A Fitti ng New England Shop

America’s Top Shops
AFitti
ngNew
EnglandShop
Every square foot of Louis Lovas’
30 × 30' saltbox-style workshop is
spoken for, including the front porch
where he sometimes entertains
his woodworking buddies.
Take the time to plan an efficient, custom
work space, and it’ll love you back with time saved.
By Jefferson Kolle
I
n one very significant way,
little difference exists between
the furniture that Louis Lovas
makes and his shop in Hollis,
New Hampshire. His philosophy
is “Never design as you go,”
a lesson he learned after 25
years as a program designer
in the computer industry. “My
professional work requires a
tremendous amount of planning
and forethought,” Louis says. “I
find both processes rewarding.
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woodcraftmagazine.com
In fact, they serve me well in all
I do, woodworking included.”
Having worked out of his
garage for years, Louis at last
had the luxury of designing
a new workshop around his
needs. No more would he have to
arrange his tools to conform to
an unaccommodating structure.
From the outside, the shop
reflects quintessential New
England style with its steeppeaked saltbox roof, symmetrical
April/May2010
window placements, and fulllength overhanging porch. But
like any good architecture, a
thoughtful exterior hints at
a well-conceived interior.
His garage of old taught him
many things. For instance, he
learned to place his large tools
on wheels. By mounting them
on double-locking casters,
he can adjust the floor plan
for the project at hand. “I
can reconfigure the shop to
Hold-down
accessory
Microadjustment
device
This clamshell cabinet houses planes, chisels, and marking and
measuring devices. Other cabinets hold supplies and tool accessories.
accommodate different stages of
a project, as well as large or small
multiple pieces,” Louis says,
“simply by rolling the big tools
to different parts of the room.”
He chose to place his
stationary workbench in the
middle of the room, so he
can access it from all sides.
“Especially when I’m working
on big case pieces,” he explains,
“it’s easier to walk around
the furniture than move the
piece around on the bench.”
The window locations take
advantage of natural light.
The large Palladian window
at the east gable end receives
lots of light throughout the
day. Four 8'-long, double-tube
fluorescent ceiling fixtures
provide supplemental lighting.
Other electrical features
include 20 separate 110-volt wall
and ceiling outlets and three 220volt outlets. Louis’ electrician
convinced him to install a bright
red, wall-mounted, push-button
shunt switch that connects
to all the shop circuits except
Photos: Scott Gibson
for the ceiling light circuit. “In
case of an emergency, I can
hit the switch and everything
shuts down,” Louis says. “It
gives me peace of mind, plus
a break on my homeowner’s
insurance premium.”
The ceiling and the 2 × 6'
exterior walls contain fiberglass
Louis tricked out his Unifence
with a hold-down accessory and
a micro-adjustment device.
batt insulation. This buffers
against the brutal winter cold
while retaining the heat rising
from the in-floor hydronic
heating system in the concrete
below the strip-oak floor. Louis
opted for a single through-wall
air-conditioner to cool things off
during the occasional scorcher.
The Workshop At A Glance
Size: Overall building 30 × 30';
shop space 20 × 30' with
a 9'6" ceiling height; first
floor storage room 7 × 30';
attic storage 20 × 30'.
Construction: Outbuilding;
concrete slab floor covered
with strip-oak flooring;
2 × 6' stud walls with
fiberglass insulation.
Heating and cooling: In-floor
radiant heat with propane-fired
boiler in first-floor storage room;
wall-mounted air conditioner.
Lighting: Natural light via
6'-wide French doors and
Palladian double-hung windows;
(4) 8'- long double-tube
fluorescent ceiling fixtures.
Electrical: (20) 110-volt wall
outlets on walls and ceiling; (3)
220-volt outlets on walls and
floor. Shunt switch that shuts off
power to everything except the
lights in case of an emergency.
Dust collection: Ceilingmounted air-filtration system
(JDS Air-Tech 750 ER);
mobile 11/2 hp, 300 CFM
Jet Dust Collector, barreltop model; 16 and 20 gal.
Craftsman shop vacuums.
Air compressor: PorterCable 2 gal. pancake.
April/May 2010 woodcraftmagazine.com
47
America’s Top Shops
Louis created a temporary 10 × 16' finishing
room with two heavy-duty clear plastic
curtains that slide on ceiling tracks.
In the rear of the building,
under the lowest part of the roof,
is a 7 × 30' room that contains the
furnace and storage for offcuts,
large jigs and fixtures, as well
as finishing tools and materials.
Doors provide access to the shop
area and to the outside for easy
loading of projects and supplies.
