way back when I had a nice shop, I've made several "one off" projects just for a temporary situation.
some were still being used 5,10, 15 - 20 years later.
all a matter of personal choice.

 

Yep! I've got a few things I made "to get me by" That are still kicking 20 years later...my first mallet I hacked together then I replaced it with a fancy one...I actually replaced a fancy chisel till I made with mahogany with a cheap BB one though (flood damage)

 

I look at it as a business. If it's making money I put time into it. I'm not much on fancy materials if it gets the job done with cheaper alternatives...

There's two ways to set up a shop. For yourself or others.

 

Shop furniture is not something I put good looking wood it... well, for the most part. In my shop it will get used and that means beat on, dented, run into, shoved around. So nothing fancy, just practical.

Here is my new bench base. The top is several years old but I needed a new base. I looked around the shop and found all the materials laying around, in other words scraps. PT 4x4's. SYP and Fir 2x4's. Dowel pins. Simple joints glued and pegged. Didn't worry about getting the faces even either. It is just a tool, not going in my house.

Drawers are Baltic birch or either birch, because that is what I had around the shop and was suitable for the task. I don't like making drawers from cheap plywood. That ends up haunting me with issues down the road.

Same thing with jigs. If it is a one time use the simpler and cheaper it is. Something I will use over and over I put a bit more effort in.

 

Shop furniture is not something I put good looking wood it... well, for the most part. In my shop it will get used and that means beat on, dented, run into, shoved around. So nothing fancy, just practical.

Here is my new bench base. The top is several years old but I needed a new base. I looked around the shop and found all the materials laying around, in other words scraps. PT 4x4's. SYP and Fir 2x4's. Dowel pins. Simple joints glued and pegged. Didn't worry about getting the faces even either. It is just a tool, not going in my house.

Drawers are Baltic birch or either birch, because that is what I had around the shop and was suitable for the task. I don't like making drawers from cheap plywood. That ends up haunting me with issues down the road.

Same thing with jigs. If it is a one time use the simpler and cheaper it is. Something I will use over and over I put a bit more effort in.

I thought those were bloody rags for a split second

 

Use them as opportunities to practice things and up your game. Building cabinets, etc. are a great way to learn.

No, not in a commercial shop, it’s not productive.

But for most of us doing this seriously, IMO you should do a good job. Your shop should reflect your craftsmanship - who’s gonna see it or care about it? You.

Plus, the intangible effect it has on what you do. If your a craftsman, be one!

 

I've done this before...but I also don't exactly need practice putting a plywood box together either. I also see beauty in the organization of the thing more than the sheer craftsmanship.

 

If your using your shop as a way to learn it makes sense. Where else would you get the experience.

 

I go for solidly built, but functional. Shop furniture doesn't need to look good, just needs to hold up. I don't use the best materials, minor blemishes and the like don't matter, most of the time I don't even bother sanding higher than 130, but any joinery should be tight, the design should be solid, and it should last

 

I usually use leftover material from a job that may be floating around the shop. For one off jigs and fixtures - quick, dirty, and functional. For items that will be around for a bit, quick and functional. If I use it often enough, I normally will find a way to make it better and when I get a chance, I'll rebuild version 2.0. If version 2.0 sticks around long enough, it'll usually get kicked to the curb for version 3.0. I'm always learning, adapting, and refining. If the tangible benefit is greater than the time that I'll spend upgrading, I'll do it.

For me, good organization trumps showiness in the shop. This is my business, so I need to be efficient. Every now and again I'll build something for the shop that's pretty cool, but normally it's just to get-r-done.

 

My shop fixtures and benches are sound and functional. I build my drawer boxes and then add on the drawer faces. When looking at my work benches with the drawer faces missing you see the ends of the drawer slides. Sound and functional. My workbenches do not look like museum pieces but they are sturdy and will hold up to my abuse. Since I built my assembly table a year ago, it has been through 5 major changes. It was wider then narrower then longer and shorter and higher. I think I finally got it the way I want it.

 

Hmm, I generally like to use white melamine plywood for shop carts and just edge the be tops with hardwood. It's bright, easy to clean, but it is a bit touchy to build with.

Jigs and fixtures, I'm trying to spend a bit more time and effort to make them more useful when they can be used again, like mortising jigs, or bandsaw circle/log jigs.

Also I realized I don't really have the time to build and rebuild things for my shop, like router table tops and fences. I could spend that time making nice things instead, so I cracked open the wallet and just paid Rockler. I built the cabinet but purchased the top and fence. Great decision.

I can almost always make it cheaper, but time is much harder to come by than money.

 

I made a living on people who have "cracked open the wallet" 😆

A lot of woodworkers buying Domino's, etc to save time these days, Many getting away from M&T, etc.

Spending money to save time...

