Gino Espinoza

So it has now been about 3 years since I got the whole woodworking fever. It seems like such a short while ago, but when I step back and take everything in, I can see how much my life has really changed. My daytime career keeps me busier now more then ever. I’ve since became a business owner, a daddy and a home owner. Mix that all together, and you have a recipe for a very busy life. Before moving in to our new home I decided to sell the majority of my larger tools and re-tool once we settled in. That decision later transformed in to me taking a little over a year long sabbatical from woodworking entirely.

Well, the vacation is over and it is now time for me to get back in the game, but before I do there is some prep work that needs to be done to my new shop space. Bring on the electrician. I first started off by planning the layout of the shop and determining where and how many outlets to wire. I was also very insistent that the table saw itself be on a dedicated circuit. Why? Let’s just say kicking the breaker while ripping 3” thick rock maple and finding yourself in a pitch black garage… You get the picture. Next up is comfort. After a many bone chilling winter nights in the old shop I knew that insulation was a must for the new space. I began by insulation the steel garage doors with 2” thick construction grade foam board. The walls got an underlayment of R-19 fiberglass and the ceiling will get blow in this fall to R-30. Then on to wall coverings. For the shop area walls I used ½” OSB and the remainder of the garage was 5/8” drywall. My good friend Jason assisted me in hanging the ceiling and I finished the remaining walls over the next few weekends. I also added an exterior door to the back yard.