Louis employs the building’s
second floor for rough-sawn
stock, accessing it from within
by a pull-down staircase and
from the outside through a
large door. The back room
and second-floor storage add
immeasurably to Louis’ desire
for a tidy workspace. “I like
everything to be neat,” he says.
“Otherwise it clutters my mind.”
Inside the shop, Louis planned
a place for everything. The
majority of the caster-equipped
power tools have dedicated
storage built into their custommade stands. Well-stocked wall
cabinets offer more storage while
enhancing the look with pleasing
designs and craftsmanship.
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woodcraftmagazine.com
Louis souped-up a pair of
1980s Craftsman 10" tablesaws
that he bought for less than $75
each. One he set up for ripping;
the other, for crosscutting.
He installed 2 hp, totallyenclosed, fan-cooled (TEFC)
motors and balanced pulleys
with power-twist belts. He
equipped the crosscut saw
with a JessEm sliding crosscut
table. Underneath is an enclosed
bin with a vacuum port and
storage for accessories.
He located the ripping saw
in front of the multi-paned
French doors that serve as the
shop’s main entrance. Beyond
lies a full-length front porch
(see the exterior photo). Not
only is this outdoor space a
good place to hang out with
woodworking friends, but it
proves handy when ripping
long stock. Louis simply swings
open the double doors and lets
the boards exit off the outfeed
table and into the protected
porch area under the roof.
April/May2010
When spray-finishing, Louis uses
a window fan in a plywood frame
to exhaust fumes to the outside.
The router in the ripping
saw’s extension table shares the
same rip fence. Like the other
saw, the green cabinet under
the saw holds a dust-collection
bin and port, plus storage
for blades and accessories.
A large stationary 3 × 42 × 84"
maple workbench top once
served duty in a bowling alley
before being cut to size and given
a new role. Says the proud shop
owner, “My workshop is not
just a place to design and build
furniture, it’s a sanctuary, a place
where I can get away from all
the stress and strain of being a
caring father and an engineer.”
“Myprofessionalworkis
verycreative,butitalso
requiresatremendous
amountofplanningand
forethought.”
The Floor Plan
Louis applied a tried-and-true
approach when he designed his
30 × 30' shop. “I used a piece of
posterboard and cut out each
machine/workstation to scale to
lay out the floor plan,” he says.
By incorporating the 7 × 30' back
room into the design (under the
low side of the saltbox roof), he
was better able to control the
clutter. The second floor contains
additional storage for roughsawn stickered stock, accessed
by a pull-down staircase or an
exterior door for loading wood.
Large power tools rest on
casters; those without mobile
bases sit on custom-made
cabinets with storage underneath,
painted green to match Louis’
planer. This mobility provides
flexibility when doing different
machining operations. His 42
× 85" stationary workbench
sits away from the walls,
letting him work at the
bench from all four sides.
Ample daylight enters the shop
along its sides and front through
Compressor
Bandsaw
Cabinets
Supply
cabinet
Drum
sander
Horizontal
router table
Router
table
Outfeed
table
the huge, east-facing 7'-long archtop window, the 6'-long double
French doors, and four doublehung windows. Louis opens the
doors to create more outfeed
room when ripping long stock.
A unique feature is the
temporary finishing “room” that
Louis makes by pulling clear
plastic industrial curtains along a
ceiling-mounted track to partition
off a 10 × 16' area. This keeps
dust off the piece he’s finishing
and overspray out of the rest of
the shop. A window-mounted
fan exhausts the area when he
sprays shellac, his favorite finish.
Drill
press
Air conditioner
Exhaust
fan
Grinder
Assembly
table
Planer
Ripping
tablesaw
Workbench/
router table
Lathe
Backroom
storage
Dust
collector
Mitersaw
Crosscut
tablesaw
Shelving
Clamp
cart
Hand tool
cabinet
Lumber
rack
Lathe tool
cabinet
Furnace
April/May 2010 woodcraftmagazine.com 49
America’s Top Shops
Smartideasforthetaking
Curve-cutti
ngbandsawwingandjig
Louis built an auxiliary table that he bolted to
his cast-iron table using existing mounting holes.
Added to this is a hinged extension wing that
he equipped with a pivoting trammel T-arm for
cutting large radii from 36" to 60". The slot in the
arm allows for 10" of adjustment. It’s recessed on
the arm’s bottom face to accommodate a nut that
locks the knob’s threaded stud/pivot pin in place
along the slot. The pivot pin fits into a hole along
the wing. The position of the hole is located in
the wing to match the radius of the desired arc.
