I finally connected 1+1 and realized that your comments on my blog were coming from you on your blog (if that makes sense). I had stumbled across your blog a few months ago and when I heard about the most pathetic bench contest I almost wrote to you to tell you to enter. I was glad to see you made the final list.

When I first read your blog I was struck by your perseverance and tenacity, and greatly admired it. I am also greatly empathetic to the challenges you must go through to do what you do. I’ve lived for short periods over seas (mainly Taiwan) and my parents taught at American schools for almost ten years in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Lahore, Pakistan and Dakar, Senegal. I also almost joined the State Department some years ago. I passed the exams and got a job offer in the political track, but my wife and I, for various reasons, ultimately decided that the timing was just not right. It was not an easy decision. It’s a tough life at times, especially with small kids! But as you obviously know, it can be incredibly rewarding as well.

Congrats on the house and the blog and your great work despite the handicaps you’re working under. Someday this will all pay off when you get a dedicated space because you will be used to making the most with very little.

Keep it up, and good luck with designing your new shop space!

AAAndrew

I’ve gone to a couple websites, but I still don’t know what a Roubo workbench is. But it sounds like a step up from your winning entry in the “most pathetic workbench contest.”

http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/The+Winners+Of+Our+Most+Pathetic+Workbench+Contest.aspx

Looking forwards to seeing the pics!

Not to knock the ”woodshop in the kitchen” idea — but, as an alternative: have you considered setting up a small outbuilding in the back yard (if you, in fact, have a back yard)? Pretty high up on my To Do list is to build a small, free-standing woodshop (less than 10 square metres for the dripline, and the city council doesn’t care about building permissions). Since I mostly use hand tools, I’ll just string an extension cord to the outdoors power outlet when I need power (or light!). Something about 2.5m x 3.0m on the inside (plus wall thickness and the eaves’ overhang brings it up to about 10m^2). The advantages are that you can do stinky stuff; you can also do sawdusty stuff, and leave it ’til the next time.

Plus: one more thing to think about and plan, in addition to the workbench…

Either way: total congrats on the house!

Looking forward to the pics.

–GG