never going to be easy. Space and budget are the two main constraints you need to look into with great care and work on. The Ultimate Small Shop, an eBook by Ralph Chapman, was a source of inspiration to me. The book covers almost all the tiny details needed by a woodworker to start his shop. Needless to say, I benefitted tremendously from the book. Here’s a review of how it helps small entrepreneurs.
What is The Ultimate Small Shop, and What Does it Offer
The Ultimate Small Shop book is a guide for opening up a small woodworking workshop. It narrates in detail all the problems you, as a woodworker, would encounter along the way. You need to pay attention to a variety of factors:
- Precise tool selection.
- Proper and sufficient spacing.
- Layout selection.
- Ventilation.
- Cooling and heating.
- How to correct errors if wrong tools have been used.
All of the above have been dealt with in detail in the book. The book offers advice, instructions, strategies, price guides, and other such valuable information.
The book comes with many modules describing the various strategies you need to understand when setting up your workshop.
Tool Selection: Tool selection is an essential task for you as you may incur a loss of money and work if you use the wrong tools. In one full module, you will get details on the best tools that you need and the ones to avoid. You will understand how to distinguish the tools that you will need for your workshop. A complete shopping list with details of where to buy them is offered in this book, which makes your job easier.
Tool Maintenance: The book also provides details of how to keep the tools in working condition for many years, which you should follow before and after work to improve the tools’ efficiency. You will also know how and where to get the tools at reasonable discounts to avoid wastage of money. You will find a shopping list of power tools and personal hand tools. According to the book, you can do a great job using hand tools only if your budget does not permit buying a bandsaw or chop saw.
Space Selection: Space selection is covered in another module with complete information on selection of space for the workshop. Once you understand this, you can set up your workshop in various areas of your home. The shop layout module will guide you in planning and designing the workshop without much investment in the space available. You must consider proper ventilation, electricity outlet, and many other factors as listed in the book to select the appropriate area. To prepare the shop’s layout, you will find instructions, photos, diagrams, and illustrations to guide you along.
Shop Maintenance: Common issues such as maintaining clean air even if your shop does not have enough ventilation by fixing the best heaters, storing wood for a long time period, and avoiding dust pollution are also clearly dealt with in the book. Another critical aspect of the workshop is providing electricity, soundproofing, and lighting. You will get easy to understand instructions on these.
Safety Aspect: Yet another vital aspect of setting up a workshop is safety. You will find the book offers excellent guidelines on how to prevent severe injuries while working. A 10-point checklist in the book will help you in organizing and ensuring the safety of the workshop.
Bonuses: You will also get additional materials with the book – a Deal Alert Service which is a free lifetime offer from the author. You will get notifications whenever there is a lucrative offer on woodworking tools from suppliers. The Workshop Cheat List is a valuable source of information on the suppliers from whom you can purchase the tools at excellent, discounted prices.
Pros
- Neatly arranged sections with simple narratives
- An excellent resource for buying tools at good discounts from specific places
- Handy instructions, advice, strategies, and tips on maintenance
- Affordable pricing
- Money-back guarantee that ensures your money is not at risk. You can always apply for a refund.
- No upsells here
- Upon payment, you can get access to the book immediately without any waiting period.
Cons
- Available only in an online format, no physical books sent.
- Video instructions could have added to increase the value of the guide.
- You cannot only entirely depend on the book for starting your workshop. It would help if you also did your own homework to achieve results.
- Some feel the author has not provided any proof of past successes to substantiate the author’s claims. There is no proof to establish his abilities either.
- The book comes with hundreds of pages with modules and materials, which will consume much of your time to understand them fully.
Final verdict
The book shows you how to avoid some common mistakes that may come your way to making a successful woodworking career. He cites improper usage of tools and too much spending on tools as central issues in a woodworker’s career. You will come across many fake reviews on tools, but you should know how not to be scammed by them. You will get all the information on starting a workshop with minimum investments.
There are plenty of ideas that can be extremely useful to you when you set up your own workshop in a short period. If you start following the program, you can expect to run a profitable business and earn a decent income. You will know exactly what tools to buy, the need for each of those tools, and the places where you can buy them at the best prices. I would rate the book a full 5.0 stars!
