A review of my spoon carving shop

·24 min·2 clips

A young spoon carver asks for advice on building a shop, revealing a unique 10x12 shed-roofed cube perched on a hillside.

The episode begins with the host explaining that he was asked by Felix Lane, a young spoon carver, for advice on building a shop. He decides to share his experience on the podcast to help others. His shop is a 10x12 foot shed-roofed structure perched on a hillside above his house, built at the start of the pandemic for $1,200. It replaced working in his kitchen and woodshed, consolidating business functions. The east and north walls are plywood, while the south and west walls use greenhouse plastic for siding and vents, saving money on windows and doors. The plastic creates a natural light box, ideal for photography. Construction involved pilings of rot-resistant black locust and beams to create a level surface on the steep slope, with hurricane clips for wind resistance. The host later shingled the east wall to prevent mildew. Heating is provided by a wood stove with a proper chimney, and metal roofing was used for durability. Overheating was initially an issue, but a grapevine grew to provide shade by the second summer. The host built a woodshed for storing wood chunks separated from chips. He emphasizes keeping the shop minimal and unadorned to maintain a clear, elemental workspace. An annual clean-out is scheduled, and he plans to shorten the workbench. The stump is a locust log driven into the ground through the floor, isolated with foam wedges and a mast boot to reduce noise. The host reflects that the shop, though not originally planned, functions well and recommends similar designs.

As heard by us

A thoughtful tour of how a strange hillside shop became exactly functional enough.

A hillside shop gets a clear, practical look as a small shed-roofed cube shaped by pressure at home, business growth, and the need for usable workspace.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play when you want calm shop talk about a small hillside workspace, shade, wind, tarps, and the grapevine that eventually solved more than expected.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Emmet Audio