When in use, the outside end of the hinged wing
rests on a work-support stand. For cutting a curved
apron, Louis makes a full-sized drawing of the part
to determine the thickness of the needed blank. He
then adheres a workpiece on edge onto the MDF
carrier of the T-arm with double-faced tape. He
adjusts the arm to curve-cut the concave face of
the apron. With the saw on, he swings the arm and
workpiece through the blade. To make the apron’s
convex (inside) cut, he reattaches the workpiece
to the inside of the kerf to match the desired part
thickness and swings the arm through the saw a
second time, resulting in a workpiece that’s ready
for sanding. For more, hit the “Slideshow” button at
http://www.�linthillfurniture.com/thebandsaw.html.
Carrier
Outer
sleeve
Adjustable
arm
Adjustable
work-support
stand
3/4"
36"
5"
29"
3" rabbet
3/8" deep
19"
5"
5/16" slot
10" long
3"
3" rabbet
3/8" deep
1/2" slot 1/2" deep
on bottom face to
house nut
Drop-leaf extension wing
Auxiliary bandsaw table
sized to fit
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woodcraftmagazine.com
April/May2010
Wing
Piano hinge
Pivoting pin hole
located where needed
3"
Mobile clamp cart
Louis rolls this 221/2 × 36"
plywood clamp cart up to the
stationary bench for projectassembly glue-ups. Border rails
on the top keep screws and
other items from rolling off. The
basic cabinet rests on a stout
base with four swivel-locking
casters. In addition to the open
compartments, a simple drawer
offers room for supplies such as
glue, glue brushes, and rags.
Locking
rabbet joint
36"
5"
#20 biscuits
dado, 3/8" deep
1" from top edge
2"
4"
22"
13"
3/4"
3/8"
1/2" groove
1
31/2" /4" deep
dado,
deep
133/4"
rabbet,
deep
31/2"
32"
3" swivel
caster
3/4 x
3 x 5"
bracket
31/2"
38"
31/2" half-laps
161/2"
Magnetic hand-plane jointer fence
Louis used rare-earth magnets
and a rabbeted piece of maple
to make a simple fence for his
Lie-Nielsen #62 plane. A shaped
piece of wood glued at the front
123/4"
2"
3/4"
1/2"
3/8"
34"
end of the fence helps house
the plane while conforming to
its shape. Recessed metal cups
screwed in the fence hold the
1"-diameter
rare-earth magnet
Shaped wood
glued in place
magnets that secure the iron
plane in place. Louis finds that
the fence makes it infinitely
easier to true a board’s edges.
1/2"-diameter
rare-earth magnet
14"
(length
of plane)
21/8"
13/8" rabbet
1/2" deep
11/2"
April/May 2010 woodcraftmagazine.com
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America’s Top Shops
Louis’profileinwoodworking
Louis Lovas traces his passion
for woodworking to a book on
the subject that he received
at age 13 on Christmas Day,
1972. He grew up on a farm in
rural Ohio under the parental
guidance of his machinist
father. “In addition to building
and repairing fences and
animal stalls,” he says, “I
recall making footstools and
a saddle rack for my dad.”
After a decades-long hiatus
spent building a career and
raising a family, he got back into
woodworking when he created
an elaborate playhouse for his
three daughters. At first, he set
up shop in the family’s two-car
garage, which meant the cars
stayed out all winter. “Every time
I went out to brush the snow
off the vehicles, I thought about
having a dedicated shop,” he says.
Louis considers himself largely
self-taught, while admitting that
“I’m an avid reader and have
learned a tremendous amount
from the many professional
woodworkers who shared
their experience in books and
magazines.” He draws inspiration
from classic designs and then
draws detailed plans on graph
paper prior to building. And
when he presents a design to a
customer—about half his work
is done on commission—he
will often make a full-scale
model to show them. ■
This eye-catching
jewelry box by
Louis demonstrates
his eye for design,
symmetry, and
working with
contrasting woods.
When Louis rotates the top of this
cleverly-designed coffee table, the four
leaves drop down between the legs.
HowToSubmitYourShop
Got a top woodworking shop
filled with ideas for smarter
woodworking? You could be
featured in Woodcraft Magazine
52
woodcraftmagazine.com
and earn a $350 Woodcraft
gift card. Send a short writeup,
photos and/or sketches,
and rough floor plan to:
April/May2010
America’s Top Shops • Woodcraft
Magazine • P.O. Box 7020 •
Parkersburg, WV 26102-7020,
editor@woodcraftmagazine.com