 

The 6 drawer cabinet I made a few years ago is still unfinished, just plywood, no drawer faces and its getting pushed further and further back into a crowded corner that once upon a time nice, tidy and swept. That nice, tidy and swept part is a thing of the past. I've stayed wayyy too busy to bother..
A lot of my shop furniture is projects I started for other purposes and eventually started piling junk on top of and I use them for storage now.. Stands and benches are a different story, but they're not pretty, but functional and sturdy.

 

Has anyone ever published test results for Dominos vs. M&T on heavy stress items like chairs?

 

It's been tried but these really no comparison. You have two glued joints to one. Too me ot was always just a larger dowel...

I used it to put 700 bar stools together. It didn't work very well and all 700 were replaced..

 

It's not a bad tool and does help, but isn't cheap...

 

It definitely has it's place. Just not right for me right now.

 

There is a YouTube video comparing domino strength to M&T, but his M&T failure strength was super all over the place, and I only assume his setup was not ideal or consistent fir cutting M&T. The best M&T was MUCH stronger than the domino, and the worst.was on par.

 

The American Woodshop is a long-running woodworking show on PBS. The host, Scott Phillips, uses Festool Domino joinery a lot. A lot a lot. I keep wondering who his target audience is that can afford and extract sufficient value from a Festool Domino and all the other expensive, specialized tools that he uses.

(... and who his target audience is that has enough space and storage for all of those expensive tools and accessories, too.)

 

The American Woodshop is a long-running woodworking show on PBS. The host, Scott Phillips, uses Festool Domino joinery a lot. A lot a lot. I keep wondering who his target audience is that can afford and extract sufficient value from a Festool Domino and all the other expensive, specialized tools that he uses.

(... and who his target audience is that has enough space and storage for all of those expensive tools and accessories, too.)

Any woodworking show on TV is sponsored by tool manufacturers to sell their products.

 

He's targeting you..

A lot of hobby woodworkers have Festool.

 

He's targeting you.. A lot of hobby woodworkers have Festool.

Any woodworking show on TV is sponsored by tool manufacturers to sell their products.

I get that, but it isn't working for me. I can't justify the cost of a Festool Domino for my needs, and I am unlikely to buy or even touch one any time soon. It isn't working for a lot of the "sponsored tools" that Scott Phillips frequently highlights.

 

I actually enjoy making mortise and tenons on my drill press and table saw. It feels rewarding sliding the tenon onto the mortise with just the right amount of pressure. And I could make the MT joint any size I need.

 

To answer the original post, I put in as much effort as needed to make the proper jig. That is, to make it 100% functional to serve the purpose it was made for. My jigs are not for show. just for function. Same goes for my work benches and assembly table.
This morning I was working on a rectangular shaped urn for my daughters favorite uncle. The base will be padauk ( my favorite wood) the sides, front and rear will be curly maple. The top will also be curly maple with a padauk l on top. To marry the base to top finial I will be putting padauk horizontal inlays of 1/8" padauk to the corners. So, now I will make a jig for that tomorrow. It wont be pretty but will definitely suit the purpose.

 

I have the Dom XL and love it. I’ve used it on 2 jobs and it has paid itself off, everything else will be easier money.

Strength: I built a pair of 5’x5’ redwood gates made from 4x4’s & 4x6’s frames with 3/4” infill panels. I used 4 tenons at each corner. Obviously, since they are gates, they flag straight out from the gate posts. They are still square, with no sag after 5 years. Remember, the yellow glue is stronger than the wood itself.

it is so fast and easy, that I sometimes feel like I am cheating.

 

It's a lot less work than a M&T, but I've seen it's failures...
Those bar stools you see were all replaced, around 700. Why? Because the domino's by themself weren't enough... Guess what restaurant ordered them

 

I just finished a rack to hold the bazzilion cans of spray paint I had on hand. I had some crap 3/8 ply that was pallet stickers and some very small pieces of 3/4. To work, it needs a solid wall behind it (knew that would be the case going in). It's an okay, sad looking affair, which gets the job done.

On the other hand, I acquired a Variac in a tub of goodies (nice surprise) and am using one of the bridge rectifiers I have (along with the heat sink, heat transfer compound) and some terminals I've had hanging around for, literally, forty-five years to make an AC/DC power supply.

The box it all goes in is of scrap too, but the end product is "buffed up" a bit, to make it more obvious it's not something disposable.

Early on, everything shoppish had to be pretty. Now, sometimes not, but sometimes it still must be.

SIDE NOTE: It's my treadmill motor tester, occasional power source for one of the plastic benders, etc.

 

@Rebelwork
"............... Because the domino's by themself weren't enough... Guess what restaurant ordered them"

That's way too funny

 

Sorry, but I have no idea which restaurant. Can someone provide another hint?

 

@Rebelwork was talking about the failures on the stools that were Dominos jointed. His 'guess what' statement led to the irony of the Dominos failures were for Dominos pizza restaurants.
I could be wrong

 

They were for Chilli"s restaurants..