I have just moved. The new house rocks, but there really isn't any shop to speak of. I have about 4 outbuildings with no electricity and 2 of them are filled with stuff from my old big shop. I have plans to start building a 24x32 shop sometime closer to summer, but I can't go that long without destroying some wood. I can route an extension cord to one of the small outbuildings (seriously about 6x10) and run some small power tools. What I need advice on is what tools to keep there and what I should be able to do without. Here is my plan:
1) For milling wood I keep my table saw, planer and jointer at my brothers house. Mill and rough cut stock there then off to my little out building.2) At my shop/box, I'll have a small bence and a workmate or something of that sort to size and cut joinery and what not. I am going to squeeze my router table in there and it will be on doublduty as another bench. This room will have all my handheld power tools, planes, chisels, etc. I am in a relativly temperate climate, so I will be able to go outside on occassion.
3) For glue-ups and assembly I have another building a little farther from the house (not close enough to route power). On colder days I will use my basement. It's not a full basement, so I can't use it as my main shop area. Finishing will also take place here.This looks like a major inconvienience, but I'm looking at it as a challenge. I'll be forced to scrutinize the plans before I start because I won't want to drive 10 minutes to my brother's house to adjust something I overlooked earlier. I'll be minimizing tools, so hopefully that will raise my hand tool skills and help with my problem solving. I'll obviously also be focusing on easier projects that are not quite as involved. A "back to basics" stage if you will.
So any reccomendations as to what tools I'll be required to have in my "shop"? As of now There will be just hand planes, scrapers, shaves, chisels, marking equip, router, sanders, biscuit joiner, miter saw, squares and such.