A review of my spoon carving shop

·24 min·2 clips

A young spoon carver asks for advice on building his first shop, prompting a detailed review of a unique 10x12 foot shed.

The episode begins with the host explaining he was asked by Felix Lane, a young spoon carver, for advice on building a shop. He decides to share his experience publicly. His shop is a 10x12 foot shed-roofed cube perched on a hillside above his house, built at the start of the pandemic for $1,200 over two weekends. It replaced working in his kitchen and woodshed. The east and north walls are plywood, while the south and west walls use greenhouse plastic to save money on windows and doors. This creates a natural light box ideal for photography and provides winter warmth through a greenhouse effect. The structure is built on black locust pilings on a steep slope, using hurricane clips to secure it against wind. The host later shingled the east wall to prevent mildew. Heating comes from a wood stove using chunks separated from wood chips. A grapevine grew to provide summer shade after the first year was too hot. The host emphasizes keeping the interior minimal with white walls to maintain mental clarity, comparing it to working outside. He conducts an annual clean-out and plans to shorten his workbench. The chopping stump is an eight-foot locust log driven through the floor into the ground, isolated with foam wedges and a mast boot to reduce noise and vibration. The host uses an extension cord from the house to power a box fan in summer. He concludes by recommending this approach for its efficiency and low cost.

As heard by us

A compact shop tour that treats comfort, shade, and airflow as practical design choices.

This episode follows a spoon carver's question about building a first shop into a straightforward look at what a working space really needs. The host describes a 10 foot by 12 foot shed-roofed cube above his house, put up at the start of the pandemic after the kitchen and the…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You get a shop-building map drawn by someone who has already learned what the wind will and will not tolerate.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Emmet Audio